Page 36 of One Good Puck (Denver Bashers #5)

Abby

A n hour later, I’m sitting in the living room with her, Sophie, Ingrid, Maya, and Bella. We’re all sipping wine, and they’re all looking at me expectantly.

Dakota flashes a giddy smile. “So? Do you and Gavin have a thing going on?”

I bite my lip and hesitate.

Bella’s gold-brown eyes go wide. “There’s totally something going on!”

Ingrid gasps. Maya giggles. Sophie grins.

“Tell us everything!” Dakota says.

I sigh through an embarrassed chuckle. “Okay, okay. Gavin and I…had a thing the other night.”

They all squeal and laugh.

“I knew it! I knew it was only a matter of time before you two hooked up,” Dakota says.

“So? How was it?” Ingrid asks.

I wince and look at Sophie, whose pale skin is bright red. She chuckles and stands up. “I’m going to go to the bathroom. Get out all the dirty details while I’m gone because I don’t want to hear about what my dad is like in bed. Text me when you’re done.”

Dakota tells her she will, and Sophie walks off to the bathroom on the other side of the house. As soon as I hear the door close, Dakota pats my leg.

“Give us the details!” she says excitedly.

“Yeah, how did things start between you two?” Maya asks.

I tell them how Jared from the dating app stood me up, so Gavin took me out to dinner, and how, later that night in the kitchen, things got flirty between us.

“We kissed.” They all squeal again. “It kind of just heated up from there.” My cheeks heat as I look down at my wine glass. “He carried me to his bedroom.”

The four of them gasp at once.

“Oh, that’s hot,” Bella says.

I bite back a smile. “It was very, very hot. He’s really…attentive in bed. And generous. Very generous.”

Their eyes go wide.

“How many times did he make you come?” Bella asks. Ingrid, who’s sitting next to her, gently smacks her arm. Bella just grins. “What? We’re all dying to know.”

Maya looks at Ingrid. “She’s right,” Maya says before turning to me. “How many times?”

My face is on fire as I fiddle with my ponytail. “A lot. I lost count.”

Their jaws fall to the floor. Bella shakes her head. “I knew it. I knew Coach Porter was a stud. He’s got the whole grumpy-broody hot older guy vibe.”

I nod. “Yeah, he’s, um, the best I’ve ever had. Like, hands down. No contest.”

I laugh when Dakota goes to high- five me.

She holds up her glass of wine. “Cheers to Abby, who got herself a hot friend with benefits!”

As they all tap glasses, I shake my head. “We’re not friends with benefits. It was just a one-time thing.”

They all look at me like they’ve never been more confused.

“Why?” Ingrid asks.

“Yeah, why?” Bella says.

“I’m not ready for a relationship.”

“Then just hook up,” Dakota says without missing a beat.

“But we’re friends. We live together,” I say.

“That’s literally the perfect setup,” Ingrid says.

“Yeah. A live-in fuck buddy who’s handsome and sexy, incredible in bed, and kind to you and your daughter,” Bella says. Ingrid, Maya, and Dakota all nod along.

I let out a surprised laugh, thrown off by how simple they all think this is.

“Wait, you don’t think that would be a bad idea?” I ask them. “I don’t want to make things weird or awkward.”

“It doesn’t sound like things are weird or awkward at all between you two,” Dakota says. “It sounds like you two were able to go back to being friends even after you hooked up.”

“Yeah, we were,” I say, still surprised at how smooth and easy it was.

“Do you want to hook up with him again?” Ingrid asks.

My cheeks heat. “Yeah. I do. But wouldn’t that be kind of weird? To hook up with my housemate? I mean, I’m a mom. Moms aren’t supposed to do stuff like that.”

They all shake their heads.

“Says who?” Maya asks.

“Abby, you shouldn’t deny yourself pleasure just because you’re a mom,” Bella says. “Anyone who thinks that is wrong.”

Dakota nods. “You take amazing care of Emma. Whether or not you’re hooking up with someone has no bearing on the kind of mother you are.”

I process what they’ve said. They’re right. I’m just hung up on the traditional expectations of what a mom is supposed to be. Self-sacrificing. Does everything for her kids and nothing for herself.

“Are you worried about Emma catching you guys, or something?” Dakota asks.

“Yeah, of course. But I also don’t want to ruin my friendship with Gavin.”

They nod like they understand.

“Well, as long as you don’t have crazy loud sex or hook up on the couch in front of Emma, I don’t think you need to worry about her catching you two,” Bella says.

I burst out laughing. “Oh, I would never do that.”

Dakota pats my hand. “We know you wouldn’t. You should talk to Gavin about it. Lay out some ground rules. See if you two are on the same page. It sounds like you’ve been able to navigate things smoothly so far, so having a conversation shouldn’t be a problem.”

I sip my wine and think about what they’ve said. They’re right. Gavin and I can at least talk about possibly hooking up again.

I let out a breath. “Okay. I’ll talk to him.”

They all squeal in excitement. Dakota texts Sophie to come back out. She sits back down and takes a sip from Dakota’s wine glass. We chat about Dakota’s upcoming engagement party .

They leave to head to the game, and I sit on the couch, feeling giddy and nervous. I’m about to ask Gavin to be my friend with benefits.