Chapter 18 Kennedy
EIGHTEEN
KENNEDY
IT CAN BE OUR LITTLE SECRET.
The Strikers had been playing okay these past two weeks, for the most part.
But tonight was one of those nights the team couldn’t connect, despite all of their efforts.
The team dynamic was alarmingly lacking, and I wondered if it had to do with a certain center who was still being kept off the ice.
These guys were like family. They played well because they were like a well-oiled machine, and one of the core members had been stripped from them.
We were almost wrapped up in the media room, where reporters had been throwing question after hard questions at Liam Donovan.
Thankfully, he was a level-headed guy and a total media veteran.
He knew how to manage. It was one of the many reasons he was captain of the team for the third season in a row.
The team trusted him, and the organization did, too.
“Kenny,” I heard Val whisper. I looked over my shoulder and found her standing at the door entrance, beckoning me with her fingers.
I glanced at Donovan to make sure he was still good. He was casually talking and making jokes with the reporters, so I turned my attention back to Val and approached her. “What’s up?”
“Have you talked to Anderson yet? He probably took the loss hard, huh?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I haven’t.”
But he had been stuck in my mind for the past hour. I hadn’t seen him roaming the halls even though we drove together today. He’d been doing a great job avoiding the media like I’d explicitly told him to.
But I also knew better.
The team had a good streak this week. We had three back-to-back away games and won all of them. But ever since he got benched, he took every loss extremely hard.
My stomach turned sour with worry. I wished there was something I could do. Henry was a typical goofball around people. But when he was away from the public, there were these flickers of moments when he looked…almost sad, defeated.
He needed to get out of his head, and the perfect idea popped into my head.
“Let’s do an impromptu team dinner at Henry’s.
” It was a Sunday, and they had an early afternoon game, so it wasn’t that late, and they didn’t have any games for the next two days.
It was the perfect opportunity for them to get together.
I stopped to think for a moment.
Was this a good idea?
Was it even my place to do something like this?
I wasn’t his real girlfriend, and I wasn’t sure if he was going to appreciate it. I only wanted to do something nice for him. He was my roommate, and I’d like to think we were sort of…friends. He would have done the same for me if he had to. He’d proven that much already.
Val’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “I’m sure they’ll love that. Look at you, trying to make your man happy.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
All I could do was offer her a small smile at her comment. Any day now, I was going to explode and confess everything to her, because I needed someone to talk to about these confusing-as-fuck feelings I’d been experiencing.
“Can you put in an order for that taco place we like and pick it up with Owens? Then I’ll go back home with Henry to make sure the apartment is set,” I said.
The idea wasn’t bad. The guys could use some fun time and maybe spend a relaxing day out of the media frenzy and off the ice to regroup.
More than anything, I knew this was what Henry needed.
No one deserved to be alone with their thoughts, especially when they were the wrong ones. While I thought it was good he was taking responsibility and finally realizing he had fucked up, it didn’t sit right with me that he was beating himself up about it.
So…throwing a last-minute dinner party together for my fake boyfriend, who I was beginning to like more than I cared to admit, was exactly what I did.
“I’m gonna call it a night,” Henry said quietly as soon as we entered the apartment.
I gripped his arm to stop him from going into his room. “No. We’re not doing this. Throw on some casual clothes and we’ll order food or something and watch a movie.”
“Kenn—”
“If you accept, I promise we’ll go on a fake date when you come back from your away games this week.” I raised an eyebrow at him with a cheeky smile. I knew damn well I had him just where I wanted him.
“Wow, so we’re finally going out?” He crossed his arms with a smirk.
“If you’re a good boy and listen, then yes,” I replied matter-of-factly.
I did my best to hold back the laughter that wanted to escape me at Henry’s flustered face. Was it silly to say he looked so stupidly handsome when he blushed? His cheeks took on this vivid ruby-red color, making his freckles pop. He looked ridiculously sweet.
“Deal.”
I snorted a laugh. “I don’t understand why you insist on these fake dates so much.”
He shrugged. “It’s all about the exposure. It’ll be good for the media.”
“Go change,” I said as I strode into the kitchen to start making Sush’s dinner—in case you were wondering, I’d given up on his full name. It was a mouthful. Also, this one kind of suited him.
