“The Crushers are already leading.”
“You know what?” I look at him. “I don’t care. What matters is us. Right here, right now.”
“Wow, you’re in a good mood.”
The rose pendant catches the light and I smile. “I feel more relaxed than I’ve felt in a long time, you know? I finally feel like I’m where I’m meant to be.”
“Don’t get too relaxed. We have a cup to win.” Marcus throws the tape at me. I catch it with one hand. “Ready?”
“I was born ready.”
After fifty-five minutes of playing a scoreless game, we manage to score by the skin of our teeth in the last five minutes thanks to a few lucky bounces.
The excitement of winning the first game of the playoffs is immense as the team celebrates.
After taking part in the post-game celebration, interviews, and team post-mortem, I shower and pack my things. Carefully taking the rose pendant out of my locker, I kiss it and put it securely in my bag. I can’t help but feel like my good luck charm paid off.
There’s a text message waiting for me.
RILEY: Nice assist ;)
I smile to myself.
LOGAN: You found time out of your busy schedule to watch me?
RILEY: How can I resist?
I’m about to send her a text about how much I miss her, how much I’m thinking about her, but she texts first.
RILEY: I can’t stay up. Big study sesh tomorrow morning. Get some rest xox
LOGAN: Dream of me.
She sends back a smiley face. Smiling to myself, I pocket my phone and head to the hotel. Only forty-eight hours until I get to see her again.
God, what’s wrong with me? How did I fall so hard for this woman? Not long ago, I was happy to be alone forever. Now I’m counting down the hours. The old me would think I was dumbstruck, an idiot. But Riley makes me feel complete. She makes my world feel full. Everything else seems secondary.
It’s this exact attitude that loosens me up for the next game two days later. I pass the puck to everyone on my line, creating opportunities every time I’m on the ice. Our synergy allows Rory to score a hattrick while Skip gets a shutout.
Another win for the Blades. We’re on fire!
I’m riding a high as I get back to Seattle that night and make my way home well past midnight. Something ignites inside me knowing Riley’s there waiting for me.
I walk into a dark empty apartment.
“Riley?”
As I make my way into the bedroom, I see that the bathroom door is open. Steam is pouring out the door as the shower runs.
Smiling to myself, I put my bag down and start taking off my clothes. Taking off my watch, I place it on the dresser. One of the drawers is open and I can see her clothes neatly folded inside. A warm feeling radiates inside me knowing her stuff is mixed in with mine. It feels like she already lives here. Our lives are already intertwined.
For a moment, I envision what our living room would look like if all her stuff was here. I can even see us moving to a bigger place, one with an office and a backyard. A place we could call home.
A noise interrupts my fantasy.
Riley walks out of the bathroom wearing an oversized Blades t-shirt. A sleeve is hanging off her shoulder, showing off a pink bra strap. She’s in black underwear. No pants.
“I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.” She dabs at her wet hair with a towel.
“I hurried because I was excited to see you.” I take a step closer.
She throws the towel aside and walks up to me, placing her warm hands on my chest and bringing the clean smell of green apple shampoo and coconut body wash with her. She leans in, giving me a long, slow kiss. The exact one I’ve been waiting for. I close my eyes and lose myself in her lips. She tastes so good.
“Congratulations on your wins,” she says.
“Thanks,” I whisper. Leaning in, I kiss her again. “I missed you.”
She smiles. “I missed you too.”
This alone makes me feel at home.
“You know how my week was.” I slip my hands around her waist. “How was yours?”
Her smile wavers and her chin quivers before she drops her face into her hands and begins to sob.
“Riley? What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head.
“Hey, hey.” I pull her hands from her face. “Look at me.”
She looks up with her watery sea-glass eyes.
“What happened?”
Taking in a deep inhale, she pulls away and grabs a letter off the nightstand. She looks at it as she bites her lip as if debating if she should even show it to me.
“What is it?” I ask.
She hesitates before handing it to me. “The Seattle biomechanics lab decided not to take me on as an intern.”
Her chin wrinkles.
“Oh, Riley.” I set the letter aside. “Come here.”
I pull her in so she can cry on my shoulder, which is exactly what she does.
‘It’s okay.” I stroke her wet hair, inhaling the crisp scent of green apple.
“It’s just not fair.” She sobs softly as my shoulder starts to feel wet and warm. “I’ve worked so hard.”
“You’ve got other internships or positions to apply to, right? I mean, this isn’t the only one?”
She nods. “That’s true, but…I just wanted to get this one.”
She looks up at me with her watery eyes.
“Because of your Aunt Mary?” I ask.
Her mouth opens in astonishment. “You remember that?”
“Of course. It was on our first date at the charity gala. You said you wanted to work at the biomechanics lab here in Seattle because you wanted your Aunt Mary to be proud of you.”
She sniffles. “I can’t believe you remember that!”
“It was important to you.” I touch her wet cheek. “I think your Aunt Mary will be proud of you no matter where you end up. You’re a smart independent woman who can get any position she wants. It doesn’t have to be at the same place she worked at. There’s no way she’s not proud of you already.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. You know how I know?”
