Empty Net

by Toni Aleo

  He wanted her, bad.

  The look on her face told Tate he had surprised her by his skills. Tate grew up being Matilda’s dummy when she needed a dance partner. Matilda had danced since she was 3, and was amazing. She had won a lot of titles back home, even some in Norway and Finland. Helping her train gave Tate the knowledge and confidence he needed to impress Audrey. He wasn’t a pro, but he knew his way around the dance floor and he could tell she liked it.

  Taking Audrey’s hand, he spun her around, before dipping her, and bringing her body in close to his. Stopping to glance into each other’s eyes, her hands slid down his rapidly sweating back. When her hand ended right above his ass, he gave her a wide grin before spinning her quickly out then back in. The music was hard hitting, and everyone was dancing quickly around them, but Tate kept up pretty well. When Audrey turned in his arm, running her gorgeous ass up into his groin, it took everything for Tate to keep his hands at her waist. Weaving her fingers with his, she moved his arms around her, having him hug her tightly from behind.

  Tate loved being his close to her, and he also knew that she could feel every inch of him. He was harder than the two goal posts he stood between during a game, and he was itching to be inside her. Tate moved in closer, running his nose up her neck. When her hands tightened in his, he smiled against her neck, before spinning her out, and then back in, moving his body against her just as the song ended. Glancing up at him, Audrey took a few steps away, shaking her head.

  “I’m pretty sure, friends don’t dance like that.”

  “Oh, my bad, must have slipped my mind,” he answered giving her a playful wink.

  “You aren’t making this easy,” she muttered.

  “I am done making this easy, it hasn’t been easy for me at all.”

  Audrey rolled her eyes before moving away. But she didn’t get far before he took her hand in his, while making their way back to the table. Tate heard Erik and Phillip laughing before he even reached the table. When Erik held up his phone, and a still of Tate spinning Audrey was on the screen, Tate glared.

  “Dude, I already uploaded it and tagged you on Facebook. Now the world will know that not only can you turn into ninja goalie but if your hockey career ends, you could so be on Dancing with the Stars.” Phillip laughed, “Oh my God, that was awesome, play it again, Erik.”

  “You are such an ass, Anderson,” Tate spat as he shook his head.

  Audrey squeezed his hand causing him to look down at her, “Ignore them, and do shots with me, then we’ll go dance some more. Also, you own me a back story on those mad dance moves.”

  She looked so happy, so carefree. Smiling Tate said, “Sounds like a great plan, and I’ll tell you later, but I’m curious where your moves are.”

  Audrey laughed before smacking his arm, “Oh, the night is young, dear sir!”

  Finishing off one bottle and half of another one later….

  “We only have 3 minutes to get upstairs,” Erik said drunkenly as he leaned against Tate’s arm.

  “Shit, let’s go,” Tate said looking over at where Audrey was basically asleep on the table.

  They were all drunk. Very, very drunk.

  Tate reached for Audrey’s hand to lead her out the club. How he did it, he had no clue. All he knew was that he was following behind Phillip and hoping for the best. Before they could reach the elevator Audrey tripped, falling to the ground, laughing her ass off.

  “Audrey, shit, baby, get up,” Tate said, looking down at her flushed face and bright grin.

  “No! Go on without me! I’m done! I’ll sleep it off here,” she laughed, lying back onto the carpet.

  Erik and Phillip were by Tate’s side in a flash, all three men looking down at her. Erik then pointed to Audrey and said, “No man left behind! Pick her up, Goldie! Vamanos!”

  Tate nodded as if what Erik had said made sense. Picking Audrey up, he threw her over his shoulder. She let out a loud shriek before she dissolved in a fit of giggles. Tate shook his head, holding her by her thighs waiting for someone to do something.

  “Let’s go!” Phillip yelled and then he took off. Tate followed behind with Erik bringing up the rear. They made it to their floor right as Adler came out of his room for round up. Pointing at Adler, Phillip yelled, “Fuck! He’s going to get us!”

