Chapter 12
Dane
Not so long ago, I’d normally go out with the boys and celebrate the win or commiserate the loss with drinks and women.
The likelihood that I wouldn’t crawl into bed before two a.m. had been relatively high. Usually, I’d hit the hay with a satisfied dick and a good buzz, falling into a sound sleep until morning.
I’m not sure I’ve ever felt anything as powerful as I did the moment I noticed Halle watching me from the stands.
It threw me and the rest of my night into a wild tailspin.
I’ve been a fucking mess, a literal buzzkill as I hang with Costa, Rossco, and the rookies.
I had one beer and am calling it a night, much to Rossco’s dismay.
“You’re being a weenis,” Rossco whines when I say I’m leaving. “A weenis who’s not going to get laid by leaving.”
He’s right. If I stay, I’d likely get a good buzz on and maybe find a gorgeous woman to hookup with.
But that’s not my vibe and not what I’m looking for tonight.
I don’t want anyone else besides Halle. And I don’t want to forget about the fire that was reignited in my soul when her gaze tangled with mine.
The memories that it’s evoked has my headspace cluttered and in turbulent chaos.
All I know is I’m on a mission to find out if she’s with someone else. And if not, to get back in her life.
Now, after leaving the bar to boos and hisses from the boys, I stare up at the living room ceiling of my condo and contemplate the one true regret of my life. What would our lives be now if we hadn’t ended things that winter? Would she have ended up married to someone else with a kid?
Although, now that I think about it, she wasn’t with a guy tonight other than her dad, no sign of anyone else around. Why would her dad be here helping with Lennon and the move instead of a partner?
I’m probably overlooking a thousand possibilities. Maybe she’s with someone who travels for work and is out of town at the moment. I remember that Clint was a long-haul trucker, which was the reason Halle took care of her brothers in his absence.
Thoughts swirl in my mind as I slide a hand behind my head and stretch my legs down the length of the couch. There’s also another possibility to consider.
What if Halle and her daughter’s father didn’t work out? That could explain the absence of a husband or partner.
A slow smile draws across my mouth at the thought that Halle could be single.
I let out a long sigh, clasping both hands together behind my head, then close my eyes and let memories wash over me like a cascading waterfall, drenching me with images of our short time together.
The time I spent with Halle, albeit brief, had been the best time of my life. We were on the cusp of adulthood and hanging on to our teens but looking forward to the future. Being with Halle made me realize there was more to life than just hockey. There was something bigger to chase and hold on to.
But I didn’t hold on to her.
At the time, what we had together seemed important, seemed like something that could stand the test of time. But then she said goodbye and I agreed it was for the best.
I should’ve fought harder for her. I shouldn’t have given up so easily.
Honestly, it’s pathetic to think about, but it hurt my ego that she didn’t want to continue the relationship. So instead of fighting for what I wanted, I tucked those true feelings away. I didn’t want to look like some lovesick schmuck. I wasn’t going to beg her to stay with me.
That night, I acted like losing her was no big thing.
“Dane… I think we need to say goodbye.” She pauses, chewing on her lip. “So, you know, let’s just part as friends.”
I stare up at this beautiful girl and know I will never find another quite like Halle.
“Just promise that you won’t forget me, Dane.”
“Never,” I whisper. “I will never forget you, Cherry. I promise.”
I never did forget about her, but losing her cost me.
It cost me time with her. And in the process, I closed off my heart and never allowed another woman in.
Now that I have a chance to reflect, I see that Halle has always been in the recesses of my mind. Whenever I was alone or something jogged my memory, she was right there.
From the moment I saw her with cherry slushie dripping down her face and over her clothes, I knew she was still the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.
Uncharacteristic of me at the time, I chased her down and took her to breakfast the next time I saw her. From that moment on, it was impossible to resist the pull she had me.
After our first night together, we worked hard to carve out time to see each other and find places where we could hang out in private.
Creativity was the name of the game back then when neither of us had privacy in our homes.
I was living with a hockey billet family in Calgary, and her dad was taking time off the road for the holidays, which made it difficult to locate spots where we could get naked and fuck each other’s brains out.
But as the saying goes, if there’s a will, there’s a way, and we found ways.
