Chapter 19
ALEX
I don’t think I ever appreciated just how great I would feel the morning after giving a woman an orgasm without having one of my own.
I do, however, realize that this incredibly good mood has a lot to do with the woman I gave that orgasm to.
Nora Delaune has turned my world upside down.
I thought it was my knee injury. I was wrong.
Knee injuries make sense. The injury itself, the surgery and rehab after, even the fact that Declan couldn’t renew my contract all makes sense objectively.
Nora Delaune and her life in this town is unlike anything I’ve experienced before, and my reaction to all of that doesn’t make sense at all.
I shouldn’t like it. I definitely shouldn’t want more and more of it.
But fuck, I do.
I head to Perks and Rec with an extra bounce in my step this morning.
I know better what to expect now as I brush aside the curtain that separates my staircase from the coffee shop.
I am pleasantly surprised by the multitude of “good morning, Alex!” greetings I receive, and I give everyone my best celebrity hockey player grin and say, “good morning, everyone.”
Lawson is seated at the counter, and I notice Zeke Landry sitting at the table near the window with his grandfather. There are two other men with them that I haven’t met or seen before.
I appreciate my teammates showing up for me again.
I take the seat next to Lawson. “Who are the guys with Zeke? The guy looks just like him. I’m gonna guess a brother?”
Lawson nods. “Twin brother. Zander. Cop in Autre. The other guy is Knox. Family friend, and mayor of Autre.”
“Wow, heavy hitters in here today,” I say cheerfully.
Law gives me a what’s with you look, but says, “It’s a big deal they’re here. Zander and Knox usually have coffee over in Bad.”
I haven’t been to the little town between here and Autre, but I’ve heard of it.
“They changed up their routine this morning for you,” Law says.
“What? For me?”
“Zeke’s told them about the straw polls going on here. They think it’s hilarious.”
I wouldn’t use the word hilarious, but speaking of those polls…
I check out the mason jars next to the register this morning.
I sit up a little straighter.
They’re rating my date with Nora again. Movie night.
And the thumbs up jar is nearly overflowing.
“Fuck yeah,” I say.
“Movie night was good?”
I look at Lawson. “Have you ever been?”
He shakes his head.
“Movie night was bonkers,” I say.
He cracks a rare smile. “You still must’ve done something right.”
I settle back onto my stool and bite back my first hockey-locker-room response to that. Fuck yeah I did okay. “We had a really good time.”
“Well, good job.”
I look around, but don’t see any of Nora’s girlfriends. Bruce comes through the swinging doors from the kitchen.
“Morning,” he greets. “What are you eating?”
“A number fourteen,” I tell him. I have no idea what the number fourteen is, but all the food here is good so I can basically close my eyes and point at the menu and be happy with whatever I get.
When he returns from delivering the plates he was carrying I ask, “I assume you know Nora’s favorite coffee drink?”
Bruce lifts a brow. “Why?”
“Thought I’d take her and Sutton coffee on my way to work out.”
“Do you know how to make an iced chai latte with cherry cold foam?”
I shake my head. “Um, no. No idea at all.” I’m not even completely sure what cold foam is.
Bruce shrugs. “Then I guess you’re out of luck.”
“You don’t know how to make that?”
“Nope.”
I look at the gigantic, clearly expensive coffee machine with multiple levers, knobs, and buttons behind him. “So what’s that thing do?”
Bruce looks over at it. “Not really sure. When people want frou-frou fancy drinks that don’t involve me pouring out of that,” he says, pointing to the basic round glass coffee pot sitting on the hot plate, “they do it themselves.”
“People just come in here and use your coffee machine to make what they want?”
“Yep.”
“What if they want some mixed drink in the bar you don’t usually serve?” I ask with a laugh.
“There too. But they'd better wash their glass. There are no to-go cups over there.” He hits the swinging door with his hand and disappears into the kitchen.
I shake my head. “Bonkers,” I say under my breath.
“I’ve got you,” Law says, putting his heavy boots on the floor and stretching up.
“You know how to make an iced chai latte with cherry cold foam?”
“Yup. And I know that Sutton likes raspberry white chocolate mochas.”
I watch him move behind the counter and start turning knobs and making the machine hiss and rumble.
Lawson Landry can make fancy coffee drinks. I didn’t see that coming.
