Match Game: A Fake Dating Hockey Romance

17. Lydia

Griffin takes hold of my hand and kisses my knuckles.

“Come on,” he leads me away. “We should probably make sure that no one’s worrying about us.”

My face drops. “Have the kids been worrying?” I thought that I could leave for a bit and not have them notice. A typical game can last about an hour unless the team isn’t able to hold their own.

“No,” Griffin says. “Well, I might have been freaking out a little bit and constantly kept asking them where you were.”

“Oh,” I pout. My heart sinks a little, making Griffin worry. I was just frustrated that he was taking the game so seriously. Turns out he was just nervous and grappling with his feelings for me. Turns out we were both victims of feeling things for one another but thinking the other person didn’t feel the same way.

I needed to kiss him. How else could I respond when he tells me that he’s falling in love with me? It’s everything that I wanted to hear from his lips. I had an inkling when I saw him in the lobby that he was here with some ulterior motive, like to ask me out, but I got scared. I didn’t know if it was for show because he still reminded me that he was my fake boyfriend, but now that I’m holding onto him, I’ve never been more excited to take a risk for love.

“Sorry I worried you. I needed to clear my head,” I grip his hand tighter. “But you found me!”

“I did,” he grins at me. “And I’m so glad.”

He leans down and gives me another peck. I can’t stop grinning. When we were publicizing our fake relationship, we didn’t really talk about PDA. We shied away from it because I knew that I was going to start feeling things if I tasted him. And when I planted my lips on his, those thoughts were confirmed. I already felt the electric tingles shiver down my body when he reeled me in and held me in his arms with his broad shoulders and big muscles. Now I’m just eager to take off his clothes and explore every crevice of the body hiding underneath his clothes.

“Griffin,” I ask. “When did you know? That you were feeling something more than just friendship for me?”

“I think it was a slow development,” he tells me. “Obviously, when I didn’t even know what your name was or what you looked like, I was having feelings for the girl that I loved playing Hero Seek with. But back then, I didn’t know if you’d be the girl to change my outlook on dating. I didn’t know if you could be, which is why I didn’t agree to go on that date the first time. But then, I watched you in your element, talking to people about esports and the way you’d smile when you’d brag about your students. By the way, before I came to look for you, they told me that if I broke your heart, then they were going to make sure that I paid for it.”

I rest my cheek against his arm. These kids. This past weekend, I developed a new kind of bond with these college students that I’ve been trying to connect with since the school year started. Bonding with college students is difficult; it’s like trying to bond with a teenager whose only goal in life is to be noticed by the cool kids. And someone old comes along, and it’s like their cool meter drops dramatically. I know video games, but I definitely don’t think I’ll ever have any accomplishments that will rival what they get on a regular day.

But they opened themselves up to me this weekend, and the moments we’ve had, talking about the desire to win an esports tournament and how much good work I’ve apparently done for this team, warms my heart. We’re going to go back to Los Gatos and will be closer than ever before, which is great because I know that these kids have my back when the coaches might question my decisions.

“We’ve really gotten to know one another this past weekend. They told me how they should have made more of an effort to stand up for me against the coaches when they made sexist remarks, which meant a lot.”

“Good,” Griffin smiles. “They should be sticking up for you because you’re good at your job.”

“Thanks, Griffin. Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you?”

“You have, but I’m never tired of hearing it.” He turns to me and leans down, kissing me again. At this rate, we’re never going to get to our next destination.

His mouth opens up, and he holds me up a little so he’s cradling me by my ass. He flicks his tongue against mine, and I groan. God, his lips are so full and taste so good. I tug a little on his bottom lip, and he chuckles.

“God, Lydia. Are you sure we can’t ignore our responsibilities, go back to our room, and just...relax?”

I giggle. “Come on, Griffin. When we get back to the room, we are not going to be just relaxing.”

His eyes turn dark, and he looks at me seductively, like I’m a snack he can’t wait to devour.

“Well, now that you mention it,” he murmurs in my ear, “you’re absolutely right. I’m ready to throw you on the bed and let you experience me inside of you.”

My face turns red, and I let out a little gasp. “Well, I guess we should get going then.”

We meet the students and Ross back at the entrance of the arena, and everyone looks back at us with their arms crossed and smirks all over their faces.

“Took you two long enough,” Ross grins. “Did you get lost?”

