Chapter 24
TRISTAN
A way games have never been my favorite.
I prefer home-ice advantage to sleeping in hotel rooms. Especially lately, since Flip is still being Flip.
It’s stupidly awkward now that I’m dating his sister.
I often end up on Roman and Hollis’s couch.
Or Dallas and Ashish’s. It’s better than trying to pretend shit isn’t going down in the bathroom or the bed next to mine.
Instead of hitting the bar after the game, I go directly to the room. Flip will be at the bar for at least a couple of hours while he trolls for tonight’s bedmate, or bedmates, so I can get in some phone time with Bea.
I fire off a text message on the way to the room to tell her I’m calling in two minutes, and when I get there, I put the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door.
I strip down to my boxers and a T-shirt on the way to the bed and hit the video button as I flop down on yet another hotel mattress.
“Hey, nice game tonight. Those two goals were magic.” Bea’s gorgeous two-dimensional image appears on the small screen in my hand.
My earbuds are close by, but I leave them out for now so I can hear what’s going on beyond our conversation. “We’re playing tight.”
“How was your day?” She’s fresh from the shower. Her hair is wet and pulled over one shoulder, the damp ends soaking into her white tank. I bet she smells fantastic. What I wouldn’t give to bury my face in her hair and smell her skin.
“Good. Better now. Yours? Did you have cake for dessert? Have you run out? Do you need me to send you another one?”
She smiles. “I did have cake for dessert. There’s still a slice left, though, so I’m good for now.”
“Are you doing that thing where you savor it so slowly it’s basically sawdust and requires half a pint of ice cream to be palatable at the end?”
She gives me the shifty eyes.
“I’m sending you another one tomorrow so you better eat up,” I warn.
“Okay. I’ll finish it.” She grins. “Tell me about the game—the highlights and the lowlights.”
I love that she talks hockey with me every night, like she gives a fuck about the actual game. Because she does. She knows it. She’s spent an inordinate amount of time sitting in arenas because of Flip.
“Highlights were the two goals,” I tell her. “Lowlights… Flip is off his game, and it cost us our lead in the second period, which I expected with us playing New York.”
“Bowman’s been a good addition to the team,” Bea says.
“Yeah. We were lucky tonight. Especially since Flip can’t keep his shit together when he’s on the ice against Grace.”
She makes a noise as she braids her hair. “Flip can’t stand him.”
“Have you even talked to him? Flip, I mean.”
She side-eyes me.
“He asks about you every day, Bea. And he’s been calling your parents more than usual, and he sought Hemi out before we left. He never does that.”
Flip is off—even when he’s not in the same arena as Grace. He’s worried about Bea. And I don’t like that I’m the reason they’re not speaking.
“I’ll talk to him when you get back from away games,” she concedes. “How’s Brody? Did they win their game tonight?”
“They did, which is great. Their team is in second place now. I think he’ll be drafted this year.”
“How do you feel about that?” Bea asks.
“Okay.”
“Just okay?”
“Good, I guess. It’s what he wants. He’s professional material in the player sense.”
“But?” she presses.
“But I worry about all the other stuff. He’ll be fine with the pressure of the game. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, but he’s a lot like me.”
“That’s not a bad thing. You’re an incredible player.”
“The game play isn’t my worry.” I glance to the side and rub my lip.
All the shit Flip and I got up to last year has been eating at me.
I don’t want Brody to think he has to fall into that pit, and I don’t love that Bea has had to meet more than one of my previous one-night stands.
Sitting on the other side of those choices, I wish I’d realized there were consequences sooner.
“The lifestyle is the issue?” she asks softly.
“I don’t know if he’s built for it. He’s a good kid.”
“Flip’s path isn’t the only one out there.
Look at Roman. Hammer has been surrounded by the team her entire life.
She’s been part of the family, had a tutor, been immersed in this world since she was a kid, and she’s well rounded.
Roman is a great guy, and I know Hollis is a sore spot because you’re fighting for position, but he’s levelheaded and not a player. ”
“He wasn’t like that in his early years,” I argue.
“For all of two years. He had a string of short-term girlfriends until he started dating that one actress. After that he settled down and focused on the game and stopped letting fame dictate his actions. Dallas has one scandalous night a season and reins it in. Flip is an anomaly, and you’ve gotten used to it. But it’s not the norm, Tristan.”
“I guess I’ve been so immersed in it the past year, it’s hard to see anything else,” I muse.
