Chapter 23 Parker
PARKER
I’m exhausted by the time we walk into Linc’s penthouse the next afternoon. My hangover lingered until well after lunchtime, and I can’t say that flying made it any easier.
I still don’t regret last night, though. I needed it.
Was I a little disappointed in how my evening went with my potential orgasm deliverer?
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. But after Linc and Fletch left, all he could talk about was ice hockey and the guys.
He no longer seemed excited about spending time with me and only wanted to know about my friends.
And of course, his comment about the idiot who benched Linc stung a little.
He had no reason to know it was me, but he also didn’t need to belittle the person who made the decision as if his opinion was more important than a professional’s.
Thankfully, Brooke and Leah could read my body language, and when he was distracted, we headed out.
We debated going to another club, but in the end, we settled with a bar that served arguably the best margaritas I’ve ever had and almost enough carbs to soak up all the alcohol we consumed.
We laughed until our sides hurt, and eventually we got kicked out.
In a repeat of the night before, we dropped Leah off first and then made our way back.
Thankfully, there was no sight of Linc. I really didn’t need a repeat of the night before, even if the sight of him on his knees before me has since become a permanent fixture in my head.
I need to forget about the whole situation and how he looked at me like he used to. Those times are long gone. Everything has changed. He’s not that boy anymore, and I'm not the same girl who used to doodle his name in my textbooks and put our initials in hearts.
I was a sap back then who believed in romance, happily ever afters, and soulmates. It’s laughable, really, that I thought he could have been it.
Silly, naive little girl.
The temptation to take a pit stop on the way home so I didn’t have to lock myself in an apartment with him was strong, but all I really wanted to do was fall face-first into his guest bed and have a nice, long afternoon nap.
Linc and the guys might have the next two days off from practice, but I’m not so lucky.
I have meetings with the team to review training and rehab programs moving forward.
I also have a couple of sessions with members of the team, Linc included.
So, despite wanting a break from him, it seems that until I get my shit together and move out, it’s not going to happen.
“Plans for the afternoon?” Linc asks as we climb through the building.
“Sleeping. Last night was a lot.”
“Uh-huh,” he grunts. “That guy you met was a jerk.”
“Well, he seemed to love you.”
“Not as much as he liked you,” he mutters.
There’s something in his voice that makes me glance over at him.
I regret the move the second my eyes land on his face. He hasn’t shaved since we left, and the added scruff to his jaw only adds to his good looks.
He hasn’t said much about last night, but something tells me that he assumes I spent the night with the guy. Seeing as I don’t have to justify my actions to him, I allow him to continue thinking what he likes.
If Linc hadn’t come over, there was a chance I could have spent the night with him. And who knows, it could have been the best sex of my life. Or maybe he saved me from yet another disappointment when it comes to men. To be honest, that outcome is probably the most likely, but now I’ll never know.
I haven’t had a man in…well, ever, who hasn’t turned out to be a disappointment.
“Jealous that I had some fun while you spent the night listening to Kodie snore?”
“Who says I didn’t have any fun?” he asks, making something bitter and uncomfortable bubble up inside me. “I have girls ready and waiting in every city we go to. Look,” he says, pulling his cell from his pocket and opening up Instagram.
His inbox is flooded with messages from girls.
“You haven’t opened them,” I point out.
He chuckles at my confidence. “These are new girls trying their luck. I have a few trusted regulars who make life easier. Sometimes, it’s better the devil you know.”
“Ugh, you’re a dog.”
“Call me what you like, Little P. As far as I see it, I have a stressful job, and I need some stress relief every now and then.”
“Every now and then?” I echo. “Daily isn’t every now and then.”
He shrugs as if he has no cares in the world.
“Doesn’t it get boring?” I ask as the doors open and we move into his apartment.
“I could ask you the same about dating,” he points out. “The difference is, I’m only looking for some fun.”
“So am I,” I argue, although it’s a lie.
“Is that why you let them take you out to dinner so you can get to know them first?” he asks, quirking a brow. “If you’re only after fun, it doesn’t matter what his job is or if he’s funny. You just need a decent-sized dick and a man who knows how to use it.”
“Oh, I’m sorry for not wanting to fuck every asshole out there.”
He smirks. “Didn’t know you were into that. But each to their own.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I argue. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to spend time with decent people.”
“You might not want to admit it, but you’re looking for more, Parker.”
I roll my eyes, irritated that he can see through my bullshit.
“And you’re not?”
“No,” he states confidently. “I don’t have time for more. Hockey is my life. I have things I want to achieve, and having a woman in my life would be a distraction.”
“Is that what you think Casey is to Kodie?” I ask, offended on her behalf.
