by Asrai Devin
When, Colton woke, Kip spoke to him for a moment then they had to go, to get ready for school, for their lives far from him.
For fuck's sake, what was with his defeatist attitude this morning? He had started up the stairs when the phone rang again. Martin. Again. With a deep sigh, he answered. "I hope it's good news. On the other hand, no news is good news."
Martin was silent for a moment. "I will think long and hard before waking you in the early morning again."
"It's not you. I'm tired in general. I can't wait for the playoffs to finish."
"Woman trouble," Martin said. What the hell did he know? Wasn't he on this third wife? Second? "Anyway, Lundin is injured. He, well, he was running down the stairs in his house and he twisted his ankle." No way. Things such as that didn't really happen. "No word. You'll probably hear at practice tonight what it means for you."
"Day off. I'm going to Red Deer."
"Go find out first. Right, so. You're up at the plate. Make some magic happen and you can get any contract you want."
Easier said than done, Kip thought with a scowl. He began to dislike his agent. "Right. Well, thanks for letting me know. I'll hear from someone on the team today I'd guess."
"Very likely. Have a good day Kip. We'll chat by the weekend." No doubt. Kip found himself with an empty phone line. He closed his phone, still shocked. He headed upstairs to shower, then tuned into TSN to check the news.
With one ear listening to the television, waiting for news, he texted Mandy what he knew. He watched the sports channel for the rest of the morning, while he did laundry.
He talked to the team's general manager, who said they would get Kip some extra coaching time. They were calling up a kid from the minors as a backup for him, but basically, the play-offs were on his shoulders.
Fuck. He packed his bag and headed for Mandy's, thankful to get away. By the time he arrived, his body had gotten so tense, he had to use his arms to pull himself from the car. Life had shifted again and it seemed his future rested on his ability to stop a three-inch black rubber disc.
* * * *
Mandy stretched on Kip's bed alone. Kip was due back in the middle of the night after the sixth game of the Conference Finals. They'd pull it through. He'd pulled them through two other rounds. Mandy had no idea where he'd found everything he'd shown during the playoffs.
He'd been exhausted from all his extra practice, getting in better shape. His body was somehow more toned. The thought of running her tongue all over him made her shiver. She moved restlessly under his blankets.
Their future could wait. She'd told him as much after the second round. He couldn't afford to focus on her. He needed to focus on the game. He stood close to the ultimate goal of his career, The Stanley Cup.
She was as excited and exhausted as the team. She looked at her open book on her lap, but found herself unable to look at the lesson she was supposed to be planning.
He was supposed to call before he got on the plane. She stared at her cell phone, willing it to ring so she could try to get some sleep.
She checked her watch. Waiting for the phone to ring was an exercise in frustration that she'd been working on for the past twenty-six minutes since she'd put Colton and Mark to bed. Tomorrow they were headed on a big zoo trip planned by Kip, Corey, and the other guys who had kids.
She jumped as the phone rang beside her. She grabbed it on the second ring, hoping Colton and Mark were asleep and wouldn't be woken. Their faces showed in the doorway as she said, "Hello?" Shaking her head, she motioned them into the room.
"Fucking-A. Can't believe the man won the game. The man fucking won it." It was Corey.
"Hey, kids in the room," she said, in an attempt to get him to tone it down. He sounded a little buzzed, so she wasn't sure it would happen. "Yeah, we watched. He was amazing."
"Sorry." Corey sounded like a school boy after being chastised. "Well, I totally stole his phone and called you. He's been all mooning over you, all night."
Before Mandy could say anything, she could hear Kip. "Give me the fucking phone man."
"Hey, kids in the room," Corey mocked.
"Corey, I swear I am bigger than you." His attention turned to her. "Hey babe."
Mandy felt instant relief and joy course through her body. "Hi Kip. Congrats." She'd already talked to him since the win, but she had to say it again. They made it to the finals.
"You already said that." She heard some cheering in the background. "Some guys celebrated too much."
