Chapter 13
Will
“You’re cheating,” she yelled as I scored on her goalie.
“How? I took the shot, and you failed to block it.”
She threw the remote control on the couch. “I’m not playing video games with you anymore.”
“Hey, girl, don’t hate the player. Hate the game.”
She groaned. “Oh, my God. You’re so annoying.”
“So you’ve said at least a hundred times tonight.”
Clarke snickered. “I won the first round fair and square.”
“It’s called a period, not a round.”
“Whatever. I don’t know shit about hockey.”
I leaned in closer, dipping my head down so close our lips almost touched. “I can teach you.”
“I don’t take pointers from cheaters,” she said sarcastically.
“I’m not a cheater.”
She pursed her lips. “You want me to believe your sudden winning steak is an accident?”
“Ever hear of beginner’s luck? That’s how you made the first two goals.”
“Or maybe I’m just better than you, Romeo.”
I caught a flicker of desire in her eyes. She held my gaze for a moment, long enough that I thought she might not pull away if I kissed her.
Our staring contest ended with the doorbell blaring throughout the apartment. Her eyes dropped to her lap, disappointed in herself for not being the first to pull away.
God forbid the Ice Queen shows her feelings.
“I’ll get it,” I offered and slid off the couch.
“I’ll grab the plates,” she said as she headed into the kitchen. “You want another beer?”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
I watched the gentle shake of Clarke’s ass as she hurried into the kitchen. “I hate to see you go,” I joked, “but I love to watch you leave.”
“Idiot,” she groaned with her back to me.
Reaching on the balls of her toes, she grabbed two plates from the cabinet, giving me an even better view of her magnificent backside.
The doorbell rang again, snapping me out of my stupor.
I raced across the living room and swung open the front door.
A young man handed me the pizza boxes, and I shoved a wad of money into his palm.
He thanked me repeatedly, a smile in place, before he took off down the hallway like he’d won the lottery.
I didn’t grow up with money like Clarke, and I knew how much it sucked to bust my ass at a shitty job for little pay.
Before I got drafted into the NHL, I worked a shit ton of bullshit jobs, everything from answering phones at a local pizza place to delivering newspapers.
When I saw my first paycheck from the Flyers, I damn near passed out.
My heart felt as if it were about to plow through my chest.
I hoped the check would clear and the team wouldn’t change their mind and send me packing.
Luckily, that did not happen. I’d been with the Flyers from the start, seven glorious years with the same Stanley Cup-winning team.
And if I could keep my ass out of the papers, I would remain with my team until I retired.
At least, that was the plan until I started getting into trouble with Liam West. He was on the warpath to destroy himself and everyone around him.
Losing the love of his life ruined him. Some days, he looked so fucked up and deflated I didn’t even know how to talk to him.
Apart from Ethan, he was one of my closest friends, and I wanted to be there for him.
But by helping a friend, I almost lost my place on the team.
I set the pizza boxes on the island in the kitchen and took the plates from Clarke’s hand. “Sit. Let me feed you.”
She giggled. “Please don’t feed me. It only looked cute in Lady and the Tramp.”
I plated slices for each of us, handing one to Clarke before I sat beside her. “Haven’t seen it.”
“It’s a classic. How haven’t you seen the animated Disney version?”
“Because I’m not a nerd.”
She tapped my arm. “I am not a nerd.”
“Yes, you are. The nerd and the jock.” I laughed. “Look at us. We’re a walking cliche.”
She sunk her teeth into the cheesy pizza, her eyes on me.
“Your ex was an athlete, right?”
“Yeah.” Clarke licked the sauce from her lip. “He played basketball in high school and college.”
“You seem like the mathlete type.”
“Thanks a lot,” she groaned. “How about you? I could see you dating cheerleaders in high school.”
“I didn’t date.”
She snickered. “Some things never change, huh?”
“What can I say? I was popular in high school. I never had a shortage of women following me around.”
“Must be nice to have everyone love you.”
“Except for you,” I said with a force behind my words.
“I like you,” she admitted between bites. “You’re just…”
“Devilishly handsome?”
“Annoying. Overbearing. Overconfident.”
“Hey, I’m none of those things.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Yeah? Prove it.”
