Not so exhausted that if Brooke were to tell me right now that she wants me to take her in the house and fuck her all night long, I would absolutely be all over that. But lucky for me, she just gives another tiny yawn and pushes open the passenger door.
She waits for me while I grab her suitcase from the trunk of my car and carry it for her up to her front porch. When we get there, we can see that there is a note taped to her door, illuminated by the glow of the porch light.
I set the suitcase down as Brooke reaches for the piece of paper and pulls it off. She unfolds it and I watch as her eyes move back and forth as she reads the words.
“Huh?” she says in a bewildered sort of way.
“What is it?” I ask her.
Her eyes come up and meet mine. “It’s from a friend back in New York City that I worked with at the magazine. She took an impromptu vacation and decided to come visit me.”
I cross my arms over my chest and lean against her door. “She didn’t call you first?”
Brooke shrugs. “Nanette is more of a spontaneous type of girl.”
“You don’t seem overly excited by having a friend drop in to visit you.”
The guilty expression on her face tells me all I need to know. I don’t think this Nanette is a very close friend of Brooke’s at all.
“It’s just…I don’t know, it’s really kind of weird. I have no clue why she would do this.”
I can tell that Brooke is troubled by this, but it’s not like this is a stalker ex-boyfriend leaving a note at her home. There’s nothing about this situation that would warrant me staying with her tonight.
Although I would, if she asked.
Fuck. No, I wouldn’t.
I am going to prove to myself that my balls belong to me solely.
“Are you going to go to the game tonight?” I ask her, and then mentally kick my own ass for that. I have no business asking the question when the answer is suddenly very fucking important to me.
“I was,” Brooke starts, off but her voice trails a bit. “But now that Nanette is in town, I guess I need to visit with her. The note says she’s staying at a hotel close by.”
“You can have my two season tickets so you can sit together if you want,” I blurt out.
Fuck. Now why did I just offer that? There would be absolutely nothing wrong with Brooke not coming to the game tonight to hang out with her friend.
My mouth is open and yapping with absolutely no control “Maybe we can go out after the game.”
I feel like my body has been possessed by a demon who is offering things that I don’t want to happen. It clearly wants to be near Brooke despite my logic and reasoning telling me to cool this a bit.
But it’s good we take a break, right? I need to get refocused on…um…life. Or hockey. Or whatever. Just something other than incessant thoughts about Brooke and how well we seem to fit together in all ways.
Brooke pulls her keys out of her pocket and unlocks the door. She turns to me with a soft smile and says, “I think that sounds awesome if you’re sure you don’t mind giving us the tickets. And going out after sounds great as well.”
“I’ll invite a few of the guys too,” I tell her, absolutely trying to ignore the surge of joy that swept through me when she accepted my offer.
“Nanette will love that,” Brooke says dryly. “When she found out I was moving here, all she could talk about was how hot hockey players were.”
A thought suddenly strikes me, and I can tell by the look on Brooke’s face the same exact thought strikes her as well. “We’re going to have to tell your friend about our little charade.”
Brooke nods. “Shit. She absolutely would be privy to the fact that you and I were most certainly not dating in New York for a few months before we moved here.”
“Is she a good enough friend to you that she’ll keep the secret?” I ask her with a small amount of legitimate worry. I can tell that Brooke doesn’t have a strong connection with this woman.
“I’m sure she would,” she says, but she doesn’t sound overly confident. “Once I explain things to her, I’m sure it will be fine. Besides, she’ll probably be heading back to New York pretty quickly.”
“All right,” I mutter.
“All right,” Brooke echoes.
We stare at each other awkwardly in the glow of the porch light at 1:30 in the morning. Not a single person around to observe whether I leave without a backward glance or I kiss the fuck out of her.
A good night kiss is absolutely not necessary to give credence to our story, since no one is here to witness it.
When my mouth comes down on hers, my arms wrapping around her, I realize it must be necessary to me. And I know I am in a world of shit because of it.
* * *
—
I turn the key in the lock as quietly as possible, noting that Dax’s vehicle is in his side of the two-car garage. We decided to rent a house after taking a quick weekend trip to Phoenix once we signed our new contracts. We had been living in a small apartment in lower Manhattan, which was not much for a whole lot of money. In Phoenix, the cost of living was drastically different and we opted for an actual house rather than an apartment. It’s almost like we were growing up and we even made this decision knowing that we would have to do yardwork.
I push the door open slowly and immediately see Dax lying on the couch watching TV. All the lights are off, but he’s bathed in a blue glow and I can see his eyes come to me with surprise. “I thought you’d stay at Brooke’s.”
“I don’t have to spend every night with her,” I say defensively, and that gets a chuckle out of Dax.
“Dude, you and Brooke looked like you were not living a lie the last few days.”
“Really?” I ask him with sincere curiosity, my pique receding fairly quickly. I have no clue how well we’re pulling this off and I know he’ll be honest.
Dax sits up and mutes the TV. I slouch down on the opposite end of the couch from him, throw my arm over the back.
“There’s something real between the two of you,” Dax says with such surety in his voice I almost have to believe it.
