Chapter 13
ARCHER
“Man, you were on fire tonight.” Jack claps me on the back as we step off the ice and head for the locker room.
I pull off my helmet, tucking it under my arm. “My low angle game could use some work. Overall, not bad.”
Jack stops, setting his stick on the rack just inside the tunnel. “Something on your mind? You’ve been quiet all practice.”
Oh nothing, just thinking that I’ll be balls deep inside your baby sister in around an hour.
“Nope. I’m good,” I reply, pushing a hand through my hair. “Locked in on the regular season and determined to beat my shutout record.”
My center cocks his head to one side, studying me.
Jesus, am I that transparent?
I tear my gaze away from him and look down the tunnel, concluding the less eye contact we have, the better since I’m a terrible fucking liar.
“How are things going with Abbie?”
My molars meet as I focus back on my friend. “She’s good. Busy with work.”
He nods lightly. “What does she do?”
Crap, crap, crap.
“She’s, eh, a teacher. Kindergarten.”
“Oh, nice. Will she be coming to the GM dinner? It’d be great to meet her.”
Actually, no. Because the girl I’m really involved with is your sister.
I wince, partly at the dead-ass awkward situation I’m in right now and partly to help sell yet another fucking lie. “She’s not big into events or loads of people. I’ll probably introduce her if we get more serious.”
Jack pulls off his gloves, jutting his chin down the tunnel. “You got a picture of her?”
And now all I can think about are the two photos I have of Darcy posing in my private elevator, dressed in only underwear. Along with the other photo I took when I first slid inside her and the one she sent me at lunch yesterday.
I’m getting hard.
In front of her brother.
I’m a bad friend.
“No,” I blurt out. “No pictures.”
Jack’s brows pull together. I can’t say the confused look he’s giving me is surprising. I sound like a total fucking weirdo.
“All right, well … I know Kendra is keen to meet Abbie, so don’t keep her locked away forever.”
I just smile because, honestly, what the fuck else am I supposed to do?
“Sure,” I reply, trying my best to engage in the conversation. “I guess the other girls will want to meet her too, especially Darcy.” I literally have no idea why the fuck I said that. As if the hole I’ve dug for myself isn’t big enough already.
Jack puffs his cheeks out, scratching at the back of his neck. “You know my sister …”
I do.
“She’s the ultimate social butterfly.” He drops his hand from his neck, slapping it against a padded thigh. “Well, I don’t suppose she’s feeling very sociable right now though.”
Immediately, I’m back in the conversation, pulse kicking up, along with my adrenaline.
“Oh, really? Why’s that?”
I haven’t spoken to Darcy since we texted yesterday. In truth, I want to speak with her every goddamn second.
On a sigh, he shakes his head. “Mum called me last night, asking if I would stop by her apartment with a prescription for Darcy.”
“Why?” I ask quickly.
He props a hand on his hip. “She has a history of lower respiratory tract infections that the doctors are familiar with, and it looks like another one has hit her. You know what she’s like—fiercely independent, like Kendra—but she needs an antibiotic, and Mum is tied up with work.
I dropped them with Darcy first thing this morning, and she looked … yeah, I’m worried about her.”
I’m halfway to the locker room when Jack catches up to me.
“Are you sure everything’s good with you?” He wraps a palm around my arm, twisting me around to face him. “My gut is rarely off, and right now, it’s screaming that something isn’t right with you.”
How in the hell I force a smile, I’ll never know. “I’m honestly fine, Jack. I’m tired, and I didn’t get much sleep last night. I just want to head home.”
What the fuck is this piece of shit?
I could kick this in, using only my big toe.
Knocking a couple of more times on Darcy’s poor excuse for a front door, I wait for her to answer, bracing a hand on the dark wooden frame above my head.
“Excuse me, are you the boy I spoke to a second ago?” An older lady peers around her door, watching me closely.
“Yeah,” I say, going to knock again.
I only know the building Darcy lives in because she told me once on a night out, just after she paid a deposit on the rental agreement.
Finding her actual apartment would’ve been a lot harder had it not been for her neighbor—aka the lady who buzzed me up on the intercom and told me Darcy lived next door.
And now she’s standing in front of me, holding what I assume is a key to Darcy’s place.
“Are you her boyfriend?” she asks, sliding the key into the lock.
I’m both grateful and fucking petrified over the current situation. In around three minutes, I’ve seen how easy it would be to break into my girl’s apartment. My best guess is, she isn’t answering her door or phone because she’s passed out in bed, and that hurts my heart.
“Yes,” I reply, spinning more lies as I go.
“Her mom just left, you know. Family have been coming and going all day.”
As I step inside Darcy’s apartment, I’m tempted to ask the old lady how she knows all this, but my gran was exactly the same before she died last year—she knew everything going down on the street where she lived.
“Thank you for your help …” I break off, unsure of her name.
Smiling sweetly, she pockets Darcy’s key. “Elsie. And you are?”
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised she doesn’t watch hockey. “Archer.” I offer my hand out to her.
“Archer?” a weak voice calls from behind me. “What are you doing—”
I spin around to find Darcy coughing up a lung.
“Best you go and take care of your girlfriend.” Elsie winks before disappearing out of sight, her front door closing with a click.
I close Darcy’s door and head straight down her hallway, stalking the few yards toward the girl doubled over and dressed in a fluffy pink robe.
Still coughing, she holds a hand up in front of her.
All I want to do is pull her into my arms and ask what she needs. That’s not how this girl works though.
“You c-called m …” She heaves in a deep breath.
