11. Reid
ELEVEN
REID
I walk into Dallas and Maven’s suite at nine in the morning with a tray of coffee and a box of glazed donuts. I haven’t stopped smiling since Avery looked at me over her shoulder while wearing my shirt and sauntered down the hall.
I’m running on two hours of sleep, but there’s this restless energy in me. Like I don’t want to sit still. Like I could run a marathon and hardly get winded.
I guess having the best sex of his life will do that to a guy.
“Hello?” I kick off my shoes and round the corner into the living room. “Anyone awake?”
Maverick groans from the couch. “What time is it? Where am I? Why are you up so goddamn early?”
“It’s morning. That’s when people tend to get up. What the hell are you doing here? You have your own room. Was it not nice enough?”
“I’m hungover as shit, and I’m dying,” he says. “My room was too far away when I was intoxicated last night. Can we lose the sarcasm, please?”
“That’s your own fault. You’re the idiot who thought he could outdrink a linebacker who weighs two hundred pounds more than him.” Emmy rolls her eyes and throws open the curtains. She looks like she’s been awake for hours, and I’d be willing to bet she went on a run before sunrise. “Rise and shine, Miller.”
“I don’t want to.” Maverick falls off the couch and onto the floor. He curls into the fetal position and holds a pillow against his chest. “Save me, Plant Daddy.”
“You’re on your own.” I set the drinks on the table in the middle of the room. Dallas’s tie is wrapped around a vase of long-stemmed roses, and I don’t want to know what happened in here last night. “I feel fantastic.”
“Fucker,” he grumbles, and I look at Emmy.
“I’m sorry you have to put up with this.”
“It’s infuriating how much I love him.” She sits next to Maverick on the floor. “Come here, pretty boy.”
“Love when you compliment me.” Maverick throws the pillow to the side and opens his arms. Emmy nestles in his embrace, and he rests his chin on the top of her head. “Are you going to tell us why you’re here so early? And why you’re grinning from ear to ear?”
I don’t know if I should tell them.
Telling them makes it real. A fever dream I’ll forget about one day when I’d like to keep it in my imagination for as long as possible.
But I really want to fucking brag.
“I had fun last night,” I say.
“I hope you did. Our best friends got married,” Maverick answers. “It was cute and shit.”
“My night was fun for other reasons,” I add.
“Hang on.” He squints at me, last night’s alcohol evident in his red-rimmed eyes, then gasps. “Holy shit . You hooked up with that girl, didn’t you? Didn’t you ? You motherfucker. I knew paying the DJ would fucking work. I’m a goddamn matchmaker.”
I rub my thumb down my jaw and smile, unable to hide my grin. “It was that girl, and we had a good time.”
“A good—oh, you’ve got to be shitting me. Dallas,” Maverick yells. “Get your married ass in here.”
Dallas slides into the living room wearing only a pair of boxers. He has half a dozen hickeys on his neck. There’s Sharpie smudged on the back of his left hand, and there’s a bandage around his wrist.
“What happened to you?” I ask. “Please don’t tell me you broke your hand doing something stupid like the Cupid Shuffle. The season starts in like, two weeks.”
“Matching tattoos with Maven.” His eyes bounce between all of us. “What’s going on? Why are y’all in my hotel room? Who is watching my daughter?”
“Don’t worry about the logistics.” Maverick waves his hand. “She’s practically a teenager. She’ll be fine.”
“She is not practically a teenager,” Dallas answers. “The fuck is wrong with you?”
“Shawn has her,” I say, and Dallas relaxes. “I saw them in the lobby when I was getting coffee.”
“You know I love June Bug, but I need your attention on me for a second.” Maverick snaps his fingers. “Plant Daddy got laid last night.”
“ What ? I swear if you touched my sister, we’re going to have a serious problem,” Dallas says.
“I didn’t touch your sister. Remember how I told you about that girl from the bar? Turns out she was at your wedding.”
“Hang on.” Dallas rubs his forehead, slow to catch up. “What’s her name?”
“Avery,” I say, and his eyes widen. He loses his footing, and I groan. “Dammit. What does that look mean?”
