Chapter 21 Toni
Toni
Six weeks later…
“Long distance relationships suck!”
I tossed myself back on the couch like a petulant teen, making my mother chuckle.
“I know honey. I remember when your dad and I were both still competing, we went weeks without seeing each other. And this was before there were so many options for communication. We didn’t even know what a video call was back then, but now...”
I groaned. “Please Mom, I do not want to hear about you and Dad having phone sex!”
My mother sat down next to me, handing me a bottle of water. “At least the season ends soon.”
“I can’t believe that I was almost sad we were going to the playoffs, at least until Vancouver made it too.”
Being apart from her had distracted me more than I liked.
“You and Yvonne will meet on opposite sides of the ice again,” Mom mused. “Rivals who are secret lovers. It sounds like the set-up for a TV show.”
“We’ll both play our hardest,” I said.
“Of course you will, you’re both too professional and competitive to do anything else.”
Mom put her arm around my shoulders and gave me a little squeeze.
“I have a good feeling about you two,” Mom said. “You seem like a good match. I’m betting you’ll figure it out.”
I glanced down as my phone beeped. I couldn’t help the big smile that broke out on my face.
“Yvonne’s in Seattle!”
“Is she coming to your place?” Mom asked.
“No, the team has them under a strict curfew, and they’re all required to stay at the hotel, so I’m going to head over after she’s done with her team dinner and stay with her there.”
My mother mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, “Mmm, hotel sex,” but I pretended like I didn’t hear her.
“Okay Mom, I’m heading out, but I’ll see you at the game tomorrow night.”
“We’ll be there.”
I wondered how it was for Yvonne, having big events like playoff games and going to the International Games, and having no support.
Having her own father root against her. It was sad.
When she’d finally told me what her father had said to her in the cafeteria that day I understood why he’d said it in Russian – to make sure that no one overheard what a complete asshole he was.
After doing a few things around the house, I picked up a bag of M&Ms and a bouquet of daisies in a vase, then headed to the hotel where the Vancouver team was staying. Yvonne had texted me her room number, so I headed directly to her room, my pace picking up as I got closer.
She opened the door wearing a bathrobe.
“You’d better be undressed in sixty seconds,” she said, dragging me inside.
I handed her the flowers and the candy, and I could tell by the look on her face that it meant a lot to her.
“Wow, you’re way more romantic than I am.”
I tore my shirt over my head, then reached for my bra. “Less talking, more sex.”
She laughed. “Okay maybe not, but we’re on the same page.”
I shoved her robe off her shoulders and lowered my head to capture one of her pert nipples. I sucked it into my mouth, teasing it with my tongue as Yvonne dug her fingers into my shoulders and arched her back to push closer.
“More,” she gasped.
We fell on the bed, kissing and laughing and running our hands along each other’s bodies like we couldn’t believe we were finally together again. It felt like we’d been separated for a lifetime.
“I don’t like being away from you for so long,” I said as I kissed my way along her collarbone.
“I didn’t like it either,” Yvonne said as she shoved one leg between mine and began to rub it across my mound.
The movement put a delicious pressure on my clit, and I gripped her hips, helping her move, making sure she slid along my thigh with every pass, giving her as much pleasure as she was giving me.
But I needed more.
I bent my knees and dug my feet into the bed, then rolled us over onto our sides facing each other. Without a word we twined our legs together, each of us moving a hand between each other’s legs.
I liked this position, liked the way we could stare into each other’s eyes and kiss and give and receive pleasure at the same time.
Our kisses became frantic as our hands moved inside each other’s bodies, fingers thrusting roughly as we plastered our upper bodies together. Our lovemaking was fast and furious, both of us feeling almost desperate to get off. My heart was pounding in my chest so hard I almost felt dizzy.
I twisted my hand until I could rub my thumb back and forth across her clit while she rode my fingers. Yvonne’s movements faltered as she stiffened, then she cried out with the force of her orgasm. I felt the warmth of her release trickling over my fingers.
Then she was moving again, fingers curling inside my body as she lowered her head and bit the skin at the juncture of my shoulder hard enough to leave a mark. I rocked my hips into her hand, chasing my own orgasm.
“Yvonne!”
It was all I could say before I lost control, waves of pleasure crashing through me until I could scarcely breathe. My entire body was on fire, trembling with my release. Yvone kept stroking inside me, leaving little nibbles along my neck, until I was fully sated.
After we had both gotten off, we cuddled together on the bed, drinking water – we had a game tomorrow after all – and sharing the bag of M&Ms that I’d brought.
“I can’t believe I haven’t seen you in six whole weeks,” Yvonne said. “I would have sworn we played each other every month before.”
“Yeah, whoever front loaded the schedule with Vancouver Seattle games was a total jerk.”
“Who do you think will win this series?” she asked.
“Seattle of course. We’re starting with home ice advantage and everyone on the team is healthy.”
It was pretty rare to get this far in the season without some major injuries.
“We’ll see about that.”
“Yeah, there’s my competitive girlfriend,” I teased.
“Girlfriend?” she asked.
“Of course, you’re not dating anyone else are you?”
“No. I just like the sound of that. Girlfriend.”
She leaned forward and gave me a sweet kiss.
“What happens when the season is over?” she asked, her lips a few inches from mine as she stared into my eyes.
“You could stay here in Seattle with me for a few months,” I suggested.
“Or you could come to Vancouver.”
“I don’t know,” I teased. “I hate crossing the border.”
We talked quietly for a while then turned on an episode of Modern Family, watching it until we both fell asleep.
The playoff series turned out to be very competitive.
Seattle won the first two games and Vancouver won the third.
We headed up to Vancouver for the next three games, and Yvonne’s team won two of them, but then we won the third, tying the series at three and three.
That meant that game seven, the championship game, would be held in Seattle.
On the ice, Yvonne and I played our hardest, putting our personal relationship to the side. As we should. She did her best to block my shots and I did my best to push past her and score, just like we always had.
It was just like the old days until the final period of the final game.
We were tied and I had the puck. Yvonne body checked me hard, moving fast and sending me flying against the boards.
I went down on the ice. Hard. I heard a loud crack, then I was laying on my back struggling to breathe. Then everything went black.