44. I Like Thinking Of You As My Girlfriend
The last monthhas been amazing. Possibly the most amazing time of my life, other than when I was drafted into the league. Nothing will ever top that. But this is definitely second.
Six of the last eight games have been on the road, so that means I haven”t been able to get nearly as much alone time with Lily as I”d like. And thanks to practically living in hotels, it means there definitely hasn”t been time to do what I want to her. But that hasn”t stopped me from thinking about her when I”m alone in my hotel bed at night with my cock in my hand.
I wish it was as simple as bringing her to my room. Other players can do that with women they don”t even know, but I can”t do it with one that we all know. One that literally every person in the organization loves. Relationships were so much easier when I was young and didn”t have to practically schedule romantic time in advance. Back then, my life was just about hockey and hanging out with the boys. This wouldn”t have bothered me nearly as much.
But tonight is different. After weeks of her being afraid to leave her hotel room in case one of the real front office bosses would find out about us, she”s finally agreed to come out.
Before he came to the Sting, Poppy played for Minnesota. He told us about a little dive bar in a working class area of St. Paul where he and Zachary would go when they were dating. Poppy wasn”t out yet, so they still had to hide their relationship from the press. Apparently, this bar isn”t the kind of place where anyone would expect to find a professional athlete. And he guarantees no exec would be caught dead there.
When we pull up to the bar, I see why. It”s a plain two-story building. The siding is at least three different shades of grey where pieces have been replaced over the years. Not even the small yellow sign above the door gives a clue that this is a bar. ”Johnny”s, Est. 1984.” It”s supposed to be illuminated, but either the lights are burned out or someone didn”t care enough to turn them on. Based on the look of the warped wood front door that belongs on a home, not a business, it could be either. A person couldn”t find a more nondescript bar if they tried. It”s perfect.
I watch as the guys pull up out front and then head into the bar. A couple of them give me questioning looks when they see the place, but I just lift my shoulders. It”s not what we”re used to, that”s for sure. A few minutes after the last of the players get here, a taxi pulls up. Lily didn”t want to be seen leaving with us, and she didn”t want to take one of the luxury ride shares that we all used. I tried arguing with her. I even told her I”d have my ride share pick her up around the corner so we could ride together, but she refused. When she gets out of the taxi and I see the dress she”s wearing, I wish I would have insisted.
It”s a second skin on her. A burgundy-colored second skin that shows every inch of that amazing body, every curve of those breasts, and even the small flare of her hips. My cock is hard as soon as I see her, and if I don”t adjust myself, I”m going to have a hard time getting up the three steps into the building. My gaze automatically moves to the bottom of her dress. It wouldn”t take much to slide it up. I know exactly where my fingers would have gone if we rode together. Fuck, we would have never even made it to the bar. I would have made the driver take us back to the hotel. I wouldn”t give a damn if some vice-president of operations saw us.
”Hey, I made it.” She extends her hands, holding open her unbuttoned jacket to show me even more of that dress. ”You don”t like it? You”re not saying anything. I knew it was too much. It”s December in Minnesota. It”s stupid to wear a dress this short. I don”t know why I packed it. Should I change? Should I just head back?”
I cross the space between us and kiss her. I run my hand between her jacket and her dress, down to the curve of her ass. I”m probably messing up her lipstick, and I”m definitely putting on a show for the driver who hasn”t pulled away yet. But if I don”t touch her, I”m going to die. Right here in front of an anonymous bar in an anonymous neighborhood of St. Paul. ”You”re definitely overdressed. Let”s go back to the hotel so we can take care that little problem.”
She slides a hand down to my pants. ”That doesn”t feel like a little problem. I would love to take care of it, though. When we get back?”
I don”t know how it”s possible, but even more blood pumps into my dick. ”Deal.” I grip her ass so hard I”m surprised she doesn”t yelp. Then I press myself into her. I want her to know exactly what she”s going to get when we get back to the hotel later. ”We”ll stay here for a bit. A few minutes. And this time we”re taking the same car back to the hotel, and you”ll be lucky if I don”t fucking carry you over my shoulder to my room.”
”Brant.” Even here in the middle of a town where no one knows us, she still looks around like someone might have overheard. ”You know we can”t do that at the hotel. There are too many people who might see. When we get back to Salt Lake, though, this is mine.” She grinds against me, and I have to bite back my groan.
”Back home? Not back at the hotel?”
