She ran a hand along the well-used blanket thrown over the back of the couch and took in the furnishings. The couch looked comfortable even though she knew differently from the previous evening, but the recliner next to it was obviously Court’s favorite place to sit as she relaxed and watched television. It was leather, but the seat was well worn. She sat in it and leaned back with her eyes closed, her hands running along the arms of the chair.
“You’re in Aunt Court’s spot,” Ryan said, causing her to open her eyes and lean forward. Lana saw Court standing behind him, Alice in her arms. Ryan pointed at her and looked at Court. “She’s in your spot!”
“She’s okay, buddy,” Court told him as she got them situated on the couch.
“But you don’t let me sit there.” Ryan scowled at her and crossed his arms.
“I told you I’d let you sit there when you’re older, didn’t I?” Court was kneeling in front of him and her hands were on his knees as she spoke. He nodded, but it didn’t look to Lana as though he was happy about having to agree with her.
“She’s new,” he said quietly. “I’m not.”
Lana decided she should probably get up and hopefully make it easier for Court to defuse the situation. She walked past and met Court’s eyes as she disappeared into the kitchen. She hadn’t considered she might not be welcomed by the kids. As far as they were concerned, she was an interloper. They probably loved the time they got to spend with Court, and she was taking it away from them. She’d decided to just go home when Court joined her in the kitchen.
“I should go,” Lana said.
“What? No.” Court shook her head and closed the distance between them, her hands resting on Lana’s hips. “He’s okay now. The movie’s playing, and it will all be forgotten before Elsa even creates Olaf.”
“Are you sure?”
“He’s just not used to having to share me,” Court said, sounding reluctant to admit it. “He’s never seen me with anyone before.”
“Never?” Lana knew she sounded skeptical, but she didn’t believe it could be true. Court had never brought a girlfriend around? Ever? The realization should have made her uneasy, but instead, it simply caused a fluttering sensation in her chest. She couldn’t think straight with Court looking at her as though she intended to rip her clothes off and take her right there against the kitchen counter.
“Never,” Court said before kissing her lightly on the lips. Her hands went under Lana’s shirt and moved up her sides. Lana bit back a moan when Court’s eyes darkened. “Do you think they’d notice if we disappeared upstairs?”
“Don’t tempt me.” Lana laughed and pushed her away, even though all she wanted was Court’s hands on her. Everywhere. And her lips. Jesus, her lips were amazing. She shook her head to try to gain some semblance of control. “You’re bad.”
“But you like it, right?” Court grinned, and Lana thought it was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen. She took Lana by the hand and pulled her toward the living room. “Come watch a movie with me.”
Lana started out sitting next to Court on the couch, but Alice wormed her way between them before curling up and falling asleep in Lana’s lap. Lana missed this—having a small child in her arms. Not that she wanted another one. Eric was all she needed, and she was too old to be thinking about raising another one.
Both kids were asleep before the movie was over, just as Court had predicted. Court picked Ryan up, and Lana followed with Alice, to take them into the spare bedroom upstairs. Once they were tucked in, they went back to the living room. Lana looked at the clock and saw it was just before nine.
“Want to make out?” Court asked. Lana laughed at the way she waggled her eyebrows.
“I’m not sure it would be wise,” Lana answered as they resumed their seats on the couch.
“Come on. I’ll make it worth your while.”
“I have no doubt.” Lana took her hand and held it in her lap, her thumb moving back and forth across her skin.
“Hey, are you okay?” Court put an arm around her shoulders and urged Lana to lean against her very solid body.
“I’m better than okay,” Lana said. But was she? It wasn’t wise to be feeling things for Court. They really needed to talk about what was going on between them. It wasn’t a conversation she was looking forward to.
“Will you stay the night with me again?”
Lana sighed and pulled away from her. She needed her distance in order to say what she needed to say. She met Court’s eyes and shook her head.
“I can’t. I have to pick Eric up at work in about an hour. I can’t make him stay with my mother again.” Although he did say it would be okay…no, this is not going to become a habit. “I have to be a responsible parent.”
“Maybe this weekend, then?”
“We should talk,” Lana said, and the change in Court’s demeanor was instant. She sat up straighter and looked away from her. Lana took her hand again and didn’t let her pull it away. “Listen to me, Court. I like you. A lot. And I think you know I want to be with you again.”
When Court looked at her, Lana nodded and smiled. She touched Court’s cheek with the back of her hand, then ran her fingers through her hair.
“But?” Court asked, sounding like she didn’t really want to hear whatever else Lana had to say.
“But I’m not going to be here—in Kingsville—forever.”
“I know.”
“I need to know you’re okay with it, though.” Lana had the fleeting thought that she was speaking more to herself than she was to Court. She’d be wise to heed her own words.
“I am,” Court said, moving closer to her again. “I know you’ll be gone before summer. You have a life in Chicago. I understand. But none of it means we can’t have a little fun while you’re here, though, right? I like spending time with you. I know the ground rules. I’m okay with them. I just want to make the most of the time we do have. Unless it isn’t what you want.”
