Chapter 14
MATT
“That’s holding!” I yelled from the bench, trying to support my teammates on the ice.
The Columbus Assassins had been getting away with every dirty play in the book tonight, and it was pissing me off. Hallsy shook his head at my antics since he was used to me being vocal during games. Sometimes that got me in trouble. Riley told me to work on that so refs didn’t call me for a bullshit penalty like they did last period. Those assholes seemed to remember who made their job a little harder. Maybe if they actually did their job, I wouldn’t have to speak up so much.
Hallsy nudged me—it was go time. While he used the door, I hopped over the bench and skated onto the ice into play. Benny took the faceoff while Hallsy and I studied our opponents, looking for our in to get possession of the puck. We needed Benny to win the faceoff first.
But he didn’t, and we raced off down the ice, trying to get the puck away from the Assassins while Riley and Logan tried to be our wall of defense in front of the net. There were five minutes left in the period, and we were winning, but nothing was ever over that quickly in hockey. I’d learned that lesson the hard way. Every second in hockey mattered, and any second could be the difference in a tide-turning game.
After getting benched, I was ready to prove to my coaches, my teammates, and even this city that I was here to win it all. That meant showing up on the ice every night and skating my balls off if I had to. Tonight was no different.
I hustled down the ice, my heart wanting to explode as I skated from zone to zone, trying to get the puck into the net, but to no avail. The Assassins D-men were on my ass all shift while Riley and Logan were killing it, and Metzy was a brick wall in front of the net. I needed to find that opening if I wanted to put up another point and help my team toward another win.
But that point eluded me. We got shots on goal, but nothing connected. After skating back to the bench when my shift was over, I watched as we won the game by merely running out the clock. I hated winning games that way. It was still a win, but I couldn’t help but feel disappointed in my performance tonight.
Part of it was because I was distracted by my conflicted thoughts about Maddie.
“You did fine tonight,” Benny said as we shuffled back to the locker room.
“I need another point,” I argued.
“We won the game. That’s what matters.”
I tried not to argue with him. Benny had been in the league for a while and knew what he was talking about, but it didn’t assuage my worries about my standing with the team.
“He’s worried about getting benched again,” Hallsy piped up.
Benny waved me off. “That was to give TJ more ice time. Don’t take it personally.”
Kinda hard not to, but Riley had reassured me of the same thing. I trusted both veterans not to steer me wrong.
The locker room was bumping with our victory song when we walked in. I stripped off my gear while we waited for Riley to announce who got the Silver Bucket we gave to the MVP of the game. It was pretty obvious who the star player of the night was. It wasn’t a team win. Tonight was a goaltender game. Fucking chess match.
Riley turned down the stereo. “Alright, boys, no surprise, it’s that beauty, Metzy!”
“METZY! METZY! METZY!” my teammates cheered. It was contagious, especially with TJ standing on top of the bench and lifting his hands in the air, urging us to get louder.
Metzy pale face reddened. He was a quiet guy, kinda serious like Noah, but for a goaltender, it made more sense. He had a lot riding on his shoulders, and sometimes he took the blame for a loss when he didn’t have good skaters in front of him. Goalie seemed like the worst yet most important position on the team. I wasn’t sure I could handle that pressure. Metzy carried the weight in stride, never letting the pressure get to him. He had shone brighter than the rest of us tonight with his aerobatic moves in net. Proof once again why the young kid was our superstar goalie.
Metzy took the helmet and put it on his head. He said a few words, and then we all finished taking our showers. Noah had to meet with the media since he scored the lone goal in the game, but I planned to take off without him anyway.
“You need a ride home?” he asked before heading into the media room.
“Nah, I’m gonna meet a friend tonight. I’ll see you later.”
He eyed me suspiciously. “Don’t be late for the jet tomorrow.”
“I won’t.”
He walked off, and I got dressed. Benny gave me a nod in confidence as I walked out. I called a car and headed to West Philly. I needed to set things right with Maddie. I had to lay out all my cards for her. If she only wanted me so she could lose her virginity, we could go back to being friends. That would be totally fine. Even if I didn’t like it.
I cringed at the rates for the rideshare app but did it anyway because she was worth it. When I got out of the car and walked up to her dorm, I wasn’t sure what I was going to say. I should have called her—I didn’t even know if she was home. She could be out with another guy. Jealousy clawed up inside me at that thought.
Turned out I didn’t have to worry about any of that because as I approached the high-rise building she lived in, I saw her with a tall blonde and petite brunette. The three of them laughed as they stumbled down the sidewalk.
Her pretty mouth slid down into a frown when she saw me. “Matt?”
“Hey, sweet pea.”
“Oh, it’s the guy!” the blonde exclaimed. She had her arm around the other brunette, and they looked a little tipsy. That explained the stumbling.
“We’ll be going now,” the brunette said. “Good luck, Mads.”
“Hope you get it in!” the blonde cackled.
