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CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Marissa

I end up spending the night at Dozer’s, not that we get a lot of sleep. We spend the night wrapped in a lazy, naked bubble of blankets and pillows, midnight snacks, talking, and touching, and kissing, and more.

The next morning, I’m a bit sore in the best way, and I poke out my lower lip when he announces he has to go in for morning skate. “The nice thing is that it’ll be easy for me to take you to your car,” he says after mimicking my pouty face and coming in for a kiss. “It’s a light workout day since we had a game last night. We can hang out more later, okay?”

I heave a faux put-upon sigh. “Fine. I guess I can deal with that.”

He chuckles. “You’ve been avoiding me for over a week now. I think you can handle a few hours to yourself.”

I wrinkle my nose at that reminder. “To be fair, I missed you the whole time.”

Pulling me close, he wraps his arms around my waist and drops a kiss on my nose. “I missed you too.” After one more kiss, he smacks my ass and lets me go, tossing me one of his sweatshirts to wear to pick up my car.

I don’t technically need it. It wouldn’t be difficult for me to pop down to my place and change before heading out, but I don’t. Instead, I just grin and pull on his sweatshirt. I’m swimming in it, but I like that it’s soft and faded from longterm use and that it smells like him. “Careful,” I warn. “You might not get this back.”

Laughing, he shakes his head and grabs his keys. “Good thing I know where you live.”

We walk to the elevator holding hands, and I’m full of giddy lightness. I have a boyfriend. And it’s Dozer . I never saw myself dating a professional athlete, but now that I am, I couldn’t be happier. It’s amazing how quickly I went from sad and lonely to happier than I’ve been maybe ever.

When I finally look at my phone once we’re in Dozer’s truck, I see that I’ve missed two calls from my mom. My brow pinches together in concern. It’s not like her to call twice and not leave a message or a text.

“Everything okay?” Dozer asks, clearly noticing my change in expression.

I put on a smile and nod. “I’m sure it’s fine. I just have two missed calls from my mom. I’ll call her back once I have my car again.”

“You don’t have to wait if you’re worried,” he assures me. “You can call her now. I promise not to eavesdrop.” He holds up his hand like he’s swearing an oath.

Grinning, I shake my head. “Knowing my mom, it’ll be a long conversation. If it were a true emergency, she’d be calling again. I’m sure everything’s fine.” I think so, at least. If something terrible had happened, I’d think she’d leave a message saying there’s an emergency and to call her, even if she doesn’t want to leave the details in a message. Or that Lance or Gabby would be calling too, but it’s only Mom who I’ve missed calls from.

Dozer gets out of his truck when he parks next to my car, all alone at the back of the arena parking lot. He pulls me close and kisses me, keeping his arms around me even after ending the kiss. “I know I said it isn’t going to be long and that it isn’t that big of a deal, but now that we’re at your car, I don’t want to let you go.”

I can’t help grinning, and I press up to give him one more kiss. “I know. I don’t either. But you have to go do your thing. And I need to call my mom.”

He sighs. “Yeah. And if I’m late, they’ll cut up my laces again.” When I arch an eyebrow in question, he shakes his head and grins. “It’s the punishment for being late. Your teammates cut your laces so you have to replace them.”

My brow pulls together. “Wouldn’t that just make you more late?”

He shrugs. “I guess. But it’s also annoying as fuck, so it’s a fitting punishment. It’s how we keep each other in line.”

I open my mouth, wanting to say something, but I come up empty. “Well, then you better get going if you don’t want to have to deal with that.”

“You’re worth replacing my laces,” he murmurs, bending to kiss me again.

I kiss him back, enjoying his lips on mine, the way his tongue slips into my mouth, the hard cock he presses into me.

He finally tears himself away with a groan. “And now I’m going to start practice with a boner. Thanks , Marissa.”

“You’re welcome!” I quip, grinning as I turn to my car.

He’s smiling too as he goes back to the driver’s side. “Let me know everything’s okay with your family,” he calls to me as he climbs in.

“I will,” I promise before climbing into my own car. Even though my anxiety wants me to call my mom right away, I decide that she can wait another twenty minutes or so until I’m back home. If there is something serious happening, I don’t want to be driving when I find out.

When I get back to my place, I’m barely in the door before I’m calling my mom.

“Oh, Marissa. There you are. Did you sleep in today? I figured you must’ve. Sometimes I forget that you’re two hours behind me now. I’m used to it with your brother, and I never know what time zone Gabby’s in these days, but I haven’t quite adjusted to you being in a different time zone yet.”

