Chapter 37 Lincoln
LINCOLN
Yeah, I think to myself, that is exactly what I used to do after a win.
With post-game adrenaline surging through my body, I would go out and find a woman who was willing to spend just one night with me to lose myself in.
But I’ve lost the need to distract myself with an unknown, willing woman.
I glance back at Parker sitting in my passenger seat.
Her hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun; the makeup she put on before we left the hotel for the arena earlier has mostly rubbed off, and she’s got black circles under her eyes from her exhaustion.
She’s beautiful. Always has been and always will be.
And as I look away and focus back on the road, it’s even more obvious than before that the only woman I want to spend the night with is her.
Even if we are just lounging on the couch watching TV. That’s what I want.
Okay, so deep down, I may want a little more, but right now, I’ll take whatever she’ll give me.
Aware that she’s waiting for an answer, I swallow down my unease and be as honest with her as I can be.
“No, not tonight.”
“Why? Isn’t that your MO after a game? Go and lose yourself in a willing woman for an hour or so and then wait to see if she’s sold the story the next morning?”
I groan. Why does it sound so sleezy coming from her lips?
“It’s been known to happen,” I mutter, cringing over all the things that are probably floating around about me on the internet.
In the early days, I would search it out.
But now, I actively avoid that and all the other bullshit troll comments about my performance.
Nothing good can come from reading that shit about yourself.
“So why not tonight?”
“What’s with all the questions? Did you want me to go out and hook up?”
I glance over just in time to see Parker freeze, and I can’t help but smirk.
The thought of her being jealous of me with someone else lights something up inside me. I really shouldn’t like it as much as I do.
“You can do what you want, Linc. You’ve never needed permission from me before.”
A smirk pulls at my lips.
“If it’s okay with you, I think I’ll just stay in with my roommate tonight.”
Her chest expands as she sucks in a deep breath at my words.
“I’ve been looking at apartments,” she confesses. The thought of her leaving has my grip on the wheel tightening again.
“There’s no rush. You’re welcome to stay with me as long as you like.”
“I know. But I don’t want to cramp your style. We both know you can’t live life the way you used to with me there.”
“Do we?” I mutter.
She wants to say something, but she changes her mind and slumps back into the passenger seat again.
“Are you going straight to bed?” I ask as we ride the elevator up to my apartment.
Parker yawns again, but to my surprise, she shakes her head. “No. I’m exhausted, but I’m not ready to switch off yet.”
“What do you usually do to relax?” I ask, realizing that there is a hell of a lot about my best friend’s little sister that I don’t know.”
She shrugs one shoulder before saying, “Read, watch TV, doom scroll, anything really.”
“If you were to put Netflix on, what would be your go-to?”
I swear her cheeks heat a little as I wait for her response.
“Cheesy rom-com,” she admits quietly.
“Interesting,” I muse as the elevator's doors open and I take both of our suitcases in hand and walk out with them before she can reach for hers.
“I’m going to shower, then we can Netflix and chill if you want.”
She spins on my heels and glares at me.
“I know I’m a little younger than you, Storm. But I’m not stupid. I know what that means.”
Her nose is screwed up in the cutest way, and I can’t help but laugh.
“First one back to the couch gets to choose what we watch.”
“Jerk,” she mutters as she takes her suitcase from me and stomps the few feet to her room.
“Are you hungry? I can order in.”
She stills. “I could eat,” she admits, glancing over her shoulder.
“Any requests?”
She thinks for a moment before saying, “Surprise me,” and disappearing into her room.
The second I’m inside mine, I abandon my suitcase against the wall and drop my duffle bag on top of it. Falling onto my bed, I pull my cell from my pocket and scroll through a delivery app, trying to figure out what she might want.
I place our order, shower, shave, pull on a fresh pair of sweats and a T-shirt, and I’m lounging on the couch with drinks for both of us long before she emerges from her room.
She walks toward me in an oversized hoodie. It’s obvious it’s a man’s, and it sends a shot of red-hot jealousy through me.
“Whose is that?” I demand, unable to stop myself.
She blinks at me, confused. “Whose is what?” she asks hesitantly.
“The hoodie. Whose is it?”
It takes her a moment, but I know the second a smile appears on her lips, she understands my issue.
“Why does it matter whose it is?”
My fists curl on my lap and my teeth grind hard enough to crack one.
“Because it does. Whose is it?”
She chuckles as if this is the funniest thing she’s ever heard as she sits on the edge of the couch and points toward one of the sodas on the coffee table. “Is that for me?”
“Don’t try to be cute and distract me. Whose hoodie is that?”
“Christ, Linc. Possessive much?” She rolls her eyes at me, and I can’t stop myself. I jump to my feet and storm across the room. “Where are you going?” she calls, but I don’t stop. I can’t.
After finding my favorite hoodie, I march back into the room with it locked in my hand.
