Take the Shot

by Danica Flynn

  I patted him on the back. “Sorry, man.”

  He shrugged. “It was really stupid, but I just wanted to save her. And yeah, maybe a part of me wanted to see if she could love me the way I love her. I’ve been in love with her since high school.”

  “Ri, was she your first?” I asked.

  “Yeah...” he trailed off.

  I took another big sip of my drink, and glanced over at Dinah laughing with Fiona. Dinah’s eyes sparkled and I was sure then that she had sunk her claws deep into me, and I would let her do anything she wanted to me. I got the wistful look on Riley’s face, because I felt the same way every time I looked at that pint-sized brunette.

  “She doesn’t have a clue how you feel, does she?” I asked.

  “Nope!” he exclaimed, but then sighed and changed the subject. “How’s the ear?” he asked me.

  I fingered the stitches on my ear and showed him and he winched. “It’s okay. No concussion, but they told me to take it easy. I think I’m going to get benched though for our next game.”

  He clapped my shoulder. “Maybe not!”

  I grumbled, and I had a feeling the medical team was going to be a little cautious on this one, even though I really just wanted to be back out on the ice.

  21

  DINAH

  I grinned at Fi and we knocked back a shot together. It was such a small world that Riley of all people would know Fiona Gallagher and end up marrying her. I couldn’t believe the insane story she just told me. The publishing world was a bit small, so a lot of us in the YA world knew each other. I loved Fi’s sci-fi books, but I didn’t think I would have ever been a good sci-fi writer.

  “So what are you gonna do?” I asked her.

  She shrugged and then winced as the shot burned down her throat. “He wants to stick it out. I agreed to try it for a couple months, but I don’t know. Maybe it was a dumb idea?”

  I rested my hand on my chin to think. Her situation was weird, but when I glanced over and watched Riley and Noah playing beer pong together, I saw the way he looked at her. “This sounds like the plot of a romance novel,” I mused.

  She tipped back her head and laughed. “Shit, girl, you’re right.”

  I smiled. “Course, I am!”

  She nudged me as she caught me staring across the room at my boyfriend. Noah caught my gaze and his lips turned up in a smile before his attention went back to the game. Fi was pouring another round of shots for us, and Mia had walked back into the kitchen to do them with us.

  “Missed you at the game today!” Mia cried when I handed her the book for her sister. She hugged me tight.

  “I had to get work done. Noah insisted,” I explained with a smile.

  “Ugh, they are so sickeningly cute,” Mia groaned to Fi with an eye roll.

  Fi smiled. “So, Noah’s your boy, huh?”

  I smiled back at her.

  The three of us clicked our shot glasses together and took it together. I didn’t usually drink this much, but I was celebrating finally having finished my big picture edits. Plus, Fi looked stressed like she needed this too. I wondered if she was also on deadline, I kind of recognized that stressed out writer look on her face.

  “You think he’s a bit young for me, don’t you?” I asked Fi.

  Mia twirled her blonde hair around her finger and rolled her eyes at me. “Who, Noah? D, no one cares about that shit.”

  Fi grinned and pointed at Mia. “She’s got a point.”

  I frowned, but didn’t say anything else because Noah came into the kitchen to grab a beer out of the fridge. He eyed the vodka bottle in front of the three of us and the lined up shot glasses. “You okay, Lovey?”

  My heart nearly melted when he called me that. God, he was so cute. I felt Fi pinching my side teasingly. Already I liked this brazen girl and I had a feeling her and Riley were going to make it. She seemed perfect for him. I batted her away with my hand, and smiled up at Noah. “Good. Just celebrating finishing those edits,” I explained.

  He leaned down to my height and kissed my cheek. “I’m proud of you.”

  I shooed him away.

  He smiled and pulled away but very slowly. He was such a tease.

  “Damn,” Fi breathed. “That boy loves you.”

  Mia was nodding her head in agreement, but then she walked away when Hallsy came over. He wrapped an arm around her and said something in her ear that made her laugh. It made me smile to see two people who got together when they were just kids still so in love.

