Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
Conor
“Tedi Douglas?”
The name sounds familiar, but I’m guessing probably only because of the guys mentioning her and Tweetie before.
“I’ve heard some rumors.” I go the honest rather than clueless route. He deserves that. Since Tweetie deflects feelings with humor, I need him to know that he can trust me with his feelings. That I won’t judge him for missing someone who meant a lot to him at one point in this life.
“When I was in Florida, I met her through our center Aiden Drake’s now wife. She worked with her. They handled social media and stuff.”
I walk over to the cooler and grab a water.
“I was a lot younger then and assumed she only wanted me because I played hockey. She was all over me from the start, quick to sleep with me. I figured we’d have a short fling, and it would fizzle out. But that’s not what happened.”
I take a seat and continue listening, wondering who the text was from and what it said.
He’s quiet for a beat as if he’s reliving some memory. “Then I got traded to Nashville, and I was pissed.”
“I get it.”
When you play for a winning team like Tweetie did with the Fury, it’s gotta suck being the one who gets let go. It’s the nature of our job, but I’ve seen a lot of guys get fucked in the head over it.
“Yeah, well, you got to come to a winning team, fucker.” He laughs, although it’s not his usual hearty one, and tips back his beer.
“You wanted me here, remember?”
He nods. “Fuck yeah, and we’re going to win the Cup this year. I feel it in my bones.”
Tweetie said the same thing last year. After this conversation, I think maybe he’s got something to prove.
“I know.” I agree, and I hope like hell we do. We thought we had it last year, and we came up short. “Let’s get back to why you’re staring into the flames like you’re looking into your soul though.”
His gaze lifts to me. “You like her, right?”
“Eloise?” I try to decipher his wandering thoughts.
He nods.
“Yeah.”
“Like, you think she could be it for you?” He lowers his voice as if afraid she might overhear us.
“Definitely.” It’s weird to admit it after such a short time together, but I wasn’t lying when I told Eloise I’ve never felt this way for anyone. I’ve never wanted to do so much for a woman who wasn’t a part of my family.
“Keep her out of this world as much as you can.” He shakes his head. “I shouldn’t have tagged her in that picture earlier. I wasn’t thinking, sorry.”
“Are there shitty comments?” I dig my phone out of my pocket.
“No. And some people probably think she’s mine anyway, but it’s only a matter of time. I’m just saying that this life we’ve chosen has the potential to ruin what you two have.”
I’m guessing this is his way of telling me the outside world had something to do with why he and Tedi didn’t last.
I open my mouth to ask, but he continues, “It’s a curse, right? We get to do what we love. We’re the lucky assholes who get to play hockey for a living, but it comes with a price. Everything does, I suppose.” He leans his forearms on his legs and looks at me.
I understand where’s he coming from. I had my own incident two years ago, and it put up my defenses, but thankfully, that’s behind me now.
“Is that what happened with you and Tedi?” I finally ask the question point blank.
He blows out a breath. “It was a clusterfuck of bullshit I don’t wanna get into tonight.” He nods toward the tent. “Go be with your girl.”
I sit and stare at the fire for a second. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
“You’re a good guy, Pinkie, but I’m not going to sit by the fire and pour my heart out.” He stands, grabbing the stick and moving the embers and wood around.
“I’m your friend.” I pour my bottle of water over the fire, the embers sizzling.
He moves the embers around some more, and I grab the jug of water, dousing it further.
“I know, but I’m not like you guys. I don’t want to get all up in my feelings, let alone talk about them.”
“But maybe?—”
“Go get laid, Pinkie.” He cuts me off quickly.
“If you change your?—”
“I won’t.” He snatches the jug of water out of my hand. “Go.” He nods toward my tent.
I stand for a second before patting his shoulder, which hopefully conveys that I’m here for him if he needs me. Then I head to the tent, unzip it, and toe out of my boots before stepping inside.
Eloise has a flashlight in the crook of her neck, holding her book above her head.
“Hey,” she says quietly, putting her bookmark in place and setting the book and flashlight down next to the air mattress. Since the flashlight is still on, I can see the cami tank she’s wearing that outlines her tits perfectly when she sits up. She’s bathed in shadows, but it only makes the swell of her breasts more obvious. “Is he okay?”
I take off my socks and strip off my shirt. “I’m not sure. I think it might take some time for him to open up to me,” I whisper since his tent is right next to ours.
Inching up to my knees, I unbuckle my shorts and drag them down my legs. I’m about to crawl into the sleeping bag when I catch Eloise ogling me. My hand cradles her cheek, and I kiss her.
“I love your eyes on me,” I murmur against her parted lips.
“I feel the same.” She presses her lips to mine, and I take the opportunity to slip my tongue into her hot, waiting mouth.