Me: Hey, I’m outside.
Cherry: Outside where?
Me: Your house. Come to the window. Hurry. I’m freezing my ass off.
My entire body is numb as I stand outside of Halle’s house. I snuck out of my host family’s house tonight, walked a mile in the freezing cold and snow, and now wait below Halle’s second-floor bedroom window.
“What are you doing here?” Halle asks through the open window. She wraps her arms around her flannel pajama-covered body, her sleepy smile enough to get me hard, and steps to one side.
I carefully hoist myself through the window frame and toe off my snowy boots as she closes the window behind me. When I turn around, she is standing inches from me, and I can feel the warmth of her body in the small space between us.
“I told you I wanted to see you.”
I remove my team jacket and hat, tossing them on the floor, and take a step toward her. Closing the distance, I wrap my arms around her back, my hands landing in the slight curve above her ass. I stare down into her eyes, and she loops her hands behind my neck.
I raise an eyebrow. “Here I am.”
She giggles. “Here you are, and you’re freezing.”
Her hands move to cup my face in her palms. I plant my lips on hers. They are warm and wet, and I missed her taste.
“So warm me up.”
I position one hand on her hip and slip the other underneath the waistband of her pajama bottoms. Sliding it toward her bottom, I cup the round globe of her butt, squeezing the soft flesh.
Halle moans into my mouth. My tongue makes a hot, wet sweep inside as I seek pleasure and surrender to the primal need of kissing her.
Before I lose all control, I drag my mouth from hers and give her a meaningful—hopeful—look.
“Are you okay that I’m here? We don’t have to do anything if you—”
My words are hijacked when she snags my wrist and tugs me to the bed, giving me a push against my chest so I fall backward across her mattress.
“Shut up, Hockey Boy,” she says, her eyes flashing with heat. She reaches confidently to the buttons of my jeans, undoing them and dragging the cold denim down my legs so I can kick them off my feet.
Repositioning herself above me, she slowly undoes the buttons of her Christmas-tree pajama top, opening the flannel material so her breasts are exposed for my viewing pleasure.
I swallow thickly when she wiggles free of her bottoms and is left fully naked on top of me.
Her nipples pucker, and I reach out my hand to graze a stiff peak with the pad of my thumb.
“You look cold, Cherry. Maybe you need to be warmed up.” I lift my head and flick her distended nipple with the tip of my tongue before curling my lips over the peak and sucking hard.
Halle gasps loudly, and I rear back, eyes darting toward the bedroom door, where I notice the sliver of light illuminating the crack at its base.
“It’s okay,” she encourages, reaching for the hem of my Henley and tugging it over my head. “My brothers are playing video games in the basement, and my dad is asleep with his CPAP machine. They won’t hear a thing.”
“Good, because I’m going to make you scream so loud the windows will shatter.”
She giggles. “Are ya now, eh?”
I loop my arm around her waist and flip her onto her back, wedging my leg between her thighs. Oh Christ, she’s so hot. Her naked body is all heat and silk, and I want to bury myself inside her and let her fire consume me.
Our mouths collide, our hands exploring every inch of each other’s skin and bodies until we’re both panting and in need of release.
Suddenly I realize there’s no one else I want to be with. I know the clock is ticking, but I don’t want to rush things. Everything about her is perfect, and I want this moment with her tonight to last.
I remove the condom stashed in my jeans pocket and fit it over my erection, then position myself at her entrance. As I slowly edge the tip of my cock inside her slippery, aroused flesh, I stare down at Halle, her wavy hair spread over the pillow, eyes filled with anticipation and naked desire.
I reach down and sweep my thumb over her cheek, cupping her jaw before I lean down and—
I jerk upright on the couch, the haze of sleep and the dream lost as I come fully awake. I’m hit with an image that has me agitated and vibrating with tension.
It’s of a little girl with soft-gray eyes, blonde hair, and a smile that brings out a cute indentation in the middle of her chin.
Halle’s daughter, Lennon.
What the fuck?
I scrub a hand over my head, trying to dislodge the question that’s been bouncing back and forth since the day I met Lennon.
It’s not possible. No fucking way.
Or is it?
Am I Lennon’s father?