She shakes her head.
“Because I’m proud of you.” I wipe away her tears. “You’re determined and smart, and that’s a deadly combination.”
She laughs but her smile quickly fades. “I just had my heart set on a job here in Seattle for so long…”
I furrow my brow. “You don’t have any other prospects here?”
She looks up at me and quickly looks away. “I still have one place I’m waiting to hear back from but if it falls through then I’ll have no choice but to move.”
There’s a vulnerability in her voice that makes my stomach twist. This was supposed to be just the beginning of our relationship, not the end. It makes me want to fix everything so that we can be together, the way we are in my fleeting fantasies.
I look into her eyes. “Everything will be okay. I believe in you, Riley Jamieson.”
She smiles. “Thanks, Logan Drake.”
“I can see you living here, with me,” I say. My heart is thumping in my chest.
“You can?”
I nod as I tilt her chin up and kiss her. My lips brush against hers slowly, passionately. She places her hands on my chest, moving them slowly up to my shoulders. I clasp my hand over one of hers.
“I love you,” I whisper against her lips.
I feel her smile. Her trusting gray sea-glass eyes look up into mine.
“I love you too.”
I don’t know what else to do but smile.
“That’s the first time we’ve ever said that,” she says.
“But I know you’ve loved me all along.”
She furrows her brow and laughs. “What?”
“You told me on our date at the student bar that the next person you had sex with would be the man you loved.”
Her cheeks turn pink. She looks down, trying t
o hide her smile. I tilt her chin back up so she can look at me. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her body against mine, feeling her softness and heat. She trails her hands down my back, slipping her fingers under the waistband of my jeans.
“Come on, Mr. Drake.” She tugs at my jeans, pulling my hips into hers. “Show me how much you love me.”
She pulls me down onto the bed with her.
“I can do that.” I smirk as I pull her oversized Blades shirt off, revealing the pink lace bra and mismatched black cotton panties underneath.
I kiss her shoulder, inhaling her as if she might disappear soon. She runs her hands through my hair, breathing in my ear. We paw at each other like hungry wolves, starved for each other’s affection.
The relief of connection is more intense and invigorating than anything felt before. We move against each other slow and steady like ocean waves, rolling together in the still of the night, becoming one with the rhythm.
I stare into those gray sea-glass eyes, feeling the hope I feel for both of us. Wanting to become one with her, I press my lips against hers, kissing her with the knowledge that she’s all I’ll ever need.
“Please,” she moans. “Let’s do this all night.”
I kiss her neck and breathe into her ear. “Let’s do this forever.”
RILEY
Balancing school and my social life, I manage to schedule the insane amount of studying I have to do around Logan’s hockey schedule. It’s impossible not to drop work to go to the games, especially when Logan always gets me amazing seats.
And besides, the studying and the hockey distract me from the fact that I lied to Logan. I told him I had another prospect here in Seattle which wasn’t true. I still have a chance for positions in Chicago and New York, but none from Seattle. That ship has sailed.
I lied to Logan. I lied to Logan.
Why did I lie to Logan?
A nervous feeling comes over me.
I can still see Logan’s hopeful face, gleeful at the thought of me staying here with him. And the thought is just as tempting for me. Living with Logan would be an absolute dream. But what would that mean for us? Would this be a long-term thing? For the moment, I’m still in shock that we said the L-word to each other.
Choosing to focus on the good, I go to that night's game straight after a six-hour study session. As the game starts, the energy in the arena is absolutely electric. The crowd is on fire, the players even more so. This is the best the Blades have played all season and all eyes are on one player.
Logan has had a phenomenal run so far and every time he scores, he looks right at me and points. It’s thrilling knowing that when millions of people are looking at him, he’s looking at me.
The Blades win both home games, easily sweeping the Wolves in the first round.
Between my study groups and his practice sessions, we spend as much naked time together as we can before he has to leave again.
“Don’t leave,” I say.
He’s sitting on the bed wearing nothing but his underwear. I’m sitting on his lap, nuzzling my nose against his neck. He smells like fresh pine and aftershave. His strong arms wrap around me as he softly kisses my cheek.
“I’ll sweep the next team too,” he says with a low growl in his voice which stirs me deep inside. “I’ll have more time with you.”
“Mmm.” I smile. “I like that plan.”
We say goodbye longer than any sane couple should before he finally gets dressed and heads to the airport again. He’ll be in Sacramento for the next four days as the Blades play the first two games against the Skates.
When the elevator doors close and the apartment is completely silent, I instantly feel guilt churning in my belly.
Although I have over thirty physics chapters to review, I spend most of my morning searching for job opportunities in Seattle with no luck. Every link is already purple, meaning I’ve clicked on the posting already once before. There’s nothing new, nothing relevant to my specialties.
I instinctively touch my necklace for some good luck, but it’s not there. I feel naked.
Anxiety starts creeping in. I can’t stop thinking about Logan and our relationship. I want it to continue so badly and see where this goes. But how can that happen if I leave?
