Page 29

29

Two Weeks Later

“ H ere’s to making it to the playoffs, y’all!” Jageilski says as the entire team raises their shot glasses in the air. He is already so far gone that he found my cowboy hat in my closet and decided to put it on for the evening. He thinks he is a real Texan now, even though he is the most Canadian out of all of us Canadians on the team. “Oh and to Lawson hosting us tonight. Cheers!”

“Cheers,” I say before I take a shot of tequila. That’s the third shot I’ve had tonight. I want to celebrate with my teammates, but they have also been a distraction for me. I can’t stop thinking about my girl. She is like an addiction. I crave her more and more after each time I am with her. She said she was on her way about thirty minutes ago. I know it doesn’t take that long to drive over to my house from her apartment. My stomach is in knots not having her in my arms, but I know we have to be on our best behavior tonight since Bradley is here.

I feel arms wrap around my waist. What is Brooke doing? This is a little much if we are trying to keep things a secret still. Maybe she decided that the charade of us not being together is over. Thank God because I can’t wait to kiss her anytime I want to.

When I look down at my waist, I don’t recognize the arms hugging me tightly. I pull them off me and turn around.

It’s Alison.

“Alison.” I force myself to smile. I don’t want to be a dick but I told her that whatever was going on between us, which was basically booty calls, was over the night she showed up unannounced while Brooke was taking care of me.

I guess I wasn’t clear enough.

“I haven’t heard from you in a while, Tristan.”

“I’ve been really busy. You know, playoffs are right around the corner and I need to stay focused on my game. I don’t have time for any extra curricular activity at the moment.” I repeat the same thing I told her that night. Little does she know that the person I would love to spend all of my spare time with hasn’t shown up yet.

I am getting nervous now. There is supposed to be a pretty bad storm tonight and although Brooke doesn’t live far from me, there are stupid drivers out there who seriously don’t know how to drive in the rain.

“Well, you’ve worked really hard. And you’ve made it to the playoffs. How about we go upstairs so you can blow off some steam and relax.” She steps toward me and places her hand on my chest. My body has absolutely no reaction.

“As nice as that offer is, Alison, I am actually not single anymore. I’m seeing someone right now.” I didn’t break any rules. I never mentioned Brooke’s name, even though I want to shout it from the fucking rooftops.

Her hand finally leaves my chest and she looks disappointed. “I thought you didn’t do relationships.”

Somehow, over the loud music playing, I hear my front door close and my dogs run over with their tails wagging enthusiastically. The nervous knots in my stomach start unraveling as I take in the woman walking into my house. Brooke slowly walks through the foyer in a kelly green dress and black heels, and of course she is wearing a green knotted headband. She has a bottle of my favorite whiskey in her hand and she starts scanning the room.

There’s my girl.

I look back down at Alison and say, “Well, I guess a guy can change. If you’ll excuse me, Alison, there is a guest I must go see and welcome into my house.”

I roll up my sleeves and adjust my watch as I walk over to the woman who has become my daylight. Every single aspect of Brooke lights up my life and now that I have been exposed to both the sassy and sweet sides of her, I want to tell the world that she is mine.

I nod and say obligatory “heys” to the other guests until I finally reach her. She gives me a coy look and does a cute little spin in her pretty green dress. I am down bad for this woman.

I glance over at Bradley, who is canoodling with his bride-to-be, to ensure we are in the clear. Brooke holds out the bottle of amber liquid. “Congratulations, Hot Shot. You made it. Are you happy? Oh and did you notice that I wore a green dress to support you all.” My favorite smile spreads across her face.

My stomach flips and my craving for her completely takes over my body. I lean in to whisper, “Thank you for the whiskey. Now, be a good girl and meet me upstairs, Cupcake. I’ll be there in a minute.”

I take the bottle of whiskey from her hand and back away from her. Her breathing quickens and her cheeks become pinker than they already were. Her equally pink lips part and her pupils are dilated. “Okay,” she finally whispers. She also looks over at Bradley to ensure he didn’t see her walk in. Once she realizes that she’s in the clear, she makes her way upstairs. Her green dress is dangerously swaying back and forth against the back of her thighs.

I quickly put the whiskey in my liquor cabinet and make my way upstairs.

When I enter my room, Brooke is looking out my window down at my backyard, which is full of party guests. I shut the door behind me and lock it. I come up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. She rests her head on my chest and places her hands on my forearms, locking them into their position. I bury my face in her neck and start giving her a trail of kisses. The faint smell of coconut is invigorating and my tongue touches her hot skin.

She laughs. “Do you like your present, Hot Shot?”