  Erik and Phillip started laughing before they disappeared into their room. Audrey was still giggling, and Tate was getting dizzy as he dug out his room key. Putting it in the slot, he pushed the door open and kicked it shut.

  “Is this my room?” Audrey asked, her arms smacking his ass with every step he took.

  “No, it’s mine.”

  “You don’t have a roommate?”

  “Not on this trip, Lucas is rooming with another rookie to keep him on the straight and narrow,” Tate groaned before falling into bed, landing across Audrey’s mid-section.

  The nightly knock came, and Tate yelled out, “Sleeping!”

  Audrey giggled as she kicked off her heels, and moved her hand into Tate’s hair. Her dress was scratchy against his face, but he was too drunk to move. What really blew his mind was that, even in his drunken state, his body was burning for hers. The whole night was a tease with her rubbing and touching him all over. With each shot of the potent liquid, both their hands started to wonder. Taking in a deep breath of her scent, Tate let out a groan before snuggling closer into her stomach.

  “Shit, I want you so bad,” he muttered, “I’m hard as a rock, but there is no way I can move right now.”

  Audrey giggled, “Good, ‘cause I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t say no.”

  “Because you are drunk, huh?”

  “No, ‘cause I want you too.”

  Tate had to smile at that.

  Chapter 15

  Audrey didn’t stir until she felt the bed move. She was afraid that if she opened her eyes the night before would have been a dream. She had never had so much fun in her life. Erik and Phillip were hoots and Tate was magnificent. She never wanted it to end, but she knew it had to. Her body was still tingling in the spots Tate had touched and she was pretty sure she was still wet from the night before. There was something about a man moving his hips to sexy drumbeats that made Audrey slick with want. She had never been so turned on in her life.

  Well, she took that back… their night together she was basically extinguishing the fire with her wetness.

  Opening one eye, she saw Tate lying beside her with his eyes closed. She remembered him falling asleep on her, not beside her and he was wearing a shirt, unlike now. Opening her other eye, she took in Tate’s statuesque body. Lord, he was beautiful. Taking in his gorgeous chest, she noticed the names that were written under each black bird that flew across his chest. She hadn’t noticed that before; sitting up, she read each name.

  Pappa, Mamma, Matilda.

  She smiled as she looked up at his swoon worthy face. Before she could ask him about the names, Tate opened his eyes and said, “I’m surprised I made it through practice.”

  Audrey giggled, “Was it rough?”

  “Yeah, no more drinking with you when I’ve got practices or games.”

  Still giggling, Audrey laid back, “Told you I party hard.”

  “Uh yeah, but that wasn’t the worst part.”

  Audrey glanced over, “What was?”

  Tate shook his head, “When I came out on the ice, all the guys had sombreros and maracas. They were shaking them, and screaming out ‘Ole’!”

  Audrey laughed out loud as Tate only glared, “It was not funny”

  “Whatever, that is epically awesome!”

  “Traitor,” he sneered before poking her in the ribs. She jumped and moved away but before she could get far, he was on top of her, tickling her to death.

  “Ahh! Tate, quit!” she screamed as their laughter filled the room. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she cried out, “Okay, okay! It wasn’t funny!” while happy tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “That is what I thought,” Tate la
ughed before sitting up, still pinning her hips down with his.

  She glanced up at him, and then down to where he only wore a pair of sheer shorts, “Um, you gonna get off me?”

  “No,” he said with a lusty grin. Oh no, she knew that grin, and she knew it was hard to resist.

  “Why?” she asked cautiously.

  “Because you owe me a kiss.”

  Audrey raised an eyebrow, “Excuse me?”

  “I took you out last night, and you didn’t give me a goodnight kiss.”

  Ah, so he felt like it was a date too. That was good to know, since the whole time they were together, Audrey couldn’t stop thinking it was also.

  It was one of the best dates she ever had.

  “I thought we just went out as friends,” she supplied.

  Tate smiled as he slowly shook his head, “You and I both know that was a date the moment you stepped out of that room with this dress and those heels on. You were trying to impress me.”

  Audrey giggled, “Sheesh, you are cocky as hell!”

