Chapter 6
The icy stillness of the morning usually soothed my errant mind, while pausing my tired body after a long eventful shift.
But not this morning. I sat on the back bumper of Engine Twenty-Two and tried to find that familiar peace that could only be found after a bad call in the middle of the night and before the world woke up for their normal, mundane day.
That space when people were none the wiser about the terror that we faced while they slept peacefully in their homes.
I longed for the comfort I normally found in that space. My mind had been wreaking havoc on me all shift, a shift I wasn’t even supposed to be working and regretted volunteering for since last night.
Right about the time I walked away from Frankie and her sweet, sinful lips so I could push her and her desires into my best friend’s eager and capable hands.
Damn, Trav was going to owe me big time.
My body tightened again, remembering the way Frankie had asked me to kiss her. The way she tasted, the way she sounded when I eagerly obliged. She had felt perfect, pinned to the wall, kissing me back with such vigor and need.
I knew for sure that no one had touched her body with only her pleasure in mind for a long time. She might have dated or hooked up with men since returning to Cedar Bluff, but I could just tell that no one had taken care of her needs the way she deserved.
Or maybe now, after she went home with Trav, someone had.
Last night I’d pushed her toward my best friend with a joke on my lips, and something like a blade twisting in my chest.
Think of me when you kiss him goodnight.
I’d said it like it was funny. Like it didn’t matter. But it did.
And I thought about it all night long. I thought about her.
Her mouth. Her eyes. The way her fingers curled into my shirt like she didn’t want to let go.
And then—the look that Travis had in his eyes when I turned around and found him watching us. Watching her.
Like she was something he’d been trying not to need and just couldn’t anymore. Part of me felt good for giving my friend the push he needed to make a move on the woman he had lusted after for years.
And the other part of me felt gutted that Frankie was that woman in the end. Something happened between them after I went to work, I could feel it in my bones. But it didn’t hurt me to think about.
That was the part that messed with my head the most. I didn’t feel like I lost something as Travis gained it. It felt like we were sharing something we weren’t supposed to be allowed to have in the first place.
So even though we were splitting the prize, it was still a win for both of us.
Fuck, that sounded sick and twisted.
“Morning,” A gruff voice called out behind me.
Travis.
I had heard the familiar rumble of his classic truck when he pulled in but couldn’t muster up the courage to walk out and greet him.
Looking over my shoulder, I found him holding a drink carrier with two coffee cups in it and a look on his face like he didn’t know whether to flinch or grin.
“Is that a peace offering?” I asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
“Figured you were probably all up in your own head.” He handed me a cup. “Thought maybe I’d try to caffeinate the overthinking away.”
I snorted and took the coffee, shaking my head. “So, rip the band-aid off, tell me what happened.”
He took a seat on the bumper next to me and sighed before letting the silence stretch around us for a while. Finally, he put me out of my misery.
“We kissed.”
I nodded, letting his words sink into my mind as the caffeine started to hit my bloodstream. “Was it a good one?”
He groaned and widened his eyes.
Damnit.
“Well, shit.” I grunted.
“Don’t act like it wasn’t a grand slam when you had her in the equipment room all to yourself,” He deadpanned, “I saw enough to know better.”
“I’m not.” I whistled, taking another sip.
“You’re not mad?” He asked after a while, like he had been waiting to ask.
“No,” I replied instantly, and that made him blink like he wasn’t expecting it. “I’m—” I trailed off, trying to find the right words. They didn’t come easily, nothing about the whole situation did, but I leaned on the decades of friendship between us to lead the way. “Relieved? I’m relieved.”
His brow furrowed, “Relieved I kissed the woman you like? And that she enjoyed it?”
I laughed softly and shook my head again, “Relieved I wasn’t wrong. That she wants both of us.”
Silence again hung between us, but it wasn’t the bad kind.
“And you’re okay with that?” he asked cautiously, like he didn’t want to tip something over an invisible edge and ruin everything.
I looked down at the cup in my hands, fingers drumming lightly on the lid.
“It’s weird as hell in a way,” I admitted, “But I don’t feel—threatened.
I feel like—” I took a deep breath and looked over at him, finding his penetrating gaze locked right onto me.
“Like we’re better at this if we’re not pretending it’s a race. ”
Travis stared at me for a long moment before letting out a long breath, and I realized that was what he’d been waiting to hear.
“You’re saying you want to date her together?” He asked, looking for clarification.
My jaw flexed, I hadn’t said it out loud yet. Not even to myself. But the second the question left his mouth, the answer was there, solid and settled in my chest.
“If it’s what she wants,” I said quietly, “Yeah, I do.”
He didn’t say anything back, but after a long time, he held his coffee cup out to me, and I chuckled, bumping mine against his with a grunt.
That was enough.
A truce.
No, that wasn’t the right word.
Permission?
Permission to make what we wanted out of the situation without worrying about anything else.
There was a shift in the air between us, thankfully. A new kind of game had been started, without either of us realizing it until now.
And I couldn’t stop smiling. Because as messed up as it all sounded, I fucking loved the idea of a little playful competition for the woman that had been driving us both mad with need for years.
The challenge.
The chaos.
The shared obsession.
Frankie Blake was right in the middle of it all, loud, stubborn, sexy as hell and somehow on the receiving end of all the overdue care and devotion she had been missing her whole life.