I pull her away from my window, turn her around, and back her into a wall. I graze my fingers along her jawline and then her bottom lip. Her hands grasp my shirt against my lower back and she pulls my body closer to hers so that every available surface of our bodies are touching each other.

“If my present is you, then yes.”

I place one hand on her lower back and hug her tight and my other hand takes hold of her chin. She raises herself on her tiptoes and her mouth catches mine and her hands reach up onto my shoulders. I can feel goosebumps cover Brooke’s body as my hand leaves her jaw and traces down her side before squeezing her ass. She whimpers against my mouth and hungrily goes back in for more. Her hands are now clutching onto my hair, forcing my mouth to never leave hers. Fine by me.

Thunder claps and it starts to pour outside. My house lights flicker and I hear faint gasps and small screams coming from downstairs.

Brooke finally breaks our kiss and the words coming out of her mouth buzz all over my skin as she whispers against my lips, “Should we head back downstairs?” Her lips return to mine sending an electric current down the rest of my body. “Your guests may need their host if the power goes out.” I feel the heat of her body peel slowly away from mine.

“They can wait.” I grab her ass with my other hand, lift her and pin her to the wall. I press my body into her so she can’t escape. She looks at me with hungry eyes and her fingers trace the raised lines of my tattoos. I squeeze her ass again and growl, “I can’t.”

My mouth takes hers roughly, passionately. I want to devour every inch of this woman like I have been for the past couple of months.

I will never get enough of her.

My hand starts sliding her dress up and just when I reach the seam of her panties, a knock interrupts us.

“Hey Tristan, bro, you in there? The guys want to do another shot!” It’s Jageilski again. Goddamn it.

I look up at the ceiling and whisper, “Fuck me.” I reluctantly lower Brooke down to the floor. Her hands don’t leave my body, but instead work their way around and cup my ass. She then squeezes it and looks into my eyes.

“Maybe later.” Brooke bites her lip and smiles devilishly at me.

I raise my eyebrows. “Brooke Beckett.” I straighten out her dress and push her hair back behind her shoulders. “I didn’t realize that my girlfriend would be such a tease.” I start heading toward my door to see if we are in the clear. But her hand holds onto mine tightly and stops me in my tracks. She looks at me incredulously, her mouth agape as if she is in shock.

“Why are you looking at me like that, Cupcake?”

“Did you just call me your girlfriend?”

I swallow hard. Shit. I haven’t officially asked her. I guess in my mind, she has been my girlfriend since Casino Night. Maybe a part of me never wanted to bring it up because it would be challenging her rule.

Fuck the rule.

“Yeah, Cupcake, I did. Is that okay?”

She cups my hand and brings it to her lips and brushes the smallest kiss on my fist. My heart races for a completely different reason now. What if she doesn’t want to be my girlfriend? That scares me more than any opponent I am about to face in these playoffs.

There is banging on my door again.

“I’ll be right down Jagielski! Give a guy a minute!” Please, give a guy who has arrived at that one pivotal moment in any new relationship a fucking minute .

I look back down at Brooke and all I see is a film of tears over her eyes. And they aren’t sad tears; they are happy ones. “It’s all that I’ve ever wanted. Yes, boyfriend, it’s okay.”

A wave of relief washes over my body. I take her face in my hands again and kiss her softly. I press my forehead to hers.

“Should we head downstairs?” she whispers.

I groan. “Ugh, I guess so. I think we are in the clear.” I slowly unlock and open my bedroom door. “You go first. I’ll come down in a minute, beautiful.”

Unfortunately, we still have to keep things between us a secret for a little while longer. Just until we figure out how to tell Bradley.

I do wait a full minute, then make my way downstairs. I see Brooke over by a pillar, grabbing a drink from one of the wait staff. I scan the room as I take my last step and notice that Dean is talking with Bradley. Bradley’s face goes from happy to completely pissed off as he registers whatever Dean is saying. I discreetly continue to keep my eye on Bradley and Dean as I pour myself a glass of whiskey. I flash smiles here and there at my guests and make sure that everyone is comfortable since everyone had to come inside from the backyard. The rain is really coming down now.

I cautiously keep my distance from Brooke, even though her very essence is like a gravitational pull I can never escape. I am at her mercy now. In every way. I take a drink of whiskey and watch as Brooke laughs at something Jen just told her. The way her head falls back and tendrils of her hair brush against her back. The way her eyes squint, causing deep lines to appear. The way her dimples magically appear. Everything about her is my favorite thing about her.

Then, I feel a large fist make contact with my mouth. I fall to the floor from the blindsided punch, dropping the glass in the process. Glass shatters everywhere. I look up and see who punched me.

Bradley.