I’m unable to stop myself as I wrap my arms around her small frame, smoothing a hand down the back of her head. “Take a second, Doll.” I close my eyes. She smells insanely good, even when she’s sick. “Don’t get worked up. You’ve got an infection.”
A few more beats, and the coughing fit subsides. She looks up at me, blue eyes still big and gorgeous, even with a dull sheen to them.
Fuck me. She’s not doing well.
“Do you need to see a doctor?”
She shakes her head slowly. “I’ve already been, and I have the antibiotics I need.”
Darcy breathes out against my chest, nuzzling into me. I know she’s vulnerable and searching for comfort, and right now, she’s finding that with me. My lungs inflate for the both of us.
“Some people get throat infections or repetitive migraines; I get chest infections. A few days and a course of medication, and I’ll be fine.”
My hand comes under her chin, tipping her face up to look at me. “You aren’t fine. I’m worried about you.”
I can tell she wants to roll her eyes.
“I’m a big girl, Archer.” Darcy turns to look down her hallway. “And I’m not your girlfriend either. Elsie speaks to my mum when she visits and could drop us both in the shit.”
“It’s fine. If asked, Elsie would describe me as a tall, dark-haired guy, and that’s hardly narrowing it down. Aside from my incredible looks, there’s not much else that sets me apart.”
She deadpans and takes a deep breath, trying to force oxygen into her lungs.
The temptation to brush my mouth over hers is too strong, and I do exactly that.
“Your lips are dry. When did you last take on fluids?”
She rubs them together, swiping her tongue over them. “Why are you changing the subject?”
I wrap my arms under her ass and carry her into a room just off her small living space. I presume it’s her bedroom since there aren’t many other options.
“Archer,” she continues, “you aren’t my boyfriend, and you just told Elsie you are.” Her voice is more prominent, demanding an explanation as I lay her down on the king bed and pull a pale pink duvet over her body.
“I know I’m not your boyfriend, but you weren’t answering the door or my calls, and I panicked. Elsie asked who I was, and I figured she’d already met your brother.” I wink.
Darcy sits up in bed when I pick up an unopened bottle of water and unscrew the lid, handing it to her.
“You play with fire, Thigh Boy.”
I low chuckle. “Thigh Boy? Where the fuck did that come from?”
Her eyes drop to my gray sweats. “I think the clue’s in the name, don’t you?”
Another coughing fit overtakes her weakened body, and, fuck, I feel so goddamn helpless.
“Get some rest.”
Nodding, she takes a sip of water and sets the bottle on her nightstand, sinking down into the bed. All I want is to be lying next to her, making sure she’s okay.
“You should go,” she whispers, already falling asleep. “When I’m sick, Mum usually visits a couple of times a day. Jack said he might stop by, too, and there’s no way I can hide your six-foot-four ass in my tiny closet.”
“I’ll stop by again tomorrow after morning skate.”
She shakes her head, face down into the pillow. “No. It’s too risky. You will one hundred percent be caught, and I can’t be doing with a pissed-off brother, alongside an infection from hell.”
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“Tough,” she coughs into her pillow.
I lean down, bracing a palm beside her head.
With my other hand, I tuck the hair covering her ear behind it.
“You’re such a brat—you know that?” Kissing the shell, I watch the way her skin reacts beneath my touch.
“And while I might not be your boyfriend, you are mine for however long we’re sleeping together.
” I kiss her again. “I’m going to need regular updates from you throughout the day.
Seeing you like this is killing me because I care about you, Darcy. ”
She groans in response, turning her head to look at me. All I can see is an eye and the corner of her smile.
“Okay, you got yourself a deal.”
“How many days do I need to keep away?” I ask, convinced I won’t last more than a few hours.
“I’ll call you when I’m better and the coast is clear.”
“I don’t want to leave you,” I repeat.
Darcy lifts an arm behind her, motioning to the door. “I’m fine. I promise.”
It must be another few minutes before I finally turn to leave. Darcy’s breathing is more even, along with a soft snore.
Walking out of her bedroom, I close the door behind me and look around her kitchen and living space. It’s not exactly tidy, although I can tell someone has taken the trash out and wiped down the kitchen surfaces. Probably her mom when she was last here.
A pile of paperwork sits on the corner of her breakfast bar, and I make my way over to it, taking a seat at one of the stools.
This is technically classed as snooping, but, hey, I’m telling lies and claiming relationships with anyone I want these days. What’s another immoral act?
On top sits a master-level sudoku book. Most of it is completed, and there are little doodles—hearts, flowers, and smiling faces—dotted around the pages.
I know Darcy is smart and has a high IQ—I didn’t need her to tell me to figure that one out. This though? This screams of someone with next-level intelligence. Like, who the fuck does this stuff for fun? She’s even made up her own problems in the corners, challenging herself further.
Searching underneath the puzzle book, I find a letter from Premium Rentals, titled: Welcome to your new home.
Blowing out a sarcastic breath since this place is about as secure as my confidence when it comes to other guys chasing my girl, I scan the contents and land on a name and number. This must be her landlord.
Don’t do it, Archer. Put the letter down and walk away.
Pulling my cell out of my pocket, I pause on punching in the number, one last attempt to stop myself.
It doesn’t work, and a few seconds later, I’ve got the phone to my ear, listening to cheesy hold music as I drop down from the stool and pace Darcy’s living area.
“Hello, Ian Rands speaking.”
I pause my pacing. “Hi. Are you the guy who owns apartment fourteen in Deuce House?”
There’s a beat of silence before Ian replies. “I am. And you are?”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I blow out a long breath. “I’m Darcy Thompson’s boyfriend, and I need to speak with you about the security in this place.”