29. Emmy
TWENTY-NINE
“Great win, y’all!”Grant yells. “We’re going out tonight, and I will not accept no for an answer!”
I throw my bag under the bus and shiver. “It’s freezing, and my legs are killing me.”
“Come on, Emmy,” he whines. “It’s like the good Lord blessed us with an afternoon game on a Saturday. There’s plenty of time to rest up before coming out. Hey, Lexi! Isn’t it better for lactic acid buildup to move around after you exercise?”
She looks up from her phone. “Do you want the scientific answer or the easy-to-understand answer?”
“The easy answer,” Connor jokes. “Grant barely got through a year at FSU.”
“FSU is a great school, and I only lasted a year because the NHL called so I could help your sorry asses,” Grant says fiercely, and he shoves Connor’s shoulder. “You can talk science all you want to me, Lex. You know I like when you use really big words.”
“It’s funny that he thinks he can understand big words,” Maverick murmurs, his lips brushing against my ear and his hand at my waist. “How are you feeling after the game? Any nausea or dehydration? What about lingering symptoms from when your head was in a toilet?”
My heart thumps steadily at his questions and the way he’s checked in on me every day since he found me with food poisoning in my apartment.
Maverick sends me texts in the morning and again at night, asking if I need anything. He hangs around at the end of practice and waits for me to give him a thumbs up before he leaves.
It’s ridiculously nice, and telling him thank you doesn’t seem like enough.
“I’m good.” I squeeze his arm. “I felt great out there today.”
“You looked great too. Are you going to come out with us?”
“You’re going?”
“Thought I would. It really was a great win, and celebrating sounds like a good time.”
“I wasn’t planning on it. A hot shower, a glass of wine, and a warm dinner in my pajamas sound way more enjoyable than loud music and three hundred people.”
“What if I make it worth your while?” He trails his fingers down my shoulder. “It would be fun. An excuse to touch you out in public, and no one would know I’ve already been inside you.”
A club is my idea of hell, but I don’t doubt Maverick’s ability to change my mind.
Dark corners and loud music. A hand on my waist when our teammates aren’t around and standing close so we don’t get separated.
It’s risky, but he makes me want to break the rules.
“Okay,” I say, and his lips pull up into a smile. “On two conditions.”
“Name them,” he says right away.
“I get my favorite ice cream at the end of the night, and you give me a piggyback ride on the way back to the hotel when we’re finished dancing.”
“One pint of chocolate chip and having your legs wrapped around me? Done and done.” He hops onto the bus and offers me his hand so I don’t slip on the icy steps. “You’re making this too easy.”
“We’ll see if you’re still saying that when you’re exhausted and climbing up the hill outside our hotel.”
His pinky hooks around mine before he drops his hand away and plops into a seat. “I can’t wait to see what you’re going to wear tonight.”
“Don’t get your hopes up. It’s just something I threw in my bag.” I scan the open spots on the bus and decide to sit next to Maverick. “I’ll probably look like a troll.”
“You could never look like a troll, Red.”
“Grant.” I turn around, and he pops his head up. “What time are we going?”
“You’re coming, Emmy? Holy crap. A road win against a divisional rival. My favorite person on the team is healthy again, not murdered, and joining us at the club. Can today get any better?”
“Hey. I thought I was your favorite person on the team,” Seymour says, and Grant rolls his eyes.
“You got demoted weeks ago. I’m thinking we’ll meet at nine. It gives everyone time to chill so we can rage until dawn. Three days off after this—we’re going hard.”
“Our flight is at six.” Maverick yawns. “You can’t rage past that.”
I rifle through my purse and try to find my phone. “Can I invite Piper?”
I got an earful when she got back from visiting family, a twenty minute speech in the living room about how next time I need to call or text her the second I feel sick, and I’ve missed her.
“The more the merrier.” He looks around the bus until he finds Lexi, and he lights up. “Did you hear that, Lex? The girls are coming out tonight. Will you come too?”
