38. Piper
THIRTY-EIGHT
PIPER
“I can’t believe you’re going on an international trip with Liam .” Lexi folds one of the shirts I’m packing and tosses it in my suitcase. “I wish I knew what he was like off the ice.”
“You’ve seen him off the ice.” I check the weather app on my phone, frowning at the temperatures. “I feel like you know him best.”
“I stretch his legs, Piper, and he grunts when I ask him a question. That doesn’t mean I know him.”
“I think it’s great.” Maven watches us from my bed, a hand on her growing stomach and another holding a jar of pickles. “You two are having fun together, right?”
“Yeah,” I admit, biting back a smile. “A lot of fun.”
“And when was the last time you had fun?”
“A year into my marriage with Steven before he started working ninety-hour weeks. When we hit our second anniversary, I think I went months without smiling.”
“I promise I’m not going to go to his house and start shit, but if I ever run into him in public, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.” Lexi crosses her arms over her chest and scowls. “I won’t hold back.”
“Call me so I can help you.” Emmy tosses her phone onto the mattress and stretches her arms above her head. “He’s the reason Piper and I drifted apart during college.”
“Really?” Maven asks.
“Yeah. He was intimated by Emmy’s career, and he told me she wasn’t a good influence.” I snort and add a pair of sandals to my bag. “Says the guy who was fucking his secretary.”
“Insecure men suck. We need more people who aren’t afraid of a woman’s success. I mean, look at Maverick. He didn’t make the 4 Nations Face-Off team, but Emmy did. Is he crying about it? No. He’s making shirts with her face on it to wear to the games.”
“He’s what ?” Emmy groans. “God. I don’t know if I should be embarrassed or turned on.”
“Both, probably.” I grin. “How are things going with you two after the wedding?”
“Not much has changed, honestly. I think the reason we work so well is because we have distance between us during the season. It makes the time we’re together even more important, you know? Like, I don’t want to fight with him when I’m leaving the next night.”
“What about when you all retire?”
“I’m so ridiculously in love with that man, it won’t matter.” She laughs and plays with the diamond she wears when she’s not on the ice. “It sounds so silly, but before Maverick, I didn’t want to settle down. I didn’t want to have kids or this huge family, and I was convinced no man out there would change my mind. Now, kids are all I can think about. Imagining him as a dad makes me emotional, and I know he’s going to be the best father. Does it suck that I’ll have to give up my career to create that life? Yeah, a little bit. Then I think about ten years down the road, and it won’t matter. I’ll have everything I could want. I’ve done what I set out to do when I got called up to the NHL: break the glass ceiling for women in this sport. I was the first, but I won’t be the last. I can rest now.”
“ Jesus , Hartwell. Miller. Wait—did you change your name?” Lexi asks.
“Not until I retire. I love him so much, but I want my name on the back of a jersey. Not his.”
“Oh, he’s so going to take yours.” Maven grins. “That boy wants the world to know you’re his.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to that.” Emmy glances at me. “He keeps asking about you, Piper.”
“What? What about me?”
“I don’t know. He mentioned something about Liam and a secret and his favorite book trope? He wants to know if you’re wearing anything different these days that you weren’t wearing two months ago? I have no fucking clue what he’s talking about.”
“Tell him she’s wearing a smile because she is. Look at how she’s glowing,” Lexi says.
“Okay, enough with the flattery. I have no clue what Mav is talking about, Emmy. I’m not wearing anything—” I snap my mouth closed, the chain of my necklace heavy against my skin. I touch the ring hidden under my shirt and turn bright red. “Oh, my god.”
All three girls look at me, and I busy myself with zipping up my bag.
Liam and I agreed we wouldn’t tell anyone.
I don’t know how Maverick found out, but hearing he’s kept his mouth closed around Emmy, the woman he tells everything to, surprises me.
“What’s wrong?” Maven asks.
“Nothing.” I shake my head. I’m not going to violate that trust I have with Liam, no matter how badly I want to tell my friends about what I’m hiding under my clothes. “I panicked about my passport, but I remember where it is.”
