by Toni Aleo
Behind him, Tarek scored again, and this time he raised his arms and yelled.
“Perfecto,” Ian told him and raised his hand for a high five. The boy did the hand slap with a gleeful smile splitting his face.
“You’re a real Canadian now,” Ian told Tarek.
When he turned, Em was beaming at him. “You’re really good with kids.”
Ian shrugged. “It’s just hockey.”
She came right up close. For a moment, Ian wondered if she was going to kiss him, then she hip checked him into the nearest snowbank.
“That’s part of hockey too,” Em said, giggling.
Ian got up and brushed the snow off.
“You’re gonna pay for that.” He went right after Em to the delighted shrieks of the kids.
6. Fireworks
“Has this game been worth a thousand dollars?” Em asked.
For her, the whole experience was way over the top. Sure, she’d been to Leafs games before, but that was years ago. Now the whole arena was more intense: all the fans in jerseys, flashing videos on the big screen, constant announcements, and entertainment beyond the hockey itself. And everything was more way more expensive.
Ian took a sip of his $20 beer. “Be better if they were winning. But it’s always good to visit the mother ship. I try to get here for a game once a year with my buds.”
Em sniffed. “Pretty expensive guys trip.”
He laughed. “We don’t sit in club seats.”
“You insisted on these seats,” Em said.
“No big deal. You can afford it.”
Em’s mouth opened in outrage, but no words came out. She had been willing to pay the price because Ian was doing her a big favour, but nothing had worked out as she’d planned. Her parents loved Ian—for reasons she still couldn’t understand. Maybe it was the free home repairs.
Now, if she did bring home Thomas, he’d have to be the second coming of Mike Holmes. And Thomas wasn’t very coordinated, judging from when they’d gone skating on the canal. But last night, he’d sent her an adorable photo of his family beagle in a Santa hat though. No guy was perfect, and the best example of that was sitting next to her.
“Does it bother you if the woman you’re dating makes more money than you?” It had bothered Lucas, so a high income was a new life partner requirement.
“Why would it bother me? I’d get to do shit like this all the time.” He swallowed the rest of his beer. Em watched his Adam’s apple moving. Ian could drink an incredible amount of beer. “Besides, I bring other things to the party.”
Ian’s brown eyes met hers. A strange sensation passed over her body and settled between her legs. Good grief, she wasn’t becoming attracted to Ian, was she? That kiss yesterday had been off the charts, but she knew it meant nothing to him. He was toying with her, as usual. Almost involuntarily, she licked her lips and asked, “What do you bring?”
“I’m very good with my hands.”
Em had to tear her eyes away from Ian’s. The way he was looking at her was too intense. He looked hungry. And that was impossible—he’d just eaten an expensive hamburger, fries, and ice cream.
“Oh, like the way you can fix things.” Em cursed the wimpy tone of her voice, but something was off with her breathing.
He planted his hand on her jeans-clad thigh. When he spread his fingers, her leg tingled under his warm touch.
“Yeah. I like to ‘fix things.’”
Em bit her lip. She was not used to feeling like a flustered virgin. She was the mature, responsible one.
Luckily for her, the third period began, and Ian’s attention moved from her to the game. He was a very vocal fan.
“Oh c’mon, ref! Where you looking?” A Leaf forward had been hauled down without penalty to groans from the crowd.
“Maybe it’s a good thing,” Em said. “Last time, they gave up a bunch of odd-man rushes on the power play.”
Ian stared. “You know a lot about hockey.”
“For a girl, you mean,” Em said.
“Sure. But it’s still a compliment.”
She wanted to smack the smile off his face. “Lots of women are hockey fans.”
“A lot of women think hockey players are hot.” He turned back to watch the game and left Em fuming. Why was it always like this with Ian? Just when they were getting along, he’d go full jerk. Ian was the most exasperating guy she’d ever known.
In further proof that good things happen to bad people, Ian’s favourite team came from behind and scored two goals to end up 5-4 winners.