She presses a quick kiss to my lips and then takes my hand. ”You know how I feel about road trips. Back home. Now, do you need me to walk in front of you, so no one sees that, um, enormous problem of yours?” She doesn”t give me a chance to answer before she pulls me through the door.
The inside of the building matches the outside. There”s a long bar on one side of the room. On the other, there are several tall tables. In the rear, there”s a pool table that at first glance looks as old as the two gray-haired men playing a game on it. The boys are all sitting around a few tables that they”ve pushed together.
”She”s actually here!” Princeling springs to his feet and wraps her in a friendly hug that makes me a little jealous. ”And damn girl, that dress. I hope Brant knows how lucky he is, because… hell.”
”Trust me. I know.” I take the seat beside him, pulling Lily onto my lap as I sit.
Lily giggles, and the sound makes me want to do things I can”t in the middle of a bar. ”Thanks Sammy.” She lifts her legs over mine and slips her arms around my waist. I have to shift her on my lap so I don”t accidentally spear her. I don”t want there to be anything accidental about it when it happens.
Everyone else already has their drinks, so I look around to catch the attention of the server, but I don”t see anyone working except the bartender. ”You have to go up.” Poppy leans forward so I can hear him over the 80s music playing over the bar”s speakers. ”No table service.”
”Oh.” I glance toward Lily”s ass on my lap. The dress, which is almost too short when she”s standing, is practically indecent now. It would be so easy to slide a finger between her legs. No one would even notice, unless she gave it away. But I would make sure she couldn”t hide it.
”I”ll get it,” Poppy slides off his stool. I nod to him and smile at Zachary. Spouses and partners stay home most of the season, but Zachary always comes to a few road games. Since he”s from a little town outside St. Paul, he and Poppy use these trips to see family. The reminder makes my heart stop for a beat. I”ve been too afraid to talk to Lily about the holidays. ”What do you two want?” Poppy asks.
”Something with whiskey,” Lily answers. ”Whiskey sours. Make his strong so he”ll ravish me.” She flares the last words the way a 1940s Hollywood actress would. The guys all erupt in a chorus of oohs.
”You”re the one who doesn”t want me to ravish you,” I whisper to remind her.
”Not at the hotel. But there”s probably a bathroom here.”
I pull her tighter so she can feel just how much I want to take her now. When her eyes widen, I know what she”s feeling between the cheeks of her ass. ”Our first time is not going to be in the bathroom of Johnny”s. It”s going to be in a place where I can show you just how special you are to me.”
”Well, I wish you would show me soon.”
I nibble on her earlobe. ”Maybe I like tormenting you,” I whisper.
She slips her hand under my shirt. Her fingers are cold at first, and it sends a shiver through me when she slides one along my stomach. I feel each hair bend under her touch and spring back as her finger passes. ”You do it very well.”
”That makes two of us.” I bite a little harder. She stiffens and then scratches a fingernail across my abs, as if she”s telling me that she can play this game too. Fuck, I want this woman.
Poppy sets our drinks on the table. Too loudly. Lily and I both jump, and I know it”s his way of telling us to take it down a notch. I wonder if he ever feels like this with Zachary. I watch as Poppy sits next to his husband. The two of them share a quick look and Poppy weaves his fingers through Zachary”s. They do feel like this. They”re just better at hiding it.
After a few drinks, I shift, and the alcohol all suddenly rushes to my bladder. Princeling is in the middle of telling us about a girl he hooked up with in Winnipeg, but I can”t wait for him to finish the story. All hockey hookups end the same way, anyway. We either wake up alone in the hotel room because the girl disappeared on us, or we have to wake her up and tell her she needs to leave. There”s no happily ever after. Just a one-time shot and it”s done. Most players like that. Kayden is one of them. I don”t know Sammy well enough yet to know if he is or not.
I nudge Lily from my lap. Unlike the rest of us, she”s only on her second drink. When I stand, everyone turns toward me. ”Sorry, but if I don”t piss in the next thirty seconds, there are going to be ten thousand and one lakes in Minnesota.” My head spins a little with the first step, and I make the mistake of shaking my head to clear it. Note to self: five drinks at a small neighborhood bar that caters to locals are stronger than five drinks at an expensive bar downtown that caters to tourists.
”You need me to help you?” Lily asks.
”Yeah, Branny. Do you need your girlfriend to hold it for you?” Kayden teases from across the table.