“No, that’s different. She makes him a better person, a better player.”
“And you don’t think there’s someone out there who could do that for you?”
He falls silent, his eyes dropping to the floor and his hand lifting to the back of his neck.
“Maybe I did once upon a time, but things change. Excuse me,” he says before marching forward with his bag thrown over his shoulder. Not five seconds later, his bedroom door slams closed, leaving me standing there alone.
“Well, okay then.”
Abandoning my bags, I take off for the kitchen to grab a drink and some snacks before heading to my room for a much-needed nap.
My afternoon nap ends up being a little longer than I was expecting. When I eventually wake up, my room is in darkness despite the fact that the curtains are wide open.
I blink in confusion, trying to remember where the hell I am. I need to get used to that, with all the travelling I’m going to be doing in the coming months.
After checking the time, I throw the covers off and pad toward the windows and stare out at the star-filled sky.
It’s beautiful and an unusual sight in the city. I guess being this high up does have its benefits.
Minutes tick by as I lose myself in thoughts, both of the past and the future. I run treatment plans through my head and think about how the upcoming team meetings are going to go.
Jarad seems to respect me and my opinions. Mitchell is another story, though.
I get it. I’m young and female—probably the very opposite of the person he was expecting to fill the vacant trainer role. Trust me, I was as shocked as anyone when I got the call to tell me I got the job.
I have experience working with athletes and ice hockey teams, but not at the NHL level. But they saw something in me. Something I’m not going to question because I’m here. I made my dream a reality. And I’m not going to let any chauvinistic bastard question my place on the team.
We all have to start somewhere, and I’ll thank my lucky stars every single day that I get to start here.
After freshening up, I pull on a sports bra and a pair of shorts before silently slipping out of my room and heading toward Linc’s home gym.
I’ve wanted to spend some time in it since I first found it, but life has gotten in the way. But this morning, while the rest of the city sleeps, is the perfect time to test it out.
I’m not really a gym person. I prefer Pilates, or a bit of yoga if I’m feeling tired. But seeing as it’s here for the taking, I figure it would be rude not to indulge.
I start off on the treadmill. I take it slow and steady, but before long, my face is red and I’ve got sweat running between my shoulder blades.
I move to his weight bench and work on my arms a little. But as good as the burn feels, it’s not my chosen type of exercise.
So instead, I abandon the equipment and walk toward the wall. I don’t need a fancy reformer to practice. I find a rolled-up mat, get it into position, and get to work.
With my back on the floor and my feet on the wall, I lift my ass off the ground, loving the pull of my muscles as I do so.
I work through a series of exercises that I’ve honed over the years.
I’m pushing up on my hand, my knees spread on the mat, and my feet against the wall when a figure appears in the door before me.
I gasp as Linc’s eyes run the length of me, but I don’t miss the way they linger on my ass.
“The fuck are you doing?”
“Pilates,” I state as I right myself and climb to my feet, not wanting to be at a height disadvantage.
“I have all this equipment and you’re using my wall?”
“Yeah, problem?” I quip, my hands on my hips.
Without trying to hide it, he drops his eyes again, taking a leisurely stroll over my body.
My chest heaves from exertion, and my skin is glistening with sweat. I don’t need to look into the mirrors that cover an entire wall to know I look a mess.
“Nope. No problem here.”
“Pig.” I scoff, reaching for one of his rolled-up towels on the rack beside his head and wiping my face.
“I thought you were in better shape than to be sweating from some wall stretches.”
My eyes widen at his assumption.
“You’ve never done Pilates?”
He chuckles. “No. Isn’t it a woman’s thing?”
I nod, an idea forming in my head.
“Yeah, I’m sure you’d find it a walk in the park.”
“I’m a professional athlete, Parker. Peak condition here.”
My eyes drop to his thigh, and I regret it immediately. The shorts he’s wearing are short enough to show almost every ripped muscle of his thick thigh.
“Is that so?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.
“You like looking at my crotch, don’t you, Little P,” he teases.
“I go to classes two to three times a week. Once I’ve cleared you, you should join me. Show me how it’s done.”
“Okay,” he states, his confident smirk firmly in place.
“Great. I’ll book you in. I’m going to shower and get to the arena,” I say before walking around him.
“What? You mean I don’t get to watch you do weird sex positions while I work out?”
“Pilates, Storm,” I correct. “And get any thoughts of me and sex positions out of your head. You’ve got plenty of bunnies waiting in your inbox for that, remember?”
I walk off with my body burning and an image of him in some of those positions with me.
Inviting him to a class with me was a very bad idea.
But I refuse to let him think that just because I’m a woman, I can’t do the hard shit.