“Say please,” she says, and I swear I see hearts in Grant’s eyes. “And maybe I’ll think about it.”
“Please come.” He drops to his knees in the aisle, and Hudson steps over him to get to his seat, shaking his head. “I’ll get you whatever kind of drink you want, and I’ll make sure no creeps hit on you.”
“Does that mean you won’t hit on me either?” she asks, and the bus breaks out into a chorus of oohs.
“Kids these days.” Maverick yawns again and scratches the cut on his cheek. “They don’t know when to stop.”
“Says the leech,” I toss back, and he grins.
“I love the nicknames you have for me, but I’m partial to god. Particularly when you’re on top of me.”
A flush creeps up my neck, and I’m glad none of our teammates are paying enough attention to listen to our conversation.
“I might call you Satan next time, just to keep you balanced.”
“Don’t care what you call me.” He wraps his ankle around mine and drags me toward him with the strength of his leg until our thighs are touching. “I like that there’s going to be a next time.”
I’ve never had a friend with benefits before, but Maverick is a good starting point. There are no messy emotions or hours of waxing poetic about feelings and relationship expectations.
It’s sex however we like it, whenever we want it, and I secretly love that he can trade barbs with me and make it feel like flirting.
I also love that he touches me when he’s not supposed to, little stolen moments when no one else is watching because he can’t keep his hands away.
It’s nice to be wanted.
“Are you sure you still want there to be a next time?” I ask quietly. “You saw me when I looked like literal garbage.”
“Doesn’t change a thing.”
“And you’re okay with being exclusive and only sleeping with each other?” I rub my forehead and wince. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be talking about this right now. The night I was sick is a little hazy and?—”
“Hey.” Maverick’s fingers wrap around my wrist, and he smiles. “I’m more than okay with it. I meant what I said—you’re enough, Emmy, and what we’re doing right now makes me happy. Vomit and all.”
My heart flutters dangerously in my chest. “It makes me happy too.”
“Look at us.” He grins. “Two happy people.”
“Speaking of happy people, you might have a fight on your hands one of these days.” I look over my shoulder and see Grant talking Lexi’s ear off. Two rows back from them, Riley watches their conversation with hunched shoulders, and I want to give him a hug. “Something to keep in the back of your mind as captain.”
“Hm?” Maverick’s eyes are closed. He’s half-delirious and ready for a nap. “What are you talking about?”
“Grant is flirting with Lexi. Riley clearly likes Lexi. I’m not sure Lexi likes either of them.”
“Grant likes Lexi?”
“Yup.”
“And Riley likes Lexi?”
“It’s the most obvious thing in the world.”
“It is? Huh. I never noticed.”
“How did you not notice?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugs, and his fingers dance over my knee. “Guess I’ve been too busy looking at you.”
The bass at the club is so loud, my eardrums might burst.
The ten of us who walked the half mile to the club in downtown Toronto got escorted to a VIP section on the second floor with thick curtains along the wall and plush leather seats.
The drinks started flowing the second we sat down, and they haven’t stopped in the ninety minutes we’ve been here. A string of men and women have come by, trying to get our attention, but no one pays them any mind.
Not even Maverick, who, when our conversation was interrupted by a horde of women in dresses with plunging necklines that screamed his name and asked for an autograph, didn’t take his eyes off me.
I don’t know how our teammates haven’t figured out that we can’t stay away from each other. It helps that the majority of them are on the dance floor. The rest are so past tipsy, they won’t remember a damn thing from tonight.
“Having fun?” Maverick whispers. His breath is warm on my skin, and he toys with the hemline of my dress. He inches it higher up my thigh, and I shudder. “God, you look fucking incredible, Red. Every guy in here has been staring at you since the minute we walked in.”
“Thank you.” I cross my legs, and my dress rides up another inch. Maverick tracks the motion and licks his lips, heat behind his eyes. “And it’s tolerable. The company is decent.”
