15. Keep Your Friends Close
Keep Your Friends Close
Bex
“ T he police station wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” I sigh when we get back home from the station.
“Yeah,” Jamie agrees, lowering himself onto the couch and pulling me onto his lap. “Ares was very helpful. He was by our side the whole time we gave our statements and when we spoke to the sheriff.”
Connor sits next to me and Jamie. “He’s been a real friend through all of this.”
I look at my brother. “Thanks to you, Luke. Ares told me how grateful he is that you’ve taken Chance under your wing.”
“Chance is one of the most talented players I’ve seen in a long time, and he’s a hard worker. One day he’s going to be a star. Mentoring him is easy, and it’s my job as team captain.”
My brother genuinely cares about his teammates. And the Cove Knights absolutely worship their captain in return.
“Not every team captain behaves that way.” I say. “Kurt is the Bridgeport Tigers’ captain, and I guarantee you, he couldn’t care less about helping his teammates reach their full potential. He sees his team as a stepping stone to his own success. His teammates fear him rather than love him.”
“It’s a fine balance,” Keene muses. “It’s similar in the military.
You want your soldiers to trust you and to come to you when there’s a problem.
At the same time though, you want them to always remember that an order is an order.
Luke is very good at being one of the team, but he keeps us in check when needed.
He took me under his wing during summer training, when I arrived, I felt like a fish out of water.
Everyone knew each other, and I was the odd one out.
Luke helped me feel at home from day one.
He got me to loosen up and to remember I wasn’t at boot camp or something. ”
Luke slaps Keene on the back. “Nah, you were fine. Being the new guy isn’t easy.”
“Give yourself the credit you deserve,” Keene says. “I know I’m not the easiest person to approach.”
That’s the understatement of the century, and I have to fight a chuckle, but Keene notices the look on my face.
A couple of weeks ago, he would have reacted by trying to pick a fight; but thanks to our truce, he doesn’t say anything. The corners of his lips curl into a hint of a smile, and he winks at me.
Heat rises to my face, and the butterflies in my stomach flutter their wings as I remember how it felt having his arms around me.
I’m grateful I’m sitting down, or my knees would wobble at the thought of his scent, his warmth, and his hard muscles against me.
His muscles weren’t the only things that were hard, either.
“Speaking of team bonding,” Luke says, looking at his phone. “Tucker texted me that the pizzas have arrived. I had better go if I want to find some; those guys are like vultures when they’re around food. Who’s with me?”
Keene pats his washboard stomach. “I could do with a few slices. Hopefully, they ordered some wings, too?”
“You know it.” Luke grins. “Anyone else?”
“What the hell,” Jamie chuckles. “I haven’t had pizza with the guys in a while. Count me in. Let’s go, Bex.”
He offers me his hand as he rises from the couch, but I hesitate. “It’s a team thing. I’m sure you guys want to eat like cavemen, burping and talking about who got laid without a girl ruining your boys’ night.”
“Whatever,” Luke snickers. “It won’t hurt those guys to have to be on their best behavior for a couple of hours. Besides, until we know if your stalker is Priestly or some random psycho who saw your ex-friends’ nasty comments online, I don’t want to leave you home alone. Especially at night.”
I hate the feeling of being a burden to them.
And God knows how long this situation is going to drag.
The sheriff is going to approach Kurt—which means my dad, since he handles everything that involves his star clients—to ask him to provide a DNA sample, but I doubt he’ll comply voluntarily.
Sheriff Pullin warned us that getting a warrant might take time.
“Sure.” I sigh, looking at my brother’s pleading expression. “But you guys can’t always be by my side. You have an away game next week.”
“I was planning to ask Coach if you can travel with the team.” Luke says. “I’ll explain the situation.”
That makes me feel even worse than before. “But I can’t come with you guys.” I groan. “Even if your coach says yes, I have work on Friday morning.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll speak to Candace.” Luke fires back.
I appreciate that he wants to protect me, and I know that if roles were reversed, I would do exactly the same thing. But that’s beside the point. “Luke, I can’t miss work every time you guys have an away game.”
“Candace can work with us by adjusting your shifts.” He argues.
I shake my head. “Not every time. I’m one of two paid workers at the art center. The rest of the staff are volunteers. I’m still on probation, I can’t make things so complicated or they’ll let me go when it’s time to review my performance.”