“Oh my God! Bradley, what the hell is wrong with you?” Brooke rushes over to us, her eyes ablaze at her brother.

“How long?!” Bradley yells down at me.

I slowly get up off the ground, wiping my lip.

“Have you gone insane? How long what?” Brooke gets onto her tiptoes and into Bradley’s face.

Bradley ignores her and looks directly at me with fire in his eyes. The very same look that I used to see in his sister’s eyes. Shit, he knows about us.

“How fucking long?” he snarls at me again.

I stand up fully, my nose almost touching Bradley’s. I glance over at Brooke apologetically. I have to tell him, I try telling her with my eyes. I look my best friend and girlfriend’s brother straight into the eye and confess, “Since Casino Night.”

Reality hits Bradley like a ton of bricks. His fury intensifies so much that he grabs me by my button-up shirt and pushes me hard against the wall. I know that I am stronger than Bradley, but I deserve this. I broke the bro code. The rule that he established a long time ago.

“Bradley! Stop it!” Brooke yells, trying to pry Bradley’s fists off of my shirt. She is as unsuccessful as anyone other than Thor trying to wield his hammer.

“Nope. End this right now!” He finally directs his deadly gaze onto the love of my life.

“Bradley, let him go! You’re making a scene. Stop!” Brooke punches the sides of Bradley’s torso.

Unaffected, Bradley looks irately at Brooke. “No, you stop, Brooke! Stop seeing him!”

“I’m not going to stop seeing him.” The cute little line in between her eyebrows makes its timely appearance.

“The hell you’re not.”

“I’m a grown-ass woman and I can date whoever I want.” Brooke keeps tugging at Bradley’s forearms, trying to release his iron grip from my body.

“Dean told me everything, man! I know all about the fucking bet!”

My stomach fucking sinks. I look around and find the dirtbag of a human, Hastings, crossing his arms smugly as he watches my life crumble in front of me. He has no idea what I am about to lose. I selfishly took the greatest risk of all and I busted.

Brooke furrows her eyebrows even more and gazes directly into my eyes, that no doubt look defeated. “What bet? What the hell is he talking about, Tristan?”

“Brooke…” I start to say, but Bradley cuts me off.

“Tell my little sister about the bet you made about her dating a hockey player.” Bradley looks back over at Brooke. “Hastings bet that if he could get you to break your rule, he would take the captain’s spot from Lawson.”

“Is that true?” Brooke looks into my eyes, which I avert from hers immediately, giving her the confirmation. “Is that the whole reason you started dating me? So that you wouldn’t give up your precious captain’s spot?”

I look down and shake my head. Bradley is still pinning me against the wall. I don’t know what to say. There is no clever angle or sarcastic comment to joke myself out of this situation.

She scoffs. “Well then, guess what?”

I finally have the balls to look at her. Her hazel eyes are clouded with a film of tears, some of which fall down over her cheeks.

“You can have it. Congratulations, Hot Shot, the captain’s spot is secured for you.”

With that, Brooke runs off out of my house. I seize my opportunity to escape Bradley’s grasp and run after her.

The rain is torrential. I can barely make out Brooke’s bright green dress, clinging to her body. Her hair is completely drenched.

“Brooke!” I yell, sprinting after her.

“Stay away from me, Tristan!” She takes out her keys and I can hear her car beep. She pulls the door open, but I desperately slam it shut.

“Please, let me explain.”

“There’s nothing to explain. You were just playing a game this whole time. I guess I should have known. Because that’s what we do, isn’t it? Play games with each other, right?”

“No, that’s not what this is about!” I grab her arm and turn her around to fully face me. “It may have started out as a bet…”

“Unbelievable.” She tries opening her door again. I immediately shut it.

I block the way to her door handle. “It started out that way, but Brooke you have to believe me when I tell you that my heart has always been with you. I never thought you would break your rule about dating a hockey player so I thought that…”

“You could mess with my fucking heart to save your prestigious status? To have a one-up in your career?!”

“I did it because I love you, Brooke. I couldn’t stand another man even looking in your direction. For ten years I’ve been distracting myself so that I wouldn’t deck every man who touched you. Who kissed you. Who so much as held your hand.”

We stand there silently for what feels like an eternity. It’s fucking freezing out here. The rain is not going to let up anytime soon. Deep down, I know that Brooke’s resumed hatred for me isn’t going to let up anytime soon, either.

Her eyes are steel. “That doesn’t change the fact that you were willing to gamble with my emotions. Nothing has changed in ten years. God, just when I thought you weren’t a son of a bitch, you go ahead and fool me again.”

She bumps into me and I finally let her open the car door. Before she shuts the door, she says the four words I hoped I would never hear from her:

“Stay away from me.”