He grins, and god, I want to kiss him right now. I want to tip my chin up and brush his mouth against mine. Drag him to a dark corner and let him run his hands all over my body.
“You want another drink?” he asks.
“A drink would be nice,” I say.
He glances around us. When he doesn’t see anyone we know, he drops a quick kiss to my cheek and slides out of the booth. “Be right back.”
I watch him work his way to the bar through the throngs of people. Three different women try to get him to talk to them, elbowing each other in attempts to get closer. He gives them a polite nod then moves down the counter, chatting with the only male bartender there.
I know he’s not going to kiss someone else while I’m around, but it’s amazing how seeing him ignore the stunning clubgoers makes me happy. I expected that playboy side of him to sneak through. A grin. A wink. A flirtatious hand on someone’s body when he slipped past them.
There hasn’t been any of that, and when he turns around and his eyes meet mine through the crowded room, his smile turns softer. Something secret and something only I know. It’s the one I get to see late at night, a leg hooked over his shoulder and his laugh against the inside of my thigh.
He gives me a goofy wave and proudly holds up the drinks. I try to roll my eyes, but I smile instead, a silly, giddy sensation sweeping me away all because of his damn dimples and laser-sharp attention.
“Oh my god.” Piper collapses onto the seat next to me and I glance away from Maverick. “My feet hurt.”
“Why do you look so happy?” I touch her pink cheeks and laugh. “You’re burning up.”
“I just danced with some guy from Italy, and he was very handsome. I asked if he could come to our gala with me next week, but he told me he has to fly back to Europe tomorrow.” She pouts. “Bummer.”
“There will be other Italian men. Do you already have your dress?”
“Yes! It’s pink and floor-length and very fancy.” Piper giggles and reaches for my empty drink. “Oh no. Where did it all go?”
“I drank it all, believe it or not. Maybe you should eat something, Piper.”
“A burger sounds great.” She closes her eyes and sways to the beat of the music. “In-N-Out. Don’t they have In-N-Out here?”
“I think that’s just a West Coast American thing.”
Piper groans. “Damn geography. Dammit all to hell.”
“What does she want?” Liam asks from across the table, and I jump.
I don’t know when he sat down, and he’s watching us with a tense jaw and a flicker of irritation behind his eyes. I can’t believe the guys got him to come out tonight, but Grant said something about a gentleman’s code, like I understood the meaning.
“She’s hungry. I’ll take care of her. Maybe we can find somewhere that’s open and I?—”
“I’ve got it.” He cuts me off gruffly and stands up, towering over us with his six-three, two-hundred-pound frame. The man is a freaking brick wall. “You want something to eat, Pipsqueak?”
“What?” She blinks and her mouth pops open. “Did you just make up a nickname for me? I thought you weren’t capable of human emotions. Just twenty-four-seven grumpiness.” She slaps a hand over her mouth and her cheeks turn even redder. “Oh my god. Pretend I never said that.”
Liam’s lips quirk, the hint of a smile on his face, and he holds out his hand. “I know somewhere good.”
“You’re not going to murder her, are you?” I ask, and he snorts. Either the world is ending, or I’m more drunk than I thought.
“Murder isn’t my thing.” He waits for Piper to take his hand, and when she does, he moves so carefully, you’d think he was holding onto something fragile. “I’ll text you if I need anything,” he says, and they disappear down the stairs.
“Was that Liam?” Maverick asks, two glasses in hand. “And Piper? What the hell is going on tonight?”
“Not what you think.” I take the drink he offers me. “He’s going to get her a burger.”
“Liam never does anything for anyone.” He tucks a piece of loose hair behind my ear. “Do you want to hang out up here?”
“No.” I swallow half my martini before setting it down on the table and standing up. “I feel like dancing.”
“Yeah?” His eyes follow the bob of my throat and linger on my lips. “Is that an invitation, Red?”
“If you can find me out there, Miller, you can do whatever you want to me,” I say, and I saunter away to the sound of his groan.