“I’d pay money to see you pull that prank on Liam when you’re at the airport.” Lexi grins. “He’d probably freak out.”
“Kind of like how I’m freaking out.” I groan and climb on the mattress, taking the spot between Emmy and Maven. “I’m nervous about meeting his family. I’m nervous about how we’re supposed to act around them. I’m nervous because Liam and I slept together, and I’m nervous because I definitely have a crush on him.”
“Holy shit . You cannot unload all of that on us twenty-four hours before you leave the country.” Maven grabs the pillow behind my head and hits me with it. “You slept with him and we’re just now hearing about it?”
“I’ve been busy!”
“Yeah, riding his dick,” Lexi chimes in, and I bury my face in my head.
“Yes, we’ve slept together. Yes, he’s amazing in bed. Honestly, the sex I had with Steven doesn’t even count. He never fucked me like that.”
“Details,” Emmy demands. “And don’t leave out a thing.”
I tell them about our first time and our second. I hold back on the video we made, not wanting the gossip to get back to someone who might tease Liam about it. I let them know how good he is. How patient and considerate he is while also having a filthy mouth I dream about.
“And now we’re coming up to the end of all of this, and I’m kind of sad.” I sit up and bring my legs to my chest. “I know I’ll find someone else. I’m not going to be single forever. But then I think about him sleeping with another woman and… I don’t know. I don’t like it. Which is insane, because he’s told me multiple times he’s not interested in a relationship.”
“Neither was Maverick when I first met him. He was the ultimate playboy, but look at him now,” Emmy says. “He spends Friday nights sending me articles on what cribs are best for newborns, and I’m not even pregnant.”
“Yeah, but Liam’s reasoning is his job. He knows how quickly things change in this sport, and he’s afraid if he’s distracted, if hockey isn’t his sole focus, he’ll lose everything he’s worked so hard for.”
Lexi shakes her head and stretches across the foot of the bed. “So show him he can have both.”
“How do I do that?”
“I mean, it sounds like you’re already doing it. You spend time together. He’s playing incredible hockey. And, whatever you’re doing in the bedroom is acting like a stretching tool too, because he’s in the trainers’ room less than he was last season.”
“Yeah, because I really make sure to prioritize his hamstrings when we’re sleeping together,” I draw out, and the girls all laugh. “I respect what he wants and what he doesn’t want. I’m not in love with him. It’s a crush because he’s giving me attention and treating me right. I bet if I went to the bar around the corner and started talking with a guy I met there, I’d feel the same way.”
“What if you didn’t?” Maven asks.
I don’t know.
I haven’t let myself think about it too deeply, because we have such a good thing going right now.
It’s easy and fun.
It’s sex, yeah, but I’ve fallen in love with myself again.
I’m happy. I’m healthy. I’m sleeping with a man who makes me feel like I could be queen of the world, and I’ve never had this kind of confidence before.
Through learning and exploring and his guidance, I’ve found my voice in and out of the bedroom. I’ve been quiet for so many years, but I’m not anymore.
If I had asked any other man to take on this task, they would’ve failed. I would’ve given up because of my low self-esteem. Because I felt judged or inadequate.
But not with Liam.
With Liam, I can fly.
“I guess I’ll have to experiment and find out,” I say, keeping my tone neutral. “Which dresses do you think I should bring? I have four I was trying to pick from.”
“The pink one,” Emmy says. Maven and Lexi hum in agreement, and I crawl off the mattress. “It’s going to look great with your hair.”
“That’s what I thought too.” I add it to my second suitcase and gesture to the other options. “I need one more. We’re not there very long, but I don’t want to feel like I have nothing to wear.”
They help me decide on two more to bring. After we pack my bags and I know where my passport is, we move to my living room with bowls of ice cream. I listen to the things going on in their lives feeling warm, happy, and content.
I’d go through hell and back a thousand times if it meant finding my friends on the other side, and no matter what man I end up with, he’ll always come second to the three that helped put me back together.