Chapter 30
~Deacon~
After a fantastic night’s sleep tangled up with Daley in her bed, the last thing I expect to wake up to is the sound of another man.
Or two of them, to be more precise.
“Hey, D! We brought breakfast.”
“Most of it’s not even eaten yet.”
“I only had one bite, calm down.”
“I’ll put the coffee on.”
“Where is she? D?”
The voices get clearer, obviously moving in the direction of the open bedroom door, and Daley shoots up, gripping the blankets tight around her, panic in her eyes.
“Who the hell is that?” I ask in a hushed, groggy murmur.
She doesn’t answer me, her eyes darting around the room as she calculates distances and angles, and a moment later, she leaps from the bed, completely naked, and races to swing the door almost closed, blocking off the view into the room.
Since no one screams, I assume she made it in time, and honestly, I’m impressed she can move that fast immediately after waking up.
“I’m still getting ready,” she calls out from behind the door. “Give me just a minute.”
Pressing the door fully closed, she returns to the bed and grabs the robe she wore the night before from where it lays on the floor.
“What’s going on?” I try again, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
“River’s friends,” she answers tightly, her shoulders tight with tension. “I wasn’t expecting them. Stay there while I try to distract them.”
Pulling the belt of the robe tight around her waist, she ventures out into the hall, closing the door behind her. I get up, also naked, and stretch out all my limbs before ambling over to the door and opening it a crack so I can hear what’s being said.
“You boys are up awfully early,” Daley says, her tone cheerful as she stands at the entrance to the kitchen.
She looks fantastic in her silky robe, the bottom of it barely brushing the middle of her thighs, and the thought of anyone else seeing her this way, even people she still thinks of as kids, sends an unexpected stab of jealousy through my gut.
“It’s nine thirty,” one of them protests with a laugh. “You’re usually up at like six.”
So am I, actually. We really must have worn each other out. Or maybe it just felt too good next to her that even subconsciously, I didn’t want it to end.
“We didn’t mean to wake you up,” the other one says, sounding more apologetic.
“It’s fine. I was just…” Daley shoots a look back in my direction, her teeth tugging on her bottom lip for a second as she debates how to finish that sentence. “I didn’t want to wake up my guest, so I stayed in my room later than usual.”
“Guest?” Surprise fills the first kid’s tone. “What guest?”
“Somebody else is here?” the second one asks.
Daley nods, her throat bobbing as she swallows. “Yes. Deke Belin decided to stay over before heading back to Sioux Falls today.”
“What?” Chairs squeal against the floor, telling me they must have been sitting but aren’t any longer. “He’s here? In this house?”
“In River’s room,” she quickly clarifies. Lies. “I’m sure he’s awake now though with all the noise you two are making.”
“Shit.” A shadow appears near Daley, a sign the young men are coming closer. “Sorry, D. We didn’t know.”
“It’s fine. Like you said, it’s getting late anyway. Why don’t you two go out to the garage and have a look at his car while I let him know we’re going to have breakfast? I’ll be ready in about ten minutes.”
“His car’s here? What is it? I bet it’s sweet.” Excited exclamations issue from both of them as they rush past Daley down the hall in the opposite direction, exiting into the garage. Daley sighs in relief before turning back towards her room.
“That was close. Go get ready in River’s room,” she whispers when she returns. “Mess up the bed too, just in case they look inside.”
Part of me wants to tell her we don’t need to bother with this charade, that I’m proud and happy about what happened last night, but I also understand that this is still very new and she needs to be able to tell River about it in her own time.
Getting caught by his friends definitely isn’t the ideal way to break the news.
My bag still sits in the living room where I left it, so after wrapping a towel from the bathroom around my waist, I retrieve it and head into River’s room without being seen.
I pull back the covers and do my best to mess everything up to give the impression that the bed was used, before pulling out some fresh clothes and getting dressed for the day.
A shower with Daley would have been a wonderful way to start the day, but it looks like that’s going to have to wait for another time.
By the time I’ve visited the bathroom and finished in there, Daley is back in the kitchen, her blonde hair pulled back into a loose twist and a little light makeup on her face. The scents of coffee and sausage fill the air, but I’m more interested in getting one more taste of her.
Unfortunately, before I manage to reach her for a kiss, the two young men reappear from the garage.
“Deke!” They both beam at me, shake my hand enthusiastically, and thankfully reintroduce themselves. I recognize them as River’s friends who were with him in Las Vegas, but after three months, their names have been long forgotten. “I’m Jonny, and this is Brayden.”
“Of course, good to see you both again. Did I hear something about breakfast?”
Proudly, they show me what they brought, and it warms my heart that they’re looking after Daley, even if she wasn’t expecting to see them.
“Is this Sunday breakfast a regular thing?” I ask them when we’re all seated around the table again. It’s a good thing I cleaned up after last night’s dinner or that would have required another lie, or an explanation Daley’s not ready to provide.
“River asked us to stop by and see how the showcase went,” Brayden says before Jonny elbows him. “Ow! What was that for?”
“We weren’t supposed to tell her that, you idiot.”
“You think I don’t know he asks you two to spy on me?” Daley teases. “He’s not as sneaky as he thinks.”
To me, she offers a gentler explanation.
“River worries about me on my own. He’s going to be bugging me to move to Sioux Falls soon, wait and see.”
I would have no problem with that, but somehow, I don’t think moving closer to spend nights with me is what River has in mind.
“Nah, ‘cause then he’d have no excuse to come and see us,” Jonny says, shoving a whole breakfast sausage into his mouth.
“So, how did the showcase go?” Brayden asks. “I mean, it was all over town that Deke was there, but did it go well for you?”
They chat a bit about Daley’s business and she asks them questions about their lives. It’s clear how much these guys like and confide in Daley, which makes me like them too even if they did mess up my morning.
When all the food is gone, Jonny turns to me. “Why did you stay here instead of a hotel?”
Daley’s eyes fly to me, a plea in her expression, but it isn’t necessary. I have no intention of giving away her secret. “I stay in a lot of hotels during the season. It gets old.”
That answer seems to satisfy them, as I hoped it would, even if they don’t agree. “Man, I’d never get tired of hotels,” Brayden states. “Like that one in Vegas? That was epic.”
They reminisce about their trip for a little while and I can’t help checking the clock. I really should head back into the city. There are things I need to do before training camp starts up again tomorrow, but I was hoping to say a proper goodbye to Daley before I go.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like I’m going to get that chance. Brayden and Jonny show every sign of hanging out all day unless we ask them to go and I can’t think of a good excuse to do that. Apparently, Daley can’t either.
Eventually, I push my chair back from the table. “I better get out on the road. Daley, thank you so much for the hospitality. I had a wonderful time.”
Her eyes meet mine and our gazes hold for a moment, enough to get the message across that I truly mean it.
“Let me grab some snacks for your journey,” she offers, and while I retrieve my things from River’s room, she puts together a bottle of water, some grapes, and a baggie filled with some kind of home-made trail mix.
Brayden and Jonny follow us to the garage, so I don’t get a chance to do much more than give Daley a quick hug. At least that gives me a chance to whisper in her ear.
“Let me know about next weekend. I’d really like to see you.”
I pull back before she can answer but she nods as I open the car door. “Drive safe, Deacon. Thank you again for making the trip.”
The three of them all wave goodbye from the garage door as I back down the driveway and start the long trip back to Sioux Falls. At least with memories of my time with Daley and the possibility of more time together at the end of the week, it won’t seem quite so lonely.