10. Charisse
Charisse
I fly out of the studio as soon as time is called just to battle the horrific Los Angeles traffic. “Friday light” doesn’t apply when it’s Friday night and the LA Sentinels’ arena is in the heart of downtown.
Still, I manage to park and hightail it to the ticket office to nab the seats Dominic had set aside for me. Shrugging into my DAVIES 30 jersey, I ignore the home crowd’s jeers and comments as I make my way to my seat, just to the right side of the net the Scorpions would defend twice tonight.
When he skates past me during warmups, he taps the glass in front of my face with his stick, and my heart skips at the sight of him.
It’s been a long month keeping my distance, sorting through my feelings for him, and evaluating every nook and cranny of my previous relationships while also considering what my future might look like.
But in every version of what my future could be, I always envision Dominic as part of it. There is no separating him from me, no world I can imagine where he isn’t by my side for all the big stuff life throws at me—and there’s no challenge I’d want to take on without his steady support.
Falling in love with Dominic might be the most natural step forward for us, and as I watch him loom in the goal, sliding side-to-side and testing his pads, I think about the passion that kindled between us. Bright, burning, effortless, easy.
He kneels and stretches his groin, hips bouncing in that provocative way that has heat climbing up my neck and memories flashing in my brain.
His gear strewn over the ice, that helmet skidding and spinning. His unabated hunger for me. His voice, deep and commanding, all pretense of the easy teasing and boyish charm turned into something molten.
He’s haunted me every night we’ve been apart. In the dark, in the quiet, in the expanse of my empty bed, he had me reaching between my legs to ease the ache he’d sparked inside me.
An ache I’d never felt with anyone else.
He turns, taps the pipes and his crossbar the same way he always does, and his eyes meet mine. Even through the cage, the glass, and the distance, I can see the warmth in his gray eyes, the telltale crinkle at their corners expressing his pleasure at seeing me.
My heart pounds as I raise my hand and wave. With my belly twisting, my skin tingling, and my stomach flipping, I suddenly know that this exhilarating rush of emotion is love.
I looked for it in so many other places when it had been right in front of me all along.
My world would not be complete without Dominic. Even if I’m terrified out of my wits to risk our friendship, the reality is I don’t think I can settle for only co-parenting with him.
I need to be his, just as he needs to be mine. Then everything would be alright.
Forever.
Dominic is in the starting lineup tonight, and this time, he keeps a cool head. He defends the goal fiercely, knocking aside pucks and kick-saving shot after shot after shot. He stonewalls the Sentinels through two periods, robbing them of several quality scoring chances.
It’s exciting to see him in his element, to watch as he deftly snatches up pucks and denies breakaways, one-timers, and even would-be garbage goals as he sprawls out like a starfish, trying everything he can to ensure that puck does not cross the goal line.
He gives his all, each and every time, and God, don’t I love that about him?
His unfailing loyalty, his utter devotion?
I feel compelled now to offer it back to him, to give him everything he’s given me for so long. I can’t wait another moment. So, I tear through the arena when the game’s finished and the teams have cleared the ice. I filter out with the masses and make my way to where an enormous, sleek black charter bus waits.
My nerves vibrate inside me. What would I say? What if his feelings have changed? Could I go back to the tidy box of just-friendship after knowing how his body fits mine? How it feels to have his tongue on my clit? His whispered praise in my ears?
That name— Daddy— on my lips?
No. This is the first time I’ve anxiously waited to see someone after spending some time apart. In all my previous relationships, the distance didn’t make my heart grow fonder, but rather the opposite—it created an emotional distance I couldn’t repair until eventually, it became too much.
My ambitions have always cost me, but with Dominic, our ambitions are something we’ve always had in common. It’s why we’ve always been able to pick up where we left off, why our friendship never suffered the lulls and awkward rebuilding that all my other relationships seemed to go through.
So, when he strolls out, enormous hockey bag slung over his shoulder and that broad, easy smile on his face, my breath comes out in a rush.
Happiness explodes in me, and the pure joy coursing through me at the sight of him isn’t something I’ve felt greeting anyone else after having not seen them. I break into a run, shouting for his attention.
He turns, sees me rushing forward, and his equipment bag hits the floor alongside a small backpack as I leap into his arms.
“Hey, Reece’s Pieces,” he chuckles, catching me in his warm embrace with some surprise. “Happy to see me?”
“Yes,” I say, tightening my hold around his neck and locking my legs around his waist. It’s an intimate embrace, I know, but I don’t care. I inhale that clean, just-soaped scent of his and every fiber of my being relaxes, drawing comfort and strength from his body, his familiarity, his voice. Everything is going to be alright so long as he can always hold me like this. “It’s been a while. I missed you.”
“Yeah? How much?” he teases, drawing back to search my gaze under the harsh overhead parking lights.
I cradle his face in my hands and feel my body flush a few degrees warmer. Then I dip my head a couple of inches, let my nose brush along his as my mouth hovers over his parted lips.
“Let me show you.”
Then I close the gap and kiss him.
It only takes a moment for the spark to ignite, for the longing inside me to blossom into full-blown want. His mouth opens beneath mine, and I’m lost. Caught up in the taste of him, in the scent of him. Secure within the circle of his arms.
My heart swells with love and the knowledge that this is the man—the feeling—I’ve been trying to find. All that time, all those lukewarm, good-on-paper boyfriends. None of them sparked excitement, inspiration, and passion. None of them made me feel like I needed them by my side. None of them made me feel like the way I do in this moment.
