Chapter 32
Olivia
February
A month apart from Robbie is pure torture. Especially since every time I hear his voice on the phone, it makes me want to cry. I want to hug him at the end of a long day, I want to kiss him senseless when I have one too many drinks and run my fingers through his soft hair. I want to dig my fingers into his back as he fucks me against the wall.
I haven’t stopped thinking about that since I left Grand Marquee. I have dreams about it, remembering how I woke up and told him I was going to shower and pack. Robbie stayed in bed for another minute, then joined me in the bathroom, fully naked and very eager for me. The water was running but I hadn’t entered the shower yet and before I could ask him to join me, Robbie pushed me against the wall and kissed me like he never had before. There was a sort of wild desire running through him and I was the only one he wanted, right then and there.
He lifted me up, his whole body pressing into mine. My legs wrapped around his waist and he found my clit with one hand and rubbed small circles until I couldn’t take it anymore and started shaking around him, my teeth sinking into his shoulder. Then he got inside me in one thrust and fucked me senseless until all I could see was stars. I started screaming his name and he had to silence me with his hand over my mouth, so our friends couldn’t hear us. When his thrusts got choppier and his breathing against my mouth got harder, I wrapped one hand around his throat and squeezed lightly. I’ll never forget the noises he made as he came. Pure fucking bliss.
“Olive, you still with me?” Robbie chuckles on the phone. A blush spreads over my face and he smirks over the video call. Busted.
“Hm? I was just thinking about something.”
“I know exactly what you were thinking of.”
“I doubt it,” I say, looking away to hide my smile.
“You. Me. Bathroom. Am I right?” he smirks and I shake my head and laugh.
“I can’t wait to see you next week!” I say, changing the subject into a more tame subject.
“Me too. I forgot to tell you though, Ash and Elias got invited to the All-Star game, so they had to bail out of the trip up north. So it’s just you, me, Alice, and Jordan.”
“Oh, interesting. Do you think they’ll finally get together?”
“Probably not. He literally acts like he doesn’t know her when I’m around and I don’t understand why.”
“Have you tried talking to him?”
“Yeah, but he shuts me down every time. Or finds something convenient he has to do to avoid me. It’s getting kind of annoying.”
“I’m surprised he hasn’t backed out of the trip then.”
“He tried but I told him he has to be there or else,” he says, voice low.
“Oh, sexy.”
“Yeah? Do I need to start telling you what to do?”
“Only in bed.”
“Fuck, Olivia. You’re killing me here,” he says and scrubs a hand down his face.
I laugh and tell him goodnight before ending the call and going to bed, dreaming of the things Robbie would order me to do.
The next day I have another game to officiate. The Vermont Vortices are playing the Minnesota Moose and while I’m happy it’s a hometown game, I am dreading facing the Vortices again.
“Hey, Olivia, how are you?” one of the linesmen asks me in the locker room as we’re getting ready.
“I’m good, Ben. How was your trip to the west coast?” I ask him, remembering he was in California recently.
“It was a lot of fun, my wife definitely enjoyed the sunshine. And Disneyland was a blast,” he says and I nod my head and smile. Ben is nice, we’ve ended up officiating a lot of games together this season and I’ve been paying more attention in the locker room to the conversations around me.
Before, I felt like an outsider because I was new and I didn’t know anyone, so I kept to myself and listened to music instead of making conversation with the linesmen and the other referee. But after a few weeks, it started to feel lonely, and I realized I needed to bond with my coworkers to better understand their mentality on the ice. After speaking to my mentor Jack about it, he also suggested I become more engaged off the ice.
“So Olivia, you’re a local here, are there any good restaurants around we can go to after the game?” Jackson, the other referee asks.
“Yeah, plenty. My favorite is probably The Logan. It’s mostly a bar, but they have the most amazing hot dogs and fried pickles.”
“Sounds great, we can all head out after the game then. We’ll wait for you so you can show us the way,” Daniel, the second linesmen says, and for a second I’m stunned. They want to hang out with me?
Usually I take my time to shower after the guys are done, so I can have more privacy. They’re willing to wait for me so we can have dinner together?
“Um, yeah, that would be great,” I say, smiling down at my skates. Look at me, making friends. Robbie would be proud. I quickly send him a text to let him know the game is about to start and that I got invited to dinner afterwards and he immediately replies with a series of celebratory emojis. I love how supportive he is, even when he’s being silly.
The game is pretty intense and it even goes into overtime, so by the time we’re back in the locker room we are all tired and hungry.
“That was a great call on Mitchell, Olivia. I can’t believe some of the shit that guy tries to pull every game. It’s like he has no respect for other players, or the game,” Jackson says and then Ben and Daniel nod along in agreement.
“That’s because he doesn’t have any respect for anyone. You’d be surprised how many times he verbally harassed me, but as much as I want to, I can’t kick him out of the game every time,” I say, opting for some honesty.
“That is fucked up, no wonder we don’t have more women in this sport. Because of assholes like Mitchell,” Ben says hotly.
The guys head out and promise to wait for me in the lobby, so I rush through my shower, braid my hair and make sure my hat is tucked over my ears before grabbing my duffel bag and heading out.
Once I’m outside the locker room, I immediately collide with a big, solid body. I look up, starting to apologize before realizing it’s Mitchell. His face is red and angry, like always and his eyes are narrowed on me.
“Excuse me,” I say, trying to sidestep him, but he blocks my path. “Can I help you?” I ask, trying to keep my tone calm.