I ignore him and smile at Lily. ”I like thinking of you as my girlfriend.” I sway a little as I look into her eyes. I shouldn”t be drinking tonight. I”m the starter tomorrow. But I wanted to celebrate her finally coming out with us. I think I may have celebrated a little too much, though.
”I like that you think of me that way.” She puts her palms on my cheeks, and I let my eyelids droop as I wait for her kiss. I don”t have it in me to hold back right now, so when it comes, I might just take her to that bathroom with me. But it doesn”t come. She”s just holding my head steady. Shit, no more drinks for me tonight. ”Does that mean you do need me to come hold it for you?” She winks.
I shake my head and flip Kayden off for starting this as I pass by on the way to the single stall bathroom.
When I come back, Lily is at the bar. Talking to a man. A man who is standing way too close to her. I snarl and do my wobbling best to storm up to them. Just before I get there, I overhear the guy. ”You say that, but we both know there”s only one reason a girl wears a dress like this.” He motions at the length, or lack thereof, of her dress. ”Let”s just cut that hard-to-get crap and get to the fun.”
He slides his hand along the edge of the bar, closer to Lily, and I clench my fists so tight they hurt. Serenity and I had a huge blowup once because she said I didn”t defend her honor at a bar, whatever that meant. I slipped away to make a phone call, and when I came back, a man had taken my seat and was flirting with her. I just watched them. I told Serenity it was because she looked like she was doing fine, but it was really because I wanted to see what she would do. I didn”t trust that she wouldn”t flirt back. This isn”t like that. Right now, I”m hoping this fucker tries to touch Lily because I will break that arm so fast he”ll be on the way to the hospital before he knows what happened.
I circle behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. I want this asshole to have no doubts that my girl is off limits. He shouldn”t even be looking at her.
She arches into me when I nuzzle her neck. ”Miss me?” I ask her as I stare at the man. Based on the step back he suddenly takes, he definitely gets the message I”m trying to send. ”You don”t have a problem here, do you?”
”I always miss you when you”re gone,” she says. ”And it”s nothing I couldn”t have handled. He”s not the first man I”ve met who doesn”t understand what the word ”no” means.”
Heat rises in me at the thought that she”s had to put up with this before. The man holds his hands up, palms facing me. ”Sorry, bro. I didn”t know she really was here with someone. I thought that was just a bullshit line. You know how chicks are.”
I nudge Lily to the side so she”s not between me and this fucking wannabe alpha. Anticipation surges through me. Maybe I”ll get my wish after all. ”I do know how women are. And I know that when they say they aren”t interested, it means they aren”t interested. So you know what a real man does when that happens? He fucking steps away. He doesn”t call her a liar, and he doesn”t imply anything about the clothes she”s wearing. Because if my girlfriend, or any woman, wants to wear a see-through bikini to a Bone Me Hard Bikers convention while not being interested in a single person there, she can do it. You know what a real man does?” I point to myself. ”He fucking respects that, and he keeps his hands and his eyes and his thoughts to himself. You got all that, or do I need to write it down? I hope not, because I”m at the stage of drunk where my hand might not work so well for writing, but it works just fine for making a fist.”
The man”s face is so red he looks like an inflated tomato. He scans me up and down for a second before stammering something and walking away. I wish it didn”t matter what I look like for him to accept the message. But I can only do what I can do.
”You—my drunk boyfriend, who only slurred a quarter of the wonderful words you just said—have been letting Kayden rub off on you. I like it.” She steps in front of me and kisses my cheek.
I pull her so tight I can feel every inch of her body. ”Sometimes he can be a good influence. That man was right about one thing, though. You make that dress so fucking hot.”
”So you”ve said.”
”And have I told you just how much I want to rip it off you and fuck you until you”re screaming my name?”
She purrs and rolls her hips against me. ”You might have implied that too.”
”But not tonight?”
She cups my balls in her hand, and Christ, I”m so turned on that I almost fucking come in my pants. ”Not tonight. But I think we should get you back to the hotel.” My eyes must light up because she quickly adds, ”to your own room. Alone.”
”You”re no fun.”
”We still have the ride back. That takes around twenty minutes.”
”You”ll come with me?”
Her giggle makes me want to lift her onto this bar and hear what noises she makes with my face between her thighs. ”I”ll come with you. But I want out a block before we get back.”
”Then I have nineteen minutes and ninety-three seconds to do what I want with you.”
”That”s not how time works, but yes. You have something like that.”