A sly smile settles on his mouth. “I’m just surprised you hooked up with someone. Did you have fun?”
Avery is the most fun I’ve had in long time.
Ever, maybe.
I can still taste her on my tongue. I can still hear those breathy moans she let out when I touched her. I can still feel how tight she was when I sank into her.
Besides the sexual stuff that felt great after an extended bout with celibacy, it’s the other things too. Her laugh echoing in my ears. Her hand in mine. Her sleepy smile when she rested her cheek on my chest.
She’s fucking perfect.
I sit in the leather chair in the corner of the room and stretch out my legs. “It was nice to let go for a night. I woke up to seventy work emails, but it was worth it.”
“Did you two do much talking?” Dallas asks, and I raise an eyebrow.
“Uh, I mean, it was mixed in there with other things.” I pull at my collar, grateful my shirt covers the lipstick she left on my neck. Two showers later, and it still hasn’t come off. “It’s not like we talked about the economy or where we see ourselves in ten years. But she, ah, used to be blond once upon a time. And she’s really nice. Still funny, too.”
“I don’t think I should be here for this.” Emmy tries to pull away from Maverick, but he keeps her in his hold. “Maven and I can get brunch while you all talk about Reid’s sex life.”
“You can stay, Emmy. I don’t care. I’m not sharing any details with these fuckers.” I lean forward and grab a coffee. “Avery told me she played soccer with Maven, and I realized that’s why she looked so familiar. We haven’t met, but we’ve been in the same vicinity.”
“Why does that name ring a bell?” Maverick asks. “Avery. Avery. Do I know an Avery?”
“You’ve slept with half the city. I’m sure there was an Avery in there,” Emmy says.
“I really hope he hasn’t slept with her. I could never see her again,” I say.
“Here I am suffering, and everyone wants to pile their shit on me.” Maverick huffs and reaches for one of the coffees. “Fuck me, I guess.”
“Have you met her, Dal?” I ask.
“What? No. Nope. No way. Maven mentioned her before, but we haven’t actually met.” He rubs the back of his neck and clears his throat. “Are you going to see her again?”
“I invited her to have dinner at my place on Tuesday. I guess we’ll see how things go when we’re talking and not?—”
“Fucking,” Maverick finishes for me, and I turn beet red.
“Yes. That.” I sip the cold brew and sigh. “I’m leaving for the NFL summit on Thursday, and I’ll be gone all weekend. I figured if there was any hope of her not forgetting me, we had to hang out this week.”
“What is this summit thing again?” Maverick asks. “I don’t get to go to anything cool.”
“Because you’re paid to hit a hockey puck.” Emmy kisses his cheek, and he rolls his shoulders back all proud. “Not to do things like create ad campaigns.”
“Thank goodness. That would be boring as hell.” He cuts a look at me. “Sorry, Reidy Boy.”
“My job is way more interesting than that. The summit is a big conference for people who work for the NFL behind the scenes. Social media managers. Marketing and ticket sales. Ever since Theo Asher from Cincinnati started dating Ella Wright, the world’s biggest superstar, we’ve seen a thirty-four percent increase in viewership in women over thirty-five. There are more sponsorship opportunities and higher ad revenue. Plus, people are buying tickets hoping they’ll see her when their team plays Cincy.”
“Wow. Women are incredible.” Maverick taps Emmy’s hip. “A woman in the NHL. More women watching football. I’m all for it.”
“It’s awesome,” I agree. “Next weekend is about how we can continue to increase the visibility of the sport and reach new demographics. There are panels set up for specific work groups. They asked me to give a speech, but you all know I hate public speaking. The less people who know my name, the better.”
“You’re so good at your job, though,” Dallas says. “Social Media Account of the Year. Millions of followers. You should own that shit.”
“Yeah, but they only know the DC Titans account. Not me, Reid Duncan, the guy who puts together all the content from either the couch in my living room or my office at the arena.”
“Huh. I didn’t realize you’re never in the stuff you share online,” Dallas says.