Maddie clenched her jaw and glared at her friends. The two girls waved goodbye and then took off, drunkenly stumbling along together. Maybe tonight wasn’t such a good night to say all this to Maddie.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m mad at you.”
I sighed. “Can we talk?”
“Fine,” she snapped and spun on her heel toward her dorm.
I followed as she scanned her ID and opened the door to her building. Tension as thick as fog wrapped around us while we stood in the elevator, waiting to go up to her floor. She made big strides once we were on her floor, and if my legs weren’t so long, I might not have been able to keep up with her.
She kicked off her boots in her room, and I shut the door behind us.
“I know I said it was just sex and nothing would change, but it hurt when you left without saying anything,” she said.
I crossed the room to her and framed her face in my hands. She looked up at me, her eyes searching my own, but the words weren’t coming out. I had so many things I wanted to say to her, but I felt frozen. So I did the only thing I could think of—I slanted my mouth on hers.
She flinched at first, but then she slid her hands around my neck and leaned into me. I angled her head and kissed her deeper, sliding my hands down her sides until they rested on her hips.
Kissing her made me forget all the reasons I came here tonight. All the things I wanted to say melted out of my brain when her lips were on mine again. It was like I forgot all my worries when she was in my arms.
I slid my tongue across the seams of her lips, and she opened to me. Our tongues battled, and she moaned into my mouth as the kiss got heated. Until I hiked her up into my arms and deposited her on the bed.
The sight of her on her back brought the memories of last night rushing back into my brain. “Maddie…”
“C’mere,” she purred, crooking her finger at me.
“I… We need to talk first.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“Sweet pea. I…”
Her eyes blazed at me. “You’re the one who kissed me. If you didn’t want to lead me on, you shouldn’t have done that.”
I crawled onto the bed beside her and kissed her again, softening her resolve. I pulled away and rubbed a thumb across her cheek. “I need to know we both want this.”
“Of course I do.”
I pointed between the two of us. “No. I need to… I really like you.”
She nodded slowly, processing the words. “I like you too.”
“I want to be with you.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Oh.”
“Oh?”
Dammit. Did she not want that? Had she only used me for sex?
“What are you saying?” she asked.
“I don’t want to be in the friendzone.”
“I don’t want that either.”
“But I don’t want to be a casual fuck buddy, either.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh. Like you want to date me?”
I nodded, tipping her head up to look me in the eye. “I want to take you on a proper date. Not just to Local Hangout. I want to hold your hand and say you’re my girl.”
“Really?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
Her smile lit up the room, but then it immediately slid off her face. “Oh. But…my brother.”
“I’m gonna sit him down and talk to him.”
She shook her head. “Matt…we still don’t really know each other all that well. I don’t want to say anything until we know for sure that this—us—is something we want.”
I furrowed my brow. “I don’t understand.”
“Can we…keep this on the down-low? Not forever. I want to figure us out before getting my brother involved.”
Unease spread across my chest, telling me this was a bad idea. I needed to be upfront with Noah. I couldn’t date his sister behind his back.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
She ran a hand down my chest. “Come on, it’ll be fun. We get to sneak around and be naughty together. Don’t you want that, babe?”
I wanted to date her, but I didn’t like this plan one bit. Going behind Noah’s back was a bad idea, but when she looked up at me with that naughty twinkle in her eyes, the rational part of my brain lost. Horny Matt won out, and he didn’t give a fuck about the right thing to do.
“If that’s what you want,” I said.
“You know what I want?” she purred.
I grinned as she slid her hands through my hair. “What’s that?”
“You.”
My lips upturned into a grin. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “Out of these clothes and making me come again.”
The grin on my face got bigger. “You’re a horny little thing, huh?”
She groaned. “You have no idea. Now that I’ve had you, I want you again and again.”
I pulled away from her, shedding my suit jacket and undoing my tie. She ran a perfectly manicured hand up my dress shirt, her touch sending a shock through me. She pulled me down for another kiss, and I settled myself between her legs.
We kissed with a hunger we hadn’t expressed last night. This wasn’t going to be a slow and gentle exploration. Not judging by the way she undid my shirt and pulled it off my shoulders. Or by the speed at which I pulled her shirt over her head and peeled her jeans off.
I kissed my way down her body, taking in the sweet floral scent of her body wash and perfume. She was a vision in her mismatched underwear. Chicks only matched if they thought guys would see. Not like we cared—we’d rather it be off.
She groaned.
“What’s wrong?” I purred between kisses along her thighs.
“You’re taking too long,” she whined.
I hooked a finger into her underwear. “I want to savor you.”
“Well, do it faster.”
I traveled back up to her lips and kissed her again, silencing her needy demands. She writhed against me, trying to feel me against her.
“Such a horny little girl,” I growled into her ear and kissed her neck. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Please, Matt.”
I wanted to bite my fist at the sound of her voice when she begged. God, she was sexy, and she didn’t even know it. Didn’t know how I was about to explode if I didn’t have her soon, but I wanted this to be good for her again.