  “So when can I get my hands on your book?” Fi asked.

  I was shocked. “You want to read it?”

  She gave me a confused look. “I love YA contemporary, of course! I don’t know if I’ll ever write in it, but it’s like my favorite thing to read.”

  I laughed. “Oh my god, I feel the same way about sci-fi! When’s the last book in your trilogy coming out?”

  She groaned. “Just handed in the first draft. Riley’s been begging me to read it. I think it’s a pile of garbage.”

  “It’s a first draft!”

  She nodded. “I know. I lost a lot of time with my wedding, but like the night before we came back I got inspired and Riley basically told me to go write. It was really nice of him. My ex would always complain I was more into my book than into him.”

  I grinned at her. “Noah’s really supportive of my writing too. He forbid me from coming to the game today because he knew I needed to get work done.”

  She put a hand on her heart. “Oh my god, girl! Did you build that man in a factory?”

  I shrugged with a smile on my lips. “I’ve thought the same thing. He’s such a good guy.”

  Then her eyes got a sparkle to them and she suggested, “We should challenge each other to write in the other’s genre. Maybe for NaNoWRiMO!”

  “Oh! That’s an awesome idea!”

  We clinked water glasses and lapsed into silence. I knew Fi was local, so we ran into each other at book events, but I had no idea that she knew Aaron Riley! I leaned across the kitchen island and saw Noah and TJ high-fiving, clearly they had won their game of beer pong against Riley and Metzy. Noah was grinning wide and TJ was laughing with his full body like he always did.

  Riley crossed the room to come over to talk to Fi, and she teased him about losing. I side-eyed him as his hand came around her waist and he pulled her into his side. Yeah, they might have gotten married on whim and for a dumb reason, but the chemistry nearly sizzled off of them. Those two were so in it for the long haul, but I didn’t think they realized it yet.

  I decided to get out of the way and go into the living room. I flopped down onto the couch, and wasn’t that surprised when Noah sunk into it next to me. He put an arm around me from behind the back of the couch and I slid down to nestle into his side. There was a buzzing in my head from all the shots I had done, it made my chest feel all warm and fuzzy.

  I hadn’t even realized I had closed my eyes until Noah asked, “You tired, Lovey?”

  I shook my head and slowly opened my eyes. “It’s just the alcohol.”

  He chuckled, and scratched a hand through his growing beard. “How many shots did you have?”

  I shrugged. “Too many!”

  He squeezed my shoulder and pulled me closer. TJ came over to us and started chatting Noah up about how the team was doing. Talking about special teams and their penalty kill, most of which I agreed with, but my head was buzzing so I didn’t feel like agreeing with him.

  TJ kicked my foot. “Hey, you alive?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. I is dead.”

  “Some writer you are,” he mused with a laugh.

  I stuck out my tongue.

  I felt Noah’s laugh bubbling up and vibrating in his chest next me, and TJ just shook his head. “You two are so sickeningly cute.”

  I smiled. “That’s what Mia said.”

  Noah’s smile was sheepish, and I got the feeling it made him a little embarrassed. Huh. Then he scratched his beard with his fingernail
s and just smiled wider and pulled me into his lap.

  I laughed and leaned my head in the crook of his neck.

  TJ made a gagging face. “Disgusting!”

  Mia who was standing behind him talking with Hallsy shot us a grin. “Aw, they’re so cute. You’re just jealous, T!” she teased.

  TJ shook his head.

  Huh. I wondered if TJ was still broken up about that girl he had told us about the other night. He hadn’t said anything since, and I hadn’t seen any girl around here tonight hanging off his every word.

  As the night went on Noah and I mingled with everyone else, and I helped him clean up as people started filing out. TJ had already passed out on the couch. I put a pillow under his head and a throw blanket on top of him.

  “Aw, don’t baby him,” Noah scolded me.

  I grinned as I looked over at him. “I can’t help but ‘mom’ him a little.”

