Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
GOODNIGHT KISSES
COLSEN
I’m not surprised when Taryn comes out of the emergency bays area wheeling a semi-passed out Tucker in a wheelchair.
“That bad, huh?” I ask the pretty girl I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of since I saw her at Joe’s.
“He passed out as soon as his mom removed the dressing I applied and he saw the blood and the needle. Then he freaked out and tried to escape. Then begged his mom not to do the stitches.”
It doesn’t surprise me at all. “Did you have to wrestle him so he could be treated?”
She shakes her head. “No, but Liz had to give him a sedative. Something strong enough to take the edge off.”
Tucker wakes up at that moment. “I got the good stuff.” He giggles, shaking the bottle of pills in his hand. “And more for later. Party time.”
Oh boy. I suppress a chuckle of my own when my best friend falls asleep again. His head is lulling from side to side and his mouth is open. “What did she give him? He’s slurring his speech like he’s wasted.”
“Not entirely sure, it was a pill. But it was necessary; there was no way he would have let her stitch him up otherwise.”
I offer Taryn to take over pushing the wheelchair as we exit the urgent care center and walk the short distance to the parking lot just outside the pier.
“Come on, buddy.” I shake his shoulder, trying to get Tucker to wake up enough to cooperate at least a little so that I can help him into the backseat of my SUV. “Are you ok staying with him while I return the wheelchair?”
I’m quick to return the chair to the urgent care center. When I came back to the pier and crashed Tucker’s impromptu date with Taryn, I didn’t know what to expect from tonight.
One thing I didn’t anticipate when I envisioned the conclusion of our night was to have a two hundred and twenty-five pound goalie drugged out of his mind passed out in the backseat of my car.
That pretty much takes Tucker out of the running for who gets to give Taryn a goodnight kiss; but he’s still cockblocking me even in his unconscious state.
There’s no way I can try to take things any further than a short kiss on Taryn’s doorstep with my best friend in a chemically induced sleep waiting in my car.
Unless…
“Hey Taryn, do you mind helping me get Tucker into bed? Unless he wakes up, it’s going to be hard to open doors and such while keeping him from crashing down. Then I could ask our roommates to keep an eye on him and drive you home? I can come back for Tucker’s truck tomorrow after practice.”
Tucker chooses that moment to snap out of his sleep just to chime in. “She’s coming with us. Taryn promised to tuck me in.”
He’s asleep again, face down on my backseat.
“It’s ok.” Taryn says softly, turning in her seat to look at Tucker. “I’ll feel better once I know he’s safe in his bed. I feel terrible about this whole thing.”
I take her hand in mine. Taryn’s hand is so small compared to mine, and once my skin touches hers, a wave of sensation washes over me. “It was an accident, pretty girl. It’s my fault too for assuming you knew about recoil. Besides, I know Tucker. He isn’t going to hold what happened against you.”
Her green eyes are hopeful. “Really?”
“I promise.” I give her hand a squeeze. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Tucker really likes you.”
I regret saying that the second the words leave my mouth.
“I like him too.”
Maybe I should rethink my plans to kiss Taryn when I take her home. If she likes Tucker, I would be the shittiest friend in the world to make a move on a girl I know he likes just as much as I do while he’s incapacitated.
Fuck. This thing about competing for Taryn’s attention was way more fun when Tucker wasn’t out of commission.
I let go of her hand reluctantly, putting the car into drive and backing out of the parking lot.
“Should we get him buckled up?” Taryn shifts in the passenger seat to check on Tucker. “That doesn’t look safe.”
“I’ll drive really slowly. I know it isn’t ideal, but even if we managed to get him to sit up long enough to strap him in, he’d probably find a way to lie down and undo the seatbelt the second we take our eyes off him.”
The only soundtrack to the rest of our drive is Tucker’s snoring.
The silence between me and Taryn isn’t uncomfortable, however.
My eyes drift to look at her from time to time while she seems lost in her thoughts, as she watches the busier downtown streets give way to the quieter area where our new training center is located.