My lips marked a path down her chest, and I pulled the cups of her bra down to expose those gorgeous breasts. Maddie was lean and athletic with a small chest, but everything about her was perfection. I rubbed a thumb against one nipple while I sucked the other into my mouth. She ran her hand through my hair while I did, encouraging me to continue. I rotated to her other breast until she was arching her back and begging for me.
When I pulled back, she leaned up and unhooked her bra, tossing it to the floor. I pushed her back down against the bed and made my way toward her center. I peeled her panties off, tossing them to the floor, and dipped my head down for that first taste.
“Fuuuuck,” she cried out, making me grin as I feasted on her.
I sucked on her clit and pumped two thick fingers inside. Within seconds, she was moaning my name and thrusting up into my face. Until I felt like she was about to pull out my hair.
When I lifted my head up, her eyes were closed, and she looked like an angel in her post-orgasm bliss.
“Good, sweet pea?”
“Mmmhmm.” She opened her eyes and stared at my undressed attire. “Now get those pants off so I can return the favor.”
I wish, but I would blow my load and not be able to perform if she wrapped those pretty lips around my cock. “Later. I want to be inside you. Condoms?”
She pointed under her bed, and I got up, kicked off my pants and boxers, and opened the drawer where she kept her condoms. The condoms and lube were in there, but I also noticed three different cloth bags in the drawer.
“How many toys do you have?” I asked as I opened a condom package and slid it down my length. I squeezed some lube on it and rubbed it down my shaft.
Maddie’s face got beet red. “A few.”
I climbed back into the bed and kneed her legs apart. “Such a horny girl.”
“I was a horny little virgin.”
I laughed. “Not anymore.”
“Matt, stop stalling. I want you so badly.”
I rubbed the head of my cock against her clit, teasing her but not giving her what she wanted. She arched up against me, begging me with her body to give her what she wanted. I leaned down to kiss her again before finally pressing inside her. We groaned in relief at the sensation of me filling her up.
I slid all the way out and then back in, giving her what she wanted while she wrapped her legs around me so I could feel her deeper.
“Fuck,” I groaned into her hair. “You feel incredible.”
“Don’t stop,” she moaned. “Use me. Take what you want from me.”
I leaned up on my knees to get a better angle and pressed her hands above her head. I interlaced our hands, giving me leverage, and took her harder. She was pliable beneath me, and we moved in unison, like our bodies were made to be locked together. Like we fit.
“Matt,” she cried out.
I kept going as the waves of her orgasms washed over her. Her eyes closed, and she sank back on the bed. Then I couldn’t stop myself. I took her roughly, rocking her bed against the wall until my eyes rolled back into my head, and I growled out my release.
When I opened my eyes, she was still pinned beneath me but looking up at me like I hung the moon. I unclenched our interlocked hands and gave her a quick kiss before pulling out and getting up to get rid of the condom.
I came back to the bed and pulled the comforter over us as we lay together, trying to catch our breath.
She swirled a hand over my chest and kissed my neck sweetly. “I was so mad at you this morning when you were gone, but I think you made up for it.”
I kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure what to do, and I had to get to morning skate. Are you sure you’re okay with us not telling your brother?”
She nodded. “He doesn’t need to know. Not yet.”
“Okay. If that’s what you want.”
“I want to figure out what we are first.”
I looked down at her and tilted her chin up to look at me. “You’re my girl, right?”
The smile cracked her face. “You want me to be?”
“I wouldn’t be here laying all my cards out if I didn’t.”
“I want to be your girl.”
“Good.”
She laid her head on my chest, and I knew I should head home so I wasn’t late for the jet tomorrow, but I didn’t want to leave the comfort of her arms.
“Matt?” she asked after a few minutes of silence had passed.
“Hmm?”
She put a finger to her lips. “I like when you restrained my hands tonight.”
I quirked up an eyebrow. “Oh?”
A pink tinge spread across her cheeks. “I know I’m inexperienced, but being restrained is one of my fantasies.”
“Like being tied to the bed?”
“Maybe…” she said with a sly smile. “I like the idea of my hands being above my head in leather cuffs while you have your way with me.”
“Okay,” I breathed out.
That was not something I thought she was going to say. Or something I’d ever done with a chick. My high school girlfriend and I never explored that, and none of the hook-ups I had on the road said they wanted me to tie them up. I’d only ever had vanilla sex.
She put her hand over her face. “Sorry. I made it weird. If that’s not something you want?—”
“I’m willing to try it to figure out what you like. What position did you like better?”
“I liked both. But my thighs are on fire from last night and practice today.”
I grinned. “Next time we’ll try something different, okay?”
She smiled up at me. “Really?”
“Yeah, girl. I’m all yours. What you want, you get.”
Then she kissed me again, and I definitely wasn’t going home tonight. I could get up early to catch the jet tomorrow. Tonight, I’d stay in my girl’s arms.