  He frowned a little at my choice of words. I walked into the kitchen and started helping with the dishes. “Oh, come on, don’t do that,” he groaned.

  “Just let me.”

  His warm presence came up behind me, his big hands running down my back and then up my arms. He pushed my hair away from my right shoulder and bent to kiss my neck. I leaned into it and probably purred a little bit too. “Come on, let’s just get to bed, you look really tired.”

  “I am really tired,” I agreed.

  I wiped my hands on the hand towel at the sink, and let him pull me toward his bedroom. It was different being in Noah’s bed with him, but I felt bad being here and bothering TJ if I had my whole condo to myself. Noah gave me one of his t-shirts to sleep in and I curled into his side on his bed.

  “I think I like your bed better,” he announced.

  I looked up at him. “Me too. Plus, I don’t have a roommate.”

  “Ah, TJ doesn’t care.”

  I glared at him. “I don’t think he wants to hear us having sex. Bad enough I live next door.”

  He laughed and kissed my temple. I snuggled more into his chest. He stroked my hair and asked, “Are you too tired?”

  “I think your cock might fall off if we have sex again,” I joked.

  He pushed me down onto my back and leaned over me, kissing me long and hard. His kisses were aggressive and hungry, kissing me like he needed our lips fused together in order to breathe.

  “Is that a challenge?” he asked with a devilish grin on his face.

  I slipped my hands up behind his neck and threaded them through his hair. “Um...”

  All thoughts seeped out of my brain when he started kissing my neck and his hands were slowly pushing my shirt up my torso. He was smooth as shit, and I kind of loved it. I felt the smile on his lips as he covered my body with kisses that sent tingles down my spine.

  Noah’s cock did not, in fact, fall off.

  Despite my best efforts to really put it to work.

  22

  NOAH

  We finally had a day off with no practice and I wanted to spend every waking hour of my free time with Dinah in my arms, but I knew she had her own obligations. This whole relationship thing was tough work with my crazy schedule, but I would sacrifice my sleep if it meant I got to see the woman I loved. She tirelessly worked her nine-to-five and then worked on her writing, so I wanted to be respectful of her time.

  When I woke up and she wasn’t in my bed with me, I had to admit I was a little disappointed. I got up out of bed, pulled a pair of sweatpants on and walked out into the kitchen. The smell of coffee and something cooking wafted in from the kitchen. I smiled when I saw Dinah at our stove making eggs and laughing at something TJ had said. TJ was slumped on the bar stool in front of the island, with his head on the cool surface. Dinah gave him a glass of water.

  I crossed the room and kissed her in greeting.

  She plated some eggs and toast and handed them to me. “Here. Coffee’s ready too.”

  I cocked my eyebrow at her strained smile. “You okay, Lovey?”

  She nodded and put a hand on her temple. “Yeah, just a slight headache. I’m fine. Remind me to never drink with Fiona Gallagher ever again. She’s worse than Rox, which I thought was impossible.”

  TJ laughed. “My sister even drinks me under the table, so I hope those two never meet.”

  Dinah looked like she was thinking really hard, then she sighed and asked TJ, “Have you talked to your sister lately?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, we talked. I never liked that Lisa girl, even when they were just friends.”

  I poured myself a cup of coffee and took a seat next to TJ. I didn’t ask what they were talking about, but I could hazard a guess. TJ had never liked his twin sister’s girlfriend, and it sounded like maybe the two were done. I would have thought he would have been happy about it, but he seemed kind of sad about it. There was an empty plate next to him and he was nursing his water like his life depended on it. I smirked, served him right for getting so drunk last night.

  “You know, I think I could deal with hearing you two fuck so much if I get breakfast in the morning,” TJ said wryly.

  I nearly choked on my sip of coffee, but Dinah just barked out a loud and long laugh. I loved her laugh, it was such a loud sound to come out of the mouth of such a small woman.

  Dinah turned off the burner and got her own plate and cup of coffee, before sitting down in the seat next to me. “That sounds fake, but okay,” she commented.

