by Kat Obie
Where was this incredibly sweet guy in his note? Why didn't it show through? Then again, I’d only heard those sweet words because I pushed for an explanation. Which also meant he was shit at communication unless pushed, and that didn't bode well for a long-distance relationship. Thinking out loud, I said, "Can you make sure you tell me what's on your mind all the time?"
He laughed. "You don't want to know what's on the mind of a dumb shit like me." I wasn’t surprised by his reaction. He tended to put himself down and try to dodge hard questions.
"You need to give yourself more credit. You’re thoughtful and sweet." Before I could say much more, he leaned down and gave my lips a kiss. That magical, fantastic kiss. It made me want to forget everything. He was playing dirty and likely knew it.
When he pulled back, he had a sinful grin on his face. "So, what will it be, my sweet Renee?"
"You didn't really answer me. Can you communicate with me?" This was the most important thing if we were going to try to do long distance, and if we couldn’t, then we should just call it a hookup, despite what my body wanted.
"If it stands between us getting together and not, I will do my best to tell you everything on my mind."
"Good. ‘Cause I want to explore what we can be to each other." I leaned up so we could seal our relationship with a kiss. I liked knowing he wanted to try to have a relationship with me, especially when it wasn’t his style to start them. I looked into his eyes. "So, what's on your mind right now?"
"You're going to hate me, but I want to take a nap with you in my arms."
I laughed. I knew how much Colton needed his pre-game nap. I actually wasn't too surprised that Matt wanted some rest. Besides, we had been pretty active last night. "Somebody a little tired?"
"Dude, Scotty killed us today in practice. My legs are so dead. It was practically torture standing in line at the coffee shop to get you the treats."
"Too tired for the bed?"
"Yeah. If I was really smart, I would do another protein shake." He pulled me close, and his eyes started to close as he said, "Especially since I really want to impress you tonight."
I smiled. Since he’d gotten me a treat, there was no reason I couldn't make him a shake. I pushed away from him. Those bright orbs opened up, and he looked as if he was trying to figure out what he’d done wrong. "Give me a moment. I’ll be right back."
He let me up. I strolled into the kitchen and quickly made the drink. He had a sleepy smile while he watched me.
I soon returned with the drink. He took it with one hand and pulled me onto his body. He drank his shake while I had the coffee. It didn’t take long before he fell asleep holding me.
9
Matt
I didn’t normally sleep on the sofa, but man did I love waking up with Renee in my arms. It was perfect. She was perfect, and I had a small glimpse of approval from Weber. Things were great.
The only downside was, I couldn’t tell him how wonderful things were with his sister. But that was okay, since I wasn’t one to brag about my sex life in normal circumstances.
When I woke up, she smiled and gave me a soft kiss. I lifted her up so we could turn that soft kiss into something with much more passion. She fed my fire, but I needed to be good. I didn't have a ton of time to do anything fun. I let my wood rub up against her and held her tight.
As we pulled back from the kisses, I forced out, "You've made me the luckiest man in the world."
"What?"
She looked so clueless and naïve, but I knew she was anything but. She was way smarter than I’d ever be. "You're so damn beautiful and smart. I still can't believe you're here in my arms and you gave me a chance. I just feel so lucky to have you here. I was so sure if I ever tried anything like a kiss with you, your brother would kill me, and yet I get to wake up holding you. I want this all the time."
It was perfect. So freaking perfect.
Then I saw the time. I would have to unwrap myself from her and get ready for the game. I laid my forehead on hers and said, "Please tell me that you'll come back here tonight after the game."
She laughed. "Of course. But I'll need to stop by Colton's place for some stuff."
"No problem, but bring everything back here. That way we can make the most of your trip. I won't get to see you for a bit."
The simple nod of her head made me feel so damn good. I was so glad that she was going to come back to my place after the game. I gave her a quick kiss, and then I got up from our embrace.
I got changed for the game into one of my best suits so I could impress my girl. She made me feel like a million bucks as soon as she gave me a little whistle when I walked into the room. But I controlled myself. I raised one of my eyebrows and asked, "Ready to hit Weber's place and go to the arena?"
She nodded, and we quickly went out to my SUV. We swung by Webs's place, but he wasn't there. He and Lil must have already headed to the rink. Thankfully, Renee didn't take long and I secured her suitcase in my trunk.
We went to the rink. I took the opportunity to give her one more kiss before I went into the locker room. It was quick and chaste. I didn’t realize how much happiness I would get from her coming to watch me play.
Right as I went into the locker room, I ran into Weber. He pushed me up against the wall. "You were supposed to bring Renee home."
"I did." I just failed to mention, "so she could get her stuff." He gave me the death stare, and I knew it was time to diffuse things before I regretted it. "Okay, we just stopped by and she's planning to spend the night at my place again."
"Only after we hang out together after the game. She's my little sister, and I want to hang out with her too."
I nodded. I couldn't deny him some time with her, but she was going to come home with me. "Got it. Well, I got to get changed, but I'll join you for some soccer in a few minutes."