“No,” I stammer. “We were only chatting, and we got a little carried away.” Because we were kissing after practically every sentence. They’re lucky that we’re even here after the moment of seduction we just had, that I’m still wet down there from.

“Alright. Well, I’m starving, and so are the students. Can we go get something to eat?”

“Yes, of course.” I’d make the decision to treat the team to a dinner in Vegas to say thank you for their participation throughout the weekend, as well as their hard work over the school year. I had a bit of money budgeted for food expenses on this trip so we can all enjoy a nice Vegas meal. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough money to treat everyone to a beef Wellington at Hell’s Kitchen, but there are plenty of other celebrity chefs that have more budget-friendly options and good dishes as well.

“Where did you all want to go?” I ask the students.

“Weeeelll,” Dev begins. “I know you said you were going to treat us to something this weekend, but we wanted to see if we could go somewhere more expensive. Of course, we’d pay for ourselves.”

“Oh.” My brows raise. I do want to treat the students because we were all at the conference together, but it sounds like they have an idea of what they want, which might be more than my measly budget will allow. “Are you sure, guys? What were you all thinking?”

“We want to go to a buffet.”

I sigh. Of course. What Vegas trip isn’t complete without a trip to the buffet? And these kids are definitely not done growing. I know they inhale food like a vacuum cleaner, wiping out all of my promotional snacks during club meetings that are supposed to be for people interested in the club. Vegas buffets don’t come cheap; I think we’ll be spending upwards of seventy dollars per person.

“Ah, a buffet. Well, guys, I really wanted to treat you to a good meal here in Vegas and not have you worry about spending your own money. You’re sure you still want to eat at a buffet?”

“We’re sure. We talked about it as a group, and all of us were okay with dropping the money for a buffet dinner. You don’t have to worry about covering for any of us. We can even pay for your meal, too!”

“That’s very nice of you all, but I don’t want you spending your own money on me.” I guess I can just pay for it all myself. It’ll be expensive, but I want these students to be treated to something special, and I guess that’s going to be in the form of a buffet meal.

“I’ll take care of it,” I tell them. “Don’t worry about me. I don’t want you all to be paying for your own meals.”

“Okay!” The students exclaim. “Thank you, Lydia. That’s super nice of you.”

“Don’t mention it,” I tell them. I need to rework my budget after this, but it’s going to a good cause. I want to be in these students’ good graces, and I know that money can’t buy you love, but maybe it can get you a support system.

We walk to Caesar’s Palace for their iconic Bacchanal Buffet, and after waiting in line to accommodate our large party, we finally head up to the machine to pay. I start going through the motions of selecting everything.

Eight adult buffet dinners.

Eighty dollars a person.

No one gets any drinks on top of that. That they can pay for.

After tax, it’s looking like almost a thousand dollars for one meal. It’s fine. I can definitely pay for this and not worry about paying for rent and my car this month.

As I’m about to put my credit card to read, a hand comes from behind me and grabs my wrist. With his other hand, Griffin reaches over and puts his credit card on the reader, and the machine notifies us that the transaction has been approved.

“Hey.” I turn around. “You didn’t need to do that.”

“I wanted to.” He looks at me with those devastating eyes. “Don’t worry about it.”

I already know that trying to argue with Griffin is pointless, so I don’t fight him. Instead, I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his chest.

“Thank you,” I tell him. “That’s very generous of you. When did these buffets get so expensive?”

He chuckles and kisses the top of my head. “Probably when food got more expensive. Luckily, it seems like you’re at a table with seven guys who will eat up the entire buffet spread.”

“I just like the crab legs. That’s where the money is.”

He grins at me. “You are the perfect woman for me.”

I blush, and I’m counting down the minutes until we can get back to the hotel and spend the rest of the night in bed, exploring every nook and cranny of each other’s bodies. My stomach grumbles, so I decide that I should probably eat something so we can continue what we started, but in bed and with a satisfied stomach.

We get seated, and the students immediately leave the table to fill up their plates with food. I eye the seafood area, fill up my plate with crab legs, and begin diving in. No one has come back to sit down yet. It’s a buffet, so you can get as many plates as you want. Is there really that many options that beat seafood? I guess so. Seafood is a rather acquired taste.

Griffin returns with a heaping of meat and seafood and takes a seat next to me.

“Enjoying yourself?” He winks.

I nod, accidentally splashing a bit of seawater from cracking the leg in two.

“Oops,” I turn to him. “Did I get you?”

