33. Reese
Coach: Get your boys ready to play.
Probably the best text to wake up to. After the storm two nights ago, it calmed down, but there was a lot to clean up, and we weren’t sure our games were still on. But thank fuck they are. I’ve had the best couple of days with Winnie, and I’m looking forward to continuing the good times.
I shoot off a text, drop my phone, and roll over. The sun is starting to rise, and the golden glow shining against Winnie’s exposed skin makes her look like some kind of Greek goddess. I tug the blanket lower to see the rest of her body. She mumbles a complaint but doesn’t wake up, giving me time to take in the entirety of her.
“Stop staring at me.”
I guess I did wake her after all.
Brown eyes flutter open, and she smiles sleepily at me.
I lean down and take her mouth with mine. She’s informed me she doesn’t enjoy kissing first thing in the morning, so I don’t shove my tongue inside, even though I don’t give a shit and want to do just that.
She pushes me away and scowls, but it’s obviously forced. “Why are you up anyway?”
Oh, shit. That’s right. This is the problem with Winnie being around; she fucks up my ability to focus on anything besides her.
“Coach texted me. We have games today.”
“Really?” she cheers. “I’m excited now.”
“Me too, and I need to go tell everyone else, but seeing your nipples hard and begging for my attention is making it quite difficult to get out of bed.”
“My apologies.” She tugs the blanket up and giggles. As much as I hate her covering her body, I know it’s necessary if I want to make it to my games today.
Still, I groan and kiss her again, all the way down her neck until I reach the blanket flush to her skin. “We need to be there in two hours. You can use my bathroom to get ready, and I’ll use the one in the hall.”
Something like confusion tilts her face. “Why can’t we use the same bathroom? We have been for two days, Reese.”
I thrust my hips forward, letting her feel my hard dick against her bare thigh, and she giggles once more.
“Oh.”
“Oh is right, and if I get in the shower with you, we will never make it. And then I’ll lose my captain spot and my chance at going pro, and you’ll be forced to sell your body to support us, and I’m simply not willing to let that happen.”
“That’s a pretty drastic turnout.”
I nod while reluctantly slipping from the bed. Fuck, why does she have to look at my body like she’s ready to devour me at any given moment. Talk about fucking distracting. “Sure is. Now get your pretty ass ready and remember, ice is cold.”
I bend, grab another hockey sweatshirt since I knew the one I gave her before is probably still at her brother’s, and toss it at her without looking back.
“What am I meant to do with this? Swim in it?”
I glance back and curse seeing her naked and standing in the middle of the room. She’s holding my sweatshirt by her side, but it does nothing to hide her perfect body.
“Whatever you gotta do, just make sure that sweatshirt with my name and number is on your back.”
Air sparks against my skin like a bunch of tiny needles as I bask in the game-day excitement. A sheet of glassy ice catches my attention on the way to the locker rooms, and I pause to stare at it. I fucking love hockey. Nothing pumps my heart quite the same. Except maybe when I’m balls deep in Winnie, but even that’s not the same. I give Winnie my all when we fuck, or the “all” I’m willing to, anyway, but when it comes to hockey, I don’t hold back on anything. I can slam into someone with my entire force, and I know they will mostly be okay and turn around and give me the same back. The same treatment with Winnie would not only be abuse but also not possible because she weighs, like, half of me.
No, this is where I leave it all.
I’m not complete without the two.
“No, don’t smile. Brood.”
I snap my head toward the direction of her voice. Winnie rolls her eyes at something Sawyer said, and I chuckle while hurrying forward to defuse the tension if necessary. These two are so similar, and they don’t even see it.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means keep that same exact face and walk toward me.”
“Like a douche?” Sawyer asks, and a few of the guys around him laugh. I have to bite mine back to stay neutral.
“Like a sexy guy. Surely, you can pretend to be that for a single photo.”
Sawyer’s eyebrows drop, and he scowls like he’s legitimately offended. And if I know Sawyer at all, he is. “I am a sexy guy.”
“Prove it.”
He heads toward me, but in the last moment, he turns, facing her, and trucks forward. A new kind of swagger in his walk.
“Perfect!” Winnie pulls the camera back to see what she got and grins. “Not half bad.”
“Not half bad,” he huffs, mocking her.
“Okay, my turn.” I don’t particularly enjoy her looking so intently at photos of other guys. I know it’s her job and she probably looks at hundreds daily, but I’d prefer it wasn’t in my face. Ignorance is bliss and all that.
Winnie looks up from her camera grinning, but I notice how her eyes rake down my suited body. Most teams only wear suits for home games, but Coach likes us to be our best dressed before every match. Right now, I’m fucking thankful he does because, with the way Winnie is looking at me, I’m tempted to sneak her away and impregnate her all over again.
“Alright, walk to me.”
I do, and when I reach her, I tug her against me. She complains about the camera being crushed between us, but I kiss her anyway.
She pulls away, breathing hard and eyes wide, and looks around as a deep pink creeps up her throat. “You’re not meant to kiss me at work, Reese.”
“That’s a dumb fucking rule. You’re my girlfriend. I can kiss you wherever and whenever I want.”
“Your girlfriend, eh? I don’t remember you asking me out.” She’s teasing me, but she’s not wrong. I step closer, and she lowers the camera to her side, giving me room to pull her flush to my front.
“I thought I made it clear when I was balls deep inside you, but in case not… yes, Winnie Lewis, you are my girlfriend. And no, I’m not fucking asking.”
Winnie lets out the cutest sigh and grips my jacket, holding me close. “You look so hot right now.”
