Chapter 22 #2
I considered meeting the guys downstairs for a drink.
It was important to be social during road trips.
Bonding helped teams to gel on the ice, so Jay and I tried to set a good example for the young guys by organizing some team dinners and nights out while we were traveling.
But I was pretty damn exhausted myself. I was always tired after a hard-fought game, and losing meant there was no adrenaline surge to help power through.
Tonight, all I wanted to do was collapse into bed.
I could text the guys and see about meeting up for a team breakfast in the morning before we had to head for the airport.
I brushed my teeth, stripped down to my boxers, and finally collapsed into bed, bringing my phone with me. I hoped I could keep my eyes open long enough to send out the texts.
When I opened my messages, I found something that woke me right the hell up. A three-word text—
Gracie: Thought I’d practice.
Then a picture attachment. When I opened it, I nearly swallowed my tongue.
It wasn’t the raciest picture I’d ever received.
The few times I’d gotten drunk enough to give out my number to puck bunnies after the divorce I had ended up with some real raunchy images in my texts.
Not exactly the kind of thing you wanted to find on your phone the next morning once you’d sobered up.
This picture of Gracie wasn’t half as daring as those I’d gotten from strangers, but it was a million times hotter.
It didn’t even include her face, though I would know those rose nipples anywhere.
The shot was taken from just above her shoulders.
Lying on her bed, sky blue quilt visible in the shot, she was naked.
Gloriously, perfectly naked. She was all curves, from her plump, gorgeous tits to the dip in her waist flaring out into the swell of luscious hips, and I wanted to get my hands on every inch of her.
I was going to devour this woman the next time I got her alone.
I stared down at the shot, trying to memorize every detail.
Her legs were bent at the knees and crossed, hiding the paradise at her center from view.
I could just make out the hint of a triangle of shadow there.
Somehow not seeing it made it all the more enticing.
Just the hint of what was between her thighs made me completely, painfully hard in an instant.
I was speechless for a long time, fingers hovering over the keyboard, unable to string together a single thought.
It wasn’t just the hotness of the picture—even though it was sexy as fuck. It was the fact that she trusted me enough to send it. That she was willing to put herself out there, try something new, something that scared her. That she was willing to do that with me. This girl absolutely blew me away.
Fuck, I finally typed, figuring it summed up my reaction pretty succinctly.
Then, Jesus, Gracie.
I watched the bouncing dots appear then disappear then reappear. She was overthinking her response, nervous. I hurried to type a more cohesive sentence.
Me: You’re gorgeous, Grace. That was the best text message I’ve ever received. Thank you.
The dots appeared again but only for a moment this time.
Gracie: Wish I was there in person so you could thank me properly ;)
Jesus, the girl could make me hard with just a wink face emoji—well, harder. I was clearly losing my mind. And I didn’t care one little bit.
My phone beeped in my hands and I looked down at the new message.
Gracie: See you soon. Sweet dreams.
Yeah, I thought, gripping my erection as I opened the picture again. My dreams were going to be pretty damn sweet indeed.
I was starting to think Gracie Knight was some kind of a good luck charm.
Knowing she was in the crowd for our next game lit a fire under me.
Part of me wanted to impress her, just like I had been trying to do every day since I was a pimply teenager.
An even bigger part of me was plenty eager for her to make good on her promise to send more racy pictures the next time I was on the road.
Mostly, I was just super jacked up, knowing I was going to get to see her soon.
Whatever the reason, I played some of the best hockey of my career that night. I ended up scoring three goals—the first hat trick in Sting history. It felt damn good ending our losing streak, and even better to do it in this arena, where I had played so many games.
The first thing I did when we hit the locker room was to video call Josie. It wasn’t a school night, plus the time difference made it earlier there, but I still wanted to talk to her before she headed to bed.
“Daddy!” she cried as soon as her face came into view.
I grinned at her beaming smile, relief slipping into my belly.
She’d been in much better spirits since the first home game.
She still had a tendency to slip into broody silence more frequently than she used to, but she didn’t seem to be directing her pain onto me.
She’d also started researching dog breeds again, even sending me pictures from the rescue website when I was out of town.