Safe. Protected. Loved.
As the kiss turns sweet, I pour my emotions into it. This man would give me anything and everything I ask for. Him. His heart. His soul. I want to give him all of me, too.
A couple of his teammates walk by, hauling their own gear. One cat calls as he passes. Another hollers back, “What’s up, Charisse?” like this image of us entwined is no big surprise.
I ignore them all as our kiss breaks, and I breathe out a little laugh.
“I love you, Dominic Davies. I might’ve always loved you.”
“I love you, too, Charisse Soriano,” he says, eyes shining. “And I definitely always have.”
Beaming at him, I slide down his body and take hold of his hand. When he looks at me and smiles, gratitude swims through me.
“Thank you.” I give his hand a squeeze. “For waiting for me.”
Dominic squeezes my hand back. “Thanks for taking a chance on me.”
Whoops and cheers break out from the guys loitering by the bus with Diego coming forward to grab Dominic’s bag.
“Does this mean y’all are finally official? My sister says it’s important to determine the relationship.” Diego crooks a brow at us.
“What would you know about determining a relationship?” Dominic shoots back.
Some of the guys snicker, and I laugh.
“The answer’s yes. You can consider my new boyfriend off the market.” I lay a hand across his chest protectively. “You’ll need to get a new wingman, Diego.”
Dominic mouths the word boyfriend to himself, looking ridiculously pleased as he hooks an arm around my shoulders and presses a kiss to my temple.
More cat calls and cheers sound from the bus while Dominic grins.
“Alright, everybody, show’s over. Take my gear and go. I’ll find my own way back home.”
I lace my fingers through Dominic’s as he grabs his smaller bag with his free hand and slings it onto his back. Then, he turns to me with that flirty smile of his, and it sends a ridiculous, giddy rush whizzing through me and I realize all my dreams have become reality.
It all happened so fast.
Just a month ago, I’d arrived home with a half-formed plan to ask my best friend to help me make a baby. I didn’t know that would open doors I long thought shut.
I didn’t realize that walking through one open door would mean others would open to me.
Guess that’s what happens when you start following your heart, find your courage, and trust yourself.
Now, there’s just one more door that awaits.
When we’re in my loft apartment, Dominic wastes no time unzipping his backpack and spilling its contents onto the floor. Half a dozen pregnancy tests skitter across the wood flooring. I laugh when he curses and bends to snatch them all up.
“I didn’t know which one you’d prefer, so I… I bought them all.”
Struggling to regain my composure, I head into the restroom and return with a small paper bag from the local drugstore. I empty it onto my sofa, and soon we’re both cracking up as another array of pregnancy tests tumble out.
He waves two boxes in the air. “Well, we’re well stocked to keep trying if this doesn’t turn out to be it.”
I snake my arm around his narrow waist and crane my neck to grin at him.
“Oh, I’m hoping there will be lots of trying, whether or not this turns out to be it.”
Laughing, we sift through the tests together. In the end, we chose one that would give us our results in clear, digital text so we didn’t have to guess.
Minutes later, we sit and stare at the screen.
“Do you want a boy or a girl?” I whisper, crawling into his lap and feeling his strong arms band around me.
He brushes a kiss against my temple. “It doesn’t matter. Any child I have with you is bound to be perfect.”
It’s the longest three minutes of my life, but when the results appear, I’m filled with so much happiness that my eyes drift shut, and a single tear falls down my cheek.
“We’re having a baby, Dom.” I lift my gaze and see that his gray eyes look especially wet too.
“We’re going to be a family,” he says, his large hand coasting gingerly over my belly. He shifts, stretching out between my legs and planting a sweet kiss over the soft curve of my stomach, murmuring, “And I’m going to be here for you and your beautiful mama every single step of the way.”
“We’re going to have do a lot of planning. Between your work schedule and mine… The timing’s going to be a little tricky.”
“I’m retiring.” He smiles, and my heart melts even more. “This is my last season. It’s time to focus on new priorities.”
“You’ve always anticipated my every need, haven’t you? You’ve never once failed me.” A shudder rolls through me as he flips the button on my jeans and peels them off me. I watch him with eager eyes as he tosses aside his shirt and realize that our relationship, our future, cannot fail because I’ve finally chosen the proper partner for me. Even if we’ve gone about it a little backward, we have the solid foundation of our friendship to build on. “Thank you.”
Kicking aside his own pants, he stretches out over me and peppers soft, wet kisses over the curve of my breast, my shoulder, my neck.
“No thanks necessary. I’ve saved enough to be able to take some time to figure out what I should do next, and honestly? Stay-at-home dad sounds pretty damn sweet. Or, if you’re on tour, on-the-road dad. Someone’s going to have to hold down the fort while you’re out there taking center stage.”
“I love you,” I rasp, turning my head for another deep, soul-melding kiss that has him hardening against my leg.
His hands skate over my curves to find me already wet and wanting. A soft groan passes his lips as he kisses me again. “I love you, too.”
He feels so good between my thighs, it’s not long until I’m squirming beneath him, begging.
“Please. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Please what?” he says, eyes half-lidded and mouth tipped up in that cocky smirk I adore.
“I need you. I need your cock,” I say, biting my lip and smiling, “Daddy.”
Then he slides in, both of us arching and gasping and wanting.
With hands linked and bodies twined, we’re complete. Filled with love for each other, for the baby we’ve created, and for the life we’ll make together.
Yes, I think as we move in unison, everything is going to be just fine.