9. Griffin
CHAPTER NINE
GRIFFIN
I t’s quiet in the apartment now since Layken went to take a bath. No reels playing on her phone and no brain stimulation music on while she types away on her laptop. I walk through the apartment locking the door and turning off lights and then pad down the darkened hallway toward my room. I hear water sloshing in Layken’s tub, but a sound I’m unfamiliar with has me leaning my ear against the door.
A buzzing sound.
Is she shaving?
Can you use electric shavers in the tub?
I listen for another couple of seconds and that’s when I hear it.
“Griffin…”
I almost answer her thinking she knows I’m standing right here but then she mumbles, “Oh, my God, yesssss.”
The mysterious buzzing sound is no longer a mystery.
Mother fucking Christ.
My naughty girl is playing.
A proud smirk spreads across my face because I know what I did to her at dinner affected her. It affected me too. So much so, that hovering over her with a hard-on has been all I’ve thought about since. I wanted her to feel me. I wanted her to know how much she affects me.
I wanted her to know my dick isn’t broken.
Evidence of how unbroken I am is currently causing a bulge in my athletic shorts and I plan on doing something about it as soon as I’m in the privacy of my room, but not before I play with my wife a little bit first.
Payback for calling my penis broken.
Standing by the door, I listen to her pleasure herself while I palm my dick through my shorts. She groans a little here, hisses a little there, so I wait for the perfect moment. Just as she starts to whimper a little more, I rap my knuckles on the door.
“Lake, you okay in there?”
There’s an immediate splash of water that I can only imagine is her sitting up in the tub and bringing her legs together.
“What? Yeah! I-I-I’m good. Yep.”
“Do you need a towel? I couldn’t remember if I put some on the shelf in there.”
“Yep. I’m good. Got a towel. Thanks.”
“Alright well if you don’t need anything else, I’m off to bed.”
“Okay,” she squeaks. “Night Griffin.”
I smile at myself. “Goodnight, Naughty.”
The moment I’m in my own room; I strip off my clothes and hit the shower. Grabbing a handful of shower gel, I palm my dick and tug at the base, feeling it swell in my fist.
“Fuck,” I say silently as I bring my hand to the tile wall. I shift my other hand from the base of my cock to the shaft and pump up and down furiously because hell, this is only going to take seconds. Visions of a naked Layken on top of me in our honeymoon suite spin through my mind.
Her perfect tits.
The curve of her hips.
Her long-toned legs.
Her pretty pink pussy that I dove my tongue into like I was dying of thirst.
Her carefree smile.
The whimsical look in her eyes.
“Yes. Layken.” My words are only a hushed whisper as I pump harder and faster and when I’m ready to come, I lean my forehead on the tile wall. My mouth wide open, I wordlessly spill all over my hand, my cum instantly washing away under the rush of the water.
Standing under the shower, catching my breath, I close my eyes and shake my head and murmur, “What are you doing to me, Naughty?”
“Oh, Griffin, are you sure you’re not in any kind of trouble? You know your father and I are here for you, whatever you need.”
Her worry rips my heart out but I swallow back my weakness for my mother and answer her question. “No, Mom. I promise, everything is great. You’re going to love Layken. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
That’s not even a lie.
I’ve enjoyed every day that Layken has spent hanging out with me. Her cute antics and her sense of humor have been a fun addition to my everyday life. In just a short time I’ve grown accustomed to her being here. Now I look forward to seeing her.
“So, your first week of married life has been okay? I feel like we missed so much already.”
“Yeah. Things at home are great. We’re lucky to have gotten to do this during our bye week so we’ve had a few days when I haven’t had to travel. We both know how busy the season will get after these last couple days off.”
“I do know. You make sure you give your bride all the attention she deserves. It’s not easy being a hockey wife, I imagine.”
“I know. She’s a trooper. And my biggest cheerleader.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“How’s Gage, Mom?” I’ve worried a lot about him the past few days.
I hear her sigh on the other end of the line and my heart tears at what I’m certain she’s going to tell me. “Your brother is heartbroken, as you can imagine,” she admits. “You know he’s always wanted to be a part of your big day.”
“I know. I’m so sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean for any of this to hurt you guys. It was just something we thought about so we wouldn’t have to go through all the stress of planning a big wedding. When we saw the chapel in Napa we just decided to go for it. It was literally a spur of the moment thing.”
