Chapter 6 Beatrice
BEATRICE
The second Sienna spots me, her eyes narrow. We may have only known each other a few years, but she knows me better than anyone, and she’s more than aware that I’ve been doing something I probably shouldn’t have.
“Where have you been?” she asks, suspicion dripping from every word.
“Um…” I shoot a look back over my shoulder just in time to see Everett strutting through the crowd on the dance floor with a smug-as-fuck expression.
I swear, the people around him part like the Red Sea.
Now, I know I rated his skills, and maybe even silently called him a legend, but that’s a bit much, even for him.
“Rett Donnelly sure looks pleased with himself,” Sienna points out. “I wonder why.”
Her beady eyes find mine once more, and I groan.
“Rachel, Savvy, and Lessy have left. Sav got a little sick.”
“Is she okay?” I ask in a rush.
“One shot too many,” Sienna says, rolling her eyes. “Kids,” she teases. “Anyway, I didn’t want to leave without you, and I wasn’t sure if you’d made plans or…”
“No plans,” I confirm.
“But—” Her eyes search behind me, no doubt looking for a certain LA Vipers player.
“No buts. We’ve had our moment, and now we’re done.”
Sienna’s brows shoot up. I’m not sure if she’s impressed or shocked. Maybe a little of both.
Back in the day, I had my fair share of one-night stands.
But we didn’t know each other back then.
The version of me that Sienna knows is much more career-focused.
Sure, I’ve been on a few dates, thanks to some questionable online dating experiences, but my love life has pretty much been put on hold in the last few years.
Those couple of battery-operated devices hiding in my nightstand sum up the situation perfectly.
“Wow, okay then. I know he has a reputation for not staying the night, but not even leaving the club with you? That’s…yeah.”
“It’s perfect, is what it is. I’m walking away happy, and he’s free to do whatever he wants.”
I force the words to come out strong and confident, but I’d be lying if I said the thought of him finding another woman and hooking up with her tonight as if I meant nothing stings a little. I might not want promises of forever, or even tomorrow, but a little thought after the event would be nice.
“You’re sure?” Sienna asks.
“Absolutely. Now,” I say, hooking my arm through hers, “What food are we getting on the way back to your place?”
“Hmmm. Fries and ice cream,” she finally says as we get to the stairs.
“If the birthday queen wants fries and ice cream, then fries and ice cream she will get,” I confirm.
As I descend the first step, the need to turn around and search for him, to see him one last time before I put him and our night behind us, burns through me.
I know it’s stupid, but I want to know if he’s noticed that I’m leaving. Hell, for all I know, he’s already got his claws into someone else.
The fear of that being true and seeing just how easily he’s able to cast me aside is what ensures I keep my gaze locked on where I’m going.
“Oh my god,” I gasp as we step out onto the street. It’s still warm and humid, but the air is calm and quiet, exactly what I need.
“I cannot wait to hear every second of it,” Sienna says before checking her cell for the rideshare she called.
“Do you really need all the details?” I ask as a car comes to a stop beside us.
“This is us,” she confirms before pulling the back door open. “And yes, I need every single hot and filthy detail. Hi, good evening,” she says, pretending that the driver didn’t just hear every word.
“I need coffee,” I groan when I finally wake up the next morning.
“No,” Sienna complains. “Go back to sleep.”
A smile twitches at my lips, and I open my eyes just in time to see her tug the sheets over her head.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you, but you’re a year older now. It’s only downhill from here.”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up,” she chants.
The truth is, she only just turned twenty-eight. She may have a couple of years on me, but she’s far from old. The hangover thing, however? That’s true.
“Did you have a good night?” I ask, trying to ignore the fact I really need to pee.
“Yeah, although I think your night might have been better,” she teases.
Memories hit me, and my cheeks heat.
I groan, twisting my burning face into the pillow.
Did I really go out last night and end up fucking a hockey player in a club?
Yes. Yes, I did.
Really, is it any wonder my mother disapproves of me?
“You’d better not be regretting it,” Sienna states.
“Yes, no. Maybe. I don’t know,” I ramble. There was a time in my life when I wouldn’t have second-guessed my actions, but I’m a little older, and I like to think a little wiser now.
It was incredible, though—there is no denying that.
“Just think, you’ll be able to tell the story of your one night with the hot hockey player for years to come.”
“Oh yeah, that’s a great one for the grandkids,” I deadpan before giving up the fight, throwing the covers off and pushing to my feet. “Ouch,” I complain when muscles I didn’t know I had scream in pain.
“What was that?” Sienna teases.
“Nothing,” I mutter, shuffling toward the bathroom.
“Oh, that isn’t nothing. That is the evidence that you got fucked six ways from Sunday last night by the one and only Everett Donnelly.”
“Do we have to keep talking about it?” I shoot over my shoulder.