“No, I do.” Lana breathed a sigh of relief. “I only wanted to lay all my cards out on the table. To let you know where things stand.”
She leaned in and touched her lips to Court’s, lingering far longer than she’d meant to. Before she knew what was happening, she’d pushed Court onto her back and was stretched out on top of her, their tongues dueling for control. Court’s hands were in her hair and she was reaching between them trying to unbutton Court’s jeans when she heard the front door open. She moved so fast to get off Court she ended up on the floor in front of the couch. Court sat up and looked behind her to the door.
“Lori, hey,” she said, and Lana wanted nothing more than to crawl under the couch and hide. Forever, if necessary. “You’re home early.”
“Yeah, he was an idiot,” she said. “Story of my life.”
The door slammed shut and Lana heard heels walking across the floor, but thankfully they receded as Lori went right into the kitchen. Court glanced down at her and mouthed sorry before jumping up and heading there after her. Lana took the opportunity to scramble back to her seat and did her best to straighten her hair just as they returned from the kitchen.
“Shit, did I interrupt something?” Lori asked, looking back and forth between the two of them. “I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to apologize for,” Lana said as she got to her feet. “We just took the kids up to bed a little while ago, and I was about to leave.”
“Not because of me?” Lori held a hand out and began to walk backward toward the stairs. “I can get the kids and go home.”
“No, really, I have to pick up my son from work.” Lana hurried to put on her coat and Court walked with her to the door. “It was nice to see you again.”
Court closed the door behind them and Lana finally let out a sigh of relief when she turned back to look at her.
“You don’t have to go,” Court said.
“I do. I’ll call you, okay?”
“Can I see you Saturday? We have a game, but maybe after?”
“I’ll be w
orking. Come by for a slice if you feel like it.”
She turned before Court could kiss her good-bye. She didn’t look back because she feared if she did, she’d change her mind and stay.
Chapter Nineteen
“Tell me what your biggest problem with passing is,” Court said to Eric when they were both on the ice Saturday morning. They had a little over an hour before her team would arrive for their morning skate. They were dressed in full pads and both had sticks in their hands.
“I just don’t do it. I mean, when we have a play set up in the offensive zone I can,” he answered with a shrug. “But when I’m skating up the ice, all I can think is shoot. Passing to someone else doesn’t even cross my mind.”
“Okay.” Court looked toward the goal at the other end of the ice and skated to the bench for a puck. She dropped it and floated a pass to him, which he easily controlled with his stick. “We’re going to skate toward the net, and I want you to pass it to me before we get there.”
He nodded his agreement and they both took off. Court slowed down and let him go, wanting to see if he was going to look for her. He didn’t. He shot the puck into the net and skated back to her.
“Is that how you always do it?”
“What do you mean?”
“You never took your eyes off the puck,” she said. “You didn’t even look to see where I was.”
“I knew I had the better angle.”
“Really? Eric, there’s no goalie. There was no angle. We need to work on your vision. You need to know where your teammates are at any given time.” Court watched him for a moment, taking mental notes as to his reactions to what she was telling him. “How many goals did you score last season?”
“Forty-two,” he answered.
“How many assists?”
“Seventeen.”
“And how many of those assists were from a direct pass, and how many of them were just an accident because you happened to touch the puck before a pass was made to the guy who scored the goal?”
He shrugged and Court sighed. She didn’t know what she’d expected from these training sessions with him, but she didn’t think he’d be a complete puck hog. She skated to the goal to retrieve the puck and brought it back to him.
“How many games did you play to get those fifty-nine points?” she asked when she stopped in front of him.
“Thirty-two.”
“Impressive. But you know, all the best players get more assists than goals,” she said, skating around him while maneuvering the puck between his feet and her own as she went. He was turning in circles watching her. “You want to make it to the NHL?”
“Of course I do,” he said.
“Then you need to learn how to see the entire ice surface, not just the narrow strip of land in front of you.” She went to one end of the ice and motioned for him to follow. They stood to the side of the net and she picked the puck up. “Follow me up the ice. I don’t care where you are behind me—right, left, whatever. Just stay behind me somewhere.”
He nodded and she tossed the puck ahead before taking off after it. After crossing the line into the opposite zone, she dropped the puck back, right onto his stick. He shot it into the net and skated to her.
“How did you know where I was?” he asked, the amazement evident in his expression and his tone. “You put it right on my stick.”
“It wasn’t hard, Eric. We’re the only two in the building.” She grinned, pleased that she’d impressed him. “When you do attempt a pass, you’re probably doing it based solely on the play the coach has mapped out, am I right?”
“Yeah.” He sounded like the answer should have been obvious to her. Unfortunately, it was, which was where his biggest problem lay.