"I miss you." Colton tugged on her arm. "Hold on, Cole and Mark want to say hi." She held the phone out. "Quick, this is pricey."
"Hi Kip," they yelled.
She pressed the phone back against her ear. "I better let you go. I'll see you when you get here. Feel free to wake me."
"I won't, but thanks for the thought. I miss you too. I'll see you in the morning." She made a smooching sound into the phone. Colton and Mark made barfing sounds.
"I love you."
"Love you too." He ended the phone call there, to the sound of ooohs from behind. Fucking Corey. She wished she could meet them at the airport, drive home with him. He'd been bugging her to come on a trip with her, but the dates hadn't worked out yet. Maybe in the future, she thought.
She turned to the boys. "You are supposed to be sleeping."
"Aww, Mom. We wanted to talk to Kip," Colton said. Mark nodded.
"I know. But we have lots of stuff to do and you cannot go on the trip if you are tired. So go to bed."
"Let's go," Mark said, his eyes wide.
"I wish we were going to Calaway." Colton moved toward the door.
"I know. I do too. But the guys are too tired for that stuff tomorrow. This summer," she emphasized.
Mark tugged on Colton's pajamas. "Come on." Colton followed reluctantly.
"You get to hang out with Kip and Corey tomorrow. So cheer up and get a good sleep." Colton flashed a smile at her and ran off. She wasn't sure who Colton idolized more.
She knew which she idolized more. She sighed and leaned back into the headboard, her attention refocused on her lesson plan. Mandy felt as if she'd just fallen asleep, when she heard the front door open. She blinked sleepily in the dark, listening. Shoes came off, coat was put away. She couldn't hear that part, only imagined it during the pause of noises. The slow, heavy footsteps on the stairs. His bag dropped inside the door of the bedroom. She turned over, unable to make her body sit up. "Hey sweetie," she said, groggily, lifting a hand.
"Hey babe," he whispered. He bent over the bed and kissed her. "I'll be back." She closed her eyes. A few minutes later he came back. She listened to his clothes drop on the floor. He paused, then picked them up and put them in his hamper. Then he crawled into bed next to her.
She moved into him, breathing his warm scent. "I'm so glad you are home," she said.
He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "I'm glad you were waiting for me," he said.
"You should have heard the sports guys talk about you. Like you're this wonder god person. It's strange to hear. I mean, you are amazing out there. But it's some kind of hero worship. And I thought, you're my Kip. It doesn't matter to me how you play out there. Just come home to me."
He smiled into her hair. "Long as you'll have me, babe."
"Okay, let's stop talking about us. You've got seven more games to play."
He sighed a little. "I know. The good news is Aleksander might be back soon."
Mandy yawned and snuggled closer. She felt her consciousness fading. "That's good." She patted him.
He rubbed her back a few times. And that was where she fell asleep.
* * * *
"Why do you love me?" Mandy asked. It was a few weeks into their year of living together in Saskatoon. They were lying in bed. He couldn't recall if she was naked at that time of day. Kip remembered the question, the worried look on her face.
"You are amazing. You are beautiful. You see yourself as the chubby, geeky girl. I see you as my beautiful
girlfriend who supports me in everything. Who's also working her ass off for her dream."
She smiled, making her lovely face light-up. He brushed her hair back from her face. She dipped her head and he could see her faint blush. "You make me feel special."
"Good. You are special."
She kissed him then lay back. He let himself relax, stroking the soft skin of her shoulder and back. She must have been naked, his memory filled in details.
A moment later she lifted her head. She rested her head on her hand, making her arm into a triangle. He admired the view as the blanket dipped below her breast, then he looked to her face. "Why did you come looking for me at that lunch-hour? You weren't far behind me in that math class. You didn't need help."
He laughed, having been caught. "You are right." He forced his attention from that bare breast that taunted him for his attention. She noticed his gaze and pulled the blanket up. "Do you remember that essay you wrote for Mr. Bowen?" Her brows knitted together. "In eleventh. About your future plans."
