by Grey, S. R.
“Ha ha. You’re the one who said you wanted to see how fast this car can go. And that’s not even top speed.”
“True, I did say that,” she admits.
We switch places, and Noelle promptly peels out onto the empty road.
I have to tease her a little, so I blurt out, “Good God, we’re going to die, aren’t we?”
That just makes her laugh, and she tells me, “Just close your eyes if you’re scared.”
“Shit, nothing scares me, woman.”
And really, not much does. Not even Noelle’s driving, which is actually not bad. I just like giving her a hard time.
I notice, however, that she does chicken out at about ninety-five.
That’s okay. No need to push the Porsche too hard. Driving too fast does tend to burn out the tires more quickly.
I tell her that, and add, “We’re also losing daylight. This is when some of the animals come out, so we probably should get back to driving at a respectable speed.”
“Yeah, you have a point.” She nods, having already slowed down to a super-safe twenty-five.
“Do you want to take a break before we head back?” I ask.
“Yeah, let’s.” She slowly pulls off into another big sandy turnout. “I should let you take over anyway. After all, it is your car.”
“Eh.” I shrug. “I don’t mind sharing. What good are all these toys if you keep them all to yourself?”
“Blake, you are just too nice.”
Leaning my head back against the rest and looking over at her, I ask, “Did you have fun?”
“I did. That was great.” Patting the dashboard, Noelle adds, “Thanks for trusting me with your baby.”
“Absolutely, anytime.” I point out at the horizon, and marvel, “Hey, wow, check that out. That sunset is stunning.”
Noelle agrees, “It really is beautiful.”
“Right?” I unbuckle my seat belt. “So let’s go enjoy it, huh?”
Noelle has no idea, but really, this was part of my plan all along—to bring her out here to enjoy a stunning sunset. It wasn’t only about opening up the Porsche on the road.
Fuck, I’m growing to care for this woman, so much more than I ever expected. I guess that’s why little things like this are starting to mean so much.
Slipping out of the car, I walk over so I can open the door for Noelle.
“You’re such a gentleman all the time,” she murmurs as she takes my hand.
“For you, Noelle, yes, I enjoy being nice.” I cock my head thoughtfully. “But for my opponents on the ice, not so much.”
That makes her laugh.
Since there are no other cars in sight—this truly is a desolate spot—we decide to hop up on the hood of the Porsche and watch the sun sizzle into the faraway mountain range, painting the land in shades of purple and orange.
As we peer off into the distance, our hands are side by side but not touching.
It’s funny, though, because as the minutes pass and the sky grows darker, Noelle creeps closer.
As do I.
It’s not just our hands that end up touching, but our bodies press together too. She’s near enough that I just go ahead and wrap my arm around her, snuggling her to me.
With her head tucked under mine, Noelle murmurs, “I have so much fun with you all the time, Blake. But I especially love when we do things like this.”
“I agree,” I reply truthfully. “This is the best.”
She takes my hand. “We’ve done a lot these past couple of weeks, yeah?”
“We have, sweetheart.” I kiss the top of her head. “We have.”
It’s true. Noelle’s actually become my best friend out here. There’s Landen too. We’re growing closer. But it sure the fuck isn’t how it is with Noelle.
She and I hang out on the hood of my car till the sky turns an inky black and there are a million stars above us.
“Hey, one just shot across the sky,” she says, pointing up. “Make a wish, Blake.”
I look over at her and say, “What if all my wishes have already come true?”
“Blake…”
I have to kiss her then.
It’s the perfect time.
She’s warm and soft, and I can’t wait for more. Though tonight we kiss like teenagers who have never done anything more. I kind of like the slow pace at which we’re moving. I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve always been impatient to get to the good stuff.
But with Noelle, I like the buildup, the anticipation, the promise of more.
And so it continues…
On another random drive, this time around town, Noelle tells me, “I’m not done showing you around just yet, Blake. Driving the Porsche the other day was fun, but it’s time for more boring, yet essential, crap.”
“And what kind of boring, essential crap would that be?” I ask from the passenger seat of her car, smiling.
“I’m going to show you some real, everyday-life kind of things around here.”
“Got it,” I reply, pretending to be resigned.
I soon discover the lesson today is about restaurants, which ones are good and which ones to avoid.
“Should we include the sketchy food truck that got you sick on the ‘avoid’ list?” I tease.
“Holy hell, definitely!” Noelle cries out. “Put that one on the top.”
Next up on Noelle’s itinerary for me are cool places to shop. She also shows me where to drop off my dry cleaning.
“You’re certainly thorough,” I say.
“Hey, you need to have clean clothes, right?”
Chuckling, I assure her, “I do know how to do my own laundry, you know?”
Rolling her beautiful blue eyes over at me, she quips, “I know, Blake. I’m not talking about everyday clothes. I mean your nice stuff. You hockey guys wear suits all the time, right? Well, it’s not like you can just throw them in the wash at home.”
“You do have a point,” I concede.
“See?” She reaches over and pats my knee. “You need a good dry cleaner after all.”
“I do, babe. I do.”