Never one to hold out secrets from my best friend, I admit to him, “I like her, man. She’s smart and sexy and funny…”
“So make it real with her,” Dax suggests.
“We’ve known each other an entire week,” I tell him dryly. “I said I like her, not that I want to go steady with her.”
“There’s nothing wrong if you do,” Dax says with a meaningful look. “But I don’t think they call it going steady nowadays.”
I give him a roll of my eyes and decide to drop the subject. I’ve been thinking about this so much it’s making my head hurt. Instead I fill him in on Brooke’s friend coming in to visit. “She’s going to go to the game tonight with Brooke and I thought maybe we could all go out after.”
“Is she hot?” Dax asks with a suspicious expression.
“No clue,” I tell him.
Dax shakes his head before he says, “Well, you better invite some of the guys, because I am not going to be a blind date with a woman I have no clue what she looks like.”
That gets me and I let out a deep laugh from way down low in my belly. I’d like to say that’s typical of Dax, but fuck, it would be typical of me too. “I had planned on inviting Legend and Eric. I thought maybe I’d ask Tacker too.”
Dax shakes his head, not in denial but more in a sad, resigned way. “Tacker won’t come.”
Yeah…he probably won’t.
Still, I know I bailed on him on this road trip staying in Brooke’s room both nights, but I want to make some type of effort to get to know him a little better. While he gives more than 100 percent of himself to this team, the guy shouldn’t have to go through life carrying such heavy burdens.
Chapter 16
&nbs
p; Bishop
“This should definitely be our official hangout,” Erik says as he eyeballs the waitresses appreciatively. We just entered the Sneaky Saguaro, just one of many establishments where you can go to for a pre- or postgame drink and meal in Vengeance Town. It was recommended by our equipment manager, who told us that he’d met the hottest piece of ass he’d ever had here.
His words, not mine, but it definitely piqued Erik’s attention. After completely losing all cool points with the airline attendant, he’s looking to get his mojo back on. He and Legend both were up for going out with Brooke, Dax, Nanette, and me after the game tonight. The girls are already here and all we have to do is find them.
The Sneaky Saguaro is a beer garden/restaurant that boasts 127 beers on tap and amazing food. The building is two stories high, decorated with southwestern flair, and in the middle is a huge saguaro cactus that has to be a good twenty-five tall. It’s got a roped perimeter around it, which tells me that damn thing isn’t fake.
Erik nudges me in the ribs and then dramatically puts his fist to his mouth as he openly leers at one of the waitresses who walk by. “Damn,” he says, except it comes out very dramatically as “day-um.”
And it’s an appropriate sentiment. The waitresses and bartenders wear denim cutoff shorts that barely cover their asses and plaid Western-style shirts that are tied just under their breasts with the top wide open to show exactly how well endowed they are. Cowboy boots and hats complete the outfit. The girls all strut around with a lot of roll in their hips, and I bet they make a killing on tips here.
“Brooke said they had a table upstairs,” I say without commenting on the waitresses. I’ve got a girlfriend now. She’s the only one I want to see dressed like that.
I think about that for a moment and…yeah, that’s exactly right.
The first floor is all dining tables, and a staircase leads us up to the second floor with a huge bar with taps lining the wall behind it. There’s a variety of tables, both tall and low, as well as booths along the perimeter. I’m assuming you can eat up here, but it’s mostly full of people just drinking. We have to wind our way through a thick throng, many wearing brand-new Vengeance jerseys for our first home game.
They’re laughing, drinking, high-fiving.
It’s because we won. Our first home game in our fancy, glittering arena and we kicked some major ass. Three games, zero losses, and while I know we can’t win all our games and this is just preseason, we are off to a fantastic start. I’m sure as hell ready to celebrate.
“Fucking get out of town,” I hear a man yell to my left. “It’s fucking Bishop Scott.”
I turn, get a brief glimpse of a young guy who looks pretty toasted—surrounded by a bunch of other Vengeance fans—pointing at me with his mouth hanging open. Erik comes to a stop behind me followed by Legend and Dax.
The fan’s eyes go huge. “Holy shit…Erik Dalhbeck, Legend Bay, and Dax Monahan. Holy shit, people. The Arizona Vengeance is in the house.”
He actually bellows out this last part while holding his draft beer high and everyone starts going crazy that their hometown heroes are in their favorite bar.
The exuberance of the fans will wane a bit over time. They won’t be nearly as excited, and if we keep coming here, they’ll actually start maintaining a respectful distance if we want. But this is a brand-new franchise team and these fans need to know that we appreciate them right back.
I give my teammates credit. They all paste the same welcoming smiles on their faces that I’m wearing and we step forward. I hold my hand out to the fan who called me out. He shakes it and starts chattering away at me about what an awesome game I played and how excited he is.
It takes us a good half hour to sign autographs and pose for pictures. As expected, there’s several puck bunnies in attendance wearing tight jerseys I’m betting are extra-small children’s sizes or low cut T-shirts with the Vengeance logo on it. Erik, Legend, and Dax eat that shit up, and some of these puck bunnies are going to get laid tonight by my buds.
Unless Nanette is hot and is looking for a good time.