But that gives me an idea.
I pivot on my stool to face the room. “Does anyone want to know another personal fact about me?”
Everyone quiets down and looks over.
“So I’m not much of a coffee drinker, mostly because I try to avoid a lot of caffeine,” I say.
There’s some grumbling and eye rolling at that.
Yeah, that’s not the first time I’ve been judged for not being a coffee drinker. It’s a cult. And no one can convince me otherwise.
“But,” I go on. “This place in Portland does have a coffee drink that I really like. I don’t have it very often and the first time I ordered it on a dare. When I’ve ordered it a couple of other places I’ve gotten some really funny looks, but it’s delicious.”
Everyone continues to watch me until Muriel finally calls out, “Well? None of us are gonna live forever and some of us have less time than others.”
I grin at her. “Avocado coffee.”
That’s met by silence followed by a couple of grimaces.
“I know,” I say. “But avocados are really good for you. And what you do with this is you blend a fresh avocado with ice and,” I say when more faces look appalled. “Sweetened condensed milk.”
Now I see some curious looks.
Yeah, it’s pretty hard to believe something isn’t better with sweetened condensed milk added.
“Then you pour espresso into that and drizzle chocolate syrup on top. It is thick and rich, and I’m telling you, delicious.”
“Have you ever convinced anyone else to drink that with you?” Leo asks.
“One time,” I say.
“And it was a woman, right?” Leo asks.
“As a matter of fact, it was. None of the hockey players have been willing to try it.”
He nods.
Patty pipes up. “I promise you that woman did not drink that because she thought it sounded good. And if you weren’t cute and a hockey player, she wouldn’t have drunk it either.”
I laugh along with the rest of the room, but feel pretty proud of myself. That was a fact I have not shared with any interviewers and this group seems pleased with yet another personal yet also I’m-a-little-weird fact.
Bruce comes out of the kitchen with something wrapped in aluminum foil at the same time Lawson carries over two tall paper coffee cups with lids. One says Nora on the side, the other has Sutton written on the side.
“Thanks, Law. How much?”
“I’d just lay down a twenty,” Lawson says. “Especially since Bruce is standing right here.”
“You’re one of the smart ones,” Bruce says, handing the foil-wrapped package to me.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“We don’t have a fourteen on the menu,” Bruce says. “It only goes up to twelve.”
I chuckle. Because of course, instead of telling me that, he just made something up. Still I know whatever is inside is going to be great. “Thanks. I’ll make it thirty.”
Bruce just nods, but I swear I see the hint of a smile as he turns away. I dig into my pocket for my wallet as Lawson does the same. We both lay bills on the small pile next to the register.
“Thanks for your help this morning,” I tell him.
“It seems like maybe you’re getting to the point where you don’t need as much,” he says.
I glance around the restaurant. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Well, I gotta get to the shop. I’ll see you tonight at the scrimmage.”
I pause. “Scrimmage?”
“Didn’t Nora tell you?”
I like to think that Nora was a little distracted last night. “No. But I love scrimmages. This will be great, especially since we haven’t really played together.”
We’ve done a lot of drills and, of course, dance practice, but we haven’t played.
“I agree,” Law says. “See you later.”
I watch him throw his leg over the seat of his motorcycle and take off down the street.
He’s an interesting guy. Pretty quiet, stays to himself until Beckett pokes him.
And he’s an intense player. I can tell all of this crazy hockey stuff rubs him the wrong way, but I also get the sense that it’s more than just the unconventional hockey rules.
I’m hoping that over time we’ll get to know each other better and maybe I’ll get a look inside his head.
I head around the corner and up the front steps of City Hall. I realize that I am excited to see Nora. That’s not new, but it’s starting to become a habit now and I wonder how I should really be feeling about that.
We are going to sleep together. I know she keeps saying we’re not and she has good reasons for it. Which means I’m always going to be prepared to stop if she says that’s what she wants. But last night was hot as hell and I just want more.
I want to give her more. That’s different.
I love when the women I’m with have a good time. That’s always been true. But I don’t think I’ve ever been as consumed by making a woman lose her mind as I was Nora.
She gives so much of herself all the time. She’s constantly thinking about other people and how to make them happy. Taking her out of that headspace and making her fully focus on her own pleasure, on what she wanted and needed, was the most delightful challenge.
