Chapter 22
Sasha
Sasha followed Conner down the hallway with her hand held tightly in his. He led them through the service entrance and out into the parking lot. It was a chilly mid-April night and Sasha shivered against the cold. Conner slipped off his tux jacket and put it around her shoulders as they walked. He pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the doors with a beep. He continued his way over to the passenger and opened Sasha”s door.
“It”s going to be okay,” he said to her as he helped her in. He closed the door behind her and made his way around to the driver’s side. Being with him here like this made Sasha think it might be okay. If she made herself focus on how safe she felt when Conner was around, she could keep the spiral at bay.
They drove through Glendale until they came to a subdivision on the outskirts of town. Conner had his eyes on the rearview mirror making sure they weren”t being followed. When he was certain they were in the clear he turned into the subdivision. It was one of the nicer places in town, it sure beat her crappy apartment. They drove until they came up to a beautiful big brick house with a gate. He clicked a button and the gate opened. He clicked another button and the garage door opened and Conner pulled in.
They both looked at each other and the relief they felt was plain on both of their faces. He got out and walked around to help her out of the car. They were both quiet as they walked into his house. Upon entering the kitchen, Sasha was surprised. This is not how she imagined a single hockey player would live. It looked like a family home.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” Conner asked as she quietly looked around.
“Sure,” she said, still taking it all in.
“What do you want? I don”t have much, water, wine, tea?”
“A cup of tea sounds good,” she said.
“Okay, I”ll put the kettle on, and we can go change. I”m sure I can find you something to slip into.”
She looked down at her beautiful red dress, which was also extremely uncomfortable. She would be happy to get out of it, but she doubted Conner”s clothes would fit her. She wasn”t a small woman, and while Conner was broad shouldered, that didn”t always translate to fitting all her luscious curves.
“Come on, I”ll show you to the guest room,” he said.
They made their way through his house. There was a formal living room and dining room, but also a big family room with a giant sectional and quite possibly the biggest tv she had ever seen. They made their way up the stairs and Conner opened a door to a bedroom. It was generic with beige walls and simple furniture, but nice, nonetheless.
“This is the guest room. I’ll go grab you something to change into.”
She watched as he disappeared down the hallway into the door at the end. Once he was gone, she started to think about the phone that was still in her clutch down on Conner”s kitchen counter. She really did need to go and deal with all of that, but that opened her thinking up to how on earth was she going to get out of this. She couldn”t just delete the socials like she had when he found her before, but she also didn”t want to leave.
She really liked her job here with the Magic. She was good at it. Everything she had been good at as an influencer made her excel at this job. And she liked her boss, she liked the guys, and she even liked her grumpy officemate, Bill. She didn”t want anyone to know what was going on. It all just felt so out of her control and having control over her image was always very important to her.
She was pulled from the thought spiral by a soft knock at the open door. Conner stood in the doorway in shorts and a t-shirt.
“These should work,” he said, handing her a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. “I’ll go check on the kettle. Come down when you’re ready.”
Upon examination Sasha could see the shorts seemed baggy enough to fit her and the t-shirt would fit her a bit different that it did Conner, but it would fit. She slipped them on and used the bathroom down the hallway. Looking in the mirror she realized she was a mess. Her make-up was running down her face and her hair was starting to frizz. She had a hair tie in her clutch and could sleep with her contacts in for one night, but she was hoping he had some decent face wash to get all this makeup off. Luckily when she opened the mirror, she found one.
After she finished in the bathroom, she made her way downstairs. She could hear Conner in the kitchen. The front door and the dark dining room loomed before her on her way to get to him, and she wished she didn”t feel afraid to even walk past those things. She was safe. That door was locked, she reminded herself. And she and Conner were the only people here.
She took a deep breath and walked to the kitchen. When she got there Conner wasn”t anywhere to be seen.
“Pick whichever tea you want,” a voice said from behind her. And while she wished she didn”t, she screamed and turned. There was Conner in the pantry holding a box with different teas. His eyes went big, and he set the tea on the counter next to her and went over and wrapped his arms around her. “Hey, it”s just me. You”re safe here. There is no one here but you and me and the alarm is set.”
She relaxed into his arms. “Sorry, I”m just a little jumpy,” she said.
“Understandably so,” he said as he rubbed her back. She pulled back and looked at him. Even in this unfortunate situation all she wanted to do was kiss him. She wanted to run her hands through his still perfectly styled red hair and pull his face to hers. She wanted to feel the scratch of his well-kept beard all over her body making her forget. But the sound of her phone pulled her out of that moment. It was inside of her clutch sitting on the counter next to them.
She looked up at him with wide eyes, she was scared to look at it.
“Do you want me to check it?” he asked.
She shook her head and pulled out her phone. A wave of relief washed over her when she saw it was just Evie texting her to ask where she was.
Evie - Getting ready to leave, where are you?
Sasha - Sorry I left without saying goodbye. I’ll text you later and we can meet up this week.
Evie - Conner is missing too and you two looked awfully cozy on the dance floor.
Sasha - We”ll catch up later this week.
Conner was looking at her with a gentle smile on her face.
“That was Evie, she was wondering where I was. I told her I would talk to her later.”
He handed her the box of teas and a mug, then turned to take off the kettle. Chamomile would be nice and relaxing, so she put the bag in the mug and Conner poured the steaming water over it.
She reached into her clutch and pulled out the hair tie and put her long, dark brown locks into a messy bun.
“You look good in my clothes, you know that?” he said with a cocked eyebrow.
“You look pretty good in your clothes too,” she said with a small smile. “I should probably check the team”s socials,” she said, dread heavy in her voice.
“Are you sure you have to do that tonight?”
She nodded. “I just have to get on and turn off comments, then I’ll be able to deal with it all in the morning.”
He came and stood behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. “I’m right here, and you”re safe.”
She pulled up the socials and turned off the comments on all the posts. “I don”t know what I”m going to do, Conner,” she said, trying to control the emotions coursing through her. She turned in his embrace and buried her face in his chest. He was so sturdy and his arms around her made her feel safe, but she just couldn”t shake what she was going to have to face in the morning.
She looked up at him, his eyes full of compassion. Reaching up on her toes she kissed him, and he kissed her right back. She bit his bottom lip slightly and he groaned and deepened the kiss. She gladly got lost in the kiss. The pull she felt to him was like nothing she had ever experienced before. Even if they weren”t dealing with her stalker tonight, she knew that magic that danced between them when they touched would still be there. It had been there all along. It was why they fought so much, but maybe now they could be done fighting. Breaking the kiss, she looked up at him.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“I just wanted to. I think I”ve probably wanted to for a long time,” she said as she walked to the counter to get her tea. She blew and took a sip.
“Me too. And I should apologize, I was trying to push you away, but I think I just came off like a big jerk. I was trying to not let you distract me and my game was off, but I see now that’s a lost cause. I think you might be my good luck charm anyway,” he said with a wink.
“Distract you?” she said with a smile.
“Yes, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever known, Sasha. You must know how distracting you are.”
She just smiled at him as she sipped her tea. Part of her wished she was here with him tonight under different circumstances, but there was nothing she could do about that. Everything was up in the air and there was still a man who had followed her halfway across the country, but here in Conner”s kitchen wearing clothes that smelled like him she felt safe, and that was enough for tonight.