Her tongue strokes mine, and I slide us down on the air mattress, keeping our kiss going. Her fingers run along my back. I can’t get enough of her hands on me.
I pull back. “We don’t have to. We can just make out.”
She smirks, and I wait for her to tell me what’s going on in that beautiful brain of hers. “I didn’t want to, but then you had to go and take off your shirt.”
“You’re saying I’m too hot for you to keep your hands off of?”
“Oh shut up, and kiss me.” She pulls my head down to hers.
I don’t waste any time, moving my thigh between her legs, kissing her with every ounce of passion I feel for her. The night wind softly presses against the tent, and she shifts closer, pushing the sleeping bag off our lower halves.
“You have this power over me,” she murmurs, her voice barely above a whisper.
I chuckle softly, my gaze dropping to her lips before returning to her eyes. “Me? There wasn’t a second today that I wasn’t thinking about you in this exact position.” My fingers inch up and slip under the hem of her cami, and her back arches. “These pajamas are a tease.” I palm her tit, running my thumb over her nipple as she moans. “How quiet can you be while I make you come?”
I give her a kiss before lowering myself and lifting her cami, revealing her glorious tits in the dim light of the tent. When I suck a nipple into my mouth, she lets out a soft moan, her hands running through my hair on the back of my head.
“You’re always playing a game.”
I peek up, resting my chin on her stomach. “It’s more fun that way. It’s why you like me so much.”
She giggles. “I guess you’re right about that.”
I twirl her hard nipple with my tongue, suck her tit into my mouth, then move to her other side to do the same. She sucks in a breath when my mouth pops off her other tit, and I again move up her body, situating my hips between her open thighs.
I stare down at her shadowed figure. “You’re so beautiful.”
I brush a stray strand of her blonde hair from her face and run my finger from her temple to her cheek. Our eyes lock, and the air in the tent shifts, heavy with unspoken emotions. With her warm body underneath me and the intimacy of the small space, suddenly my heart beats harder.
“You’re mouth-watering hot,” she whispers.
I grind my hardness against her core, and her fingers tighten in my hair. “Now who’s propping up my ego?”
When I dry hump her, she spreads her legs wider, allowing me better access. “You know it’s not the way you look.”
“It’s my charming personality?” I circle my hips, and she sucks in a breath.
“Swoony. You’re swoony, Conor Nilsen.”
“Fuck, you’re turning me on, Lulu.” I use the name because it’s a deflection. I want to be the man she falls for, the man she deserves, but I don’t want her to think I’m perfect or that I’m not going to fuck this up sometimes. Mostly, I don’t want to hurt her.
“I lied when I said I don’t like you calling me that.” Her hands glide down my back, gripping my ass and pushing me against her.
“I know you secretly love it.” I drop a kiss to her lips, the heat between us growing thicker with every grind of my hips.
When our lips meet again, the world outside the tent disappears. All those worries lay just outside the door, leaving us in the cocoon of this moment. I deepen the kiss, cradling her jaw.
“I love these lips,” I murmur against her mouth.
She pulls back just enough to look into my eyes. “Don’t stop,” she whispers, her voice barely audible but full of certainty.
My lips find hers again, this time with more urgency. When we have no choice but to come up for breath, I run my lips along her jaw to her ear. “I can’t wait to get inside of you.”
She pushes against my chest, and I roll to the side and flop down on my back. She tears off her cami, tossing it to the side by her book, and I waste no opportunity, molding my hands to her tits.
“I love this position.” I raise my hips off the air mattress.
Without a word, she leans to the side and flicks off the flashlight, and we’re plunged into darkness. I hear her moving around, and when my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see that she’s shed her pajama bottoms. I help her free my dick from my boxer briefs and it juts up almost obscenely. Her ass is on my thighs while she palms my dick.
“In the side pocket of my duffle. Put it on me. I want to watch you.”
Bending over, it takes Eloise a moment to find the pocket of my duffle in the dark, but I hear the crinkle of the package, then she straightens up. I watch her dark silhouette tear the foil open, get the condom out, and place it over the tip of my dick. It twitches when she makes contact, and my mouth waters from watching her roll the condom down my length.
“Now get up on your knees, line me up, and sink down on me.”
She does as I ask, and I cup her cheek, running my thumb over her bottom lip as she guides me into her wet heat and slowly lowers herself on me. I wait for her to get accustomed before my hands move to her hips, my fingers digging into her flesh.
“You want control?” I ask.
She anchors her hands on my pecs, lifting her ass, and my length slides out of her before she sinks back down.
“Shit, baby, have at it. Ride me.”
She does, and it’s a fucking turn-on, watching her come on a whisper before she collapses against me.
Definitely jerk-off material for away games on nights when she won’t be in my bed.