My twin brother is one of the most stubborn people I know. “Let me worry about that.”
The thing is that we have that trait in common. “No. You already pulled a lot of strings to help me get that job. I can’t expect preferential treatment.”
I’m not surprised when the guys agree with Luke that they don’t want me to be home alone for two nights when they go to play in Seattle.
“Ok, fine.” Luke says as we’re all getting frustrated. “I’ll speak to Candace. Not to change your schedule, but maybe she can let you stay at the Zeta house on the nights we’re away. And you’ll have my car while we’re gone, so you can drive to and from the art center and the Zeta house.”
I’m grateful to Luke for his help. “Ok.”
“What?” he asks, picking up on the edge in my tone.
“Nothing.” I murmur, feeling guilty for the resentment that wants to bubble to the surface.
Luke knows me way too well, though, and he insists. “Bexie-Boo, something is bothering you. What’s wrong?”
“I’m good, I swear. It’s just that I hate that Dad is somehow still restricting my freedom.
The first few weeks here were amazing. I was out of that suffocating house and our father’s million rules.
But thanks to what happened, I have to watch my back all the time.
I hate that I’m a burden to you guys. It’s like now.
You’re having to let me crash your boys’ night.
And I’m so tired, I just wanted to take a shower and have an early night, but I have no choice.
And I know that if I were home alone, I would be on edge and every little noise would make me jump. ”
Connor tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear.
“If you don’t want to go to the Gamma house, I’ll stay here with you.”
His green eyes are kind and intense. “Are you sure? I don’t want to ruin your night.”
“You’re not, beautiful. Tomorrow we have our usual early morning skate, and I’m going to have just enough time to shower and run to a class afterward. So I don’t mind an early night.”
Connor
I make sure the front door is locked when the guys leave.
“We still have last night’s leftovers.” I say to Bex as I return to the living room. “Are you ok with those, or do you want something else? I can order our own pizza if you want.”
“Leftovers are fine.” She says, rising from the couch and following me into the kitchen. “Thank you for staying in with me, Connor. I like your teammates, but I just didn’t feel like being social tonight.”
I take her hand in mine. “Me neither. And are you kidding me? Between a bunch of rowdy hockey players and a night in with my beautiful girlfriend, I’ll always choose to stay home with you.”
The smile she gives me makes it impossible not to pull her closer. “Let me put the food in the oven, and by the time we’re done showering, dinner will be ready.”
She helps me sort out last night’s leftovers, and once everything is in the oven, I follow her into her bedroom.
“Con?” she turns to look at me from the bathroom’s threshold. “Is there anything you need?”
The answer rolls out of my mouth easily. “I need you. I was hoping you’d let me wash your back?”
The truth is that since last night, I’ve been dying to have Bex to myself.
“That sounds a lot more fun than washing my own back. But are you sure we’re going to fit in that shower together? It isn’t very big.”
I can’t help but smile. “Oh, believe me, we’ll fit. I plan on staying very close to you in there.”
I follow her into the bathroom, immediately taking over when she begins undoing the buttons of her shirt.
Her lips are soft and inviting, and I kiss her as we both work on her clothes, discarding one garment after the other.
I kiss her slowly and thoroughly, savoring every single brush of her tongue against mine, every exploratory nip of her teeth.
Last night I was nervous about letting my final barriers fall, but Jamie was right. Bex deserves me to be all in with her, and I know that she’s going to take care of my heart like I will take care of hers.
“Fuck, you’re so beautiful.” I murmur, palming her perfect tits as I pull her closer to me.
Her skin is smooth and soft, and I have to tell myself that tonight there’s no rush. Having Jamie with us last night was great, but it added pressure to the whole situation. Tonight, I get to experience being just the two of us for the first time.
“Connor,” she pants, pulling at the hem of my t-shirt. “You’re a little overdressed to get into the shower with me.”
I grab my shirt, pulling it over my head, my jeans and underwear following the pile of her clothes on the floor.
“Let’s turn the water on.” I step into the shower cubicle first. “It takes a second for the water to warm up. I don’t want my girl to freeze that cute little ass of hers.”
Once the water is perfect, I pull Bex into the cubicle and close the door behind her.
She’s right that the shower cubicle is just about big enough for the both of us, but I don’t mind having her so close to me.
“Come here, turn around so we can get you all nice and wet.”