“Was it nice at least? Did you get any good pictures?”
Uh…fuck.
We need to take some pictures.
“Yeah. I took a few. I’ll show them to you when we see you guys. I’ll even bring you copies.”
“Love has a way of making you do crazy things, I suppose,” she says with a sigh. “Alright you’re forgiven. As long as you’re happy, we’re happy. But we’re going to have to talk about doing something for you guys to celebrate. Maybe a small party or reception or something.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Yeah, we can talk about all that. I’m sure Layken wouldn’t mind and maybe her family will want to celebrate too.”
“Have you met them yet? Layken’s family?”
“Not yet, no. I know her father is a family court judge here in Anaheim and keeps a pretty busy schedule but also,” I lower my voice even though I’m in my car and all alone, “Layken’s family isn’t like ours. She’s not as close with her parents and I get the impression that her parents are pretty cold with her. At least that’s what I gathered hearing her talk to her mom on the phone.”
“Oh nooooo.” The empathy in my mom’s voice is sincere. “Well, you bring that sweet thing home to us and we’ll love on her as if she’s our own.”
“I knew you would say that Mom. That’s why I love you so much. And I want to come talk with Gage, and I want you all to meet Layken of course. She’s so excited to meet you guys too. I talk about you every day. We have a string of away games coming up in a couple weeks so we’re not going to be around much, but I’m off on Thursday. Can we come visit? Maybe have dinner?”
“I think that would be nice,” she says. I can tell she’s grinning. I don’t visit during the season as much as I probably should. I don’t like to bring all the germs to Gage when I’ve been traveling a lot and when I have down time, I’m usually trying to rest as much as possible. “I’ll make your favorite.”
“I was hoping you would say that. I’ve had a lot of lasagna in my days traveling with the team but I have yet to taste anything better than yours, Mom.”
When I step inside my apartment I smile at the sight in front of me. Layken is seated on the couch, her legs bent and supporting her laptop on her knees so she can type. Her long golden hair is tied up on the top of her head in one of those messy but cute as fuck top knot things. She’s sporting her black rimmed glasses and is holding a pencil in her mouth as she works.
“Wow,” I say, shutting the door behind me and dropping my duffel on the floor. “Do you always look so comfy when you work?”
“Mmm.” That’s the only answer I get from her. She’s laser focused on the words in front of her and then suddenly her brows crinkle and she cocks her head. “Hmm.” She looks up as if she’s trying to picture something and then she sees me in the doorway and her eyes light up. “Oh! You’re home!”
A soft laugh escapes me. “I am. I’ve been standing here talking to you. Did you not hear me come in?”
“Uh, no. I guess I didn’t, but I’m so glad you’re here! I need your help.” I watch her untangle herself from her comfortable position and set her laptop down and then she’s in front of me taking me by the hand and leading me down the hall.
“Okay. Where are we going?”
“To a doorway.”
“A doorway?”
“Mhmm. Here.” She stops in her bedroom doorway and then places her hands on my waist.
Oh hello…
“I need you pose for me. I need to see what this looks like so I can write it out correctly.”
“Oh, uh. Okay. Pose how?” I lift my arm and flex my bicep. “Like you’re coming to the gun show?”
She deadpans and shakes her head. “No. Gun shows aren’t sexy unless I’m on my back looking at them hovering above me.”
Noted.
“Oh. Alright tell me what to do.”
“Okay so first of all, I need you to put your left arm up here, near the top corner of the door, and lean on that hand.”
I follow her instructions and place my hand near the top of the door, my leg instinctively crossing over my other in a casual leaning stance. “Like this?”
She studies my posture, her lips twisting to the side. It’s fucking adorable and if I’m being honest with myself, it’s making me feel some sort of way that she’s even looking at me at all. “Yeah like that except uncross your legs and act natural.”
I do as I’m told and look to her for a nod of approval.
“Yeah. Okay, now I’m just gonna…” She shimmies herself between me and the doorway so her back is against the wall and she’s gazing up at me as I lean into her.
Hot damn.
This is nice having her all up in my space.
Or maybe I’m in hers.
Either way.
She’s adorably sexy in her black sweatpants and pink croppy t-shirt.
I dig the show of skin.
And she smells good too.
