Chapter 15
MADDIE
Sharing my twin bed wasn’t ideal, but sleeping in my brother’s basement with Matt was not an option either. Especially since I asked Matt to keep us a secret. Not forever, just until I figured out the best way to break the news to Noah. He’d flip out, and I wanted to be sure about Matt before we had that awkward conversation. No reason to tell Noah if we ended up breaking up.
I moaned at the feeling of Matt’s lips on my neck. “I gotta go, sweet pea,” he whispered.
It was early, like dawn early, but my internal clock was permanently set to hockey practice time. The Bulldogs were on the road this weekend, and I felt selfish keeping Matt in my bed last night. He needed to be well rested for his road trip ahead.
“I know,” I sighed but craned my neck to give him more access.
Last night had been so great, but I couldn’t believe I told him I wanted to be restrained. I’d blame that on the post-orgasm bliss.
He pulled away from my neck and turned me so we were side-by-side, looking into each other’s eyes. “When I get back, let’s go out.”
“You don’t have to. You already took me out when you didn’t let me pay for dinner.”
He squinted at me. “That didn’t count.”
“Yeah, it did. We went out and enjoyed each other’s company, then we banged.”
He laughed. “Geez, Maddie.”
I grinned. “What? I had a great time.”
“Me too. So let’s go somewhere else and do it again.”
“Okay, if you insist.”
He gave me a quick kiss. “I do. But I gotta go. I get to do the walk of shame and need a clean suit for the jet.”
He got out of the bed, and I watched the muscles in his back and butt as he bent over and got dressed. He gave me a wink when he noticed me staring. I felt heat course through me. How did I nab this hockey hottie?
He put his tie back on and cleared his throat. “So…last night you mentioned wanting to be restrained. Was that heat of the moment talk or something you really want to explore?”
I pulled the comforter over my head. “Oh, my God! I can’t believe I told you that.”
I heard him laugh, and then he lifted the comforter off my head. “Hey, I’m willing to do it if that’s what you want. Let’s research it.”
“Really?” I asked. I peered up at him, waiting for the sarcastic smirk, but Matt looked at me with those kind eyes he always gave me. He was always sincere.
“Sure. I’ve never done that before, but if it’s something you want, let’s look into it.”
“Maybe some leather cuffs?” I offered and bit my lip. I was sure my face was as red as a tomato. “I’m not sure I want to be tied up with rope. If we do that, we should use proper equipment, not a tie or scarves. That can be dangerous.”
He cocked his head. “Dangerous how?”
“I’ve done research already. If you use ties or scarves, the knots can fall in, and you want to make sure it’s safe.”
His lips curled up. “You’ve already done research?”
“We don’t have to… It’s a fantasy. I might not actually like it.”
I wanted to pull the comforter back over my head and stop having this conversation.
I read a lot of romance books. I didn’t want him to be my Dom or anything, but the idea of being chained to the bed or held down by him while he fucked me appealed to me. I didn’t want to scare him off, though, especially if he wasn’t comfortable with it.
He climbed back into the bed with me and cradled my face. “I’m game if you want to do it. You say no, and we don’t do it, okay?”
“Okay.”
He stroked a thumb across my cheek. “I’ll text you when I land and get situated.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Let me. But I really gotta go.”
He kissed me one last time, and I savored the feeling of his lips on mine. It disappointed me when he let go and left, but I knew he was running late if he was going to run back to my brother’s house and then catch the jet with the team.
I got dressed and started my day, bummed that he was already gone. Was it too early for me to miss him? Well, too bad. I already did.
With a sigh, I made coffee and sat down at my computer to get work done before I had to head to my first class.
I was on cloud nine the rest of the day and only half-paid attention to my classes. I hadn’t been expecting Matt to come over and announce his feelings like that last night. It surprised me in the best possible way. He didn’t like that I wanted to keep us a secret, but I needed time to figure us out and to warm my brother up to the idea of me dating one of his teammates.
I was knocked out of my daze when I got to practice and Kiira threw a towel at my head. “Ow! What the fuck?”
She snickered. “Did you get it in last night after you ditched us, you bitch?”
I felt my face heat. “Maybe…”
Karen laughed. “Good for you. He’s cute.”
“I guess,” Kiira agreed with a shrug. “If you like men.”
I grinned. “He is. And very sweet. It’s just complicated with my brother.”
“LADIES!” Elsa walked in with a stern look on her face. “Enough chit-chatting. Get on the ice.”
She zipped out to the rink, leaving us all staring at each other in confusion.
“What’s up her ass?” Karen muttered.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. She hates me.”
“It’s because you’re a better player,” Karen said.
“No, I’m not.”
Karen nodded. “Hell yeah you are. It makes sense now knowing who your brother is.”
I pulled on my practice jersey. “Oh, yeah, keep that on the down-low. It’s much easier for no one to know I’m Noah Kennedy’s baby sister.”
I checked my phone, and a small smile played on my lips when I saw a text from Matt.
