Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Cam
Blake flopped into the seat beside me, his head cocked, gaze full of scrutiny.
“What?” He looked at me like I had something on my face. I kept my hands on my thighs. Knowing him he was trying to stir something up. I refused to bite.
“There's something different about you,” he said. His gaze dropped to my chin, then rose to the top of my head before returning to my eyes. He tipped his head from side to side and tried not to smile too big.
“Sure there is.” I grabbed my seatbelt and clicked the two sides together before adjusting it across my lap.
That wasn't an end to the conversation, but he wasn't going to reel me in. Whatever he had to say, he'd get to it sooner or later. Preferably sooner.
The goalie couldn't resist making a joke out of anything and everything. I'd lost count of how many times I told him he should have been a clown or a comedian. Apparently those options were his backup plans if hockey didn't work out.
Nate would have suggested he had too many pucks to the head. Blake would have been faster to agree with him than I would. He didn't take himself seriously either. Once in a while, I almost envied him. Nothing got to him for long. Everything got to me more than it should.
“No, there is.” He fastened his own seatbelt. “You took off from the ice and came back looking like the donkey that got the carrot.” He squinted. “That's it, isn't it?”
“Yes, I ran off to eat a carrot and now my life is complete,” I said sarcastically.
“I knew there was something weird about you,” he said with a laugh. “If a carrot is all it takes to make you happy, you could have had one years ago.”
“Are you going to be weird the entire flight? Because if you are, go and sit next to someone else. Seattle is too far to deal with whatever happy pills you took. ”
He grinned. “I'm not the one who took happy pills. Or a happy carrot. Or are we talking about a carrot top?” His expression became sly.
I suppressed the very strong urge to smile at the thought of Andi and her gorgeous red curls. Nothing would give the game away faster than a silly grin like a kid with a crush.
Instead, I went with playing it casual.
“I think describing someone with red hair as a carrot top might be considered offensive.” I pressed on the screen in front of me, hoping to find a good movie to watch.
Honestly, I would have preferred to spend the flight looking at Andi. After making her come like that, I hadn't been able to get her out of my mind.
She was the first thing I thought of when I woke up in the morning and the last thing on my mind before I went to sleep. And pretty much everything in between. All I wanted to do was see her and talk to her. Wrap my arms around her and bury myself inside her. Taste her until she screamed my name.
We'd barely had time to exchange text messages before the whole team was off to the airport to fly out. Usually, I enjoyed traveling, but this time I would have preferred to stay home.
“Flynn, do you get offended when anyone calls you carrot top?” Blake shouted out through the plane.
Flynn turned around in his seat, gave Blake a funny look and turned back to his conversation with Nate, who sat beside him.
Blake shrugged and checked his seatbelt. “I guess he doesn't care too much.”
“Flynn isn't easily offended,” I pointed out.
“That's true,” Blake conceded. “That's it though, right? You took off after Andi, and something happened between you.” He looked as though he'd made up his mind, regardless of whatever I told him. I could deny it flat and he'd still be convinced he was right.
“It might have,” I said. This conversation was inevitable, but that didn't mean I had to enjoy it.
“Bro.” Blake held out his fist for a bump.
Sighing reluctantly, I bumped my fist against his.
“Is she okay?” Blake asked.
“Because she's into me?” I frowned. If he was going to start insulting her, we were going to have a problem, even if he was only doing it to tease. No one said anything negative about her in front of me and got away with it.
“Because she almost choked,” he said, clearly amused at my response .
Okay, I'd put two and two together and came up with six. But after the things I'd seen about her online, I couldn't help being protective. Did she need me to be? Maybe not. Was I going to be protective anyway? Yeah, yeah I was. If anyone was going to be a dick to her, they could go through me.
“Right,” I said into my chest. “Yeah, she's okay. A bit shaken, and a lot embarrassed. It's not everyday shit like that happens in front of a bunch of people. Alice said no one wants to run with that footage. Apparently it's too distressing for sensitive viewers.”
It was fucking distressing to me. I doubted Andi wanted to see it either.
“And if you mention anything about sausages or licking cupcakes, I will rearrange your face,” I said.
He held up his hands in surrender. “I wasn't going to say a word. I like Andi, I think she's good for the team. She's clearly good for you.”
“Yes, she is,” I said, agreeing with both points. “She's genuine. Real.”
“Is she the jealous kind, and does she know about the carrot?” Blake grinned.
“You're an idiot,” I told him. “If you're so into carrots, I'll give you their phone number. Or better yet, buy you a packet of them when we land.”