“Fucking A. I must be good luck. Every time I come to a game here, they win,” said Ian as they made their way out. Everyone around them was buzzing happily too.
“You should consider moving to Toronto and getting season tickets. They’d probably go undefeated at home,” said Em. She hated people who mixed up causation and correlation.
“Yeah, but I don’t want to live here. Toronto’s too big,” replied Ian. Economic theory insults sailed over his head.
“Reeder?” A deep voice came from behind them. Ian’s back straightened, and he turned slowly.
“Oh hey, Penny. Long time no see.”
Penny was a big beefy guy with cropped dark hair. Beside him was a petite blonde with a dazzling smile. Both were wearing Leafs jerseys.
He and Ian did one of those complex dude handshakes, but to Em it looked more competitive than friendly.
“You still playing hockey?” Penny asked.
“Just beer league,” replied Ian. His demeanour reminded her of a coiled snake, with every muscle tensed and ready to strike.
“Yeah, I play for fun too. But I’m doing some coaching now. It’s all good.”
Ian nodded but didn’t try to keep the conversation going.
“You living in Toronto these days?” Penny asked.
“Nah. Still in Ottawa.” He motioned towards her with his head. “Em’s family is here.”
Penny ran his eyes over her in a judgemental way. Like Ian, his eyes lingered on her breasts. Guys frequently made judgements about her based on her body. Like she couldn’t have a brain and breasts at the same time.
“Well, some things haven’t changed, and that would be your taste in pretty women.” He held out his hand. “Hey, I’m Shaun Penhale. And this is my wife, Billy.”
“Hi, I’m Em Davis.” She shook Billy’s hand too, but she didn’t say a word. She kept gazing adoringly at her husband in the best Stepford Wives manner.
“I’m sure you know what a ladies man Reeder is. When we went out to eat, he’d always leave with the digits of the hottest waitress there. He’s proof that it’s not how you look, but what bullshit you can spin.”
Em had had enough of this jerk. She wrapped her arm through Ian’s and leaned against him.
“Well, I don’t work in a restaurant, and I’m the one who asked Ian out,” Em said. Which was true.
Penny’s eyes were locked on Ian’s. They were definitely in some kind of macho competition. “What do you do, Em, honey?”
“I’m an economist at the Bank of Canada,” she said. It was a teeny bit of an exaggeration, but he didn’t strike her as an expert on federal government job classifications.
Shocked, he finally looked her in the eye. “No shit. What are you doing with this guy?”
Em snaked her hand around Ian’s waist. “Ian is my reality check after spending all day working theoretically. And I’m sure you already know what a nice guy he is.” Then she kissed Ian on the cheek.
Ian smirked. “Great to catch up, Penny. Take ’er easy.”
He put an arm around Em, and they marched away.
“Thanks, Em. I was worried you were going to tell him about our whole deal.”
“He was a jerk. What’s going on between you guys?”
Ian shrugged. “We played junior hockey together. We were kinda in competition for the same things.”
The normally chatty Ian didn’t say another word as they jostled along with the crowd. As
she clutched his arm, Em could feel the tension in his body. A vulnerable Ian was a shock to her. He seemed inviolate because he really didn’t care what other people thought.
He relaxed a bit once they left the arena.
“Didja see Penny’s face when you told him what you did?” Ian asked.
Em laughed. “He needed a lesson.”
“And all the other stuff you said...” Ian’s voice trailed off.
“That was true too.”
Em had realized the truth gradually. Many of the flaws she’d attributed to Ian really didn’t exist. Yes, he’d been wasted the day she met him, but he wasn’t drunk at every social occasion. He was a big guy, and he could drink a lot. Maybe he didn’t read, but he was interested in people. He got along with everyone at Christmas dinner easily, and he’d been adorable with the kids.
Neither of them spoke much on the ride back. By the time they got home, her parents had already gone to bed. They went up to the third floor quietly.
“Good night,” Ian said and disappeared into his room.