Hope she was ready for us.
“Okay, line drills!” Travis yelled, blowing his whistle, and the tiny tots scrambled to the blue line. “Set.” He warned, and they all dropped their shoulders, getting into position. “Go!”
The kids shot off, skating to the next blue line and resetting, ready to race back to prove who was fastest. Parents lined up against the glass, watching their kids excel at practice for the first time, probably ever.
Even the kids who lacked skills but had heart competed and proved they had a right to be there.
And Emmie—damn. The girl took shot after shot, and every kid on the ice cycled through drills, ending with shots on each goal at opposite ends of the ice. The goalie the old coach kept in the crease missed more than he stopped, but he was getting the hang of it.
Emmie didn’t need any guidance; she just got it.
She got the game. She got the mechanics. She got the puck.
Every. Single. Time.
She was natural. Travis had been right, and if she worked hard, she could go big with her skills. It felt incredible to be a part of it all. Helping the girl and her teammates finally craft their skills and dive into something worth spending time on.
Never mind the fact that it felt really damn good to feel Frankie’s proud gaze from the sidelines too. That made something in my chest all gooey.
God, she looked fucking good too. Perhaps I was just imagining things, but she appeared to have put a bit more effort into her look as she came down the bleachers before practice.
Her black jeans looked painted on, and her white sweater embraced her curves like a caress I wanted to be a part of. Instead of her signature topknot of dark hair, she wore it down, letting the long locks dance around her shoulders and down the long line of her spine to the top of her ass.
An ass worth worshiping too, if I did say so myself. I wasn’t even an ass man by choice, but I’d still fall to my knees behind Frankie any day of the week because hers was that damn sexy.
“Sunshine!” Emmie screeched from goal. “Take a shot. I bet I can stop it!”
I chuckled as Trace cheered her on from next to the net, “Yeah, give it your best shot!” He called.
I grabbed a puck and started toward her, skating fast, keeping the puck moving like I would in an actual game, and she hunkered down in net, locked in. I passed it back and forth, trying to trick her and even did a quick spin, faking to the left before shooting it at the top right of the net.
As it soared toward her, it was like the whole rink quieted, watching to see if she managed to stop a full speed puck.
She started to the left, where I led her before shooting, but she quickly corrected and got her glove up into the right corner, plucking the puck out of thin air and dropping it onto the ice to show her prize.
“Boo-yah!” She cheered and broke out into a fancy little moonwalk dance as she pumped her arms up and down excitedly. “Top shelf, where Mama hides the cookies!”
“Damn.” Trav said as he came to a stop at my side. “I didn’t think she’d get it. You put a lot of smoke behind it.”
“Sure fucking did,” I said with pride. “That girl has spunk.”
“Just like her mom.” He said, skating around in front of me and nodding to the bench behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder and found Frankie’s glowing stare aimed directly at us, though she was far enough away that I couldn’t tell which one of us she was staring at directly. Which only amped up the excitement of it all for me.
Looking back at Trav and the uncharacteristic smirk on his dark face confirmed that he was thinking the same thing. “Wanna make a bet?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes but didn’t skate away, “You never win those.”
I scoffed and skated backward away from him and toward my target. “First one to get her alone wins.”
Trav looked over at Frankie, and then his grin darkened. “What’s the prize?”
“We let her choose.” I winked, and my body heated just thinking about finally getting her alone again.
“Game on, brother.” He called, and I skated off toward the boards, turning to Frankie and finding her coming down the steps to the opening by the bench.
“What are you two up to?” She asked instead of a greeting with a skeptical look in her eyes.
“Nothing honorable.” I replied with a smirk, and her lips parted at my bluntness.
“Tell me something,” I leaned on the boards, and she quickly looked around at the other parents milling around, but they were all too far away to overhear anything I said.
“Were you a good girl?” Her chest heaved, and she quickly licked her lips, eyes darting to Travis on the ice.
“Don’t look at him, look at me.” I demanded, and her eyes snapped back to me. “Were you a good girl the other night?”
She steeled her spine and crossed her arms over her chest, “I was something, the other night. Though I’m not sure anyone would classify it as good.”
Fuck.
Her words went straight to my dick.
“Did you kiss Travis like I told you to?” I urged and her cheeks pinked even more.
“Yes.” She whispered, glancing around us again.
“Did you like it?” I pushed, gripping the top of the boards, begging her to play my game with me.
“Elliot,” She warned and then took a deep breath when I didn’t waver. “Yes.”
“More than you liked my kiss?” Cocking my head to the side, I challenged her even more, “Or do you need a refresher so you can decide?”
“You’re trouble.” Frankie hissed, glancing over my shoulder again and then back to me before she took an almost invisible step forward. “Maybe I want a refresher.”
“After practice is over.” I started firmly.
“The kids—” She shook her head, like she was shaking off the spell that weaved around us.
“Leave it to me.” I said and gave her a quick grin. “I’ll be seeing you then.”
Skating back into the chaos of Tiny Tot’s hockey, I held her gaze until I had to give my attention back to the kids. Glancing up at the play clock on the wall, I started making plans as I counted down the last twenty minutes of practice.
Twenty minutes.
Then Frankie Blake was going to get a taste of a Net Crashers double team.