Chapter 10
ten
. . .
Jake
“I’m going to die,” I announce.
Sven looks over at me curiously. “Please don’t.”
“You don’t want me to die? Buddy—” My heart leaps in my chest. He likes me. He really likes me!
“Because then Vanessa will have to do more paperwork, and she hates paperwork,” he continues, a hundred percent serious. “So please, for my sake, don’t die.”
With a sigh, I flop back onto my bed. “I’ll try not to, because you asked.”
Lifting my phone, I check out the picture again.
Rachel.
Naked.
In my bed.
My cock aches, long and stiff in my sweats, and I curse the fact that I signed up for a roommate. What I would give right now to have the room to myself.
I don’t even need all that long. I bet I could take care of things in five minutes, flat.
But I can’t very well ask Sven to leave the room. And knowing he’d be outside, waiting to be let in, does a good job at deflating the situation in my pants.
Besides, Vanessa isn’t on the road trip. Scott is the Logistics Coordinator for this trip. They alternate who travels, so they both get some rest.
I want to text Rachel, but it’s the middle of the night. She needs rest. I bite my fist and look at the photo again.
What am I getting myself into?
Am I ready for this?
I toss and turn all night, and when it’s time to head downstairs for team breakfast, I’m no closer to an answer.
“You look like shit,” MacGregor says to me as I grab a plate.
“Thanks, asshole. Love you, too.”
“Trouble in paradise?”
I glare at him. “What, you ready to gloat?”
He sighs. “No, man. I want you to be happy. That’s all I want for the team. If you want to talk about it, I’ve got a listening ear.”
“Thanks.” I blow out a breath. “I think I might be rushing it with Rachel, but I don’t know if I care. I mean, I care . About her.”
MacGregor’s fuzzy red eyebrows go up. “Okay…”
“She just got out of a relationship. I never thought I’d have a chance with her. You know? She was, like, the accumulation of all of my fantasies come to life. And now she’s right here within my reach, and…”
“You don’t want to scare her off by coming on too strong,” he says slowly.
Letting out a sarcastic laugh, I tell him, “Too late. I asked her out on an actual date and she basically shriveled up and told me to get lost.”
He cocks his head. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound good.”
“I got her to agree to come to the team party with me, but…”
MacGregor freezes. “You what?”
“She’s coming to the holiday party.”
To my surprise, he smiles and shakes his head. “You’re insane.”
“Am I, though?”
“You don’t even know this chick,” he points out. “You’re family friends, right? How much do you talk to her?”
“I haven’t talked to her. Last time I saw her was about thirteen years ago.” That was when she and Josh broke up. Wincing, I add, “She used to date my brother.”
MacGregor bursts out laughing. “And now you’re going after her?”
“He wasn’t good enough for her.” I stab moodily at my scrambled eggs. “Even then, I knew she deserved better. I was too young then. But now we’re both adults. We’re on the same playing field.”
“No, you’re not.”
My eyebrows go up. “What do you mean?”
“Dude, you play in the motherfucking NHL. You’re a small-time celebrity.” He stares at me like I’m dumb.
“So?”
“So she’s—pardon my French—she’s a ‘commoner,’” MacGregor says with air quotes.
“Fuck off. She’s not. She’s?—”
“She’s not used to this lifestyle. It will be a big adjustment for her. You’re asking her to give up her life to accommodate yours. She has to give up a piece of herself to support you.”
I frown. “Does she really, though?”
“Once people see you together and you publicly announce you’re together, yeah, she’ll get dragged into the public eye whether you want it or not.” He shrugs. “Why do you think so many guys stay single?”
“Oh, so it’s not just to trawl for pussy in each city?”
MacGregor cringes. “I mean, yeah, that’s part of it. But it’s the loss of privacy, too. It’s hard living your life with everything open and exposed all the time. The press, social media, they all think they’re entitled to every piece of our lives. Sometimes it’s nice to keep things quiet.”
“You got a girl?” He keeps things pretty close to his chest.
He snorts. “Yeah, no. Not for me.”
“A guy, then? No judgment.” One of my college teammates is gay and a guy from my AHL days just came out as bi. I’ve heard rumors about Robby Andrews, our team’s equipment manager, but until he decides to announce anything, I’m not going to pry.
“Nah. Just don’t have time for anything,” MacGregor denies. “I’m not ready to settle down.”
“I don’t know that I am, either,” I admit. “I just know if I let Rachel walk away, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“That’s your answer, then,” he tells me. “Don’t live your life with regrets. Go get your girl.”
It’s a long, exhausting day before I get home. The team won, but it was a hard-fought victory. I let two goals slip by me. It’s nothing short of a miracle that the offense was able to score three.
Despite my urgency, the team took forever to load the bus to the airport, and then there were mechanical issues with the plane, making us even more delayed.
I’m dead on my feet when I open my front door. The sight of Rachel’s boots beside the console table buoys me, lifting my spirits. Dropping my bags, I all but race to my bedroom.
And there she is.
Fast asleep, her hair spread on my pillows, adorable little snuffling sounds filling the room. A t-shirt—it looks like one of mine—is on the floor beside her fuzzy slippers.
Quickly, I pull off my shirt, leaving me in my sweats.
Just in case…
And when I pull back the covers, revealing her nude form, I kick myself for being overly cautious.
Rachel turns over in her sleep, twitching away from the gap in the blankets.
Dropping my sweats, I crawl into the bed beside her, my heart pounding a thousand beats a minute. There’s more adrenaline coursing through my veins than during a shutout game when I’m facing the best sniper in the league.
Calm down, I tell myself. She’s just a woman. She’s just?—
Every fantasy come to life.
She’s all I’ve wanted since I knew how to want .
And now she’s naked. In my bed.
She squirms closer to me, and I wrap her in my arms and pull her into my chest. Rachel lets out a soft sigh and burrows into my torso, her cheek on my chest.
I could do this forever.
I was dog tired a few moments ago, but now I’m wide awake. I don’t know how long this will last. I want to enjoy every fucking moment, sear it into my brain like a brand.
Holding her in my arms, coming home to her… it feels right.
It feels inevitable.
Now I just have to figure out a way to keep her.