Weber smiled. "Alright. I'll see you then." I was going through the door when he added, "One more thing. Don't forget that Renee will always root for me first."
Yeah right. While tonight Little Weber might be wearing his jersey, I knew that wouldn’t last if things remained really good with her. She would be wearing my jersey one day.
Renee
Standing up in the box for the players' families, I knew that everything had changed the moment the boys stepped out onto the ice for warm-ups. Instead of watching my brother and feeling pride at seeing him playing at the highest level of hockey, my eyes were on Matt.
His hair flowed in the wind as he skated around casually to start some shooting drills. He looked so happy and sexy out in his element. So damn sexy. He even had that same grin on his face as when he was about to take you to heaven. If he hadn't given me so many orgasms last night, I would never have noticed that.
As soon as I saw that damn smile, I realized something. He’d never gotten the Plan B today, and the sooner you took it, the more likely it was to be effective. Maybe we could get it after the game.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
The two of us were clean, so I wasn't afraid of getting anything from him. But it was a problem if my birth control failed on top of the condom. It'd been known to happen.
Before I could freak out too much, I heard a warm welcoming voice say, "I would have thought you’d be wearing something with Shoresy's name and number by now. You two were so cute yesterday."
I turned to see Alex standing there with a smile. I shrugged and said, "Haven't had time to get anything of his. Besides, I've been wearing stuff with my brother's name and number forever."
"I guess the bigger question is: do you want anything with Shoresy on it?"
"Of course, I do."
"Okay, let's go, then. My treat."
It seemed like she wasn't going to take no for an answer, so I let her drag me to the team store. It always blew my mind that hanging in the store on prominent display was my brother's name and number. But right next to it was usually stuff related to Matt and now Klaus.
I decided that I didn't reall
y want another sweater. It would be nicer to get a pullover or a hoodie. Something that I could wear more often.
As I was looking through the racks of burgundy, gold, and gray, Alex asked, "Did you really come to Cleveland just to tell Webs that you and Shoresy were expecting?"
I laughed. When it was put that way, it was utterly ridiculous. "Yup. I did."
"How did that even happen? More importantly, how did the two of you start hooking up? K said you guys weren't dating and he was completely unaware of anything between you and Shoresy."
"Well, Matt called me up and asked if I would help out with this crazy prank. He would fly me out, and I figured why the hell not? I always love hanging out with those two." I picked up a cute long-sleeve shirt in grey with the logo and Matt's number on the sleeve. I held it up to my body to see if it would fit, and it looked to be the right size.
"Yes, that's perfect." She snatched the hanger out of my hand. "I told you, my treat, and don't be afraid to get anything else too. Now dish about how you and Shoresy happened."
She reminded me so much of my best friends back home. I continued to look at the shirts. "Well, the two of us went out on a date so we could discuss the whole 'unexpected pregnancy,' which was really just a way to make the prank look genuine. Matt had the brilliant idea to kiss me goodnight, and holy fuck was that a kiss. It released a lot of my pent-up desire for him that I probably never would have acted on since he's my brother's best friend."
"Wait, it was just a fake kiss that launched you too together?"
"Sorta. It wasn't a fake kiss. It was very real, and it completely freaked Colton out."
"I was wondering how he was going to handle seeing you guys together. I know during bowling, he was okay for the most part."
"He wants me to be happy, but I know it's weird for him."
10
Matt
Hockey hadn't been as much fun since Scotty put the moratorium on the pranks in the locker room. Everyone was getting uptight. Playoffs were around the corner, and I wanted that fun back. It didn't help that Webs was a shadow of himself lately now that Lily was playing in Hamilton.
I never thought I would say it, but I wanted Lager and Weber to get back into the prank game, if only to loosen all of us up again. I would never give them shit again for doing too many pranks. I just wanted things to go back to normal. Hear laughter in the locker room and have it be less about the wins and losses.
It was weird how only a couple of small changes could have such a huge impact on team dynamics.
But we needed to figure shit out. There was no way I was going to go out early in the playoffs just because we were all a little on edge.
I wouldn't lie, niggling in the back of my mind was the feeling that things had been weird with Renee. She'd been withdrawing and not saying what was on her mind. I was starting to think something was wrong in our relationship, but I was damned clueless about what was going on. If things hadn’t been getting so uptight in the locker room, the rink would have been my haven.
I was crouched over tightening my skates when I saw a piece of paper flit to the ground. I inspected it. It was a picture that you would get from a doctor's office showing a baby. It had the name Renee Weber along the side, and the date was prior to her coming out to Cleveland.
There was no way it could be real. The whole fake pregnancy was my idea. She only agreed to it because I asked her to, but why would she have that? Did it mean she was using me in the process of pranking her brother? Who the hell had she slept with prior to me? Did we have the real deal? Was the sonogram even real?
It sure as fuck looked real.
"What the hell is this?" I looked straight at Weber who was standing in front of his locker room stall. He pulled off his shirt and threw it onto the top shelf.
"You tell me." He was looking straight at me. "I found that while cleaning up Renee's room."