“Nope. I’m happier off camera where no one can see me,” I say. “Hiding in the shadows. Unrecognizable. You don’t even hear my voice in the videos.”
“I could never,” Maverick says. “I want my name in big, bright lights.”
“Is that to compensate for something?” Maven asks, appearing next to Dallas in one of his practice T-shirts that hangs down to her knees.
“There’s the bride.” Emmy jumps to her feet and gives her best friend a hug. “How the hell did you sleep with your hair like that? There has to be a hundred bobby pins in there.”
“That explains the headache. I thought it was the bourbon.” Maven grins and glances at me. “Where did you disappear to last night, Reid? I wanted to introduce you to someone. She’s the librarian at June’s elementary school.”
“You don’t have to introduce him to anyone. Our Reidy Boy took care of that all by himself.” Maverick grins. “Some girl named Avery.”
“ Avery ?” Maven repeats. She and Dallas exchange a look, and he gives her a subtle shake of his head. “How did that—but you— what ?”
“He met her at a bar last week, then saw her again last night. Keep up, Mae,” Maverick says. “She reads comic books.”
“Now that you say it out loud, I might have made her up.” I swirl my coffee around. “There’s no way in hell she’s real.”
“Did you like her?” Maven asks.
“Of course he liked her. They went back to his room and had a grand ole time,” Maverick says.
I grab the pillow from behind me and launch it at him. It hits him square in the face, and he yelps.
“Can we not announce it to the entire world, please? Yes, I like her. Yes, we hooked up, but I’m sure she only agreed to have dinner with me so she can let me down gently. The woman is fucking gorgeous. She has no business hanging out with someone like me,” I say.
“Hey.” Dallas frowns. “You have to stop selling yourself short like that. You’re a catch, Reid.”
“Lexi, one of the Stars athletic trainers, thinks you’re really cute,” Emmy tells me. “So do I.”
“I’m still here,” Maverick grumbles, and we all ignore him.
“Avery wouldn’t agree to have dinner with you just to reject you,” Maven says. “Her job is demanding. She also travels a lot. It would be good for her to spend time with someone who understands the stress of being in and out of the city every weekend.”
“We’ll see.” I shove my glasses up my nose and shrug. “Last night was nice because I could keep my phone off and focus on her. This time next month we’ll be in Miami, and I’ll be spending most of my days at the arena filming content with the boys.”
“I bet you focused on her,” Maverick says, and Emmy leans over to pinch his ear. “What? It was a compliment. You know Reid is a thorough motherfucker. He probably gave her the best night of her life.”
“I’m done with you.” I stand and grab the box of donuts. “And I’m taking these with me.”
“This feels like a personal attack,” Maverick says.
“It’s deserved,” Emmy tells him.
“Guess that means you won’t be at dinner on Tuesday?” Dallas asks, bringing up our standing tradition of going to Maverick and Emmy’s apartment with the Stars hockey players and hanging out.
I shake my head. “Not this week. I’ll text you all when I get back from my trip.”
“Have fun.” Maven gives me a hug. “And do me a favor.”
“Hm?”
“Be open-minded,” she says.
“Is this a threesome proposition? I’m flattered, but I?—”
“It’s not a threesome proposition.” She laughs and steals the donuts from me. “A general piece of advice. Before you jump to conclusions and make assumptions, think of all the positive things, okay?”
“I think that’s enough, Mae,” Dallas says. He lifts her off her feet and throws her over his shoulder. “And I’m kicking y’all out. You have perfectly good hotel rooms. Let me and my wife enjoy a few hours of quiet without you being annoying assholes.”
“I’m going to need you to say my wife again,” Maven whispers, and Dallas grins.
“Out,” he repeats. “Reid, stop by when you’re home from the conference. Emmy, I’ll pay you five hundred bucks to take Maverick somewhere else right now.”
“Come on, pretty boy.” Emmy drags her other half by the shirt like a dog. “Let’s go.”
There’s pain in my chest as I watch them all. I’ve never seen so much love in one place, and I can’t help but wonder when it’ll be my turn for that kind of happiness.