“I have a surprise for you.”
She turned in her chair and held out her hand. “Let’s see it.”
“I planned a date for us.”
Her nose wrinkled. “A date?”
“Maybe a double date if you’re down with it.”
“With whom?”
“Duke Baldwin and his wife, Lila. But it’s not definite. They’re still in Chicago visiting Duke’s dad.”
Her eyes widened. “He’s our captain.”
“We need to change your vocab, wifey. Your team is now my team. The Flyers. Say it.”
She shook her head. “Nope. I live in DC. I’m a Caps fan.”
“Please, you’re a whatever city you live in fan. You’re not even from here.”
“My family is from Mississippi originally, but we’ve lived all over the country. I think that qualifies me to cheer for whoever I want.”
“Your mom lives in New York.”
She gave me a surprised look. “You remember that?”
I finished my slice and leaned closer, my elbow on the counter between us. “How could I forget? You tell me so little I make a mental note whenever you share something I can’t Google about you.”
“I was never much of a hockey fan,” she admitted. “I always preferred basketball.”
“You a Knicks fan, then?”
She nodded.
“And a Caps fan? No, you’re cheering for my team now. It’s settled.”
“I’ll play along,” she said with a grin. “But don’t think I’m wearing your jersey or any cheesy shit.”
“You’re wearing my jersey to home games. Non-negotiable.”
Clarke rolled her eyes and stuffed another slice of pizza into her mouth, avoiding my gaze.
“What’s wrong with wearing my jersey?”
She chewed her food and looked at me. “Because I’m not stamping Property of Will Roman on my back.”
“You think marriage is ownership?”
She rolled her shoulders.
“My parents have been happily married for over forty years. Marriage isn’t always a bad thing.”
“My parents divorced when I was five. I lived in different cities, went to ten different schools, and never felt at home anywhere.”
Clarke needed to forget about the past so we could have a future. That was always her problem. She would never let me get close enough to show her that not all men suck. At least this was a fresh start, a chance for me to prove her wrong.
“Even this living situation isn’t permanent,” she added. “Once your season starts, you’ll be in Philly and on the road. I doubt we will even see each other.”
“I’ll make it work,” I promised. “Leave that to me.”
“We’re not a real couple.”
“No, but I have an idea. How about we start as friends? We can pretend like we haven’t fucked hundreds of times.”
“So romantic,” she said with laughter in her tone.
I extended my hand to her. “What do you say? Friends. We never got to know anything about each other but our bodies.”
She stared at my hand and then slipped her fingers between mine. “Friends. But I have to warn you. I have high expectations of my friends.”
“You want me to nerd out with you like Mia does? Fine. I can do that. Bring on the Harry Potter marathons.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, you just wait, buddy. You’re in for all-day marathons of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.”
I groaned. “Ugh, those movies are so long.”
“And let’s not forget the three Hobbit movies.”
“Whatever you want. But that also means you have to watch sports with me. Play video games. And I want you to join me on my morning runs.”
“I don’t run.”
“You do now.”
She frowned. “Do I look like I exercise?”
I scanned her sexy ass body and nodded.
“I went to the gym one time and hated it.”
“Be ready tomorrow morning at five o’clock.”
She sighed. “Five in the morning? Like before the sun comes up?”
“Yep. So you better get your sexy ass in bed early tonight.”
“We should probably discuss our sleeping arrangements.”
“We’re sleeping in your bed,” I shot back.
“I have five other bedrooms.”
“Nope, that was part of the deal. You and me. In bed. Beneath your sheets. Together.”
She slid her empty plate across the counter with an irritated groan. “No touching. Sleep on your side of the bed.”
“I wouldn’t dream of infringing upon the personal space you love so much.”
“I’m not used to sharing my life with anyone. This is difficult for me, Will.”
“I know.” I brushed my fingers along her forearm, and she stilled from my touch. “Friends share things. They lean on each other.”
“I will try,” she whispered, her eyes pointed down at the counter. “It’s been so long since I let anyone into my life.”
I tugged on her shirtsleeve. “Let’s go hang out in the living room. We can get started on The Lord of the Rings marathon.”
A genuine smile turned up the corners of her mouth. “Sounds good.”