Page 5 of Unmasking Love (D.C. Renegades #1)

Harper

Field Trip to Smutville

I totally should have looked up who Aiden Youngren was because, holy shit balls, he's hot. Even in his goalie gear that makes his head look shrunken compared to his well padded shoulders, he's delicious.

While the commission would have been nice from a home sale I'm seriously wishing he'd respond to my texts just so I could hang out with him.

Stare at him. I'm finding it difficult to look anywhere else but him, even with a wiggly puppy on my lap, and a hockey game taking place directly in front of me

It seems like he is too.

I caught him looking. Then I watched him turn back to the team where I saw Felix give him eyes. I wonder if Aiden knows who I am.

"So, if he calls you, are you going to take him out?" Wes asks as he places his puppy’s front paws along the glass.

"I'm dating Crispin." I remind him.

"Not what I meant," Wes replies in his sing-song voice with a wink. "I’m asking if he called you, would you take him to see the homes you've been sending him?"

Oh. Right.

"Yes, of course. He's a client.” I clear my suddenly dry throat. “He's a referral. And Felix, sending teammates and friends to me has been a steady source of income, so I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize that."

"Of course." Wes says in a way that tells me he's placating me .

"Listen, I sold a house to Austin Thorne. He's like one of D.C.'s most eligible bachelors."

"Not anymore, and he was already dating when you got him as a client. You'd never be a homewrecker."

"No. I wouldn't." The word causes a shadow to pass across my spirit. Wes doesn't know everything I went through because of that word. Because of that notion. No one knows. Just myself and my inner voice. Both who remind me of the damage done by that action .

I shake my shoulders as the game starts again.

With only a few minutes left in the first period the Renegades score and the building erupts.

Wes and I jump up and down with the puppies in our arms. Performing our publicity tasks perfectly and earning bonus points for our appearance on the jumbotron.

I try not to focus on the sight of Aiden looking at us through the glass instead of at his team celebrating the goal.

The period ends and the players walk back down the tunnel. Felix is the last one off the ice. He bumps the glass next to my head with his glove.

"I'm gonna put you on the list to come down after the game. Meet us at the rope line."

"Okay!" I yell. "Wes too?" I throw a thumb over my shoulder.

"Yep." And then he disappears down the hallway to the locker room.

***

The Renegades win, 2-1. For the first intermission we walked the puppies around the concourse and then handed them off to the shelter handlers.

We were back in our seats halfway through the second period and stayed for the rest of the game.

I caught Aiden looking my way when play stopped but I'd best describe them as stolen glances.

He would flick his eyes over his shoulder at me quickly and then adjust on the bench so he would be turned towards the ice.

Wes started to keep track and texted me the eyes looking emoji every time it happened.

I have 43 unread texts.

My phone buzzes in my purse.

44.

It has been a struggle not to check my phone with each notification.

Wes scolded me as we waited in line for a beer for constantly working but I told him it was part of my job to quickly respond to clients.

He said he’d buy me ice cream on the way home if I didn’t check my phone for the rest of the game.

It hasn’t stopped me from watching his phone and keeping count of the messages he sent. I have a plan to quickly unlock my phone and determine if the only messages I missed are his but as I slowly turn it over in my palm he whacks it out of my hand.

“Wes!” I screech as I dive to pick it up. No cracks. Thank god.

“Sorry,” he says sheepishly, “I didn’t know my own strength there. I’ll still get you ice cream but I seriously think you need to establish some no-phone-zones in your life.”

As the arena clears out we make our way to an attendant and tell them we're on a list to head down to the locker room.

She asks us to follow her. She uses her badge to call a service elevator, hits LL, and then sends us on our way.

As we descend, Wes is talking about how he's bringing puppies to the game for an adoption event on Sunday afternoon because there will be more families in attendance.

The doors open and we are greeted by a security guard who asks to check our IDs.

We are cleared and told to just head "down that way a bit". Shouldn’t he have more specific directions? I don’t know where I’m going.

Wes is chattering away, not at all concerned that we’re walking through the depths of a massive concrete structure without a clear destination.

But we keep walking around the gently curved hallway and suddenly it opens up with the player parking lot to my left and in front of me is a rope line of fans.

The players come out and sign a few things as they make their way to their cars. I spot Johnny and give him a wave. I got him the cutest little house last year.

Eventually Felix comes out with Aiden under his arm. Aiden looks like he's almost in pain from the contact. Felix is talking his ear off and grinning. I understand just by looking at this exchange how Felix labeled Aiden as a flight risk.

He looks ready to bolt.

Felix spots me and waves, a few girls give me dirty looks but I smile brightly and move towards the end of the roped off section.

I watch the captain chat up the girls and the kids along the line, signing hats, jerseys, and posters.

He takes selfies. I see Aiden slowly stepping back, clearly trying to just fade into the background when Felix turns to him and points at the ground next to him.

Aiden hangs his head and walks back over to heel.

He hasn’t seen me yet but in his suit I can see a tall, strong body.