“Take it off,” I demand, my voice hard and leaving no room for argument. Although this is Parker, she always manages to be a brat and drive me to the brink of insanity.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Take. It. Off.”
“Linc, you’re being ridic—”
“Take it the fuck off, Parker. Before I do it for you.” My entire body trembles with my need to rip the fabric from her.
It’s irrational, fucking insane, but I can’t fucking stop it.
“What if I don’t have anything underneath?” she asks, fanning the flames that are raging.
“Then it really will be my lucky day,” I state, taking a step closer to where she’s still sitting.
I loom over her, waiting, silently praying that she’ll defy me and force me to deal with this situation myself.
My fucking pleasure.
I’ll have that hoodie in shreds before she knows what’s happening. I might even watch it go up in flames for good measure.
Her eyes hold mine, defiance flashing in their golden depths.
Bring it, Donnelly. Let’s see who really holds the power here.
After a couple of agonizing seconds, she shifts forward before pushing to her feet.
She stands to her full height, but I still tower over her small frame.
“You really are an asshole, you know that?” she taunts.
“I don’t give a fuck. The only thing I give a shit about right now is getting some other guy’s clothing away from your body.”
“You’re fucking deranged. I’m not yours, Linc. You have no say over what I do or what I wear.”
I know that. I do fucking know that. But fuck…
Dragging in a ragged breath, I try to soften my expression and relax my muscles.
“Please, Parker. Please, will you replace that hoodie with one of mine?”
Her eyes crinkle with amusement, and her lips twitch, once, twice, before her beautiful smile breaks free.
“Sure. You only had to ask nicely,” she says, her voice sickly sweet as she reaches for the bottom of the hoodie that hangs down on her thighs.
Please be naked underneath, please be—
My words die on my tongue as she reveals what really is beneath that hoodie.
“Oh fuck,” I grunt, taking a step back so I can take it in properly.
She’s wearing a sexy green lace bralette paired with matching silk sleep shorts.
The lace of the top is just sheer enough to allow me to see the rosy pink of her nipples, and it’s cropped at her ribs, showing off the dip of her waist before the satin covers her rounded hips, short enough to show off her muscular thighs.
I’ve just died and gone to heaven.
“P-Parker,” I stutter.
I don’t—
I can’t—
“Did you want me to wear your hoodie or not, Storm?” she snaps, holding her hand out for the fabric I’m still clutching.
“I…umm…if this is the other option, then I think you should stay like—hey,” I complain when she reaches out and snatches the hoodie from me before tugging it over her head and covering herself up.
Without a word, she drops back onto the couch, grabs her cell, opens up Instagram, and begins scrolling as if I’m not standing right here.
It’s long, agonizing seconds before she finally speaks.
“Just so you know, that hoodie didn’t belong to either of them,” she states, her voice void of emotion.
“E-either of them?” I question, my brain still clouded with lust.
“Yeah, Seth and—”
“Don’t,” I warn darkly. “Don’t say their fucking names.”
Her eyes jump to mine. “What the fuck has gotten into you tonight?” she asks as if she has no idea about the way I feel about her.
“They hurt you,” I say as if she’s forgotten.
“Right. And they’re in my past. Forgotten.”
“Are they?” I ask, unable to let this go the way I probably should.
I hold her eyes captive as my chest heaves, my heart racing beneath.
“Is that why you think all hockey players can’t be trusted? Is that why you turn and run at the sight of anything serious? Because you’re over them and what they did?”
“What the fuck, Linc?” she demands, surging to her feet again and standing toe to toe with me. “Who the fuck do you think you are to criticize me and the way I live my life? You’ve never been serious about anyone, ever. You go through women faster than I go through athletic tape.”
“Yes, I have,” I correct.
“What?” she asks, a cute frown forming between her brows as she tries to remember what she just said.
I move closer again, letting her sweet scent fill my nose.
It’s not enough. It’s never e-fucking-nough.
“You said that I’ve never been serious about anyone in my entire life. But you’re wrong. I have.”
She rolls her eyes and lets out a patronizing laugh. “A hockey puck doesn’t count.”
“No, but you do.”
Her frown returns, only deeper this time.
“What? No. That’s—”
I step closer still, her body heat burning down my front and my fingers twitching at my sides to pull her to me, to prove to her that she’s wrong.
“I meant what I said that night, Parker. I told you that—”
“No,” she argues before stepping back. But I reach out before she gets too far and tug her back, this time making sure that she’s pressed up against me.
Ducking low, I let my eyes drop to her lips before rising again.
“I meant every single word I said to you that night.”
Tears pool in her eyes, making me feel like an asshole for bringing this up when things have been so good between us. But fuck it, she needs to know.
I allowed her to walk away after that night without proving to her that I was serious.
I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.
Hockey will come and go. My playing career will eventually come to an end, and I’ll be forced to decide whether I still want to dedicate my life to the sport.
But Parker…she’ll always be there.
She’s my endgame. Always has been, always will be.