41. All You Needed Was the Screeching Violin Music And a Shower Curtain to Set the Mood
I leanagainst the painted concrete wall and yawn. These back hallways of the arena are always so surprisingly quiet on game days. Once in a while, one of the staff members from the other team will come through here. Their loading area is just around the corner, but normally by this point, they have everything they need. There”s no sign of anyone here now, so I let my eyes close.
Last night was almost too much. It was the same things I heard from Mom. They didn”t sound like echoes. They sounded like she was right there, saying them all again. Letting me know that the only way she would ever love me was if I lived my life in the mold she chose for me. Just like Chloe”s parents. But I had Dad. Chloe doesn”t have anyone.
Brant was so good with her, though. He didn”t hesitate to go get her. And even though I know the things he wanted to do to Chloe”s parents, he never let her see that. He just made sure she knew he was there for her. It made me think I could feel more for him than just this attraction. And when he insisted on making breakfast before we all crashed this morning? I knew I felt more. I tried to tell myself it was only exhaustion clouding my mind, but the truth is, I felt little pulls of this before last night. But I won”t let myself think about that because those thoughts will just crush me in the end. I don”t know what this is between us, but it”s not that. Definitely not that.
I slouch down the wall until the small of my back is pressed tight and flat. I could take a nap right here against the cold concrete. It feels like I hardly got any sleep at all, even though I was out as soon as I crawled into bed. Brant”s bed. Chloe and Silver slept in one of the guest bedrooms. I”ve slept with Brant Morrison three times now, but we”ve still never had sex. Not in the way my body screams for whenever I”m within a football field of him.
Last night was supposed to be the night, and I was so very ready. I had everything I needed in my purse. Walking in to find him in that apron was the final piece that assured me it was going to happen. That apron. I”m about to fall asleep, but I”m awake enough that my core clenches at the thought of it. What I wouldn”t give to have just thirty minutes alone with him right now.
”Sleeping on the job, eh?” A deep, gravelly voice rattles in the abandoned hallway and startles me awake.
I snap my eyes open and whip in the direction of the man. Of course it”s Brant. I should have guessed it would be him. ”You scared me to death. That didn”t sound like you.”
”Of course not. You wouldn”t have jumped if I used my normal voice. I had to use my special scaring-girls-in-abandoned-hallways voice.”
”You”ve obviously gotten a lot of practice using it, because it works.”
As he walks closer, I see that he”s only wearing the shorts and shirt he layers under his uniform. Nothing else, and those underclothes leave nothing to the imagination. ”Shouldn”t you be watching film right now?” That”s why I chose this time to sneak away. Until the players start their warmups, Elijah can handle things without me.
”I already know it all backward and forward. When you play for the Sting, you spend the whole year studying Denver. Besides, there”s something else I”d rather be watching.” He puts a hand on the wall beside my head, and I feel the heat coming from his body as he leans close to me.
”So you don”t just go around scaring girls. You also spend lots of time watching them?”
The curve of his mouth draws my eye. And damn, I want to feel that mouth on my skin. I want to feel those lips on my neck. ”Only one girl. I didn”t get to do everything I wanted to do with her last night.” He exhales. The hot breath flows under the collar of my shirt and teases along my chest.
”What did you want to do with her?”
”Eat Frosties.” He doesn”t hesitate.
I put my hand on his hip and regret it immediately. We”re at work. We should be moving further from each other, not closer. And I definitely shouldn”t touch him because that is exactly like setting an open canister of gasoline next to a fire. But I don”t pull my hand away. ”Is that all you wanted to do with her?”
He shakes his head. ”Not even close. There were also nuggets. Spicy nuggets.” He moans the words, and I never imagined nuggets could sound so sexy.
”And sauces,” I whisper.
”So many sauces.”
His mouth is almost touching my nose. He cups my cheek in his palm and then trails a finger down to my lips. My very ready lips that part as soon as he touches them. I pull his finger into my mouth and close my lips around it, sucking on it, letting him know what I want to do to him as soon as I get the chance.
”You know nuggets aren”t the healthiest option, especially not for a star athlete working back from an injury. Maybe I could give you some advice after the game.”
My body goes as stiff as the wall behind me. I do recognize this voice because he makes no attempt to disguise it. But there”s no way it can be him. Brant must sense my discomfort because he slips an arm around me as we both turn to face the man who has walked up on us. ”And you are?” Brant asks.
How is this possible?
”I”m an old friend of Lily”s.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.”Why are you here, Tyler? Only authorized personnel are allowed in these tunnels.”
Tyler reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a pass. ”I should probably put this on if I”m going to be wandering around. You always did like looking out for me. And you were so good at it too.”
I had just started to build my savings again after my surgery when Tyler told me he quit his job with the Lightning to follow his dream. I tried to warn him that no one would buy nutritional supplements from someone who didn”t even have a functioning website, but he called me a hypocrite. Like finally getting my surgery after years of waiting was the same as him selling dried kale powders. And stupidly, I wondered if I was being a hypocrite. And even more stupidly, I loaned him the little money I had and paid for everything over the next year. He convinced me it was what a good girlfriend should do. I maxed out three credit cards and almost lost my friendship with Em before I finally came to my senses.
”So what, you”re here trying to con people into buying your supplements?”
Tyler waves me off like he”s swatting at a fly. ”Head dietician for the Squall now. Finally got that dream job I always wanted.”
”The dream job? That”s the dream now?” Since fucking when?
”The key is to just keep working hard and putting yourself out there. The universe will reward you. Maybe it”ll come for you someday too. What are you doing now?” He looks up at Brant who is at least six inches taller than him. Tyler”s height always made him insecure, and I”m glad to see that it apparently still bothers him. ”Don”t tell me you”re trying to take a shortcut. You know it won”t work. Especially when he finds out… you know.” He ends in a fake whisper that makes it obvious he wants Brant to hear every word.
”Lily doesn”t need any shortcuts.” Brant pulls me tight against him. The way he emphasizes the word tells me he”s somehow picked up on Tyler”s insecurity. And Tyler”s flinch makes it obvious that Brant hit the mark. ”She”s a great trainer. We love her.”
It”s sad how much I wish the we was an I in that sentence. I can almost hear it. But it”s not there, and I can”t let myself indulge that fantasy. ”Speaking of jobs, shouldn”t you be doing yours?” I”m not even pretending to be polite. He doesn”t deserve that much from me. ”I know I really need to get back to mine.”
”You”re right. I am very busy. I see you”ve gotten very busy yourself. I”ll let you get back to whatever job it was you were getting ready to do.” He winks and does that annoying double tongue click he always does when he thinks he”s being witty. I want to stop him and scream that he”s the bad guy here. That he doesn”t get to come into my arena and try to make me feel like this.
”Hey.” Brant turns me so I”m looking at him instead of watching Tyler walk away. ”My first goalie coach taught me you can”t stop the ones that are already past you. You need to focus on what”s in front. That asshole is the past. Let him go. Focus on what”s in front of you.” He puts his hands on my shoulders and squares me to him. His face is so close it blocks out everything else.
I want to feel my body pressed tight on his until Tyler is nothing more than the bad memory he was just a few minutes ago. But now I”m afraid of who else might catch us. ”Thank you. I don”t know what I would have done if you weren”t here.”
”You would have stabbed him,” Brant says like it”s obvious. ”You were making that stabby motion with your arm. All you needed was the screeching violin music and a shower curtain to set the mood.”
”I was not making a stabbing motion.”
”Maybe not, but your eyes told me that you sure wished you could. Let”s get back to the dressing room. Me and the boys have another reason to kick some Squall ass today.”