28

Alice

T he next morning, Alice woke up to her phone alarm. She turned it off as Taylor’s arms slipped around her and pulled her back close to his chest, then melted back into him.

A part of her felt like pinching herself. The day before, she was so sure that she’d made up all the feelings she thought Taylor had for her. But she was wrong. And the proof of just how wrong she was nestled between her ass cheeks.

She rocked her ass back into his, and he groaned, then pulled her close, cupping her breast and nuzzling her neck.

“Did your alarm go off because you need to get up? Tell me now, or I’m going to have my way with you right now,” he whispered in her ear.

His voice was low and rough with sleep, and dammit, if she didn’t want him to have his way with her.

She looked at her phone... It was 8:30. She was supposed to be at the center to meet with the social media team at 9:30.

She turned to Taylor with her bottom lip out in a pout.

“Awww, what’s the matter?” he said, and he pushed her hair behind her ear.

“I’m supposed to be at the center in an hour to meet with Sasha.”

“Oh, okay,” he said as he sat up. She begrudgingly sat up and stretched. “So, are you really working for her now?”

She shrugged and nodded.

“You don’t seem very excited about it.”

“It’s fine. It’ll be a good job,” she said as she stood and went into the bathroom.

After she took care of her morning business, she came out of the shower, brushing her teeth, then picked through the clothes strewn over the clothes chair in the corner of her room.

“I see you have a wonderful clothing organizational system,” Taylor said.

“It works for me,” she said, pulling out a gray jersey dress and stopping by her dresser to grab underwear and a bra.

She returned with her blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and the gray dress on.

“Is that what you’re going to wear?” Taylor asked.

Her eyes cut to him.

He threw his hands up in a defensive gesture. “You look amazing and can wear whatever you want,” he said quickly. He licked his lips like he was carefully considering what he wanted to say. “If this is what you want to wear, then please wear it, and I’ll never say another word about it... But part of me wonders if it’s you... I don’t know... Never mind... Don’t mind me,” he said, getting out of the bed. He walked over to her and kissed the top of her head.

He isn’t wrong, though , thought Alice as she peered at herself in the mirror.

If she had her way, she would not have her hair in a basic ponytail and a simple gray dress. She looked fine, but he was right. She didn’t look how she wished.

The corner of a green daisy cardigan was sticking out of the mound of clothes on her chair. She unearthed it, put it on, pulled the purple-and-green silk scarf from around the post by her mirror, and tied it in her hair like a headband.

That made her feel more like herself. With one more final touch, she walked over to her closet and pulled out her daisy Dr. Martens. Her mother would kill her for wearing these to a job, but they would be so cute with this.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was lacing up her Docs and standing to look at herself in the mirror with a triumphant smile.

“Mmmmm, that looks more like my rainbow girl from the cabin,” Taylor said as he leaned up against the doorframe.

“You like it?” she asked as she went over to her dresser to pull out a pair of dangly daisy earrings from her jewelry box.

“I love it.” He walked over to her. When he slipped his arms around her waist, she melted into him. “Although I would like it even more if you didn’t have to put on anything,” he said, kissing her neck.

“What are your plans for the day?”

“We have a rest day before we head out for a road trip after tomorrow’s game. So, I’m just going to be relaxing at home and doing some meal prep.”

“Oh... Did you maybe want to hang out later?” she asked as she was busy getting her work bag together.

She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. A big part of her was still scared he would disappear again.

Seemingly able to sense that in her, he walked over and cupped her face, pulling her gaze to meet his. “Alice, I want to see you every day.”

“You do?” she asked embarrassed by how desperate and needy she sounded.

But the slow, confident smile that stretched across his face did settle those feelings. “Yes, I do. I know I fucked this up, but I’m ready to do the work to show you how much I do want to be with you.”

Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed him.

“When you finish up at the center, why don’t you come over to my place? I’ll make some dinner, and you can stay there tonight?”

“Really? Are you sure?”