"I thought we talked about this at bowling." I was sure he remembered that conversation well enough. "She's not pregnant. It was a prank that I came up with."
The look in Weber's eyes was similar to the one he had right before he was about to punch me. I kept my guard up, expecting the worst from him. Thankfully, his fist never balled up. "So, how do you explain this?"
"I don't know."
"Renee's been acting weird lately, especially since she got back to Regina. So, I want to know the truth once and for all. Did you fuck my sister?" He was livid, but I didn’t think he was going to hit me yet.
Crap in hell. There was no good answer for him. He had to know what we were up to when she didn't come home those last two nights she was in town. I was just as clueless about this fucking sonogram and whether there was a kid in play. Renee was being weird with me on the phone. I didn't know if she had a guy back home and had decided to go back to him.
"You had to know we did," I said finally.
"I don't mean when she was just here." He came up to me. If I hadn’t sidestepped, he would have tried to ram me into my own stall. He did put his hands on my shoulders. "I mean that night over All-Star Break."
The night he didn't remember. The first night that the two of us hung out one on one and I exchanged numbers with Little Weber. Of course, he meant night.
I stared my best friend in the eye. He had to see both my sincerity and the fact I wasn't actually afraid of him. "Dude, we didn't do anything except chat after we put your drunken ass to bed."
"So who's the father to this kid?"
"Hell if I know. She's been weird with me too."
He eased back. He was still pissed, and I couldn't blame him. "So, you honestly know nothing about this sonogram?"
"I don't. But you can be damn sure that I'll be asking her about it tonight." I needed to know what was up with it. Was she playing me? Was I going to be footing the bill for someone else’s kid?
As Weber eased back, he must have put on his captain hat. He said, "Well, we better get out on the ice. Don't want to be late."
"True. So you better get your ass dressed." I grabbed my bucket and headed out to the ice. I had a shit ton of questions for Renee when we talked.
Renee
I'd been feeling fatigued for the past few days. I should have been beyond any jet lag, not that I’d ever had jet lag visiting Colton before.
It had dawned on me two days ago that we never did get the Plan B pill. This could be the earliest stages of pregnancy. I had no idea how Matt would react to the idea of really being pregnant, so I'd been short with him on the phone and quick to end the call.
Quite frankly, the whole idea of being pregnant freaked me out. Utterly and completely. I knew there was a chance it could happen since at least one of our birth control methods had failed. But how the hell did that happen on the first night we hooked up? I wasn't even sure of my feelings for Matt beyond lust and knowing he was an awesome friend.
At least, he'd been calling me every day for the past week. He was making the effort, and I loved him for that. It made having a long-distance relationship feel feasible. The one thing that felt completely impossible was long-distance parenting. Why the hell did the condom have to break?
Matt called at the usual time, but instead of his smiling face, I saw a look of consternation. So I asked, "What's up?"
"I could ask the same of you, but would you honestly tell me what's going on?"
Woah. Where was this anger coming from? I’d thought things were cool between us. Sure, I'd been ducking calls lately, but it was nothing to warrant this. "Just got home from work, and I'm tired."
"And when were you going to tell me that you're pregnant?"
Shit. How did he even know about that? I wasn't even sure that I was pregnant. I knew I should go out and get a test or schedule an appointment with my OB/GYN. It didn’t help that, thanks to the birth control I was on, I didn’t always have regular periods. "Probably when I knew something for sure. Like after going to the doctor's office."
It wasn’t like him to be such an asshole. I felt like I
was going to cry, but I didn't want to do it in front of him.
He kept looking at me, not saying anything. Did he believe me? Did he think I was just a liar? What did he think he knew?
"Like you haven't been to a doctor," he snarled. Then he hung up on me.
I had no clue what was going on or what he thought he knew. If I hadn’t been on an emotional roller coaster, I would have called him back. But it seemed better not to talk to him.
Why was he so upset that we might be pregnant? If he was going to act this way, it might be better to break up. But that seemed too rash. I was definitely going to duck his calls for a bit, though.
Matt hanging up on me was devastating. It seemed like he didn't care about me at all. He for sure as fuck didn't trust me. How could we have a long-distance relationship if he didn't trust me? More to the point, how the hell were we going to parent a baby together without some trust?
It was all so fucked up.
Abortion was out. That wasn't right for me.
If I went to Colton, he would kill Shoresy. While I was upset and confused by Matt's behavior, I didn't want him dead. The baby needed a father. Even if he was a professional hockey player who wouldn't be home a whole lot, even if we lived in the same area.
God, I hoped that this was just a momentary slip-up in our budding relationship. Where we just took some time to cool off. Then the two of us would need to talk about the bomb that I was positive I would have to drop.
11
Matt
It had been a week since I hung up on Renee. Since then, she’d refused to pick up my calls. I tried to call her every day. It was upsetting because I’d seen how her face completely changed when I asked her about being pregnant. She clearly thought she was.
I couldn't figure out if she was being equally as honest about going to the doctor. The way she exclaimed that she was waiting to see the doctor before telling me anything . . . I wanted to believe her.