  TJ groaned and felt his head. “Ugh, I feel like death.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have drank so much last night,” Dinah teased.

  He dropped his head to the surface of the island again and gave her the finger. I playfully punched him in the arm. “Hey, that’s my girlfriend!” I joked like I was insulted.

  Dinah’s cheeks flushed pink at the mention. I guess I had never really said the G-word in front of her before, but the blush turned into a bright smile, so I knew it wasn’t unwelcome. TJ slumped out of his chair and announced he was taking a shower.

  Dinah and I ate our breakfast together in a comfortable silence for a few moments. “I have the day off today, we should do something,” I suggested.

  “Like what?” she asked and took a huge gulp of her coffee.

  I shook my head. “Not sure yet. I just want to take you out again.”

  She waved me off with her hand. “Noah, you don’t have to do that with me.”

  I slipped my hand into hers and gripped it tight. “I know, but I want to. Let’s go out and do something!”

  She nodded finally in agreement after some more coaxing. “Okay, okay,” she conceded with a bright smile. “But I need to get some work done. Maybe in a few hours?”

  “Perfect.”

  She went to go start cleaning up the dishes, but I shooed her out of the kitchen. She kissed me goodbye and headed next door to get some writing done. I took out my phone and started making a plan for what to do today. I looked up and saw TJ staring at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  He had this funny look on his face, that I couldn’t really place. “You really love her, don’t you?”

  “Yeah...”

  “Huh.”

  “What does ‘huh’ mean?” I asked, slightly offended.

  He shook his head. “It’s good to see you happy. For the record, I think she loves you too, but she doesn’t know it yet.”

  With that little revelation he walked away. Sometimes that guy made no sense. His weird mood reminded me that I wanted to know what was going on with his sister. I scrolled through my contact list until I found Rox’s name. I shot off a text to her.

  ME: You ok?

  I watched the three dots starting to type across my screen for a little bit and finally her answer came.

  ROX: No.

  ME: You want to talk about it?

  ROX: Ugh. Noah, could you please be more Canadian?

  ME: You can’t say that when you’re also Canadian! Seriously, Rox, if you want to talk about it, I’m here.

  ROX: I�
��ll be okay.

  ME: Aw, Rox! I’m so sorry.

  ROX: Yeah...me too. Breakups suck.

  I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. TJ’s twin sister was funny and had a foul-mouth, but she also cared so deeply about the people around her. She would go to war for her twin brother, and I knew the two were close. Especially since her and their parents didn’t see eye-to-eye since she came out as bisexual. I can’t say I understood what that was like, but I knew Rox needed to know that she had support in her friends. I’d always be the guy who wore his heart on his sleeve and was there for my friends, so it bummed me out that she was going through this tough time. Roxanne Desjardins was a cool chick, and she didn’t deserve the grief that she put up with.

  ME: Let’s grab a drink next time we play Toronto?

  ROX: You’re ON!

  “You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Dinah exclaimed while I bent down in front of her to make sure her skates were tight enough.

  I smiled up at her. “Nope!”

  “Babe! You skate for a living, you can’t seriously want to take me ice skating?” she moaned in exasperation.

  I sat on the bench next to her and laced up my own skates. I kissed her on the cheek. “You always said you wanted to go ice skating, so I’m going to teach you.”

  Her face softened at that. “You actually listen to the things I say?”

  I frowned at her. “Of course I do.”

  She smiled at that. “God, you’re such a sweet baby angel.”

  I grimaced. I didn’t know about that one, but I did know the only thing I wanted in this world was to make this woman happy. “Maybe...however it’s like a sin for a diehard Philadelphia Bulldogs fan to not know how to ice skate.”

  She sighed at me but just shook her head with a laugh.

  I stood up, took her hand in mine and led her out onto the ice. I felt her nails gripping into my arm as she cautiously took to the ice. I smiled and let her grip me. There was something about this strong independent woman holding onto me for dear life that was kind of hot. What did that say about me?