His arms slid around her waist, holding her close. “Of course I’m sure.”

“Okay, I’ll text you when I’m done.”

“Good,” he said. Then he dropped a kiss on her forehead.

Later, they headed out of her town house and got in their cars. Evie waved as her car pulled up the drive across the way, and she smiled and waved back.

“Call me when you’re ready to come over,” Taylor said.

“Okay, I’ll see you then.”

Alice walked into the center. It was quieter today because the players and coaches weren’t in, since they would all be headed out on a road trip after tomorrow’s game. Alice didn’t like to think about Taylor leaving after the night they had.

“Alice, hi. We are in meeting room D. I’ll be right there,” said Sasha from her desk.

“Okay,” Alice said as she turned to make her way to the meeting room.

“Wait, I’ll walk with you,” she said. “How did last night go?”

“Good,” said Alice. “Did everything look good to you?”

“Yep, and engagement is good,” Sasha said, looking over her laptop before shutting it and standing. “You look really cute. I love your boots.”

“Oh, thank you,” Alice said, warming at the compliment.

Sasha stood from her desk, revealing her fabulous outfit. For once, Alice didn’t feel like she needed to present herself more like Sasha in the put-together way society values more than her rainbows and sunshine. It was a new feeling but one she hoped would stay.

She followed Sasha into the meeting room where there were a man and women. The man seemed to be about her age, but the woman was considerably younger.

“Alice, this is Tori and Garrett. They are part of the social media team as well.”

They smiled and said hello. The meeting progressed and Sasha told them about numbers, and they touched base on campaigns they were in the middle of and other scheduled events.

“I need someone to look at the marketing for the gala and tweak what needs to be tweaked for some posting. Anyone want to take that on?”

Alice smiled, remembering the gala last year. It was the first time she’d really talked to Taylor, and look at them now. “I could take a look if you want me to,” said Alice.

“Yeah, that totally works. Just run it by me, and we’ll get it scheduled closer to time.”

“Okay,” said Alice softly.

Sasha looked back to her computer. “Okay, we leave tomorrow for the road trip. Tori and I’ll be on the road. Alice and Garrett will be here. Are you good for game posting like you did from the press box but from home?”

“Sure,” said Alice with a smile.

After their meeting ended, Alice had gone home to pack an overnight bag and made her way over to Taylor’s. She was excited to see him. She parked on the street and walked into a big foyer with marble floors and counters and modern chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

She pulled out her phone and texted Taylor.

Alice: Hey I’m here.

Taylor: You’re on my list. Just tell the front desk man, and he will send you up.

Hmmmm . Alice looked over to the man behind the desk. All she had to do was go over there and say she was here for Taylor, but nerves got the better of her. Why was she like this?

She took a deep breath and walked over to the man who greeted her with a warm smile, making her feel better.

“Hi, I’m here to see Taylor Campbell,” she said quietly.

“Can I have your name, ma’am?” he asked with an unwavering smile.

“Yeah, Alice Wagner.”

“You’re on the list. Head on up.”

She made her way back to the elevator.

Before she could push the button, Wes Darling and Kate McPhee came to join her.

The panic of being trapped in an elevator with people she barely knew set in. Do you say hi? Would they remember her? So, you say hi and then try to find small talk for the ride? Do you say hi and then awkwardly exist next to each other before the doors blessedly slid open. GAH! Why was she like this?

“Alice, right? We met on New Year’s Eve?” asked Kate.

“Yes, it’s nice to see you again.”

“Hi, I’m Wes,” he said, putting his hand out. “You look familiar?”

“She should,” said Kate, raising an eyebrow at him. “She’s your coach’s daughter.”

“Oh, right,” he said with a smile. “How are you doing?” he asked as the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. They all walked into the elevator and Wes pushed the button for the tenth floor. “What floor?”

“I’m on ten as well,” she said.

“Are you? Who are you here to see?” Wes asked with a smile.

Kate elbowed him. “What I’m just saying is there are four condos on that floor, mine. One is currently vacant, Mrs. Milo or... Taylor.”