“Well, it’s really only been a few months, so I guess that makes sense.”

“I’m sorry if I scared you with my two calls. It seemed silly to leave a message, but then after I hung up the second time, I thought you might be worried about two missed calls, but then I didn’t want to call a third time.”

“I was a little worried,” I tell her, heading to my room to pick out some lounge pants. I’m keeping Dozer’s sweatshirt on, but I still have on the jeans I wore to the game last night, and I want to be more comfortable. “But I figured if it was really an emergency, you would’ve either kept trying to call, or you would’ve left a message or sent a text saying to call you back right away. I take it everything’s okay, though?”

“Oh, yes. Everything’s good. Your dad and I are fine, your siblings are doing well as far as I know, though you might’ve talked to them more recently than I have.”

“I’ve texted some with Gabby. You know how busy she is, though. And they’re getting ready to leave for their European tour, so between her recording schedule and getting ready for that trip, she barely has time to eat, much less text.”

“Don’t even get me started,” Mom says, and I can just hear her rolling her eyes at what she probably still thinks of as Gabby’s antics. Sure, she’s a fully grown adult, married—to a rockstar, no less—and living her dreams, but to Mom and Dad, she’ll always be the baby of the family doing wacky things that no one else understands.

Not that I really understand Gabby’s life, but it’s not like she’s some crazy kid flitting around and being irresponsible. She has a career she loves, and while she travels a ton, she’s happy. And I’m happy for her.

“Christmas is only a couple weeks away,” Mom says without any more preamble. “I’ve managed to convince Gabby to bring Jonathan for a couple of days before they leave the continent, bless their hearts, and Lance has said that he, Abby, and little Nathaniel can make the trip too. They’ll stay with us for a bit longer than Gabby and Jonathan, so it’ll only be a full house for a few days. The only one missing is you. Can you please come home so we can have the whole family together for Christmas?”

I pause, lounge pants in hand, cringing. I love my siblings, I do, but spending days at my parents’ house while they’re in their happy, loving marriages and I’m still single with everyone looking at me with sad eyes if Peter gets brought up—which he always does since he’s Dad’s right-hand man … That sounds like the worst way to spend my holiday. Especially since I’d had sort of budding ideas about spending that time with Dozer, assuming he has Christmas off like he did Thanksgiving. Of course, we haven’t talked about it and I have no idea what hockey does over the holidays. Since football and Thanksgiving are almost synonymous, I was honestly a little surprised that hockey doesn’t play that day too. Different sports are obviously different, though.

“What do you think, sweetheart?” Mom prompts when I don’t answer immediately. “I know it’s a little last minute, so plane ticket prices are probably high, especially for the holidays, but your dad and I can help out if you need it.”

Sighing, I shake my head and put the phone on speaker. “I’m sure I can swing it, Mom. I make a good salary. And I’ve been building up my savings for a while.” Of course, I wanted to spend it on a European vacation or something, but it’s not like I’ve put actual effort into planning that kind of thing. I’ve been so focused on moving on from Peter, getting promoted within the company, and then getting out of Texas, that taking a vacation hasn’t been on my radar at all. “Plus, I have plenty of time off, so I can take a couple extra days.” I take off my jeans and step into my lounge pants, closing my eyes and knowing I’m probably going to regret this. “I’ll be there. Once I figure out the exact dates that’ll work, I’ll buy a ticket and let you know the details.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy. And seriously, if you want, your Dad and I can help out.”

“I can handle it, Mom. I promise.”

“Okay. Well, if you change your mind …”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

She immediately launches into the logistics of my visit, even though I haven’t even looked at my calendar yet, planning meals and events and letting me know the dates my siblings will be arriving with their families. “Oh, and we’ll definitely hire a photographer. We haven’t had family photos taken in years. With all three of you scattered to the winds, who knows when we’ll get another chance?”

Trying not to let the cringe come through in my voice, I sink onto my couch and pull a blanket over my lap. “Sounds great, Mom. I’ll be sure to pack an outfit that’ll photograph well.”

“Christmas sweaters!” she nearly shouts. “We all need to be in Christmas sweaters. I’ll buy coordinating ones for everyone. Text me your size when we get off the phone.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“I miss you, sweetheart. I’m glad you’re coming home.”

I smile at the wistfulness in her voice, even if I don’t a hundred percent share the sentiment. “I miss you too, Mom.” And at least that much is true, even if I’d rather stay here this Christmas.