Henry took a few steps closer to me and reached for my arm, gripping it softly. “Oh, and Kennedy?” His voice dropped to a husky whisper. The sound of my name rolling off his lips made my body unexpectedly hot. “Be careful about what you call me next time.”
My heart practically skipped at his comment. Oh, God. It was just a joke. I hadn’t thought about it. And he…he blushed. Was he mad? Oh, this was so awkward.
“I’m sorry.” I stared at him, dumbfounded. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” I said as I tried to mask my embarrassment.
“Oh, don’t get it twisted, Kenny baby.” His other hand found my face, and he pressed my chin between his thumb and index finger, tilting my head and forcing me to look at him.
The corner of his mouth lifted into a playful smirk.
“On the contrary. I liked it a little too much.” His dilated pupils dropped to my lips as he licked his own.
My eyes shamelessly followed the movement, and my lips started to tingle with the need to close the small gap between us.
“If you do it again, I don’t know what I’ll be capable of.
And I don’t think you’re ready to find out, either.
” With that, he let go of me and retreated to his bedroom.
I was at a loss for words. My chest heaved and my core tightened almost painfully as his words kept playing in an endless loop. To be completely honest, I enjoyed his confession. I basked in it and let the words glide over me as if they were true.
Because there was no way a man like Henry Anderson was admitting he wanted a stubborn, cold woman with a strong personality like me.
I shook my head and murmured to myself, “Get a hold of yourself, Kennedy.” He technically broke the no-flirting rule because that was the type of man he was. Always toeing the line. But I must have had a fever, because I so wished he’d do it again.
I swore my feet felt like they were walking on a cloud, and I didn’t know how I managed to get to my room and change. My mind was foggy with the need to be touched or kissed—anything, really—as long as it came from him.
It had been so long since I had been with someone.
I wasn’t sure if I missed the act itself or the idea of it.
I was ashamed to admit this—I faked my fair number of orgasms throughout my relationship with Joe.
I know what you’re probably thinking—I ignorantly added to society’s problem by letting yet another man believe they had an inkling of knowledge about a woman’s body.
Believe me when I say, I won’t be making the same mistake again.
And while I didn’t think I was ready to be intimate with someone, the need was still there. Dangling in the front of my mind.
But I had no time to dwell on it, because everyone would be arriving at any moment. I knew, however, that I was going to have to rely on my trusty old vibrator friend while thinking of my hot fake boyfriend, because it was the only thing that easily got me off these days. It was becoming a problem.
As I was finished changing, my phone pinged with a text.
Hayes
Kennyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
Hayes
We’re in front of your door. I buzzed Val and Owens up so the front office wouldn’t call Henry.
Hayes
Open upppppppppp.
I went to get the door, but stopped and turned until I found our fake dating contract placed front and center on the fridge.
With the ridiculous piece of paper I was still trying to hold on to—though I was starting to hate it—in a safe place, I opened the door and found Val, Owens, and Hayes carrying a bunch of food trays.
“This is heavy as hell, get out of the way,” Val complained.
“I told you I got it, but no, you wanted to prove something,” Owens mumbled.
“Shut up, Nico,” Val retorted as they all strode into the kitchen and placed the trays on the counters.
“My God, this is a ridiculous amount of food,” I said.
Hayes snorted a laugh. “Kenny, we’re hockey players. I bet you twenty bucks we will end up ordering pizza or something.”
The door of Henry’s room opened, and he was staring at his phone with a frown as he read something. His gaze snapped up, and when it landed on all of us, his brows furrowed even deeper. “What’s going on?”
“Surprise! Impromptu team dinner.” Hayes wiggled his hands in the air.
“We usually do those at Donovan’s,” Henry commented.
With an easy grin, Hayes threw an arm around me. “It was your girl’s idea to throw it here.”
Henry’s piercing blue gaze landed on mine with a quizzical expression.
My face heated, and I shrugged one shoulder with a small smile. “Wanted to do something special for you guys.”
“You going softie on me, Kenny baby?” Henry asked, his voice light, a boyish grin tugging at his lips.
“Never, pretty boy,” I quipped, though there was no denying the way my pulse thrummed loudly in my ear as my body practically shouted at me, “Liar.”