They turned to her.

He gave Alice a grin, and she wanted to die.

“Leave it alone,” Kate said to Wes.

Alice was grateful for that. They hadn’t yet talked about telling people.

The elevator doors slid open, and they all made their way out. Kate and Wes stopped at the door in the middle of the hallway, while Alice made her way down to the one at the end.

“Bye, Alice,” Kate said with a kind smile, while Wes wore a silly grin.

Closing her eyes, she took a centering breath, then knocked. While things felt much better after last night, uncertainty still lingered. She gave the door three good knocks and waited.

After a moment, the door opened, and there stood Taylor. He looked more like the Taylor she had become so fond of in their little cabin. He had on his white socks with the gray toes, black athletic pants, and a Magic hoodie with his name and number and his hair fell around his face. Last night, he was in a suit and his hair slicked back, but standing in front of her, he looked so cozy.

“Hi, come in,” he said quietly. Reaching for her bag, he took it from her and set it down.

She bent to get out of her boots and then he took her coat and hung it up in the closet. The entryway was pretty standard, but she was interested in seeing his place. She could always tell so much about a person by how they lived.

Everything was made of sleek, modern lines. An exposed brick wall in the great room towered behind a big sectional and bookshelves. On the other side of the room was a small kitchen with black counters and stainless-steel appliances. Off the kitchen was a set of spiral stairs leading to an upper floor, covering half the space. Under that was another door she was willing to wager was his bedroom.

“Are you thirsty?”

“Yeah,” she said, still taking it all in.

“I have wine, water, and root beer.”

“What kind of root beer?” she asked.

He pulled a glass bottle out from the fridge and showed it to her.

“That’s my favorite,” she said, taking it from him.

“I know,” he said, stepping closer to her. “That’s why I bought it. I remembered you said it was your favorite.”

As she looked at him, her mouth fell open. The corner of his mouth cocked up on one side, and, damn, was her heart swooning at the sight of him. He was so handsome, but uncertainty about him still loomed.

He popped the top and handed it to her, and she took a sip. She’d had sex with this amazing man multiple times, but she was tongue tied.

“Do you want to have a seat?” he asked, guiding her to the living room, a muted hockey game flashing on the big screen.

“Is that who you all play tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Taylor said as he sat on the couch. “I was just watching it. I like to watch the game the night before, then figure out what clips we’re going to be shown tomorrow.”

He put his arm on the back of the couch like he was waiting for her to climb in next to him, and she did just that. “But we can watch something else if you want?”

“No, this is fine,” she said, unmuting the TV.

She settled into his side and looked up at him, his warm body next to hers calming her. He had a way of centering her she had not experienced before. His eyes were fixed on her.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly, merely inches from his face.

A soft chuckle rumbled in his chest as he smiled back at her. Then he bent his head ever so slightly, inviting her to close the space in a kiss, and she did just that. It was a sweet kiss, and she couldn’t help the satisfied sigh that left her. His hand came up, cupping her face as he slightly deepened the affection. Before pulling away and smiling at her. Just like that, the nerves she’d been feeling all left and gentle contentment was all that remained.

“I’ll be right back,” she said as she quickly got up off the couch. Coming back from her bag, she had her tablet. “I wanted to show you something. I hope you don’t think it’s creepy.”

When she got back to the couch, his arm was still on the back of it, waiting to pull her close. The way he needed her touching him warmed something deep inside of her. Even after he came to her house last night, she wasn’t sure if she could trust it, but here, everything felt good. It was easy like it was at the cabin.

She pulled up her drawings. Part of her had always hoped to find a way to make a living doing artwork. Having a creative career like that allowed her the ability to follow her hyperfocus instead of working against it. It held such promise for her but always felt so out of reach. Taylor had given her permission to think about it again. And once she started, she couldn’t stop.