Em watched the guest room door close behind him. Feeling sorry for Ian was a completely new emotion for her. She went to her room and got ready for bed, putting on the flannel pyjamas that were necessary for her drafty old home. Lying in bed, she couldn’t sleep knowing that Ian was across the hall from her, feeling unhappy.
She got up. Before she could second-guess herself, she knocked on his door.
“Yeah?”
Em opened the door and walked in. In the darkness, she could make out Ian lying in bed with his arms behind his head. The cords of muscle and tendon were clearly outlined in the semi-darkness. Above the sheet, the slopes of his well-defined chest were visible.
Em swallowed. The more she liked him as a person, the more she could appreciate the rest of him.
She perched on the side of the bed.
“I know you were upset at running into Penny. Would it make you feel better to talk about it?”
“Why? So you can run to Abby and gossip?”
A flush of anger rose inside Em but dissolved as quickly. Why had it taken her so long to figure him out? Ian’s first reaction to vulnerability was to strike out.
She moved closer. Being next to Ian had become familiar and comforting—something her body now craved. She lay right beside him, her head resting on his bicep and his familiar scent filling her senses.
“You smell like wood,” she said.
“How can that be? I haven’t been at work for days. I do shower, you know.”
She reached out and put her arm across his chest. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s a part of you now. You’re like a tree.”
He snorted. “Big and dense?”
“No. Strong, solid. A place where people can go for shelter.”
Ian didn’t reply to that, but he unfurled one arm and wrapped it around Em. She moved closer, until she was nestled against him.
He stared up at the ceiling, and they lay together in silence.
“Penny played in the NHL.”
“Really? For who?”
Ian released a long breath. “The Leafs.” The words pained him.
“I’ve never heard of him,” Em said. “He can’t have been that good.”
“Naw. He only played three games. Spent most of his time in the AHL.”
“Then why does seeing him bother you so much?” she asked.
“Well, we never liked each other, even in junior. He thinks I stole his girlfriend, but that was bullshit. She came on to me. I had no clue they were together.”
Em waited. This was clearly something bigger than two guys fighting over a woman.
“Thing is, I was a better hockey player than he was. So seeing him reminds me of all the shit I never did.”
“If you were better, why didn’t you get a chance to play in the NHL?”
Ian’s laugh was harsh. “If you’re on the margins, so many things have to break for you. You can get screwed over by a coach, have a bad game when the big scouts are there, blow out your knee. Everything has to go right for you to even get a chance. That’s what Penny got. He had a great game on a night when the Leafs scouts were there, and they invited him to a prospects camp. He did well. Kept doing it until he finally made it.”
“But a few games in the NHL isn’t the same as a career,” Em pointed out.
“You don’t get it, Em. Even one game in the show means you’ve made it. You’re in the record books, people look up to you, you can tell your grandchildren—hell, you can bullshit them and say whatever you want. You get more breaks too. Penny is coaching now? Yeah, because they can say ‘Former Maple Leaf’ when they introduce him.”
She’d never heard Ian speak so passionately about anything. “How close did you get?”
“I spent a couple of seasons in Vancouver’s system. Mostly with their AHL team, the Vice. Never with the big club.”
“Why didn’t you get a chance?”
Ian’s mouth was a straight line. “C’mon. You’re old enough to know that life is not fair. Shit happens. I don’t dwell on all the shoulda-coulda stuff.”
Em wished she could make Ian feel better. She hugged him.
“Well, at least you’re playing at the highest level of recreational hockey.”
Ian’s laugh was mean. “Who fed you that crap? It’s beer league. Nobody gives a fuck.”
Em was grateful that the darkness meant he couldn’t see her red face. Lucas had always been proud of how good the team was.
Ian read her mind. “Did Lucas say that? You know what that guy’s problem is?”
Fear of commitment, Em thought. Aloud she asked, “What?”
“Hockey means training your ass off and preparing for every situation. But once you get on the ice, it’s all instinct. Lucas never got that.”