“A little,” he whispers in my ear. “But I don’t mind getting wet.” He shoots me a wink.

I choke on the crab, and start coughing.

“You okay, Lydia?” Ross asks as he’s taking a seat.

“Yup,” I mutter. “Just went down the wrong pipe.”

Griffin chuckles, and I kick my leg to the side to hit his. This is going to be the longest dinner of my life. And it’s not because it’s all you can eat over the span of two hours.

Everyone finishes up, and we walk, nay, waddle out of the buffet. It’s good that we’re going to be able to walk it off with how far the hotel is from here.

We start making our trek down the Strip, and the street is illuminated by the lights from the hotel billboards.

“Oh, look!” Drew points. “The Bellagio fountain show is about to begin!”

The students try to squeeze through other tourists to get a glimpse of the famed water show. Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” starts playing, and I smile up at Griffin and thread my fingers with his as Frank sings about doing the same thing.

“This song describes how I feel about you,” Griffin tells me.

The song finishes up with the chorus repeating itself again, and I hold on to Griffin’s hands when they snake over my shoulders and rest on my chest. As the song recites its last “I love you,” the water retreats back into the pool, and the lights come back on, signaling its end.

Griffin grabs onto my hand, and we walk across the street back to the Cyberscape, where I wave goodnight to the kids and tell them not to stay up too late because we have an early flight tomorrow.

Ross joins them, but not before turning around to face us and drawing a little heart around our heads with his fingers.

“Enjoy your night, love birds,” he tells us before asking if the kids can hold the elevator open for him.

“So,” Griffin pulls me in. “My room or yours?”

“I don’t mind either way. I was surprised to see that my room had a balcony. But I am also fully okay with going to your room if they gave you a suite upgrade for obvious reasons.”

“Not this time. I booked so late that I was lucky enough to get a room. My balcony doesn’t even face the fountains.”

“Well, looks like I have that leg up on you then.” I wink.

“Lead the way then, Liddy.”

I blush. He called me by my Hero Seek username. Barely anyone knows about it, but to hear it come from his lips sends my heartbeat skyrocketing.

“I like that. The way you call me Liddy. My parents haven’t used that nickname since I was in elementary school.”

“Really?” His eyebrows raise. “Why did they stop?”

“I asked them to when I got to be a teenager. Were you ever in that phase where nicknames screamed childish? That’s what happened to me. So, they went back to calling me Lydia.”

“Well, I enjoyed saying it when we were playing Hero Seek, and I enjoy saying it now.” We walk into the elevator, and when the doors close, Griffin wastes no time. He gently slams me against the wall and starts to plant kisses from my lips down to my collarbone.

I giggle at how his lips tickle my skin. “Griffin, stop that tickles!”

“Good.” His whispers sound more like growls. “I love seeing that beautiful smile of yours.”

The elevator ascends, but it feels like it’s not going up fast enough. Curse our rooms for being over fifty floors off the ground. While I can appreciate a nice view, the journey feels arduous.

Finally, the elevator stops, and as the doors open up, Griffin effortlessly lifts me by my ass cheeks, and I grip onto him with my legs. “You on tight?” He asks.

“Mhhhm,” I say, clinging to him like a monkey climbing a tree. I bury my head in his neck as he traverses down the hallway.

“Shit, I forgot we’re going to your room. What’s your room number?”

“Oh. 61225.” He has to turn around, but soon enough, we stop in front of my door and he puts me down so I can grab my room key from my backpack. I tap the key onto the door lock, and when the light flashes green, we step inside the guest room that is supposed to mirror a dream stream room with changing rainbow strip lights and 16-bit art renditions hanging from the walls.

Griffin stops in front of me and grabs a hold of my shirt to yank it clean off my body. I’m wearing nothing but my bra underneath, and he licks his lips while keeping his eyes fixed on my breasts.

“May I?” he asks while rubbing his hand over my padded push-up bra. “This is in the way of what I want.”

“Yes,” I breathe. “Absolutely, yes.”

He bends down and kisses me again as reaches around with his hands and unclasps my bra. His tongue brushes against mine. His lips are so smooth, and when my bra drops to the floor, he immediately pinches my nipple between his thumb and pointer finger, and I moan into his mouth.

“Feel good?” he murmurs.

“Amazing.” I haven’t been touched like this by anyone other than myself for a long time, and Griffin handles my body with such care and gentleness.