She pulled up a series of drawings she’d been working on. It was a whole folder of players interacting with the team mascot Mr. Wizard. She pulled up the image of Taylor interacting with Mr. Wizard. They were looking at a pad, and Taylor was explaining the finer points of the game to him. There was one of him and Cash, where Cash was missing a tooth looking like he’d just been in a fight, giving the Mr. Wizard a noogie. Of course Conner and Mr. Wizard were holding the cup up over their heads. Sven was giving Mr. Wizard style advice with a wink.

“Alice, these are really good. When did you do these?” Taylor asked as he carefully examined each drawing.

“I’ve been working on them over the past couple days. I did most of them during the game. I was just there to post videos, so I had a lot of downtime. So, I was just watching the game and sketching them.”

“I think you should really look into trying to do this stuff professionally... If it makes you happy, that is... I know some people don’t want to turn something into a job that is their stress relief?—”

Sensing his uncertain ramble, she stopped him. “I’d love to do something like this as a living, but I’ve tried, and I’ve always been really bad at the business side of it.”

“You said that before. What do you mean?”

“I don’t know... I’m not good at the organizing part of it. Selling myself is another thing I’m not super great at.”

“What if I could help you with those things?”

“You don’t have time for that. You have so much work to do on the ice. I don’t want to pull focus.”

“Alice, I want to help you. My mom is a writer, and I know she hires artists all the time for character art, which is exactly what you are already doing. I told her about?—”

“You told your mom about me?”

“Yeah,” he said like it was nothing. “I can give you her email. I think there could be a market for you there.”

She nodded, taking it in. Character art was something she could do. But as she looked up to ask a question, his focus had returned to the game, so she went back to the piece on her iPad.

Later that night, Alice was in bed, while Taylor was packing for the road trip they would be leaving on for after the game. Part of her didn’t like to think about him being gone for almost a full week, but that was part of it. She’d gotten used to it being the daughter of a NHL coach for most of her life, but that didn’t seem to be helping much.

She was sketching with colored pencils and the sketch pad he’d given her as a gift as he packed. “So, you’ll be back on Tuesday?”

“Yeah,” he said as he emerged from his closet with a closed suitcase and set it by the door. “Tomorrow is game day, so I’ll get up and have a morning skate. I’ll bring home food from the center and take a nap until I have to get ready to go. Do you have to be in?”

“Nope. Sasha said I just need to be at the game in the press box again.”

“Okay, do you want to hang out here while I’m in morning skate and then I can come home and we can relax together?”

“Are you sure?”

Growing up around hockey, she knew game-day rituals were important to lots of players, but she had a hunch they would be nonnegotiable for him.

“Yes,” he said, moving over to her and cupping her face. “I know things are going to change a little, and I know it’ll be hard for me, but that is worth it if we can make this work.”

“So . . .” she said, “talking about making things work . . . When should we tell people?”

“What do you mean?”

She smiled and shook her head. For someone usually one step ahead of everyone, other times, he was absolutely clueless.

“Well, I ran into Kate and Wes in the elevator. I didn’t tell them we were together, but I’m guessing it wasn’t too hard to figure out.”

He nodded slowly and settled on the bed next to her.

“Alice, I’m not someone who goes into relationships thoughtlessly. I have given this thought, and I want to be with you. I’d say let’s tell everyone right now...”

“But my dad . . .”

He nodded. “Yeah . . . That feels tricky.”

“Yeah, I’ve never dated one of his players before, but I don’t think he’ll care.”

Taylor examined her seemingly mulling over her words in his head.

“What if we tell him together?”

“Yeah... I think I’d like that... Well, like might not be the right word, but you know what I mean,” he said as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“But right now,” she said, pulling at his chest, “Why don’t we focus on other things?”

“Hmmmm, I like where your mind is,” he said, settling between her legs. “But I’m going to need you to tell me what exactly it is you are thinking about?” he said in a low, sultry tone as he pressed kisses to her throat.

“I’m thinking you get under these covers and fuck me,” she said, pulling his shirt up over his shoulders.

And he did just that.