Not only was Ian shaking up her impressions of himself, but now Lucas too. Em believed that Lucas was a great hockey player, but if Ian—who was the best player on the team—didn’t think Lucas was that good, maybe he wasn’t. Maybe she had idealized Lucas.
Ian turned to face Em. He reached out and took her face in his hand. His hands were rough, but his touch was unbelievably gentle. She shivered.
“Like right now. My instincts are telling me that something I’ve wanted for a long time might be happening. Am I right, Em?”
His eyes were dark, liquid and unblinking. Em exhaled. He’d wanted her for a long time? No way. The two of them made no sense. But Ian was turning out to be far more complex than she had ever imagined, and his vulnerability tonight was the match that lit the fire.
“Yes,” Em breathed. But as Ian’s face came closer, she panicked. “Wait. Let’s talk about sex.”
Ian chuckled. “Oh yeah. My princess talking dirty—”
“No, the sex health talk. You sleep with a lot of women.”
He winced. “Yeah, we’re good. Do you really think I’d touch you if I had something?”
Em looked down, but that was distracting because there was a bulge in the sheets. “I don’t know. I thought I knew you, but now I have no clue who you are.”
“I’m who I always was.” His voice was barely a whisper, but he was so close that the heat of his words scorched her skin. She lifted her lips to meet his. Ian’s kiss was harsh, pressing, and wet. He opened up her mouth, and his tongue entered in a pushy exploration. She sucked on his tongue and felt the vibration of his moan.
Ian pulled away the support of his arm and began unbuttoning her pyjamas. She felt the cold air hit her skin as he pulled off the soft flannel.
“I’ve been dreaming about these babies,” Ian said. He took a breast in each hand and juggled them like delicate but heavy fruit. “Fuck, yeah,” he muttered. Then he pushed her breasts together and sucked on both nipples at once. The sensation was sloppy and sensual—Ian’s impatience to see and feel her naked body was an incredible turn-on.
Em reached out and touched the firm planes of Ian’s body. He felt harder than a normal human, all corded
muscle and sinewy connections. She ran her hands over his broad shoulders, his mounded chest, and the dips of his back.
All the while, he was sucking away at her until her nipples felt elongated and almost sore. The sensations from his hungry mouth were travelling from her breasts to the very core of her. While his mouth was working away, his hands were exploring her body with a feather-light touch—and the contrast was incredible. Em writhed on the bed, barely able to move for fear of dislodging his mouth. When he finally released the suction, she fell back on the bed, and he parted her legs. He stroked her thighs and then planted a kiss on her soft stomach.
Em flushed and tried to push his head away. “Oh, don’t.”
Ian lifted his head. “You ticklish?”
“No. But you’re in such good shape, and I’m not.”
Ian sniffed. “You’re a woman. You should be soft.”
“You’re so hard.”
He chuckled and guided Em’s hand down to his erect cock, which pulsed against her palm. “Yeah, I’m hard. You make me hard.”
Em brought both hands down and stroked his cock. It stretched to greet her. His skin was petal soft, but underneath his cock was as hard as every other part of him.
“I want to feel you inside me,” Em said, surprising herself with her boldness.
“Patience, princess,” Ian said. He moved back down between her legs and placed a kiss directly on her clit. But then he licked the crinkled folds all around her centre, never touching her clit until she lifted her hips and spread her legs in a silent plea.
Finally, he touched the tip of his tongue to her clit and began a flickering motion that made her gasp with pleasure.
“God, yes,” Em cried out. She relaxed her body completely and concentrated on the incredible sensations as Ian’s talented tongue brought her to a heady orgasm.
Em lay there with her eyes closed, barely aware of Ian leaving the bed and returning with his cock sheathed in latex.
He cupped her ass in both hands and raised her up. Em parted herself for him, and he entered her slowly, intensifying the feelings inside her. Once he was fully inside, he began with short strokes and lifted one of her ankles to rest on his chest so he could go even deeper inside her.