It was starting to feel like I’d gotten my little girl back, and I would take that over a thousand game winning goals.
“I can’t believe you scored a hat trick in New York,” she crowed. “Against your old team, too! That was amazing! And that last one—you totally deked out Gregson!”
I chuckled. “Well God knows I practiced with the guy enough over the years.”
She giggled and the sound went straight to my chest. “I wish you were here, Josie-girl.”
She sighed, face dropping a little. “I wish that too, Daddy. We could get bagels at Leo’s.”
“Or pizza at Sal’s.”
She groaned.
“You’ll come with me next time we play here, okay?”
I held my breath, hoping I didn’t just inadvertently bring on another burst of melancholy. But her face brightened almost immediately. “It’s okay. Granny and Grandpa are going to take me to the aquarium!”
“That sounds great, baby. Take lots of pictures for me.”
“Okay, Daddy.” She scrunched up her nose. “You look pretty gross. You better hit the shower.”
I laughed. “I’ll do that. You get to bed soon, you hear?”
She sighed, still smiling. “It’s gonna be pretty hard to sleep after that.”
I had to agree with her as I hung up the phone. Luckily, I wasn’t planning on doing much sleeping that night.
I showered and got dressed in my suit—league rules required at least a shirt and tie when players arrived at or left a game. I usually found it annoying, but not tonight—Gracie had confessed to me that she had a thing for me in a white button up shirt. And I aimed to please my girl.
Speaking of my girl, she’d left me a message while I was in the shower.
Gracie: Nice job. Guess I really owe you now, huh? ;)
Me: I plan to cash in on that. Where are you?
Gracie: Heading back to the hotel with the girls. Andy said 1st round of drinks for the team are on him. Meet you there?
I had been hoping that we could skip the after-game party and get right up to my room, but I supposed that would be a little difficult for her to pull off with her brother and her friends there.
So I swallowed my disappointment and let her know I’d be there soon, comforting myself with the knowledge that I’d have her alone—and hopefully naked—before the night was over.
The hotel bar was a madhouse. Every player on the team was there, along with all of the organization staff that usually traveled with us, plus the front office guys Andy had brought in for the game. There was also a fair amount of puck bunnies trying to work their way into the knot of players.
I saw Peyton before I saw Gracie. The tall blonde threw her arms around my neck. “That was so fucking exciting! You scored three goals! I fucking love hockey!”
I laughed and patted her on the back, searching for Gracie over her shoulder.
“Someone became a convert tonight,” a laughing voice said at my side and I looked over to see Grace and her friend Rosa approaching.
“Yeah, Peyton really liked the game,” Rosa said, rubbing at the side of her face. “Pretty sure she burst one of my ear drums with her screeching.”
Peyton finally released me. “I couldn’t help it! That was the most fun I’ve had in ages.” She winked at me. “I know absolutely nothing about the game, mind you, but it was still fun.”
“She kept referring to the penalty box as the time out chair and the puck as that little black ball,” Gracie said drily.
Peyton was casting appraising eyes over the crowd of my teammates. “I bet I could find someone here to teach me all about it.”
“Just stay away from Gabe,” I warned her. “You scared the shit out of the poor guy at the cookout.”
Her eyes sparkled as she surveyed the room. “Any other tips for me?”
Over by the bar, I caught sight of Ryan Cane eyeing all three girls with clear appreciation on his face. Anger rose in my chest. “Stay away from Ryan Cane,” I told her, eyes darting over to Rosa as well. “That guy is an asshole.”
“Got it,” Peyton said, flouncing her hair out over her shoulders. “Wish me luck!”
“I have a feeling it’s the guys who are going to need luck,” Rosa shouted after her and we all laughed.
I finally let myself drink in the sight of Gracie. She wore a red wrap dress—team colors—that hugged and highlighted every single curve. All I wanted to do was untie the string at her waist and get my hands on her.
Fucking bar full of people.
“You look great tonight, Gracie,” I told her, not giving a shit if anyone overheard me. It would be a sin not to compliment a woman when she looked like that.
She scrunched up her nose a little. “I don’t usually wear red.” She patted the top of her hair. “Makes me look a little matchy-match. But I wanted to support the team so—”