“No offense, but I prefer brunettes,” he said. “Hey, maybe that's what's wrong with Zack.” He spoke loud enough to be heard a few rows ahead of us.
“He needs a carrot?” I asked.
“I was going to say he has one up his ass, but that works too,” Blake said.
“Fuck off,” Zack called back. “I don't screw vegetables. Stop projecting, Eastwood.”
Blake grinned. “I don't know, it feels like I touched a nerve.”
“You're getting on my last nerve,” Zack said.
“Settle down,” Coach Lambton called out.
The flight attendants secured the cabin and the plane engine roared to life. Moments later, we were taxiing down the runway and heading up into the sky.
“Is she traveling with us, or does she have a private jet?” Blake asked.
“She has work to do.” I'd hoped she could accompany us, but from her text messages, she just started digging through everything she needed to know about the team.
Besides, this thing between us was still new. We had to figure out whether we could work together and date, and not let those two things interfere with each other. What would happen if we couldn't keep them separate? I wasn't giving her up, and I wasn't ready to retire yet.
“I guess you brought a spare carrot then?” Blake ducked away when I went to sock him on the arm.
“I don't need a carrot, much less a spare one,” I said. “I'm not cheating on her with a carrot. Or anything else for that matter.”
“Not even a strawberry?” He pretended to look serious. It lasted all of several seconds.
I shook my head. “I don't even know how anyone would sleep with a strawberry.”
This wasn't even the strangest conversation I'd ever had with one of my teammates. Just the strangest one today.
“Seems like you've given the matter a lot of thought.” He grinned.
“It seems like you've given it much more thought than anyone else,” I retorted. “Look, I'm not going to judge you for your preference.”
He grinned wider. “Yes you are.”
“Okay, if you wanted to get intimate with fruit, I would totally judge you. Better you put your dick in a salad bowl than my sister.”
I trusted her judgment, but I knew what my teammates were like. Guys like Nate, and Blake, they weren't the kind to stick around. I didn't want to have to pick up the pieces after they broke her heart. Or after she broke their nose for being assholes to her.
I really, really didn't want to have to break their noses on her behalf. That shit was not good for team morale.
“She is cute,” Blake said thoughtfully.
I narrowed my eyes at him and growled, “Don't go there. That goes for all the guys on the team. If any of you mess with her, they'll regret it.”
His response was to flash me a smile and tap the screen in front of him to turn on a different movie.
I gave him a last glance before pushing my earbuds into my ears and settling back to enjoy the flight.
Cam
Hey, gorgeous
I thought about writing something else, something more, but sent the text off anyway.
A dot appeared, showing Andi read my message. Three dots bounced across the left side of the screen before her response popped up.
Andi
Hey, handsome.
Yes, she used a period.
Cam
How's things there on the east coast?
Andi
Cold but quiet.
Cam
Missing me?
I smiled at my phone, while picturing her looking at hers, reading my messages.
Andi
Which one are you again?
Cam
You know how to hurt a guy.
Andi
Andi
I know who you are. You're the guy with the killer dimples.
Cam
And you're the woman who looks amazing when she
Andi
Andi
I've been thinking about the other night.
Cam
Me too. What are you wearing?
Andi
Andi
Who says I'm wearing anything?
Hello, my cock stood up to take notice.
Cam
I'm alone in my hotel room if you want to show me
My heart raced. I didn't expect her to send me nude photos, but hell, if she wanted to, I was here for it.
The dots bounced again before a photo popped up. It showed a bare, freckled shoulder.
Cam
Can I lick those freckles when I get back to Lowball Bay?
Andi
Andi
Maybe.
Another photo popped up, this time of the side of her face, from an awkward angle. The bottom of the photo barely showed the top of her mouth, curved up in a smile.
Andi
I suck at selfies.
Andi
Cam
You do not suck at selfies. You're beautiful
To show her I was at least as bad, I took a photo of the top of my head and sent it to her.
Andi
Andi
I want to run my fingers through that.
Now I was the one with a heated face.
Cam
I want to tangle my fingers in your hair and watch you suck my
Andi
I bet you have a delicious
Cam
I bet you have a delicious I look forward to tasting her when I get home
Three dots bounced, then stopped, then bounced again. Had I gone too far? I didn't want to push her into anything she wasn't ready for, including texting like this. I was about to type an apology when her response popped up.
Andi
I'd like that.
I grinned.
Cam
I have to go and warm up for tonight's game. We're flying out late, right after, heading to Vancouver. Then we'll be home again
Andi
Andi
I miss you.
Cam
See you in a couple of days, beautiful.