Chapter 15
Rowan
Nervous didn’t even begin to express how I was feeling about this date with Reid.
I checked my outfit in the mirror several times.
I even sent a picture to Elliot and Nix to get their input.
Elliot’s first question was who the lucky guy was, and of course, I wasn’t about to spill the beans about me and Coach.
Evan knew simply because he had asked enough times about what happened with my heat, and lying to my closest friend was nearly impossible.
Also, Coach insisted on picking me up at Evan’s place. I’d had to go back home to get clean clothes. My plan had been to sneak in and out to get back to Reid’s house, but Reid wanted to “do things properly.”
Once I was ready and finally left my room, I found Evan sitting in the foyer watching out the front window. He had a direct view of the driveway.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I want to talk to Coach before you leave.” The matter-of-fact tone to his voice left no room for argument.
I groaned and put my head in my hands. “Why? It better be something team-related and not about me.”
“It is about you. Because I’m your honorary big brother, and I’m not going to let him take advantage of you.” Evan folded his arms over his broad chest.
“You know I spent my heat with him, right? It’s a little late to give him the talk.”
“Don’t care.” Evan shrugged one shoulder and turned back toward the driveway.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. There was no way around this, and honestly, I kind of loved it. Evan was the best honorary big brother I could ask for.
“So where is he taking you?” Evan asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. He never said.” The man hadn’t had a ton of time to plan, and I would be content with a simple dinner at a restaurant.
Evan rolled his eyes. “Come on, man. I—”
The coach’s car pulled into the drive, and he got out. I raced to the door, hoping to beat Evan there. But of course, the hockey player was faster than I was. He held me at arm’s length as I tried to get to the knob. He opened it.
Reid raised a brow.
“Hello, Coach.”
“Evan. How are you?”
“Doing great. Come on in.”
“No, we really should be going,” I said. I tried to sneak past Evan, but he blocked me.
Reid chuckled. “Well, if Evan wants to read me the riot act, I suppose I can’t blame him.”
“Rowan should be home at a decent hour.”
“It’s the middle of the day,” I exclaimed. Also, I had woken up that morning in Reid’s bed, so that ship had sailed. It wasn’t as if we were protecting my virtue.
“Exactly. So 5pm?”
Reid shook his head. “How about we let Rowan decide when he wants to come home from our date.”
Evan sized him up. “I suppose that’s a good response. Where are you going?”
“That is a surprise, but I can assure you, it is a public activity. We won’t be alone.”
Well, that was kind of disappointing. I rather liked the things that we did when we were alone.
“I suppose that’s appropriate. He didn’t have a proper lunch. Will you be feeding him?”
“Yes, I actually have a picnic lunch packed.”
“Impressive,” Evan said.
“Indeed. Now, if you don’t mind—”
Reid held out his hand to me, and I laced my fingers into his. Evan stayed there in the doorway until we got to the car.
“Use protection,” he called out.
My cheeks heated. Reid chuckled as he opened the door for me, and I slid into the passenger seat.
“I’m sorry,” I said once he got inside.
“Don’t be. I love how much the team loves you.”
“Yeah, they are something else.”
“They’re your family.”
“Exactly. That’s kind of all I really wanted, you know, being a part of a team like that.”
Reid nodded. “It’s a little different for me as coach. I’m a little more on the outside, but I like building that. I like seeing the trust and camaraderie build between the team. It’s a powerful thing.”
“That’s what you like about coaching?”
“Yeah,” he said.
We fell into a comfortable conversation as we drove out of town. I didn’t pay any attention to where we were going. I just trusted that wherever Reid was taking me would be fun. Still, I was surprised when we pulled in at the animal shelter.
“Have you been here before?” he asked.
“A few times,” I said. “We did an event here last year with the team. I was in costume, though, and the dogs did not like it. I’ve volunteered at shelters in the past. I can’t get an animal for myself since I’m traveling too much, but I’ve always wanted a dog.”
“They have a path here where we can take animals on walks, so I thought that was what we could do today. You’re not allergic, are you?”
I shook my head. “No. I love dogs.”
“Great. Let’s go.”
We got ourselves checked in and signed all the paperwork we needed to get authorized to be volunteers, then we were given a map and a crash course on what to do while we were out and about.
Reid’s dog was a massive Doberman that was clearly overweight.
He had been surrendered by his owner when they moved states and couldn’t take him with them.
My dog was a rambunctious eighteen-month-old puppy that had been picked up off the street.
He was all skin and bones, and feet that were way to big for his little body.
He was a sweet little thing, although he did jump a lot.
My dog kept tugging on the leash. Meanwhile, Reid’s dog lagged behind, trotting along like he had all the time in the world.
Still, we fell into a comfortable pace. When we got to the fenced-in area where the dogs could play, there was a bucket of tennis balls.
I let my dog off the leash once we had the gate shut and threw a ball for him.
The little guy raced around all over, getting the ball and bringing it back.
The Doberman lay snoozing at Reid’s feet.
I couldn’t help the wide smile that spread across my face. The sun was shining and I was with an alpha who looked at me like I mattered, that I was important. And also, the lazy fat dog was sitting at his feet, not letting him move.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying this,” Reid said.
“Me too. I never would have pegged you for a pet person.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had one. Maybe I will again someday.”
“Maybe,” I said.
“Traveling is the one thing I just don’t enjoy about the job.”
“Really? I kind of love it. I’d never be able to visit so many places otherwise. Then again, I’m sure I’ll get tired of it. Of course, for me, I have more downtime when we’re on the road. Plus, no one recognizes me.”
I settled on the bench next to Reid. The puppy brought the ball over and dropped it at his feet. He picked it up and tossed it.
“We’ll be in Detroit in a few weeks. There’s a restaurant there that I’d like to take you to. I look forward to it every time I’m in the city.”
I bit my lip to keep from smiling like a lunatic, when really I wanted to jump into the air in celebration. “I’d like that.”
“Great. It’s a date.” Reid leaned closer to me and softly kissed my lips. “I missed you all day.”
“You saw me this morning.”
“I know, but I didn’t enjoy being apart. What will it take to convince you to come back to my place with me?” He winced after he spoke the words.
“What?” I asked. I couldn’t resist reaching out and touching my hand to his thigh.
“That sounded like I wanted you to come back to my place for sex, but I truly do want to spend time with you. We can talk. You can even stay in the guest room if you prefer.”
I grinned. “I think that ship has sailed, don’t you?”
“Not at all. Just because I shared your heat with you doesn’t mean I expect anything else. I want you, there is no doubt about that. But I will follow your lead, Rowan.”
I kissed him again, then nuzzled my nose against his neck. “I want you, too,” I said.
The puppy barked, and we were forced apart with a laugh. “I guess we have to table that discussion. These two want to get moving,” Reid said.
“One of them does, anyway.” The big Doberman still lay at Reid’s feet, fast asleep. I pulled out my phone. “I’m going to let Evan know that I won’t be coming home tonight.”