Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
*WYLIE
“Babe,” Levi calls out when he enters the apartment.
“Right here.” I’m in my chair where I’ve been working on a drawing for Patty all day. I was struggling with the angle, but after staring at her vagina for two hours straight, I figured it out.
“Oh.” Levi laughs and kicks off his shoes before walking up to me with a gift bag in hand.
They got home from their away game late last night and had to report to the stadium today for some light training. Levi texted me from the ice bath, explaining to me the anatomy of his man parts and how they shrunk into nothing while he iced his body.
Something I didn’t need to read, but it was entertaining to say the least.
The one thing that Levi never fails to do is make me laugh or roll my eyes, and he’s done a lot of that in the past few days. He hasn’t let me sulk or question. Instead, he’s made me feel loved and protected—cherished—like he does every day.
He leans and cups my cheek before kissing me on the lips. “You smell fucking amazing.”
I smile. “Thank you. Sandie brought me a new perfume because she thought I needed some cheering up.”
“Well, tell her thank you.” He sniffs along my neck. “Jesus Christ, that is . . . that’s making me hard.”
I chuckle and set my iPad down. “I think I can take care of that for you,” I say as I move my hand between us, but he stops me.
“Hold that thought.” He holds up the gift bag. “I got you something.”
“You did?” I take the bag from him and ask, “Is it that vibrator we were looking at the other day?”
“No, but I did order it, and it’s been shipped. Counting down the days for that to arrive.” He taps the bag. “This will be better, though.”
“Better than the Magician? That’s what it was called, right?”
He nods his head. “Yup, better than the Magician.”
“How could anything be better than the Magician?” I open the bag and look inside to find a jersey.
“Levi,” I say on a gasp as I pull it out.
A full-on Agitators—women’s cut—jersey and on the back .
. . it says Posey. I squeeze the shirt to my chest in a hug and say, “Oh my God, I love it. Thank you.”
“There’s one more thing.” He nods at the bag, so I look inside.
At the bottom is a ticket. I pull it out, and it’s for tomorrow’s game. “What’s this?” I ask.
He takes my hand. “Will you cheer me on at tomorrow’s game officially as my girlfriend?”
“Are you serious?” I ask.
He nods. “Yes. Dead serious. I want you there, representing me. I want to look up in the stands and see your face. No more hiding, no more secrets. Tomorrow, I want it to be about us.”
I tilt my head to the side as I stare at the most handsome, caring, and loving man I’ve ever met. “Yes, Levi, of course I will.”
A large smile spreads across his face as he loops his hand behind my head and brings me in for a kiss.
When he pulls away, he says, “Winnie and Ollie will be sitting next to you. Everyone knows who they are, so if people see you between them with my jersey on your back, it’s like announcing to the world that you’re mine.
” He lifts my wrist and kisses my bracelets.
“Possessive much?” I tease.
“When it comes to you . . . yes.”
Then he lifts me and carries me to the dining room table, where he spreads me out.
“Now, excuse me while I feast.” He pulls down my pants and thong. “I’m fucking starving.”
“Have you ever been to a game before?” Winnie asks.
“Did you really just ask her that?” Ollie says while we carry our pretzels and drinks down to our seats. “She’s the coach’s daughter. Of course she’s been to a game.”
“I meant as Posey’s girl. Maybe she hasn’t, you don’t know,” Winnie counters as she shuffles down our row and finds our three seats. “She could have been banned from all games like she was banned from all penises on the ice.”
“And look how that turned out,” Ollie says with a wink.
I chuckle. “Yes, I’ve been to several games, but I’ve never sat three rows back, and I’ve never cheered on a boyfriend.”
“Ooo,” Winnie says while bumping her shoulder with mine. “This is so exciting. I feel like I go feral at games.”
“She does,” Ollie says as she takes a bite of her pretzel. “It can be scary at times.”
I look out toward the ice, where the boys stretch and warm up.
It takes me a second, but I spot Levi over with Eli.
They’re both stretching their hip flexers and chatting it up.
I glance around the arena, taking in the energy and, for the first time, fully appreciate the love for these men.
Grown men cheer, children wave their hands, and women toast their beers.
There are signs asking for pucks, telling the players how much they love them, and even a few proposals.
There’s one for Levi that makes me chuckle.
It truly is a sight to see, and I can understand why someone like my dad would revel in such impassioned energy all the time. It’s addicting.
Speaking of Dad. He’s behind the bench in his standard black-on-black-on-black attire, hands behind his back, looking out over the rink. Sterling, his assistant, talks to a few players on the bench while the staff prepares for the game around them.