Star Cove is a pretty, well-maintained town. Flowers are blooming everywhere, and the air is fragrant with their scent mixed with the sea breeze that cools down this summer night.
The stars that give this small coastal town its name are more visible the further we get away from the light pollution of the town center.
On the outside, I look calm and relaxed as I drive us toward the end of town.
But in my head, it’s a whole different story.
I want to kiss Taryn. Unless she sends me a signal that she isn’t into me. Does that really make me a shitty friend?
How would Tucker act if the roles were reversed? We did agree that we would both pursue Taryn, but is it fair to make my move while Tucker is unable to make one of his own?
She just said that she likes him. Maybe I’ve lost this battle even before it began.
Or maybe not.
“What if you both got a goodnight kiss?”
Taryn’s words right before she tried the shooting game echo in my ears.
She likes me too. Tucker said he was ok to both pursue her and to see where things went from there. So there’s nothing wrong with doing just that.
TARYN
Getting Tucker out of the backseat of Colsen’s car and waking him enough to get some kind of cooperation to get him home is definitely a two-man job.
The athletes’ quarters are a little way behind the main training center building.
Colsen uses a key-card to open the main door of one of two modern high-rise buildings.
There’s a lobby at the entrance with a sitting area and coffee making facilities and a couple of elevators at the far end of it.
Rather than going toward the elevator, Colsen opens a door on the far end of the lobby.
We enter a hallway with a few doors facing each other. Motion sensor lights come on as we walk toward the last door on the left.
“Thank goodness we were assigned to an apartment on the ground floor.” Colsen pants, struggling to lift his keycard to the reader without losing his grip on Tucker.
“Why? There were elevators.”
We stumble inside.
“Tucker’s claustrophobic. If he woke up in the elevator, he would have probably woken up the entire building.”
“I don’t blame him. I hate small spaces, too.”
Colsen navigates his way through a large open space kitchen and living room, opening one of the doors off of a short hallway on one side of it.
The room is dark like the rest of the apartment; but it’s possible to see enough to make out the shapes of the furniture thanks to the eco-lights coming in from the full-length patio doors that lead outside.
We lower Tucker onto the king-sized bed that dominates the room, and once Colsen turns on a light on the nightstand, I get to take a better look at the room.
The bedroom wouldn’t look out of place in any nice hotel.
There’s a stuffed chair on one side by the patio door and a desk with an office chair on the opposite side of the bed.
Two other doors are probably leading to an en-suite bathroom and a closet.
“Let’s take his shoes off.” Colsen pulls the black sneakers off Tucker’s feet, then stops to look at his friend. “He would probably be more comfortable if we got him out of these clothes, but I’d rather let him sleep. He seems so peaceful.”
“Aww,” Tucker’s blue eyes pop open, a lopsided smile appearing on his lips. “You don’t want to see me naked?”
Colsen’s lips curl in a smile of his own. “I get to see you naked more than enough in the locker room. I think I’ll pass on any extras.”
“Fair enough.” Tucker yawns, pulling his clothes off with surprising dexterity. “I’m so tired.”
He crashes down into his pillows and I can’t help but notice that his long, muscular body is a work of art.
Taut, big muscles are carved everywhere from his defined shoulders to his powerful pecs and washboard abs. A sexy V leads into his tight boxer briefs. I fight the urge to examine the big bulge in the front of his underwear but continue my perusal of his thick thighs and long legs.
He has several tattoos on his side and down one arm, but I don’t have time to take a closer look because Tucker’s eyes pop open again.
“Will you tuck me in?” He asks with another yawn. “You promised earlier.”
His eyes flutter closed again, and I can’t help but notice his long, blond lashes.
“Of course.” I grab the side of his bedsheets and comforter. “But to tuck you in, I need you to move and get under the covers. Come on.”
Tucker rolls onto one side, and I part the covers, lifting them over him once he settles onto his back.
“Try to sleep well.” I murmur, noticing how with his eyes closed, he looks much younger, almost boyish. “And I’m sorry.”