“You can actually,” he says, with a mean smile on his lips. “You see, I know something. Something you don’t want to get out into the public.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, starting to get worried about this whole interaction.
“The last time you were in Vermont, you stayed at the Madison hotel. See, I was there to meet an old friend, and imagine my surprise when I saw you, of all people, hand in hand with the captain of the Manticores.” He smirks down at me and my breath catches in my throat. He knows? Fuck, he knows. We weren’t doing anything wrong though. Not really.
“Your point?” I say, standing up straighter, trying to show him I’m not scared, even though I am internally panicking. What if he tells my bosses? Makes a formal complaint? Would I lose my job, be reassigned?
“My point is, if you don’t start making some calls in my team’s favor, I will get you fired from the AHL,” he says hotly, annoyed that I’m not cowering in front of him.
Screw this guy. Who does he think he is to fucking blackmail me?
“Are you seriously blackmailing an official to make calls in your favor? Your team must be awful if you need to stoop so low,” I reply, balling my hands into fists. I’ve never been a violent person but I just want to punch this guy in the face. “As for getting me fired, you can sure as hell try, but your assumptions are wrong and you’ll just look like an idiot when the AHL finds out you not only lied, but also blackmailed me.”
Mitchell is fuming and moves closer to me to say, “You will regret this.” I take a step back, but startle when I hear voices.
“Hey, what the hell is going on?” Jackson asks from behind Mitchell. Ben and Daniel are also there, the three of them looking annoyed as hell, arms crossed and glaring at Mitchell.
“Mitchell was just telling me what a great job we did tonight. Weren’t you?” I pat his shoulder as I move towards the other officials and hide my shaking hands into the pockets of my coat. “Let’s go, guys.”
The four of us head out and leave Mitchell behind, probably fuming. When we get to The Logan, the guys try to ask me about that interaction, but I just tell them he was trying to pick a fight, keeping the blackmail information to myself.
I was supposed to call Robbie after I left the bar, but my phone died and I didn’t have a charger in my car. While the night wasn’t a complete bust, worry and panic started creeping in more on the drive home.
I can’t fathom how Mitchell would stoop so low. Do I believe him, though? If he has any proof, he didn’t mention it. That makes me think he’s just desperate and bluffing. Still, he can cause both me and Robbie lots of problems down the road. How am I going to explain this to Robbie without him freaking out?
My house is dark and colder than usual when I get back. I take a look at my thermostat and see it’s below 58 degrees. That can’t be right, I always keep it at 65 all year round. I try turning it up but it doesn’t work. As if the night couldn’t get any worse, now I have to sleep in the fucking cold.
Frustrated tears burn my eyelids and all I want to do is let out my rage. I want a home that doesn’t have a billion different issues to fix, and I want people not to hate me for doing my job, and I want two cats to cuddle me when I go to bed, and I want Robbie next to me.
I wanted Robbie at the arena tonight, helping me with Mitchell. I want Robbie now to deal with the broken thermostat so that I can just fucking catch my breath. This thought makes me irrationally angry with myself. Since when do I need a man to fix things for me, when I’ve always done things myself?
But wouldn’t it be nice if we could tackle these issues together?
While I want to punch something, I don’t. I cry myself to sleep in a pile of blankets so I don’t freeze. I don’t text Robbie. I don’t even charge my phone. I just feel sorry for myself.
The next morning, I call someone to come fix the heat and spend the day with Grams. I get a call from Robbie and immediately feel better.
“Hey, Bobbert.”
“Hey, love,” he says, chuckling. I know the nickname is growing on him. “You didn’t text me last night, I just wanted to make sure you got home safe.”
I sigh and say, “I’m sorry, my phone died and then I—” I contemplate telling him everything now, about Mitchell and the heat and my meltdown, but I don’t “I fell asleep.” I pull my legs up to my chest on Grams’ couch and feel like shit for that small lie.
“Okay, did you have fun at the bar?”
“Yeah, it was nice. I wasn’t too bad at socializing.”
“Of course you weren’t. You’re amazing.”
I smile into the phone and close my eyes, wishing that he were here sitting next to me. I could really use a Robbie hug right now.
“The reason I called is that I found you a ticket for next week. There’s actually a direct flight this time, but there’s only a few spots left so we need to get it now.”
“How much is it?”
“It’s $400.”
“What? Robbie, that’s insane. That’s $300 more than the flight with one layover.”
“Well, yeah. But do you really want to deal with potential delays? Michigan weather is unpredictable. There could be rain, snow, even a blizzard next week.”
“Are the weathermen saying there’s a blizzard next week?” I ask, annoyed.
I can basically hear him rolling his eyes when he says, “No, but there is supposed to be snow, and you never know.”
“Well, I can’t afford the extra $300 since I had to get my heating fixed. So I’ll take the regular flight,” I say with some bite. I get that he doesn’t have to worry about money like I do, but suggesting this flight seems crazy to me.
“Okay, so let me pay for it.”
“Absolutely not!” I all but yell back.
He’s quiet for a beat, then says, “Why not? At least give me a good reason.”
“Because, that’s too much money regardless of who is paying for it. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with you paying for it. Can we please drop it now? I’m going to get the regular ticket today and forward you the details.” I wait for him to push the subject more, but he drops it, albeit reluctantly.
“Okay. I miss you and love you and can’t wait to see you next week,” he says in a softer voice than before.
“Miss you and love you too. I’ll be there in no time.”