She wiggled her cute little mouth and he couldn't help kissing it. "Oh right, I wrote about being a teacher."
"Yes, I was skipping out of math because I was so bored in there. And I stopped to read those essays. And yours caught my eye and I was floored. Just shocked. You were so passionate about being a teacher. You wanted to do that more than anything. No one else wrote with that kind of conviction."
"Because of an essay I wrote in grade eleven?"
"Because of the life you had in that essay. I didn't feel that kind of passion for anything in my life. I enjoyed hockey, but hockey doesn't inspire others. Not as inspiring as your dream. I got a little panicked when I realized I had nothing else in my life I was good at. What would I do if hockey didn't pan out as a career?"
She smiled. "You'll make it. You are so great on the ice. It's like magic. This doesn't explain why you approached me in the library?"
"I wondered about you. I went back to class and the teacher called your name. And I thought, THAT shy girl is my Mandy? I couldn't believe it."
He paused for a few moments, letting the memory seep back in. "And?" she prompted, dying to know the rest.
"So I stared at you. You saw me staring at you. And you were gorgeous." She looked skeptical. "You were. Your face, your eyes. I only knew you were this shy, smart girl who had no friends. My friends made fun of you, girls I dated were mean to you. And I probably joined in. Not one of us had ever looked at you." God, he felt like shit admitting that to her. He'd followed the crowd.
"Why do you think I hid in the library? No one would tease me in there."
He sighed and pulled her close. "I'm sorry for those people who were mean to you. I hate to that I was one. I went with the others."
"It's okay."
"It's not. But it's too late to change that now." He looked at her intently, feeling hot tears pressing against his eyes. He forced them back before she saw them. "So anyway, I planned to introduce myself to you after math class. But then someone else got to me first, and you disappeared."
"Why didn't you wait until next class?"
"I thought about it. Except when I looked at you, you panicked. I knew I couldn't be point blank, 'Hey, I like you. Let's hang out.' There had to be an angle. When I had a dentist appointment coming up or something. I had that plan."
"So you lied to me."
"You knew shortly into things that I wasn't dumb."
She grinned at him, tears in her eyes. "I can't believe I thought for a minute you were stupid."
He winked. "I'm crafty." He put his hands on her face to brush the tears away from her eyes. "Honestly, I didn't think I'd fall for you. I thought I'd get to know you a little, try to explain your passion then we'd go our separate ways. Try to find that passion in myself."
"I remember being in utter shock that you even knew that I was in your math class. You were so self-assured, walking around school like you owned it."
"I was so freaked out about life as you were. I knew how to hide it. I had to hide it. In my house weakness was punished."
She ran a hand through his hair. "That you were a total hottie was in your favour."
He nuzzled her. "That helped. Would you be with me if I weren't a total hottie?" He raised an eyebrow with a quirk.
"If you were," she glanced down, "like me." She chose her words carefully, "Unatheletic, glasses, shy. Also, like you, smart, funny, yeah I'd love you anyway. It might make it easier to explain to myself."
"See, you can love me despite my shortcomings."
"Most people wouldn't take the time to take a second look at me. You did, I love you for that alone." She blushed again and pressed herself against him. She kissed him deeply, her fingers travelling over his skin. This conversation was obviously over.
Kip blinked his eyes open. The last part, the kissing and caressing weren't part of his memory. They were real. Mandy was here and she was real. And she was waking him with morning sex.
Okay, good grief, he shuddered deeply. She woke him with a blow job. He groaned. Sweet mother of pearl, he was the luckiest fucking man alive. Her tongue swirled around and around the head of his cock, while her mouth moved across.
Okay, he couldn't take much of this in the morning. He felt tight enough to come at the drop of a hat, and she pushed every button he had. He tugged her hair slightly. "I can't," he stopped and cleared his throat. "I need to be buried deep inside you."
She hesitated a moment, as she tried to decide if she should push him over the edge or if she should join in the fun. She stopped and slid up his body.