His hair looks wet and I wonder if he showered even if he didn’t play. Does it get sweaty under all that gear?

My mind travels further to what water dripping down his torso would look like and my imagination’s field trip to Smutville only ends because I bump into Wes’s back.

He gives me a curious look over his shoulder and I step around him.

I expect Felix to just introduce us quickly but instead he lifts the rope and gestures for me to duck under.

Wes follows and we walk further away from the fan line and into the parking lot.

I catch Aiden looking at me, maybe recognizing me from the game, maybe not. Maybe he's just guilty over not responding to any of my texts. I have a feeling Felix is about to bring that up.

"Young Gun, this is Harper. This is the girl you've been ignoring for weeks while all she is trying to do is get you situated in a nice place. "

Yep. Called it.

I smile at him and roll my eyes at Felix. "Hi Aiden, nice to meet you."

He takes my hand and it's warm. Large. Steady. This handshake is the perfect pressure. He's not crushing my bones but he's also not afraid to make contact. The exit sign for Smutville appears in my mind and I detour quickly off the professional highway to what his hands on me would feel like. I’m a tall woman, but he’s taller, he could pull me up to his lips by putting his hands on my ass and lifting. These hands could do the sexy hanging-off-the-back-of-my-neck when we’re at a party thing. These hands could claim me.

His grip is confident and reassuring.

My palm fits perfectly along his and I swear I feel his finger brush against my pulse point.

I’ve also been staring into his bright blue eyes since this handshake started and as I blink I realize it's lasting several beats too long.

At the same time Aiden pulls his hand away quickly. I look down and see that he's closed it in a fist.

"So, are you going to let this pretty lady show you some homes?"

"Uh, sure." Aiden says and I can see some pink in his cheeks.

"Good. She'll pick you up tomorrow afternoon." Felix turns to me. "Three work for you?"

"Yes it does. I'll get a few showings set up." I flash my winning realtor smile.

"Perfect. Now, Young Gun, I am going to watch you text Miss Harper your address. I don't trust you to follow through based on your past aversion to basic correspondence." Felix does have a flair for the dramatics but I love his personality. He knows how to read a person and he has Aiden locked in.

I watch as Aiden's cheeks blush further and I feel like a kid at a friend's house when they’re getting scolded by their mom .

"Felix, it's fine, I'm sure Aiden has been busy. We have plenty of options and time."

Felix mouths "flight risk" to me again as Aiden pulls out his phone and texts me his address. When my phone pings I pick it up and wave it. "Got it! See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah, okay, tomorrow." Aiden mumbles as Felix wraps me up in a bear hug.

"Don't be afraid to apply some pressure to this one.

He's going to need you to take control." Smutville straight ahead.

No. I must keep it together, be professional, at least until the end of this conversation but it is a struggle.

"Got it," I whisper back. Felix leans back and grins. I don’t have to deal with his interference on a daily basis. I can't imagine his Mother Hen behavior as a team captain.

Wes and I head back up through the arena to the surface level lot where he parked. We make plans to get together for lunch on Saturday after getting drive-thru vanilla cones. As he rounds the corner to my street, I text Crispin.

I'm just getting back from the game but I can come over if you want.

I see him start typing his response immediately.

Nah, that's OK

With a sigh I drop my hands to my lap.

"What's going on?" Wes asks.

"I just feel like Crispin is pulling away. That he's about to break up with me."

"You would know the signs."

"Fuck off," I laugh. But he’s right. I would know. Wes has supported me through all my breakups since we met. Part of the process is the post-mortem where we try and figure out the point where things went wrong.

If I could just figure out what makes guys lose interest then I could fix it. There's just something about me that says "not your wife". Unfortunately, we haven’t figured out what it is so I enter most relationships knowing they’re going to end. There’s plenty of supporting evidence.

"Want me to come in and we can hang for a bit?" Wes asks around a giant yawn.

"No, you go get your beauty rest. I'll do a facemask and make a plan for my client showings tomorrow."

"Your hot professional athlete client showings." Wes says with a wink.

"I'll admit he's attractive." I mumble. My mind travels back to his ice blue eyes and the sharp ping of awareness I felt when they connected with mine.

"And you're never going to wash your hand again after that handshake."

"Shut up! It wasn't that bad."

Wes levels me with a get real look. "Harp, you held his hand for like seventeen seconds. Normal handshakes are one, tops. And you two were staring into each others eyes like fucking made for TV movie actors."

I slap him across the shoulder. "Stop, it was a normal handshake with a client."

"Keep telling yourself that." Wes says as he leans over for a kiss on my cheek. “But I’ve never seen a man’s eyes so set on something he wasn’t fucking.”

I give him an eye roll and hop out.

The next morning I vow to have serious words with Wes the next time I see him because I had a very naughty dream about Aiden and the way those azure eyes sparkle when looking up at me from between my legs.

So much for staying on that professional highway.

Apparently, this driver has a dirty mind of her own.