41. Liv
After completing his run as temporary captain, Ash’s skates were steadily back beneath him. The press conference before tonight’s game was to announce him as official captain for the Knights.
After the game, the team trooped out together, all of them dressed in whatever passed for ‘dressed up’ clothes.
With athletes, it was always a mixed bag.
Half wore trousers paired with sneakers; some wore branded t-shirts worth more than my monthly salary.
Before taxes. Spirits were high, and they must have cracked a couple bottles of liquor before leaving, because they were already looking glazed.
Breaking a four-game losing streak had to be exhilarating. They deserved to celebrate.
“Do you want to go? Out? With the team?”
Ash had the look of someone crushed one too many times yet still remained hopeful.
“Of course!” I wanted him to know how proud I was of him, to be with him.
Knights players and their families packed the bar Coach Olsen rented out for them. He sent us a round of drinks, and when he passed by, he gave Ash a silent nod of affirmation, and I sensed it was high praise coming from the man.
Coach’s wife approached, a glass of red wine in hand. “Hi, Olivia, I’m Grace Olsen.”
“Oh, hi!” It was nice to finally meet one of the spouses and partners. I couldn’t bring myself to call them WAGs. “Please call me Liv. Nobody calls me Olivia but Ash. And he does it to be annoying.” Oops. Maybe I’d imbibed too quickly and overshared.
But Grace didn’t seem to mind, throwing her head back in a big, booming, contagious laugh.
“Julian’s the same way.” She took a sip of her wine.
She was tall, well over six feet in her wicked heels.
Her short, white-blonde hair was perfect in a way I would never dare even wish for.
The navy jacket she wore over a silk blouse and skirt stretched out her Valkyrie frame to impossible lengths.
The woman was gorgeous , and the patriarchy-brainwashed side of my brain I hated and kept tamped down screamed for me to hate her on sight.
In another life, maybe I would’ve. All the months I’d spent at Hurst Labs surrounded by mediocre men made me realize how much I missed having a female presenting friend, and I desperately wanted to be her friend.
“Your eyeliner is amazing,” I blurted, then clapped my hand over my mouth. But seriously, how did she get it so even ?
Grace smiled broadly, revealing perfect, glistening teeth. “You want to know a secret?” She leaned in conspiratorially. “It’s a stencil. I got tired of redoing it fifteen times every day.”
“Fucking brilliant .” I clinked my glass against hers.
“Julian told me you wanted to start a science club for high schoolers?”
“Yes!” Oh dear, I was doing the thing where I yelled when I got excited.
My new friend didn’t seem bothered by it, though.
“It’s not really a club. When I was in high school, I had an amazing STEM group who helped with scholarships and took our advanced science classes on tours and stuff.
It was so cool but in college, I found out how many people didn’t have a support system, and I want to—” I paused, trying to swallow a hiccup, “help.”
“I’d like to help fund it.”
I blinked. Then blinked again. “You—fund?” My brain failed me. What even are words?
Grace laughed, edging closer so she didn’t have to yell over the din. “Yes. Of course, I’m sure you’d like to have multiple donors, but I know plenty of people who’ll help out. My girls would love something like this, and it’s not my forte.”
“I’ll chip in.” Polly appeared out of thin air, and since I was on the far side of tipsy, I wrapped my arms around Ash’s grandmother in the hug I’d wanted to give her practically since we’d met.
Waving wildly, Grace accidentally bumped into me, nearly splashing wine over the rim of her glass. “Polly!” She yelled, joining in the hug.
“Hey, Liv! Mrs. Coach! Nana Polly, what’s crackin’?” Dante materialized, fist bumping Polly and nodding respectfully to Grace.
“Liv is starting a science sclub! Science—science… club .” It was gratifying to realize I wasn’t the only one enjoying the wine. “And I thought of your sister! Dante’s younger sister is friends with my girls. She’s at our house all the time. Sweet girl,” Grace said sotto voce .
“No way! I’ll have to tell her. Text me about it, okay? She’ll kill me if her friends get to go without her.”
“That’s very sweet.” Suddenly overcome with affection for this group of people I hardly knew, my eyes stung with tears.
Heat washed over me from behind, followed by a chin resting on top of my head and strong arms wrapping around my waist. A spicy, smoky scent flooded my senses.
Ash .
A goofy smile spread across my face, and Polly and Grace gave knowing grins in return.
“Dante. Why does my girlfriend think you’re being sweet?” His voice did that gravelly thing I loved so much.
“Her science club! Lia is going to flip the fuck out. She loves this shit.”
“Polly and I have offered to make donations.” Grace was back to yelling over the crowd in her enthusiasm.
“It’s so nice.” I might actually cry.
“Let’s get you some fresh air.” Ash eased around beside me, leaving one warm, heavy arm draped across my shoulders.
The revolving glass doors tripped me up for a second, but eventually, I made it through, with Ash squeezing into the space with me.
A blast of cold air hit me in the face, and I immediately turned around to go back inside.
“Ugh, no. It’s too fucking cold.”
Sliding his fingers between mine, Ash pulled me back toward him. “Here.” He shrugged off his jacket, draping it around me. “Better?”
I nodded, appreciating the simplicity of the white shirt, perfectly fitted to all of those stupid muscles, with the faintest hint of his tattoos peeking through. He’s so fucking hot, I can’t stand it.
“Thank you. I think.”
“Oops. I said that out loud?” An embarrassed flush battled for dominance with the wine flush creeping over my cheeks. The wine probably won.
“You did. I like hearing it, though. Keep going.”
“What do you want to hear?”
“Whatever you want to tell me, Barnes.” He tugged the lapels of his jacket tighter around my shoulders, then used the fabric to pull me closer, into his space. His voice was so close, the rumbling reached all the way down my spine.
“How are you so fucking tall?” I tipped my head back to look up at him. His lashes were impossibly dark, annoyingly long framing the depths of his eyes.
“Not what I was going for, but I’ll take it.”
“You have nice eyelashes?”
He laughed, the sound warming something deep inside her. “Works for me.”
“You’re so pretty.” Oops, the last word dragged out while my mind tripped through memories of all the other things I liked about him.
All the things he’d done for me before we were.
.. us. Unbidden tears filled my eyes , and I blinked them away, staring at the bright streetlights to clear my vision.
“Are you okay, now?” Unable to resist touching him, I slid my hands along the smooth white fabric covering his arms until my hands rested on his shoulders.
Tinging the frigid air with a steam cloud hanging between us, the breath he blew out sounded halfway between a sigh and a groan. “I’m… getting there.”
“I believe in you enough for the both of us.” My hands slid to the back of his neck, scraping my nails through the short hair there.
“You know, Barnes, I believe you do.”
Then he lowered his mouth to mine. The fruity flavor of wine mingled with the smoky burn of his whisky when his tongue slid against mine, tangling into an intoxicating blend for my already inhibited mind.
When my fingers ground into the muscles of his back, he slid his hands in my hair, holding me in place as he kissed me.
Hard. One hand remained fisted in my hair while the other slid down my back, reaching down to cup my?—
“Wilder, get your ass in here!” A voice yelled. “We’re toasting to the captain!”