I grin and lean down to take her lips again. This time, she doesn’t hold back, slipping her hands up my body and wrapping them around my neck. She bumps my hat with her camera, but I don’t care to fix it right now. It’s taking everything inside me not to pin her against the wall and show her just how mine she is. She shoves her tongue in my mouth, and I gladly accept the invasion. A low groan rumbles from my chest when I drop my hands to her ass and she whimpers.
Suddenly, I’m tugged back, and I glare at my best friend with a harsh look. “Unless you want Coach to fire her for distracting you, get your ass to the locker room.”
I glance around at several of my teammates watching us make out, then look back to Winnie. She couldn’t look any more embarrassed if she tried, but I’m not embarrassed. I’m fucking horny and a little irritated there were other guys around to hear Winnie’s whimpers for me.
I brush Sawyer off.
“Dude.”
Ignoring him, I step forward, crowding Winnie but not touching.
She squeaks out a small “good luck,” but she doesn’t lift her eyes to look at me.
I tilt her chin and smile at her burning face and wild eyes. “Same to you.”
Recognition hits her like she forgot what she’s here for, and she gasps. “Go, go! I have to work.”
I chuckle and step back, giving her space to adjust her camera to the right settings. She lifts it and snaps a few photos of the other guys, then glares at me and makes a motion as if to say shoo. She will pay for that later.
There’s no other feeling like being in full uniform for the first time of the season. It’s like I’m eight years old again and Mr. Lewis passed me my first-ever jersey. Number seventeen, and it’s been my number ever since. He mentioned one time how he gave me seventeen because it was the date of my birthday, but he missed a very important detail that it’s also his daughter’s birth date. He set our fate when he passed me that jersey.
I try not to think about Mr. Lewis often because it makes me feel like shit, but he was such a big part of my childhood. I mean, I wouldn’t be standing here, ready to start my third college season, if it wasn’t for him. If only he were here to see it. I know he would be so fucking excited for me, and maybe if he were still alive, his son would be lacing up with me.
Winnie doesn’t want to tell people she’s pregnant, and I do get why for the medical side of things, as a lot can happen in the first twelve weeks, but I also know that a lot of the reasoning has to do with her brother. He hates me, and knowing his baby sister is pregnant with my kid isn’t going to warm him up at all.
We were best friends once; it would be nice if we could be even half as close as what we were. Maybe not even that, just be able to be in the same room without him wanting to kill me. I wonder if I spoke to him and he understood Winnie isn’t just some kind of weird, unobtainable desire for me. She is everything. Elijah doesn’t care about anyone more than he cares for his family, and I know if he saw how happy I make Winnie, he would begrudgingly accept us, but getting him to see that before he punches me is the problem.
“Larson,” Coach barks, and I push everything else aside to focus on the game. Turning, I throw my hat off and slip into my green helmet. He nods approvingly. “Is your team ready?”
I glance around at the boys vibrating with the need to get on the ice. Dressed fully in white-and-green jerseys and matching green pants. Skates tight and ready to rock. Confidence hits me like a truck, and I straighten.
“We’re ready.”
“Good. Let’s kick some ass.”
The crowd cheers as both teams hit the ice, but that fades into the background; the only thing I hear is blood pumping through my ears and the sharp slice of my blades through the glassy ice.
I instruct my team through warm-ups like I’ve done a million times, and by the end, my heart is ramped up and ready to play. Winnie skates by me for the fifth or so time, and my eyes snag on her round ass. Coach agreed to let her on the ice while we warm up to get photos, but during the game, she will be safe behind the glass. Her being on the ice, now knowing what I do, doesn’t sit well, but the guys make sure to watch for her, and she’s pretty good about not getting in the way, having watched us warm up for a while now. I do worry about her being pregnant and skating, though. Maybe I should talk with her about staying off the ice.
I glance at Coach, but he’s busy talking with some of the officials, so I skate over.
“Reese,” she mutters, feeling my presence. She doesn’t have to look behind her to know who it is, and it makes my heart fucking swell. She can sense me like I can her. “You shouldn’t be over here.”
Winnie lowers her camera and cocks a sharp eyebrow at me over her shoulder. I skate to her front so I’m gliding backward.
“I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
Her head tilts in that cute way she does every time she’s confused. “Should I not be?”
“No, it’s just…” I lick my lips and drop my eyes to her stomach, hidden behind my—now cut—sweatshirt. “You being on the ice now makes me nervous.”
Winnie cups the side of my face. “I love that you care so deeply already, but I promise I’m—we’re okay, alright?”
I sigh and sink into her hand, cupping it with mine. “There’s no one I care about more than my girls.”
Her eyes brighten. “Girls?”
I nod. “I’m guessing it’s a girl.”
“You are?” Her hand falls from my face, and she places it on her hip, grinning.
I match it with my own. “I am, and I have to admit I’m hardly ever wrong.”
Winnie’s lips purse. “Well, I guess we will just see about that, won’t we?”
“We will, and when I’m right, you owe me something.” I skate closer to her, and she gulps, looking up at me with excited eyes.
“What might that be?”
“Guess we will find out.” I lean down and smack a quick kiss to her lips before skating away.
“What do I get if you’re wrong?” she calls after me.
I look around and flash her a smirk so she knows exactly what I’m thinking. “It rhymes with fussy fate.”
Winnie gasps and quickly turns away from me, but I don’t need to see her to know her face probably matches the other team’s jerseys.
I hate to say it and jinx anything, but life honestly couldn’t be any better than it is right now. I just hope I didn’t ruin our chances of winning today.