Chapter 17
“Babe, I really have to go! I can lie and say I was at the retirement home until late, but if I spend another night away, they’re going to start asking questions!”
With a very manly whine, I release Ellie from where I’ve trapped her on the couch.
As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right.
Since my conversation with Sasha and the night that I reclaimed her in the bathroom of her parents’ house, I’ve monopolized her time every chance I get.
As we get closer to the playoffs, my already limited time with her will shrink even more.
She’s still worried that her brothers will find out about us, but I’m so high on her that even that seems like an eventuality that won’t be as bad as we think.
This week, I’ve joined her at the hospital again, and the heat in her eyes watching me hold the triplets again meant that we didn’t make it any farther than my truck before I was inside her.
She’s as insatiable as I am, and when we’re not fucking, we’re just basking in each other’s presence and giggling more than I’ve ever giggled in my life.
I’ve shown her some of the photos I’ve been taking lately, and she’s helped me scout more places for every season of the year.
The fact that she’s already thinking about being in my life in the fall is heady.
“I know. I’m sorry. But I can’t wait to see you play tomorrow. My big, sexy, best-goalie-in-the-league boyf…”
Ellie blushes bright red, embarrassed that she’s given me a title that we haven’t discussed yet, but I’ve been waiting for her. I can’t help my grin as I crush her into a hug. “I’d be honored to be your boyfriend, baby. Does that mean you’re my girlfriend?”
Her kiss tells me she’s as ecstatic about this development as I am, and we only break apart when her phone rings again.
“Okay, I have to go. Have a great game tomorrow, I’ll be watching!”
With that, she’s off, and I’m lying alone on my couch with a hard-on and a smile.
If I can make it through morning skate tomorrow, then I can visit with Thatch for a while and hopefully introduce him to Ellie, if the schedules line up.
The weather in New York has been awful, so he said the team might stay an extra day and enjoy the milder climate here since they’re off.
I know a lot of those guys won’t want another day away from their families, but if they set it up as a team bonding exercise, anything can happen.
With Ellie gone, I might as well shower and go to bed.
The sooner I sleep, the sooner I can see her tomorrow.
“Fucking hell.”
“Shit, man.”
“Please, Coach. Anything else.”
“Again!” Coach’s shrill whistle pierces the air, and we’re all off in full pads once more.
When we arrived at the facility this morning, Coach informed us that fucking Wednesday, of all people, had gotten a DUI and now we’re in the press as an unserious party team.
His SUV was full of women, one of whom was only eighteen, and he was coming from a party that quite a few of the younger guys on the team also attended.
As a result, we’re here running drills like teenage club members instead of NHL professionals.
“Why us? Why not just punish Wednesday?” Bugsy’s between puke sessions for now, although he’s starting to look a little green.
Bud’s still upright, his old-man muscle holding him in good stead for these drills, but I can see him favoring his right side.
Hopefully, he doesn’t hurt himself out here today.
“You know we were going to be out here at some point, Bugs.” He turns to me to explain.
“This is Coach’s final push before the playoffs.
He wants us to hold each other accountable even more than ever from now until the end.
He does it every year, usually with good results. ”
“Alright, that’s enough! Get off my ice!”
With that, we’re dismissed to the locker room. Luckily, the physical trainers are out in full force to help us recover. After a quick shower, I join a group of guys getting stretched and massaged by the magic hands of our physio team.
“So what are you so happy about, Cuddles?” Pretzel asks, and all eyes are suddenly on me.
“What? I’m happy about being done with fucking bag drills, if that’s what you mean.”
“Nah, he’s talking about the fact that you haven’t gone five seconds with a dopey smile on your face, even when you were puking earlier,” Nikki chimes in, and my dick retracts into my body as if it can sense the danger we’re in.
I told Ellie the truth; she’s worth it, and I’ll do whatever it takes for her brothers to accept our relationship.
But the Santori brothers in person are a lot more intimidating than I remember, and I was hoping to deal with them later. At some point. Far into the future.
“Uh…”
“Oh shit, Cuddles has a girl! Come on, man, you gotta tell us! How’d you meet her? At the beach? Is she a bunny?”
“She’s not a fucking bunny,” I growl, and Bugsy whoops in victory at his successful interrogation.
“So there is a girl!”
Damn, that’s the oldest trick in the book, and I fucking fell for it.
“Come on, man. You gotta give us something. Is she hot?”
The guys keep peppering me with questions, but all I can see is Nikki’s glare from the ice bath.
Before I have to figure out an exit strategy, I’m saved by the bell.
His timer goes off, and as he stalks toward the showers, I mumble an excuse and escape.
I have to get my head on straight for tonight’s game, but the wake-up call that Ellie’s family is a real, present threat has shaken me.
Not a problem for right now, Teddy. I’ll get through the game, hopefully get to see Thatch, and go from there. He’s an expert in getting out of tight spots. Maybe he’ll have the answer I need.
“I mean it, man. This place is sick! And what a fucking view…listen, put in a good word for me with your coach for next year, will ya? We haven’t had a day over forty-five degrees in at least a month. And you’re down here in shorts and tanks, strolling along the beach!”
God, it’s good to see my best friend. Even if he is currently eating chili cheese fries like a baboon on my pristine couch when he’s usually so mindful of my space. He must be starving, though, so I let it go. It’s just so damn nice to have him here, even if only for a night.