  Tate laughed, “Say, I’m wrong then.”

  Audrey eyed him as her smile grew. He wasn’t wrong, she had wanted to impress him and she knew she had by the way his eyes stay glued to her the whole night. “Maybe I was.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  Audrey shrugged her shoulders, “Maybe.”

  Tate smiled before bringing his lip between his teeth while giving her a long heated look. He moved his hands beside her head, dropping his face to be closer to hers, “Kiss me, Audrey.”

  “No way,” she said shaking her head, “not in this bed.”

  “Why not?” he asked with a not so innocent grin.

  “Because we both know it won’t stop at a kiss.” When he didn’t disagree she laughed as she pushed him off her. He landed beside her and smiled as he stretched his long arms in front of him. “Maybe if you are a gentleman, and walk me to my room, I might reward you with one.”

  Tate glanced over at her and smiled, “You ready to go?”

  Laughing, Audrey said, “Yeah, I need a shower, and I’m pretty sure my breath stinks.”

  “Not too bad,” he said with a smile.

  Audrey returned the smile before rolling out of bed and sliding into her heels. Before thinking, she had run her mouth, and now she was nervous and second guessing herself, like this was going to be their first kiss or something.

  Not looking at him, Audrey stood up, pulling her dress down and fixing the top. When she looked up to see where Tate was, he was standing by the door, pulling his shirt over his head.

  “Oh,” she said as she made her way to him and lifted the shirt up over his chest, exposing his tattoo. When he didn’t stop her, she laughed, “Sheesh, I could take advantage of you and you would let me, huh?”

  “Oh yeah, are you doing that now?” he asked playfully.

  She shook her head running her fingers along the birds, feeling his hard chest, “No silly, what are these? Names?”

  In an instant, Tate’s playful smile was gone, and his mouth went in a tight line as he pulled his shirt down. “Yeah, my mom, dad, and sister.”

  “Aw, wow! That’s awesome. I love that tattoo, it’s beautiful.”

  Tate glanced away and then nodded, “Thank you. Come on, let’s get you to your room.”

  As they walked down the hall, Audrey couldn’t help but notice that Tate’s mood had changed. She didn’t know what happened, but she had a feeling it was about the tattoos. Once in the elevator, Audrey asked, “Did I make you mad?”

  Tate looked up at her, shaking his head, “No, love, not at all.”

  The door dinged, and Tate led her out with his hand on her lower back. It felt so nice to have someone hold her there, but that wasn’t what made Audrey smile. It was the ‘love’ he added in. She had never been called love. Sexy, baby, babe, cupcake, you name it, she’s been called it, but never love. It was sweet, and it made her belly do flip flops, especially when it was dripping with his accent. It truly made her heart skip a beat.

  Making their way down the hall, Audrey’s heart started to pick up speed. He was going to kiss her, and she couldn’t wait. Wasn’t that supposed to be bad? Because at that moment she wasn’t thinking it was. Eek! What the hell was wrong with her!? Was she doing the right thing? Ah, there was her door. Reaching into her bra, she pulled her room key and Tate chuckled beside her.

  “That’s been in your bra?”

  She flashed him a grin, “Yeah, I got lipstick in there too, and my bank cards.”

  Tate smiled and nodded as she pushed the door open. She turned in the doorway, biting down hard on her lip. She didn’t know what to say and she was freaking out on the inside. Tate looked calm, staring down at the ground as he kicked around at the black carpet.

  “When are you leaving?” he asked.

  “Tomorrow morning, at 5am.”

  He nodded, and when he looked up into her eyes, she lost her breath. “Do you want to come watch me play tonight?”

  Audrey smiled, “I didn’t buy a ticket.”

  “I’ll get you a ticket.”

  She nodded, “I would like that.”

  Tate smiled as he took a step towards her, taking her hand in his, “I want you there.”

  Looking down at her, his hand moved up to cup her face. She took in a shaky breath before saying, “Then I’m there.”