Man, I like this girl more and more each day. She takes care of me, and I take care of her.
Our days together continue, the time moving quickly.
The next thing you know, it’s almost time for training camp to begin.
Since most all of the guys are back in town, Brent Oliver and his wife, Aubrey, decide to host a big Labor Day barbeque for everyone.
I invite Noelle to come with me, of course.
But then we have to rethink that.
I want her to go, yes, but since Noel will definitely be at the event, we decide it’s better if she and I drive separately.
“I’m not ready to deal with Noel just yet,” she tells me the night before the barbeque.
It’s almost midnight and we’re still on the phone from hours earlier.
That’s amazing, as calls for me usually last only a minute or two. I guess I’m not much of a phone-talker. I’m more of a texting kind of guy. But with Noelle, everything’s different.
Getting back to our conversation, I say, “You sound more adamant than usual.”
“Yeah, well…” She sighs. “It’s just that Noel has been in an exceptionally crappy mood lately. He’s working things out with Maisie, but it’s still touch and go with those two.”
“Ah, yes, Maisie.” Now it’s my turn to sigh. “Maybe I should’ve never told Noel she was in town.”
Noelle knows all about how I ran into her brother’s girlfriend a few weeks ago, and how I called to inform him of the matter. She thinks I did the right thing, but since Noel’s relationship with Maisie is rocky at best these days, I’m not so sure.
Noelle, still clearly in the I-did-the-right-thing-camp, says, “No, Blake. I’m glad you told him. He and Maisie are right for each other. Noel sees it, and I think Maisie is starting to. She just needs to work out some of her own issues first.”
I then ask Noelle if
Maisie is going to be at the barbeque.
“If so,” I begin, “then maybe you can hang with her, seeing as we can’t exactly be all over each other.”
“Ah, but I like being all over you, Blake,” she murmurs.
“Babe, trust me. I like it too.”
I don’t add that I’m starting to want more, and soon. We kiss all the time, but nothing else has happened. Well, besides some groping here and there, but not anything beyond that.
I don’t know how much more I can take. I know we agreed to wait and move slowly, but I’m dying here. I want Noelle so badly that it fucking hurts. And by that, I mean it literally pains me. My dick fucking aches for her.
Every night, after we make out, I end up with a case of blue balls. Of course, I take care of that shit the second I’m all alone.
But it’s getting old.
I think Noelle is ready for more too. Her sexual comments have increased tenfold, and she’s giving me that look.
You know the one—the I’m-about-to-jump-your-bones lusty stare.
Fuck, I love that look.
So yeah, I can’t wait for Noelle to be “on me” naked, and for me to be on her in the same way.
That needs to happen real soon, before we both die from sexual frustration.
Annnd before Noel finds out I’m about to bang his sister and puts a fucking stop to it.
Brent’s Barbeque
Blake and I have a plan. At Brent Oliver’s big Labor Day barbeque, I’ll hang with Noel’s girlfriend, Maisie, while Blake mingles with the guys.
We’ll talk when we can, yes, but we’re going to keep it super casual. No one should suspect a thing, including Noel. To make sure he doesn’t, I decide to avoid him.
Once Blake and I are actually at the barbeque, though, I discover avoiding Noel is not as easy as I anticipated.
I’m over by the big luxurious swimming pool in Brent and Aubrey’s backyard, talking with Maisie—and, incidentally, getting along with her very well—when Noel comes over.
“Hey, what’s up?” he says, nodding to me.
I hesitantly reply, “Uh, not much. Maisie and I were just—”
Noel interrupts, “Before you go on, Noelle, can I ask you something?”
Uh-oh, he sounds aggravated.
Plastering on a smile like I have no idea what he’s about to ask, I murmur, “Yeah, sure, what?”
“Well…” He clears his throat. “Not to sound like I’m not happy you’re here or anything, but I’m curious as to who invited you.”
Eek, help!
Noel is moody today. I bet it’s because of the tension between him and Maisie.
As for me, talk about being put on the spot. I stand frozen like a fool, unsure of what to say.
Should I be honest?
Do I fib?
“Noelle?” Noel prompts, waiting.
With a long sigh, I decide to tell the truth. I hate lying to my brother. It’s bad enough that I’m sneaking around with one of his teammates behind his back. I can’t pile on another deception.
Still, I can’t look at Noel when I say, “Uh, Blake did.”
Clearly stunned, my brother blurts out, “What? Cavaletti invited you?”
I mutter a curt, “Uh-huh.”
I’m in for it now.
My brother peers across the lawn at Blake, a frown forming.
I wonder what he’s thinking.
Then again, I don’t think I want to know.
Maisie, catching on that I need to get out of this mess and away from Noel as soon as possible, before he figures out Blake and I are more than just casual acquaintances, comes to my rescue.
She tells Noel that we have to go to the ladies’ room, like, right away.
Good move.
My brother’s not stupid, though, and doesn’t buy it.
Stepping in front of us, he says, “Whoa, wait up a sec. I have a question.”
I have no time for his silly games, so I snap, “What is it, Noel?”