MATT: Going to dinner with the boys. Miss you.
My heart fluttered.
He missed me, too.
ME: Have fun. Miss you too. Good luck tomorrow.
I set my phone down and got out on the ice. We ran through drills, and I felt like my thighs were on fire as Coach had us doing laps at one point. We had a game tomorrow against Maryland, and they were our fiercest rival. I was feeling good about it, but it might have explained why Elsa was being so hard on us.
I wasn’t worried about the game because we beat Maryland the last time we played them. Kiira would be a brick wall in front of the net again, and I’d skate circles around their players. I was confident in at least that.
“We’re gonna kill them tomorrow, right?” Karen asked.
“Hell yeah!” I agreed. “We’re gonna bring it to them.”
“Atta girl, Kennedy!” she cheered.
I was so ready to kick ass in this game. Maryland had to bring the heat, or else they’d be eating my pucks.
* * *
Elsa was screaming at us from the bench as I made my way with the puck up past the neutral zone. Karen and Casey were on my wings, but I was fighting Maryland’s defenseman. I deked a shot and passed it to Casey, and she took the opening. It bounced off the post, and then I scrambled in front of the net.
It was a sloppy goal, but it went in, and my teammates rounded on me in a goal celly. I hugged it out with them, glad to make the game 2-1 us, with only a few minutes left in the final period. It was the much needed goal to edge Maryland out.
I skated back to the bench, high-fiving my teammates and getting back on the pine for the change up.
“Good job, Kennedy,” Elsa said to me, and then whipped her head back to study the ice.
Karen nudged me. “Look at you, getting approval from the captain.”
I laughed her off and watched as the minutes ticked by at the end of the game. We ended up winning, and we were all in high spirits. Even the Ice Queen.
We went into the locker room, all of us laughing and dancing at the much needed victory.
“Party at my house, bitches!” Kiira yelled from the center of the room.
I laughed.
“You better be there, Kennedy! We all know your boyfriend’s on the road, so no excuses.”
“Boyfriend?” Elsa asked.
“It’s…new,” I explained as I shrugged off my gear.
“He’s on the road?” she asked, curiosity marking her face.
I sighed. “He plays for the Bulldogs…with my brother.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “I went to highschool with a guy on the team. Matt Callahan.”
Matt never mentioned he knew her, even after I bitched about her. Not that I mentioned her by name. But Ty was his best friend so they must have known each other.
“Matt’s a good guy, great hockey sense,” she continued.
“I know. But he’s not putting enough power into his shot.”
She laughed. “You’re right. Well, good luck with that.”
I felt like she meant it sincerely, but I never could tell with her.
I got off my gear and headed for the showers. If I didn’t feel so disgusting, I would have waited to get back to my dorm; the showers at the rink were terrible. After a cold shower because my teammates took all the hot water, I shrugged on clothes and headed out.
My phone buzzed in my hand as I was sliding it into my hockey bag. Seeing Matt’s name on my screen made me answer it and put it against my ear. “Hey!”
“Hey, sweet pea. How’d the game go?”
I beamed at his question. We had texted last night about it while we bonded over our worries about our upcoming games. “Good. I scored the game-winning goal.”
“That’s great!”
“How was your game?”
The Bulldogs had an afternoon game today against the Carolina Thrashers, and then they were headed to Nashville for another game tomorrow. I hadn’t checked the score before I went to the rink for my own game.
“Good. We won, but I didn’t put up any points. Where are you now?”
“Walking home and then I have to go to a victory party.”
“By yourself?” he asked, and I heard the protectiveness in his voice. It was sweet, but at the same time, it annoyed me.
“Babe, I’m fine!” I walked up to my dorm building and scanned my ID card to open the door. I got on the elevator and rode it while we kept on chatting.
“I don’t like you walking alone at night by yourself,” he said.
“Babe, I know, and it’s so sweet you worry, but I’m okay.”
He grumbled on the other line, and I was glad he couldn’t see me roll my eyes. I got out of the elevator and walked down the hall toward my door. I unlocked it and dropped my bag down on the floor in my room.
“What are you doing?” I asked him.
“Waiting for the jet to go to Nashville.”
“Oh!”
“He’s talking with TJ like twenty feet away,” he said, answering my unasked question. “Are you sure we shouldn’t…”
“Not yet. You still need to take me on that date.”
He chuckled into my ear. “Okay. Is it bad that I miss you already?”
I grinned to myself. “I miss you, too.”
“I better go. Just wanted to hear your voice. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then.”
I hung up with him, and I felt giddy.
He was mine. He was my boyfriend, and he called me tonight because he missed me. I couldn’t wait for him to be back home again. To be in his arms and kiss him like he’d never left.
My feelings for Matt were already so deep. But that little voice kept reminding me that we needed to keep this a secret. Just for now. If Noah found out now, his freakout would break us. Like it had with every other guy before Matt. I needed to figure out if this was going to work before my brother threw that wrench into our relationship. I wished Matt understood that.