“This is just the start, Lydia.” He gets down on his knees, and while his hand pushes up on my breast, his lips begin to suck on my nipple. I groan louder than I thought was possible, and my knees involuntarily buckle at how damn amazing it feels when he licks and bites at just the tip.

He retreats from my breast for a moment and starts to undo my pants, hoisting down my underwear to reveal my pussy.

“Fuck, Lydia. You’re a goddess. I’ve spent so long dreaming of this.”

“Then worship me like the goddess I am, Griffin. Give me the pleasure that I deserve.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” he growls. He thrusts one of his fingers into me and starts swirling around my clit. I purse my lips and close my eyes at how nice his fingers feel inside me.

“Fuck, Lydia, you’re so wet.”

It doesn’t take much. Just one look at Griffin and down there turns into a puddle. With the work he’s done on my body, I feel ready to burst.

“Are you surprised?” I pant.

“Not in the slightest,” he laughs. He pushes me onto the bed, and I splay out for him on the covers. He stands at the foot of the bed and begins taking off his clothes. I know that I was expecting him to be muscled and well-toned, but my imagination did not prepare me for the reality of how great he looks with no clothes on. He has a perfectly sculpted stomach and a thin layer of hair on his chest. His bicep is beautifully inked with Japanese characters cascading over a Manhattan skyline.

“What does your tattoo translate to?” I ask.

“It’s an old Japanese saying that goes something along the lines of ‘You stumble seven times but get back up eight.’ Just something to remind me that I’m going to fall a lot, whether it’s losing a game or, who knows, suffer an injury, but I’ll always get back up. Everyone counts on me, and I don’t want to let them down. I got it after I graduated college because my mom is against tattoos. For valid reasons, of course. I have to keep it covered when I go to Japan because they’re banned in most public places. ”

I feel tears prickle in my eyes, and I definitely didn’t expect to feel this kind of emotion just as I’m about to orgasm. Well, from something other than sex, anyway.

“Hey,” he leans over my body and cups my cheek. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m okay,” I reassure him. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Well, I do have people tell me that after a game, so it is something I’ve been told.”

“Okay, but besides the hockey skills, you’re determined, and you’re not selfish. You have other’s intentions in mind, and you’re looking out for them more than yourself. That’s what makes you amazing.”

“Well, I’m only really amazing if I can love you how you deserve to be loved and treat you how you deserve to be treated.”

He gives me another kiss down to my breasts, and I tug a little bit of his hair.

“Lydia,” his forehead touches mine. “I want to feel how I fit inside of you.”

“Yes, please,” I breathe. “Do you have a condom?”

“Yeah,” he laughs and pulls one out of his wallet. “I had to make a pit stop at the convenience store to buy some because I didn’t bring any with me, but I was hoping that I was going to get to this point tonight.”

A part of me wished for that, too, and I’m happy that despite the hiccups, we’re ending the night like this.

Griffin unzips his pants and pulls down his briefs. When I get a glimpse of his hard dick, my heart rate speeds up, and my mouth begins to salivate from how majestic it looks. He removes the condom from its wrapping and starts sliding it down.

“I’m done taking things slow,” he says into my shoulder. He slides a finger inside me. I let out a short gasp, and he chuckles to himself as he slides another finger in and swirls around inside.

“Mmm, Lydia. You’re so wet,” he breathes against my neck, and the hot air makes me shudder.

“It’s...been...a while.”

“And now I’m about to make love to you every chance I get. Every night that we sleep at home, I want you in my bed.”

He takes his fingers out and reaches to grab my nipple, pinching it slightly. While he’s kissing me and our tongues flick against each other, he pushes his dick into me and exhales into my mouth. He starts a steady rhythm, slow at first and then picking up speed. He fills me up so perfectly. I know I’m not going to last much longer.

“Oh, Lydia.” His eyes close. “God, you feel fucking perfect. I don’t know how much longer I can last.”

We find out that it doesn’t take much longer. A couple more pumps, and Griffin lets out a sharp exhale, catching his breath as he puts some more of his weight on me. He gives me a quick peck and smiles. “That was amazing. You’re amazing, you know that?”

I chuckle. “Well, I do now because my boyfriend’s just told me.”

“Boyfriend,” he beams. “I do love the sound of that.”

We clean up and return to my bed, where we fall asleep to gameplay footage of last year’s League World Championships. And it’s the best way I’ve ever gone to bed.