When I finally locate Brooke, she’s sitting at a high-top table with four chairs. Next to her is a gorgeous redhead that I have to assume is Nanette. Much like Brooke, she’s dressed quite fashionably, which I expect since she’s a New Yorker and works at a fashion magazine.
“Dibs on the friend,” Erik says in a low voice as we walk toward the table. No clue if the other guys heard him, but I guess it doesn’t matter what he wants. It’s what Nanette wants.
Brooke’s head turns and her eyes lock on to mine. Her lips split apart into a bright smile. Christ, I wonder if there will be a day when her smile doesn’t affect me?
“Hey,” I say as I reach her, leaning in and giving her a quick kiss.
“Hey,” she says in welcome, curving her hand around my neck. “You played amazing.”
“Okay, cut that lovey-dovey shit out,” Erik grumbles, and takes the seat on the other side of Nanette. He holds his hand out to her. “Hi, I’m Erik.”
“Let me make introductions,” Brooke says as Nanette gives a sexy laugh while shaking Erik’s hand. I can tell she’s delighted by his attention. “Nanette, that’s Erik Dalhbeck who has your hand.” She then takes turns pointing. “And that’s Legend Bay, Dax Monahan.”
Nanette removes her hand from Erik’s and holds it out to the other guys. Her gaze is bold and appraising, and I can tell she’s definitely looking for a good time.
“And, of course, you remember Bishop,” Brooke adds, and I drape an arm around her shoulder. I nod at Nanette as she turns to look at me. Brooke had texted me earlier today that she’d told Nanette all about our “relationship” and she was all on board with helping us keep the secret. They decided to amend our story to include that I had met Nanette once before so we didn’t have to pretend to know each other very well. This shit was getting really complicated.
One of the waitresses approaches, looking boldly at each of the guys and ignoring Brooke and Nanette, maybe because they already have drinks or maybe because they’re not important. Somehow, Erik manages to ogle the waitress and Nanette at the same time.
Once our drinks arrive, Nanette holds court like a queen with Erik, Dax, and Legend, alternating her flirting and spreading it evenly. I use the opportunity to talk to Brooke. I had not taken one of the high stools, but instead preferred to stand by the side of Brooke’s chair.
“So how was your day?” I ask her, toying with the ends of her hair as my hand rests on the back of her stool.
“Exhausting,” she says with a small smile. “I worked with Sebastian’s group today and—”
“Sebastian?”
“Director of merchandising,” she says, tucking her hair behind her ear. Even though she had a long day, her eyes are sparkling, and that tells me something. She really needs to get out of team services and get into merchandising.
Brooke goes on to tell me how exciting it is to be working on stuff from the design up to the production of the team’s merchandise licenses, and I have to say, I’ve not seen her animated like this except when I’m working on making her come.
“What do you think the chances are you’ll be moved there full time?”
She shrugs. “Sebastian seems to like my work and ideas, but I don’t know. I’m not getting my hopes up.”
Putting an elbow on the table, I lean into her and lower my voice. “Want me to see if I have any pull?”
Brooke brings a palm to my face, rubs her thumb along my beard at the jawline, and it’s such a tender move that it shocks me for a moment. She shakes her head and gives me the sweetest smile. “No. I really appreciate it, but I’ll get the job or not on my own merits.”
I hold her gaze for a moment before nodding. “If you change your mind, let me know.”
“Okay,” she says, and drops her hand
from my face. I look at it a moment as it comes to rest on the table. While it would be ludicrous to snatch it up and bring it back, pressing it there with my own hand on top, there’s nothing unusual in me just taking her hand and holding it.
So I do.
“Well, look at you two…just as much in love as when you left New York,” Nanette says. Brooke and I turn to look at her.
She spares Brooke only the briefest of glances before settling her eyes on me. Appreciative eyes. The same flirty eyes she’d been giving my buds moments ago. She leans into the table, exposing some cleavage. “You’re looking as handsome as ever, Bishop.”
This is followed by a batting of her eyelashes and perhaps an expectant look on her face that I’ll return the compliment. I’m not sure why that bugs me, but it does. She’s got three professional hockey players drooling over her, and here she is flirting with me in front of my girlfriend.
Well, I mean she knows Brooke and I aren’t really—
Or are we?
Fuck, I can’t tell anymore. It’s getting so mixed up.
Regardless, I’m not going to even engage in that shit. “Thanks, Nanette. That’s nice of you to say.”
She just smiles at me a moment, as if she’s waiting for me to say more, and when I don’t, she smoothly turns back to Erik to continue her conversation with him.
I lean in even more toward Brooke, giving the rest of our group most of my back. I murmur low enough that only she can hear me. “How’s it going with your unexpected company?”
Frustration simmers in Brooke’s eyes. She moves a bit closer to me. “She invited herself to stay at my place.”
“Rude,” I say in a hushed voice.
“It is,” she agrees. “But what was I going to do…say no?”
No, there’s no way Brooke would do that. She would open her door if that’s what a friend wanted.
I rub my thumb over the back of Brooke’s hand. “Does she understand I’m coming home with you tonight, so if she expected quality girl time with you, she’s not going to get it?”
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