“Makes sense. But you’re on the outside looking in now, so you view it differently. He at the bar now?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think he’ll be there for a while?”
“Oh yeah. He’s licking his wounds from those flubbed shots on net tonight, so he’ll be looking to score off the ice.
Especially with it being our last away game.
” Flip typically brings home multiple partners after a bad game, like he needs to prove that he can score all the goals in some capacity.
I’m not sure he realizes how transparent he is.
Bea rubs her bottom lip. “Does that mean you’ll be sleeping in Hollis and Roman’s room tonight?”
“Yeah. But he won’t be up here for a while. Is Hammer home?”
Bea shakes her head. “She’s at an event tonight with Hemi. She probably won’t be home for another hour.” She fingers the wet end of her ponytail and tips her head. “What are you thinking about over there?”
We went on another date before the away series. I have a feeling Bea would have invited me in, but Hammer was home, so I got a good-night make-out session in the hallway and a hard-to-hide boner.
“How much I’m looking forward to getting past first base with you when you’re ready.” Might as well be honest with her.
“We could get past first base right now, if you’re interested.” She circles her nipple through her damp tank.
“You mean, I watch you fuck your hand, and you watch me fuck mine?” My cock kicks in my boxer shorts.
“More fun than doing it alone, don’t you think?
” Her smile turns sly, and she pulls her top over her head, discarding it on the bed.
My gaze rakes over her as she shimmies out of her shorts and panties.
I haven’t seen her naked in weeks. Haven’t done more than hug or kiss her.
I need to earn my way back into her bed and her body after what I did the last time.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.” I set my phone on the holder beside the bed, angling it so she can see what I’m doing while she does the same.
“So are you.” Her fingers glide over her bare breasts, skimming her nipples on the way down.
I follow the path, fisting my erection as she dips between her thighs.
She takes her time, fingers pushing inside, then circling her clit.
I have to stop halfway through, or I risk losing it too soon.
Just before she comes, her free hand glides up her body, pausing to squeeze a breast before she wraps her fingers around her throat.
Her legs tremble, and her hips roll and jerk as the orgasm sweeps over her. And I let go, too.
We’re both panting and sweaty, but at least we’re semi-sated.
“When you get home tomorrow, you can come over,” Bea says.
“Over as in…” I let that hang.
“As in, I’ll show you my bedroom.”
I wake up at three in the morning because I have to pee, and I see that Flip messaged an hour ago to let me know his friends were gone.
I could go back to our room and sleep in a bed, or I can catch an early flight back to Toronto and take Bea out for breakfast. Maybe I can even convince her to take the day off.
I’ve been away for almost a week. I’m not used to missing someone, and I don’t like how antsy I am about having to wait until the end of the day to see her.
Decision already made, I book a flight, get dressed, and leave a message for Flip and one for Coach to let him know I went home early. The team flight doesn’t leave for several hours.
I text Bea once I’ve boarded to let her know I’ll be home in less than two hours, and I want to take her to breakfast. She video-calls me right away. We’re still fifteen minutes from takeoff.
“I thought the team wasn’t flying back until later this morning?” Her voice is sleep raspy. It’s barely six a.m.
“They aren’t. I’m coming home early so we can have breakfast. I haven’t seen you in six days, and last night made me hungry for more of you.”
The businesswoman next to me gives me the side-eye.
“Is this because I said I’d show you my bedroom?”
“I want to see you regardless of whether I get to see your bedroom,” I say. “I’ll be back by eight. Can you go in late? Or take the day? I promise I’ll make it worth it. And not just orgasm worth it, if you decide you want me to give you some of those.”
The woman beside me makes a disapproving sound.
“I want the day with you. Just us,” I add.
Bea is quiet for a few seconds. “Jane, in marketing, went home yesterday with the flu after our morning meeting. I can always say I think I’ve come down with the same thing.”
“Yeah?” I haven’t had a whole day with Bea before. I definitely need to make it worth her while.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be at your place by eight thirty.”
“I’ll be ready.”
Two and a half hours later, I knock on Bea’s door. She’s wearing a robe.
“Hi.” I don’t make a move to touch her.
“Hi.” She steps back, and I cross the threshold.
“Is Hammer home?”
“She left for work half an hour ago.”
“Can I hug you?” I ask.
A small, surprised smile tips her mouth. “Yeah. Of course.”