There’s no way he’d move for me… right?
After all, he just moved here. Why would he want to move again?
I sigh and deflate in my seat. I force myself to forget all this and focus on studying. If I don’t pass these exams, I won’t be eligible for any jobs anywhere.
On the second day that Logan’s gone, the wind picks up in the city, rattling the windows of the empty apartment. The sky is dark and gray but Logan’s apartment feels cozy with its warm lights and an endless supply of artisan tea. Logan’s healthy habits are slowly rubbing off on me.
Only a few hours until the game. I have plans later to watch it with Madeline and Jane. Madeline was insistent on hosting as she bought the cable sports package solely to watch Logan. She was so excited that I couldn’t say no. And it doesn’t help that Jane made fast friends with Madeline when I introduced them a few weeks ago. Jane wanted to see Logan’s apartment and I ran out of excuses for saying no.
As I force myself to focus on my studies, I realize I forgot my mechanical physics textbook in my dorm room and I’ll have to pick it up before the game starts. I check the time, realizing there’s not much left. Pulling on my jeans, a Blades t-shirt, and a black windbreaker, I head to campus.
As I ride the light rail train to the university station, I notice the city is buzzing with excitement for the game. Even though the Blades are in another state, a lot of people are wearing their Blades shirts and jerseys.
I smile to myself, proud of Logan and the rest of the guys. Checking my phone, I see that I’ve still got enough time to get my book and make my way back to Madeline’s in time for the puck-drop.
Hurrying across campus, I feel big fat drops of rain coming down. Picking up my pace, I manage to get inside right before it really starts pouring.
As I walk by the student lounge, a nasal voice calls out.
“Who’s this stranger?” The voice asks.
Standing in the doorway of the student lounge, I look inside. There’s only one person in there.
“Oh, hi Keith,” I say unenthusiastically.
He’s sitting on the couch with his sneakers on the coffee table. There are several pieces of paper scattered over the table along with an open can of cheap beer. I recognize the beer as the one that’s been in the communal fridge since last Halloween.
The TV is on the sports network. Two sportscasters are discussing the stats between the Blades and the Skates. Pre-game coverage has already begun.
“Hey,” Keith says. “Have you found a job yet?”
I pull my eyes from the TV. “I have some prospects. You?”
He uses his chin to point at the papers on the table. “I’ve written a hundred cover letters. If I don’t get anything I’m fucked.”
“Any frontrunners?”
“Not really. I thought I had an interview in the bag last week, but that job went to Cassidy Simons. Suck-up. All the good jobs are being taken by the brown-nosers.”
I raise my eyebrow. “Seriously? Those people got jobs because they’re freaking smart and got good grades.”
“Yeah, whatever. If I don’t find anything by the end of the month then I’ll be out on my ass.”
“Unless your parents let you stay in their basement.”
“Ha-ha,” he says sarcastically. “They’re not letting me do that again.”
Tired of the conversation, I look back at the TV screen where they’re discussing Logan. The image cuts to him skating across the ice.
“They’re already warming up? What time is it?” My heart picks up its pace as I realize I need to get going.
“Six-thirty,” Keith says, looking at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Your boyfriend’s out of town, huh?”
I g
ive him a sharp stare. “Don’t even think about it.”
Unimpressed, Keith looks back down at the table. “I need food. I’m heating up some ramen. Want some?”
“Ramen?” I wrinkle my nose. “Seriously?”
“I’m broke, give me a break. Not all of us have the privilege of dating a multi-millionaire,” he scoffs as he gets up and stumbles out of the room.
My eyes dart back to the TV screen. The guys file off the ice.
“Alright folks, twenty minutes until the anthem. We’ll discuss our predictions after these messages.”
Shit.
If it’s still raining, I’m going to be late getting to Madeline’s. As I pull my phone out to text Jane, it starts ringing. It’s Logan.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” Logan says.
He’s out of breath.
“Aren’t you about to play?” I ask. “I just saw you on the ice.”
“Yeah, I’m just calling to see how studying is going.”
I smile. Even when he’s about to play one of the most important games of his career, he’s thinking about me.
“It’s going pretty good. I’m about to take a break to watch you.”
“Oh good,” Keith says loudly as he barges back into the room with his plastic bowl of ramen. “You didn’t take my place.”
He drops onto the couch, nearly spilling his ramen all over himself.
“Who’s that?” Logan asks.
“Just Keith. I’m on campus picking up a book.”
“Oh, you’re so hot and spicy,” Keith moans as he slurps up some noodles.
“Huh?” Logan asks.
“He’s talking about his twenty-cent ramen,” I say as I watch Keith eat with the dexterity of a toddler. “Ugh.”
I head out into the hallway for some privacy.
“Good luck tonight. I’ll be watching with Madeline and Jane.”
“You better get there quick. I’m planning on putting on a show for you.”
I smirk. God, even his voice is sexy.
“Oh, by the way. Management wants to have a big dinner after the second round is over. It’s Coach’s birthday. Would you be down to be my date?”
“Of course.” I bite my lip. “Do you even have to ask?”
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