And fuck, the satisfaction I felt after meeting that challenge was incredible.
I’ve felt a lot of satisfaction in my life. Lots of scores, lots of wins, lots of accolades. But damn, I could easily become obsessed with making Nora Delaune be completely in a moment with me, and be all about her.
Which is probably why when I find the Parks and Rec department dark and empty— but the door unlocked, of course—I am stupidly disappointed.
I know that most of Nora’s job happens outside of this office so I shouldn’t be surprised, but I had hoped to surprise her with her favorite coffee. And steal a kiss.
That’s going to be impossible to do once you’re back in Portland.
Yeah, yeah, this is short term. Still I’ve got seven months of Nora kisses and smiles and orgasms and, yes, fun craziness.
At least I can leave a sticky note. I don’t even attempt to find a blank piece of paper or pen in Nora’s office.
The stacked boxes and piles of “work” still give me a little clench of anxiety when I look at it, but that spot on her desk where she braced her hands while I fingered her is perfect.
It’s right beside the strangest lamp I’ve ever seen, but it’s so Nora and this town that I smile looking at it.
And maybe get a little hard.
Shaking my head, I pull a bright pink sticky note off the top of the perfectly organized stack on Sutton’s desk and borrow one of the pens that Nora and I accidentally sent tumbling to the floor last night.
Thinking of you.
I refrain from mentioning where I’d like to put cherry cold foam on her and sign it simply -A. If I wasn’t leaving it on Sutton’s desk, I’d be flirtier and dirtier. But I can’t leave the cup on Nora’s desk. She might not find it until sometime in March.
I stick the note to Sutton’s desk, and set Nora’s drink on top of it. I place Sutton’s drink beside it and leave the office before I decide to do something stupid like just wait for Nora to get back.
That could be anywhere from five minutes to five hours from now.
I don’t have a set schedule, which is still taking a lot of getting used to, but I can’t just sit around in Nora’s office.
Instead, I head for the arena and the training room there.
If we’re scrimmaging tonight, I don’t want to work out too hard, but I want to get at least a few sets on the weight machines and a short run done.
As I reach to pull the door to the training room open, it swings out and Thea Chabert steps out, chatting with a teenage boy.
“Oh, Alex. Hey,” she greets.
“Hi, Thea.”
“Alex, this is Ethan.”
I extend my hand. “Hi, Ethan. Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, hi.” He gives me a wide-eyed smile. “You too. Big fan.”
“Thanks.”
“We were just doing some workouts on the ice,” Thea says. “Ethan had an ACL surgery about ten months ago.”
Thea’s the town’s physical therapist, which in my experience and opinion means that no matter how sweet she seems, she’s a hardass underneath. “I know way too much about that and the rehab. Sorry, man.”
“Thanks. It’s sucked.”
“Yeah,” I agree. There’s not much else to say. If he’s that far out from surgery and into his rehab, there’s nothing I can really say to encourage him. I’m only a little ahead of him and it still sucks.
“I’m coming to the scrimmage tonight,” Ethan says, brightening.
“You are?” I ask. I look at Thea.
“Me too,” she says.
“I didn’t realize it was open, or is Josh just getting you in?” I ask.
“Josh is working tonight,” she says. “He won’t be there.”
“He’s missing the scrimmage?” I frown.
She laughs. “Yeah. He’ll be saving lives and shit.”
Right. Josh is a firefighter and paramedic.
That’s more important than hockey any day of the week.
It still hasn’t fully sunk in for me that all these guys, and girls, have other jobs.
Hockey is not their number one priority.
Hell, for most of them it’s not even number two or three.
Beckett and Lawson might be the only ones who put hockey up there with their jobs, businesses they own.
But they’re also single and don’t have kids or big families in town to take up time and energy.
“Of course,” I say about Josh. “We’ll miss him.”
And it won’t be as effective a scrimmage without the entire team, but I leave that part out because Thea, and probably Josh, don’t care about that.
“See you later,” she says as they step out of the building and I head inside.
“Yeah, later. Bye, Ethan,” I add. “Keep up the hard work.”
“Of course!”
Yeah, of course. What choice does he have? We either work our knees and get better or…we deal with not being able to do all the things we’ve always dreamed of doing.
Unless, of course, those dreams change.