“That you fucked Everett Donnelly, one of the most eligible bachelors not only in the city, but the state? Or possibly the entire country?”
“Let’s be honest, Si. He’s got so many notches on his bedpost that I’m not exactly anything special.”
That knowledge drips through me like poison.
To Everett Donnelly, last night was just another night. I was just another woman. I highly doubt he’s waking up this morning thinking about me.
“Oh, baby, that is where you are so, so wrong. There is everything special about you, and he’s a damn fool not to take the time to learn exactly that.”
I’m shaking my head as I close the door, shutting myself in the safety of the bathroom.
My head spins, and while my thighs might ache, I quickly discover while doing my business that they’re not the only thing left sore from the night before.
What the hell did that man do to my vagina?
Made her very, very happy.
I roll my eyes at myself as I finish up and walk to the sink.
My makeup from last night is still smeared all over my face.
After our late-night snack of fries and ice cream—that may have also included a couple of premixed drinks that Sienna found in her fridge—I was too exhausted to do anything about it.
Instead, I pulled on my pajamas and crashed in Sienna’s bed, knowing that the state of me would be tomorrow’s problem.
Hello tomorrow.
But it’s not my makeup that really steals my attention.
That would be the hickies and bite marks littered all over my neck and chest.
Honestly, if I didn’t know better, I’d think he was a vampire.
My fingertips trail over the marks and bruises as I allow myself to go back there, to remember how his kiss and touch felt. How full I was when he thrust inside me. It’s no surprise my lady parts are a little tender today; the man was huge.
But that’s done now.
We had our fun. He gave me two powerful releases that banished the tension I was carrying around and will hopefully allow me to fully focus on what’s important.
My business.
Letting my hand fall to my side, I mentally run through a list of things that need my attention before we open again on Tuesday.
I brush my teeth and take my makeup off, and when I walk back into Sienna’s bedroom to find her still snuggled under the sheets, I feel a little more together.
“Shall I order breakfast?” I ask as I walk around and pick up my cell.
“Coffee. I need coffee.” Laughing, I climb back into bed and pull up a food delivery app.
Only thirty minutes later, Sienna’s buzzer rings through the apartment, announcing the arrival of our coffee and bacon.
“I’ll go, shall I?” I tease when she makes no move to get up.
She mumbles something as I head out to find our food.
Unsurprisingly, the second I walk back toward her with the scent of rich coffee and smoky bacon following me, she pops her head from the sheets.
She sits up and then holds out little grabby hands.
She doesn’t say anything until she’s taken a sip of her coffee and eaten three mouthfuls of her bacon and egg muffin. And when she finally does speak, I wish she’d go back to being silent and hungover again.
“You’re coming with me to the next Vipers game.”
I groan. “That’s really not necessary,” I mumble around my own mouthful.
“You had fun, didn’t you?”
“It was an experience.”
“And don’t you want to see if he’ll spot you again. Maybe you’ll get another ride on his stick.”
I almost choke on my damn bagel.
“Sienna,” I shriek.
“What?” she asks innocently.
“You said it yourself last night: he doesn’t do repeats.”
“There’s always an exception to the rule. Maybe you could be—”
“No,” I bark, cutting her off. “Do not go there. He’s a fuckboy hockey player. Even if I wanted a man in my life, he wouldn’t be the one. I’d want someone reliable. Someone I could plan a future with. Not someone who’s in a different state multiple times a week with different women.”
“Maybe you could tame him.”
“Or maybe I’d die trying. Men like Everett Donnelly can’t be tamed. He loves his life too much to be tied down with one woman. He’s…a free spirit, and probably always will be.”
“What about Lincoln Storm?”
“What about him?”
“He was just as bad as Donnelly. But now he’s settled down with Donnelly’s little sister.”
“You’re living in a fantasy land, Si. There isn’t going to be anything more between us than what we had last night. That shit only happens in romance novels and movies.”
“Well, a girl can dream. I can just see it: you go to another game, he sees you in the crowd, and he can’t take his eyes off you.
He scores a goal and dedicates it to you, and then after the game, he searches you out and confesses that he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about you, and he changes his ways just for you. ”
“Did you hit your head or something?” I ask.
She shrugs one shoulder. “It’s got to happen. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be books and movies.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “It’s all fake. The guys don’t do anything gross in those, and they’re always perfect. That isn’t real life, and you know it.”
She huffs in annoyance. “I know,” she admits sadly. “It’s a fantasy. I know we haven’t found them yet, but I like to think there are men out there just waiting to sweep us off our feet.”
“There’s no fucking way I’m waiting for a man. He’ll be late, get distracted, or take a wrong turn. I’m fine as I am. Men only complicate our lives. We don’t need them.”
“You’re right. They are fun, though,” she muses.