Like peaches and vanilla all rolled into one.
“Okay now, place your other hand on my hip.”
Yes please.
“A little harder,” she murmurs. “Like you’re uh…” She clears her throat. “Like you’re holding me in place.”
I tighten my grasp on her hip, my thumb rubbing against the space between the waistline of her sweatpants and the hem of her shirt. In this stance I stare down at her, my eyes falling to her chest and then her hip before her eyes rise up to meet mine. Her big round brown orbs connect with mine in a way that has me thinking all kids of fucking dirty thoughts and then she blinks.
“Okay, yeah,” she mumbles. “Got it. One more thing.”
Fuck, I kind of like when she takes control.
“You’re the boss, tell me what you need.”
“Okay so I’m going to pretend to step away, but I need your hand to come up to the side of my head like you’re going to?—”
“Like this?” Continuing my lean against the doorway, I let go of Layken’s hip and push my hand into her hair, tugging on the hold I have and then cupping the left side of her face. I bring my head down so our lips are mere centimeters away from each other and holy shit…the way she’s looking at me…
I can feel every breath she takes.
I can sense her heartrate picking up by the speed at which her chest rises and falls.
“Is this what turns all those book reading ladies on?”
“Y-y-yes,” she stutters breathily. “I think every woman wants a guy who isn’t afraid to invade her space just to get closer to her.”
“Is that how you feel too? Is that what your hopeless romantic heart yearns for?”
Her cheeks blush and she averts her eyes but answers, “I wouldn’t be opposed.”
She pulls the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth and nods and hell, I wish I knew what she’s thinking about right fucking now.
Me?
I’m thinking I kind of want to kiss her.
“Great. Okay.” She smiles up at me and pats my cheek. “Thank you, Griffin.” She starts to maneuver herself out from under me but I keep my hand in her hair and continue to hold her face as she tries to step away. She turns back toward me immediately catching my heady gaze, her breath hitching. I moisten my lips with the tip of my tongue and I watch her watch me. I’m still dying to know what she’s thinking.
Does she want me to kiss her?
Because I kind of really want to.
Does she want to kiss me?
Because I kind of wish she would.
Part of me thinks I could wrap my arm around her waist and pull her against me even in this leaning pose and kiss the hell out of her and she wouldn’t fight me. She’d kiss me back. But the skeptic in me thinks I’m not the kind of guy she wants. She wants the normal guy with the normal job and the normal amount of time to spend with her. She wants the hearts and the flowers and the lovey dovey stuff.
She deserves all that and more.
And I don’t know if I can be that guy because I’ve never tried before. I travel so damn much I don’t see how it would be fair to anyone I’m with to make them be exclusive. Hockey life is a busy life.
But Layken?
Fuck. Because of her, I’ve been thinking about it more often than I ever have.
“Griffin?” Her sweet voice brings me back to reality.
“We need to take some pretend wedding pictures for my mom,” I tell her. “I kind of told her we took some and that I would show her.”
The grin that spreads across her face instantly puts me at ease. “Easy enough. I can grab a bouquet of flowers and put the same dress on. If we find a neutral background she’ll never know the difference.”
“Yeah.” I nod. “Good idea.”
“When should we do this?”
“Uh…before Thursday. You free?”
“I’m a girl without a job, remember? Of course I’m free.”
“Well, I know you’re writing and I don’t want to take your time away from you but I was kind of hoping maybe I could take my wife out for dinner Thursday evening,” I tell her, smoothing my thumb across her cheek. “Do you like lasagna?”
“I love it,” she answers.
“Good. It’s a date then?”
The corners of her mouth lift and internally I sigh in relief.
“Alright. Do I dress up or is it casual?”
“Casual.”
“So, pajama pants it is?” she asks with a cute as fuck little smirk.
“Pajama pants would not be frowned upon, but…” I rake my eyes down her body and then bravely answer, “For you? Leggings. You look great in leggings.”
She smiles. “Leggings it is then.” She reaches her palm to my cheek and then lifts up on her toes and kisses my other cheek. “Thank you for the help Griffin.”
And then just like that she’s walking away from me, back down the hallway to her laptop. Back to her work.
My body finally deflates and I stand against the doorway for a minute getting my bearings and wondering what the hell just happened between us.
Whatever it was…it felt fucking good.