He half-opens his eyes, the blue of his irises peaking from under his eyelids. “It isn’t your fault. And I really wanted to kiss you goodnight, but I’m too sleepy.”
I lean forward without even thinking about it and brush my lips over his forehead. “Sweet dreams, Tucker.”
When he doesn’t speak for a few seconds and his breath has evened out, I know he’s more than likely going to sleep until morning.
Colsen is standing by the doorjamb, his hand on the door handle.
“It’s gonna be fun to wake him up in time for practice tomorrow morning.” He murmurs, moving to allow me to leave the room and closing the door behind him.
While I was helping Tucker into bed, Colsen turned on a floor lamp beside one of the two couches that fill most of the living room space.
The room is bathed in a soft light and my eyes wander around the light wood of the brand new furniture. The couches are upholstered in light teal and baby blue fabric that matches the curtains and is echoed in the dark blue rug that covers most of the light wood floors.
“This is really nice.” I walk to the patio door, looking at the sand right off a small deck and the sea a little further away as the tide must be out. “Your living quarters are right on the beach.”
I feel Colsen’s presence behind me before he even speaks. “The team’s new sponsor spared no expense. They’re trying to bring an NHL team to Star Cove. So they’ve built this state-of-the-art complex for training. They’re planning on a huge new arena not far from here.”
He’s standing close enough that I can feel the warmth that radiates from his body even if we aren’t touching.
Goosebumps rise on my arms as I turn around to look at him, and he notices.
“Are you cold?”
I shake my head, tormenting my bottom lip with my teeth. “No.” It comes out like a whisper. “I’m actually warm.”
His hazel eyes travel down the length of me, just the hint of a smile on his lips.
I think he’s figured out the effect his closeness has on me.
“It’s getting late.” He says, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Do you want me to drive you back downtown to your room?”
My heart picks up its pace at his barely there touch.
“No,” I say, summoning all my courage to admit it.
“Good.” His voice softens. “Because I don’t want that either. The only reason why I would want to drive you back is so I could kiss you on your doorstep.”
I lift my face to meet his gaze. “You could kiss me here.”
Colsen doesn’t make me ask twice. His fingers thread through my hair, cupping the side of my neck and lowering his lips to meet mine.
The kiss starts with the softest, most gentle brush of lips. It isn’t timid or hesitant; it’s like he’s waiting for my reaction.
I don’t hesitate either.
My arms surround his neck as I push on the tips of my toes and begin to kiss him back.
That must have been what he was waiting for because he pulls me closer, increasing the pressure of his lips on mine, kissing me again and again.
He pauses for a moment, pulling back to look at me. “Does it hurt when I kiss you?” He runs the pad of his tongue along the side of my bottom lip, where the gun hit me on recoil.
“No,” I breathe out. “It just feels a bit hot and sensitive, but it doesn’t hurt.”
He takes my bottom lip into his mouth, sucking it gently.
The tenderness of that touch stokes something inside me, and I kiss him harder.
When I feel the tip of his tongue trace the seam of my lips, I open.
We kiss with everything we have. Touching, testing, exploring each other.
My hands leave his neck to feel the warmth of his chest under the soft cotton of his t-shirt.
Colsen’s hand begins to wander, skimming down my neck and down to my collarbone.
The tips of his fingers trace their way around the square neckline of my dress, causing another scattering of goosebumps on my chest.
My nipples become two hard, achy points against the fabric of my dress, and I want more.
I arch into his touch until he closes his hand over the globe of my breast and I moan.
“Taryn,” he nips at my bottom lip and I fist the cotton of his t-shirt over his chest.
“Hmm.” Is the only response I trust myself with right now.
He kisses me again, but then he stops, his forehead resting against mine.
“Pretty girl, I’m about to pick you up and take you to my room. If that isn’t what you want, I need you to tell me.”
I nod.
“Is that a yes?” he chuckles. “I would like you to stay with me tonight.”
“I want to stay with you.” I trace his jaw, desperate for another kiss. “But…”