He wordlessly kissed her deeply, moved her underneath him. His head, felt thick as groped clumsily between her legs to be sure she was ready before he jumped on her. She was slick, but he caressed her, until she gasped in his ear, her body jumped against his. He thrust into her.
He lifted his mouth to her ear. "Mandy." He breathed as he met her rhythm, their bodies joined in pleasurable harmony. "Mandy, you're so amazing. You hug my cock like ..." He groaned.
He lifted his body off hers, still thrusting. He covered a breast with one hand, palming it, feeling her nipple bud beneath his fingers. He pinched the bud, rolling it between his fingers. The shudder that went through her body drove him over the edge. She gasped in his ear, as he came, buried deep inside her body.
When he recovered, he kissed her. "Did you ..." It was such an awkward question, even after all their time together. He hated asking. He hated not being able to read her body, that he had to admit that he'd been that unaware of her.
She patted his arm, still panting for air. "I'm good, babe. Really good."
He realized he'd let his full weight on top of her and moved away. He kissed her cheek. "Good morning, by the way."
"Morning."
He stretched next to her. "What a fucking way to wake up. Thank you."
"I woke up feeling, well, horny."
He looked over at her. "I've been awake for a while. Not entirely. But I remembered when you asked me why I hunted you down back then."
She smiled in return. "I remember. It was the sweetest thing anyone could have told me."
"I'm glad you are a teacher. I'm sure your students love you. Like Colton loves you. Like I love you."
Mandy rolled over on her stomach and kissed him. Then she slid out of bed. "I'm going to shower before I make breakfast."
"I'm going to get the coffee," he said. "If my legs will get me there."
He wrapped himself in his robe and went downstairs. Colton was playing video games already. Kip stuck his head into the living room. "Morning buddy."
Colton paused the game and went after Kip. "Hi Kip."
It was Saturday morning. Game four was tonight. The series stood at Calgary two, Rangers one. Kip had played every freaking minute of the game. His body tense from the pressure of it. Not even the great sex that Mandy had given him helped.
Aleksander Lundin was back on the roster, but Kip hadn't given the team any reason to play the
kid.
The only good news was from his agent, who said the team planned to keeping him. If he kept up the performance, they would probably sign him for a good long time.
So not only the future of the Cup rested on his shoulders, the future of his relationship with Mandy rode on the outcome of how he could use his stick. Because he knew that if he had to move, he'd be saying good-bye to her again.
* * * *
Mandy had taken off a few days for the sixth game. The series sat Calgary three games over the Rangers who'd won two. If they won tonight, they'd take the Cup. She was too tense for words, and she couldn't give her full attention to work. She'd hated to take the time off so near the end of the year, but she couldn't stand to be in the classroom knowing what was going on here.
The principal had no problems with her taking the day off as she rarely missed work. Kip told her he'd compensate her for missed wages, since she was going off the books for the days. She wasn't worried about it. She was worried for him. He was so tense. She felt as if she walked on eggshells around him.
She worried for all the guys. Corey and Doug had spent the day with them at the house. Playing video games with Colton and Kip, to keep them distracted. But all the talk was of the game. They couldn't ignore the subject. If they weren't talking about it, they silently thought about it.
They had a short skate in the afternoon. Mandy and Colton went with them to watch. The air at the Dome sparked as tons of people skipped work to watch the team practice. She was recognized by some media for her relationship with Kip. They wanted to ask her about her predictions. She didn't want to comment. She stated she was hopeful for the guys, but either way they'd be winners in her book.
Mandy had more than the game on her mind. She wondered about her future with Kip. Their future. She'd talked to Colton about it, about moving to Calgary to live with Kip.
He was a bit torn. He didn't want to leave his friends in Red Deer behind. But to live in the same house as Kip Turner, his hero, was too exciting for words. "Would Kip be my dad?" Colton asked.
Mandy shook her head. "Your dad will always be your dad. But Kip would be, he'd be your step-dad. He loves you like a son, okay. Don't ever doubt that."