But my eyes remain fixated on my dad, as I take in the stoic yet intimidating set of his shoulders. The way he casually observes but is calculating every little advantage in his head. He’s conniving and smart, one of the many reasons the Agitators are the team to beat this year.
“You okay?” Winnie asks.
“What? Oh yeah. Just thinking.”
“About your dad?” Ollie asks, mouth full of pretzel.
“Yeah,” I answer.
“Have you spoken to him since everything went down?”
I shake my head. “No, and that’s okay. I’ve come to terms with it. It sucks, but like Levi has said, it’s his loss if he doesn’t want to be a part of my life.”
“He’s right,” Ollie replies. “And I don’t say that very often.”
“It’s taken me a second, but I’m coming to terms with that train of thought.”
“Good,” Winnie says. “If anything, you’ve gained a whole bunch of brothers and sisters.”
I smile. “I can get on board with that.”
“I can barely talk,” Winnie says, her voice hoarse.
I rub my ear. “Yeah, and I think I can barely hear.”
“Glad you were the one in the middle,” Ollie says as we walk toward the players’ locker room. “Usually I’m the one with a ringing in my ear after a game. Told you she was loud.”
“Like, way louder than I ever could have imagined.” I glance at Winnie. “You’re so small. How do you do it?”
“Blessed with powerful lungs, I guess,” she answers.
“It was a good game, though. I will admit that,” Ollie says. “Do you think Posey got in that fight because you were watching? He was barely checked into the boards, and it looked like he lost his cool.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “But it was really hot.” I bite the corner of my lip, recalling the fight.
Levi was hardly touched, but he got the other player a few times in the ribs and once on the face.
Levi went to the penalty box with a sweaty head of hair and a ripped jersey, while the other player went in with a bloody nose and a dazed expression.
“Posey could have given him a few more wallops. I think he held back. He was showing off but not being barbaric about it.”
“I’m sure it will aid in tonight’s festivities,” Ollie says.
“Most definitely.” Winnie winks just as the locker room door opens, and Silas pops out, looking fresh from the shower. When he spots Ollie, he walks right up to her and wraps her up in his arms before placing a big kiss on her lips.
“Need you, babe,” he says, barely loud enough for us to hear. And then he whispers something in her ear that makes her cheeks flush.
She twiddles her fingers at us. “Got to go. Talk to you later, ladies.”
“Bye,” Winnie and I say together with a laugh.
When they’re gone, Winnie leans over and whispers, “Bet they do it in the car in a parking lot somewhere.”
“Seriously?” I ask.
Winnie nods. “Yup, they’ve been into this voyeur, almost getting caught situation lately. I don’t know. I prefer the privacy of my own home where Pacey can bend me over the counter.”
I laugh just as the door opens again, and this time, it’s Levi. He’s wearing the same green suit he showed up in, but unlike the image I saw of him on social media, walking into the arena, this time, he has a smile on his face as he spots me.
He scoops me up into his arms, spins me around once, and plants a huge kiss on my lips. When he pulls away, he groans quietly. “Fuck, I love seeing you here, waiting for me in my jersey. It feels like everything is right in the world.”
I cup his cheek. “Everything is right in the world.” Then I stand on my toes and kiss him one more time before pulling away. “Ready to go home?” I ask.
“Ready.”
I turn toward Winnie. “Thanks for tonight. My ears will never be the same.”
“Anytime.” She winks, and then, hand in hand, Levi and I start heading toward the parking lot, but stop when we see my dad staring back at us.
I knew this would happen at some point, but I wish it didn’t happen tonight. Not when we’re both on such a high from the game.
Dad crosses his arms over his chest. “Wylie, may I have a word?”
That doesn’t sound great.
“Uh . . . sure,” I say as I look up at Levi. He nods and then leans down and gives me one more kiss before he encourages me to go with my father.
I head toward his office, but my dad moves toward the rink instead.
“Where are you going?” I ask him.
“Follow me,” he says. So I do as I’m told and follow him through the players’ tunnel and onto the bench, where he takes a seat.
He leans his forearms on his thighs as he stares out at the ice. Uneasy and unsure of what he’s going to do, I keep some distance from him and prepare my heart for whatever he has to say.
After a few seconds of silence, he says, “Did he get you that jersey?”
I look down at it. “He did.”
Dad slowly nods his head. “Seems like he really cares about you.”
“He does,” I answer. “We, uh, we actually have known each other longer than what you might think.”