“I’m glad you could come spend the night. I guess the Phantoms’ front office must not hate me too much, even though they traded me, if they let you out of the team hotel just to come hang here.”
“Nah, man, everyone misses you. I’m not sure what the deal with the trade was.
Coach was pissed as soon as you left and doesn’t like the new guy.
He’s fine, whatever, but it’s not the same.
Everyone’s hoping you’ll come back next year.
Have you thought about having your agent put out feelers?
Not that I mind having all your grandma’s attention to myself. ”
“I’m gonna let that slide because I know she loves still having someone to dote on. But, to be honest…no, I haven’t thought about it. I’m really hoping to stay here. For the long haul, potentially.”
“Ah. Okay. I mean, I get it. The weather alone is…wait. Wait a minute. What’s that grin?”
His calling me out only makes me smile wider. I can’t help it. Any thought of a future with Ellie has me grinning like a damn fool, and it’s getting harder and harder to hide.
“There’s a girl! Isn’t there? Jesus Christ, I can’t believe it. You’ve barely been here a hot minute, Teddy. How can you already be cheesing this hard over a girl?”
“She’s a woman, thank you very much. And I don’t know, Thatch. When you know, you know, I guess. I met her while volunteering, and she’s so funny and kind. She gets all excited about her friends’ gossip at the retirement home, and she kicks my ass at trivia every time.”
“Pretty?”
“Pretty isn’t the word, man. She’s beyond. Curves for days, confidence—”
I’m interrupted by the arrival of my muse herself, who’s quietly let herself in and is leaning against the archway into the living room, listening to me spill my heart out to my best friend.
I feel lighter as soon as I see her, like something vital was missing and has now returned to make me whole again.
“Hi, baby.” I cross the room in three quick strides to pick her up and spin her around, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before pulling back. “You smell awful.”
Her tinkling laugh makes up for it, but she really does reek.
“Well, after your game, I swung by and caught the end of goat yoga at the retirement home. But then one got loose and made quite a mess in the activity room, so I helped clean it up. I’ll take a shower and come back out smelling like you if you’ll introduce me to your friend first.”
With that, she turns her radiance onto Thatcher, who’s just as mesmerized as I expected. I jump in to make introductions as if they haven’t already heard plenty about each other.
“Thatcher, this is my girlfriend, Ellie. Ellie, this is my best friend and former teammate in New York, Thatcher Prescott.”
“It’s a pleasure. Teddy hasn’t told me much about you yet, but it’s clear you’re a special woman to enamor him so thoroughly.”
Would it kill him to leave a little charm for the rest of us?
“I’m excited to hang out with you guys tonight, but if you don’t mind, I really do want to shower and get the smell of goat off.”
“We’ll be here when you get back. If you’re lucky, Thatch will leave you some of the food.” I send her off with a kiss to her temple, enjoying the view as she waltzes down the hall in sinfully tight leggings. When I turn around, Thatcher’s fixing me with an uncharacteristically serious stare.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just that she’s sweet as shit, and you’re completely in love with her.”
“I…”
I am, aren’t I? I’m completely gone for the woman who’s naked in my shower right now.
She’s flipped my life upside down, and I’m increasingly desperate to fill as many seconds of every day as I can with her.
I think I’ve been a little in love with Elia Santori from the moment I saw her.
How could I not be? Well, no reason to keep the full truth from the guy I’m hoping has at least one bright idea to help me with this mess.
“I am. And I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do about it. We’re keeping it a secret for a while, and—”
“A secret? Why?”
“You’re the only one who knows. I haven’t even told Grandma, Thatch. It’s because,” I run my fingers through my hair and feel the tiny ball of dread that’s my constant companion reform at the base of my spine. “Her last name is Santori.”
“Santori…oh shit. Like Santori? As in your scary-as-fuck captain and barely-less-scary alternate captain? Those Santoris?”
“Ellie’s their little sister.”
“Jesus Christ, Teddy.”
“I know.”
“She’s so off-limits.”
“I know.”
“There are a lot of rumors about that family, you know.”
“What? Thatch. I promise you, I am very well aware of all the ways this is fucked. But you saw. I love her. It’s already a bitch to sneak around, and I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”
“Well,” Thatch says thoughtfully, chewing a piece of pizza, “you can’t do anything about it right now.
You guys are poised for a playoff run. Team’s overall healthy, depth chart is stacked after your trade deadline moves.
If you nuke the chemistry by revealing you’re fucking the Santori sister, you can kiss the playoffs goodbye. ”
“Hey, watch it. We make love, thank you.”
“I’m just saying, man, whatever you’ve been doing to keep it quiet, if it’s not enough, you need to suck it up for a while. At least until the playoffs are over. If you blow everything up now, I have a good feeling you’ll be run out of Thunder Bay forever, and she won’t be coming with you.”
“Hmm.” I’m distracted by Ellie, freshly showered and hair wrapped in a towel, sneaking into the kitchen to grab a water from the fridge.
She’s wearing tiny shorts and an old practice T-shirt of mine, with “Williams” in big block letters across the back.
When she sees me, she waves, makes a motion that she’s going to dry her hair, then scurries back down the hall.
“Thatch, you’ll have to excuse me for fifteen or so minutes. By all means, eat the rest of my food. Order some more. I’ll be back.” I hurry after Ellie, but not before Thatch huffs a laugh.
“I’d like to go on record as changing my prediction,” he calls down the hall. “You’ll be lucky to make it out of here alive.”