  A slow grin went across his lip before he dipped his head down, placing a soft kiss against her lips, but it was over before she knew it! Opening her eyes, she watched as he walked away, chuckling. Shocked, Audrey threw her hands up, “That’s it?!”

  Tate threw his head back as he laughed while walking down the hall. Throwing a playful grin over his shoulder, he said, “We’re just friends, remember.”

  Ugh!

  ~*~

  The rest of the day, Audrey enjoyed lying in bed and recovering from the night before. She thought a lot about Tate and later that night, it surprised her how much she screamed and cheered for him while he was in goal. He was amazing, and she couldn’t help but notice that he kept sending her quick glances and grins. It was nice to have someone who was so in tune with her. She had never had a guy chase after her, tease her, and want her all in one. It was different and she loved it. As she watched Tate block over forty shots, she was screaming so loud that she was sure the whole arena heard her.

  It was then, that she realized that she and Tate Ooooodder were way more than friends.

  ~*~

  The next day, Audrey pulled into her driveway a little sad that she wasn’t able to say bye to Tate in person. He had interviews after the game, and she tried to stay awake but couldn’t, and then he was asleep when she left that morning. She hated not being able to say bye, and she kind of wanted to thank him for the two amazing nights he gave her with a way better kiss then they had shared before. She hadn’t had that much fun in a really long time and it was all thanks to him. With a smile, Audrey thought that it was a good thing he was coming home that night, even if it was only for two nights, it was better than nothing.

  Since she was still being lazy, Audrey left her overnight bag in the car as she made her way to the mailbox. Just as she reached into the mailbox, her phone rang. Pulling it out of her pocket, she saw it was the guy she had been thinking about all morning and all night.

  “I overslept, I’m sorry,” Tate said when she said hello.

  “No, big deal. I’ll see you tonight, you can make it up to me,” she said with a grin as she opened up a letter from the health department.

  “Actually, I’m not coming home tonight. After the game tonight, I’m going stay with some of my old roommates. I haven’t seen them in months.”

  “Oh,” she said sadly, “That’s cool.”

  “Yeah, but I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”

  A smile tugged at her lips, “How so?”

  “I was thinking dancing at our favorite club and maybe some dinner.”

  “If you say sushi, you might have y
ourself a date.”

  Tate chuckled, “Go eat sushi with me, love, and then go dancing with me.”

  “Well since you asked so sweetly,” Audrey cooed.

  “Good, but the only thing is; I think Erik and Phillip want to go.”

  Audrey laughed, “That’s fine, I’ll ask Piper to go.”

  “Awesome, have you told her that you told Erik she liked him?”

  Audrey gasped, “Oh no! I totally forgot about that! She is so gonna kill me.”

  “Yeah she is,” he laughed.

  Audrey giggled as she read the letter she had opened. With a grin she said, “Well Mr. Ooooder, I would like to inform you that, I am not pregnant and that I am clean as a whistle which means you are too.”

  “Huh?”

  “I went and got tested after our one night stand.”

  “Oh! Okay, well that’s good to know. I forgot I hadn’t used condoms, good thing you are on birth control. That was the first time I wasn’t prepared,” he laughed as Audrey stood quietly in her driveway.

  It was a prefect opening for her to tell him, but instead of taking it, she crumbled the piece of paper in her hand and sadly said, “Yeah.”

  ~*~

  Come see me.

  No.

  Please, I need to see you.

  What do you want Levi? I’m not having sex with you. I’m done with all that.

  No, it is not that. I want to talk about giving this thing you call “forever” a shot.

  “Please God, Audrey. Do not go in there,” Piper pleaded over the phone. Audrey sat in her car outside of the Starbucks on West End. She was supposed to meet Levi inside three minutes ago, but at the last second Audrey freaked out and called Piper.

  “But what if he does want forever, Pipe?”

  “Oh my God! Who cares? What about Tate? Y’all have a date tonight.”

  “I know, but we are just friends who are kinda moving into dating. We aren’t fully there yet,” Audrey pointed out.

  “You are acting like a slut Audrey, and I’m done with it. That asshole doesn’t deserve you, and you allow him to fuck with your head!”