“Only one thing. What is it with you ladies always running off to the bathroom together? Are there, like, secret meetings in there or something?”
Okay, he’s clearly trying to stall us. Noel couldn’t care less about why girls go to the bathroom in packs.
Come to think of it, it’s none of his business anyway.
I’m about to say something along those lines, but Maisie beats me to it when she calls him out.
“Nice try, Noel.” Grabbing my arm and leading me around him, she throws out over her shoulder, “We’ll never tell.”
As we make our escape, we burst into peals of laughter.
Our getaway is a success.
Once we reach the closest ladies’ room, one that’s in the back of the pool house, I stop and turn to Maisie.
“Oh my God.” I laugh. “That was so perfect. I really do have to pee, so what you told Noel is technically true.”
Maisie seems happy about that.
I like her.
She’s really nice.
A little sad, yes, but sweet as can be.
I sure hope she and Noel work out whatever rough patch they’re going through.
But since I really do have to go to the bathroom, I have no time to dwell on it.
I inform Maisie that I’ll be quick before I step into the pool house.
Once I’m inside, I hear her phone ringing. Since she’s probably getting a call, I decide to take a little extra time so she can talk freely. I mean, hell, it could be Noel.
But when I finally emerge from the restroom, Maisie is nowhere to be found.
Huh?
“That’s weird,” I mutter.
It’s pretty quiet in this area of Brent’s estate, secluded too. There are a ton of palm trees and other desert flora, making it hard to see if anyone is nearby, including Maisie.
I decide I better go find her.
What if the phone call was something urgent?
I navigate my way through a particularly thick clump of brush, and then follow a curving path that leads to a high row of cacti.
That’s where I finally find Maisie.
And, shit, she does not look happy.
“Are you all right?” I ask, concerned. “What happened? You look really messed up right now.”
“I am messed up,” she tells me as she holds up her phone.
When I take a look and see the last call was from her mother, everything is clear. Noel filled me in a while ago on how Maisie’s mom is a source of much of her anguish.
Sighing, I say, “I should ask first if your mom’s okay.”
She nods. “Uh-huh. She’s fine. She just got back with her boyfriend, in fact. She called to tell me that she’s leaving…tomorrow…for good.”
Yeesh, her mom really is cold as ice.
This is how she delivers news like that?
“Wow. No way,” I murmur.
“Yeah.” Maisie swallows hard, looking like she’s about to cry. “She wants me to go out to Two Palms, where we used to live, to pick up some of my things. I guess this really is goodbye for her and me.”
Poor girl.
My heart goes out to her. I feel her pain.
And though I put my arm around her and try to offer some consoling words, I know she needs more than me.
She needs my brother.
Quietly, I say, “I think we should go find Noel.”
Maisie doesn’t argue.
In fact, she agrees, “Yeah, I think so too.”
We seek out Noel then.
Once I have him and Maisie together and talking, I excuse myself.
It’s time to go find Blake.
With Noel distracted, maybe I can finally spend some quality time with the guy who invited me to this barbeque.
Busted
Brent’s barbeque is a blast. It’s afforded me tons of time to talk with the guys and get to know them a lot better.
Still, what I really want to do is spend time with Noelle.
I’ve seen her in passing
, of course, and we’ve shared a few secret smiles, but most of the day she’s been with Noel’s girlfriend, Maisie.
Though that’s the plan we came up with, I don’t have to be thrilled about it.
One thing I am thrilled with, however, is how Noelle seems to be the kind of girl other women really like. That’s certainly the case with Maisie. She and Noelle have been inseparable most of the day.
I have to smile. It looks like I’m going to have some competition for Noelle’s time, as she also recently started hanging with her bestie, Cara.
Cara is back in town after spending the summer down at Noel’s beach house with another one of my teammates, Jaxon Holland.
Confusing, right?
Imagine how I feel.
I don’t know Jaxon all that well yet, but he seems like a nice enough dude. He and Cara are on the outs about something, though. I only know this because Noelle went to dinner with her the other night, and then filled me in on the deets when she stopped by my place afterward.
It’s funny how Noelle and I have this great, drama-free relationship—at least so far—but we can’t tell a fucking soul about it. She hasn’t even told Cara about us yet, and that’s her best friend in the whole damn world.
I guess it just is what it is for now.
We agreed to keep things under wraps so Noel doesn’t find out.
Not until we know for sure that we’re going to last.
I think we will.
But even then, I hope Noel’s not too pissed that we kept it from him.
Fuck!
The messes we get ourselves into, right?
I’m chuckling over the absurdity of life when Noelle finds me.
I’m over in a secluded section of Brent’s property, having needed a break from the crowds. So many people are new to me, and it’s a little draining to be “on” all the time.
“Hey, there you are.” Noelle slides in beside me, bumping my cargo shorts-clad hip with hers. “Are you having a good time at the barbeque?”
I chuff. “I don’t know about that. It’s okay, but I hate having to stay away from you.”
“Is that why you’re hiding over here?” she asks, laughing.
“Eh.” I shrug. “It’s one reason.”
“What’s the other reason?”