“You can have set plays, and you can practice them until you’re blue in the face,” she said, keeping eye contact as she spoke. “But none of it matters. Because the fact is, you never know how the other team is going to react to every little move you make. And once they see you do the same thing over and over, they know exactly where they need to be in order to break up your play. Your vision of the ice isn’t only about what you can see. You need to let your other senses take over. Listen for the cues from your teammates. Take quick glances away from the puck to see how things are developing in front of you, and listen to your gut when things fall apart.”
They worked for a while longer, until the first of the Warriors made their way onto the ice. Court wanted to see him actually play in a game, because she knew seeing him in action would tell her what she needed to really help him work on. She skated with him to the gate leading off the ice.
“Thanks for helping.” He stepped off and turned to face her. “My first game is Tuesday. I was wondering if you might want to come watch.”
“I’d love to,” she said, smiling at him. “And if you’re free Thursday afternoon, maybe we can work a little more.”
“That would be great.” He nodded once before turning and heading for the locker room to change out of his uniform.
“Court,” she heard from the ice behind her. She turned to see Gail skating toward her. “Who was that?”
“Eric. Lana’s son,” she said before taking a couple of strides to join her teammates. Gail grabbed the arm of her jersey to stop her. Court sighed.
“You’re coaching him?” she asked, sounding surprised.
“Is that a problem?”
“No, I think it’s great. I’ve always told you I thought you’d be a great coach when your playing days were over.” Gail let go of her but she stayed where she was. “Are things serious between you and Lana?”
“No,” was all Court said in response.
“Are you sleeping with her?”
“Excuse me?” Court didn’t see how it was any of her business.
“Hey, chill out, okay? I’m asking as a friend. You never had a problem talking about women with me before.”
Court glanced down at her skates, feeling like an idiot. Of course she always talked with Gail about her personal life. Gail was her best friend. Who else could she talk to about it?
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You’re right. She did spend the night with me on Thursday.”
“But it’s not serious?”
“It can’t be, Gail. Her home is in Chicago. My home is here.” Court wasn’t entirely sure she’d want it to be serious even if the situation were different. It wasn’t like she’d ever been able to make a relationship work anyway. Maybe it was better if the time with Lana had a strict expiration date.
“I’m not sure I believe you’re okay with that,” Gail said. Court tried to argue with her, but Gail raised her hand as she skated away, speaking over her shoulder. “I know you, Court. Sometimes I think I might know you better than you know yourself.”
Court stared after her, but she had to laugh at herself. She knew Gail was right. Court could tell herself she was okay with the arrangement she’d made with Lana, but she also knew she was already starting to feel more than she should. Not only for Lana, but for Eric too. And it scared the hell out of her.
Chapter Twenty
The next six weeks flew by for Court, and before she knew it, Thanksgiving was only a few days away. She and Lana spent a lot of time together, and things were going great between them as far as Court was concerned. Finding time to be alone proved to be difficult at times, but they managed somehow. They’d fallen into a routine where Eric worked every Friday night and then spent the night at his grandparents’ house. Then on Saturdays Court and Lana would pick him up to take him to his hockey game.
Court even had a tense unspoken agreement with Jen Hilton that they’d stay out of each other’s way. And it truly was unspoken—they didn’t speak. At all. The arrangement worked just fine for Court. It seemed to be working great for the team as well. They were on top of their division and had only lost five games out of their first thirty.
“What are you doing for Thanksgiving?” Court asked that Saturday morning after Lana served her break
fast in bed. They were spending their last few moments together in each other’s arms before having to get ready to pick Eric up for his game.
“Nothing like waiting until the last minute,” Lana said, tickling her side and causing Court to squirm as they both laughed. “My dad will be coming home on Tuesday, so Mom is planning on making her usual feast. When I was little we never celebrated it, because, well, my grandparents came from Italy. Joey and I bitched and moaned about how our friends always had these big dinners with turkey and everything, so they finally gave in and started to do it for us.”
“That’s nice,” Court said, pulling her tighter against her body. She sighed and closed her eyes. This was only the fifth Thanksgiving since her father died, and it was still difficult for her to get into the spirit of turkey day. She did it for Ryan and Alice, but it was hard for both her and Lori.
“Why do you ask?” Lana said, leaning back slightly to see her face.
“I was going to invite you and Eric to Lori’s if you didn’t have plans.”
“You’re so sweet,” Lana said, pressing her lips softly against Court’s.
“Just don’t spread it around,” Court said. “I have a reputation to uphold, and being sweet would ruin everything.”
“Your secret’s safe with me, Courtney Court.”
“I like it when you call me that,” Court said with a grin. “I don’t know why, but I do.”
“You know what I like?” Lana asked. Court shook her head, so Lana took her by the wrist and moved her hand between her legs, moaning when Court’s fingers slid through her wet folds. “I really like it when you touch me.”
“Fuck,” Court whispered into her ear, her own arousal ratcheting up a notch or three.
“Mmm,” Lana said. “I like that too.”
“Good,” Court said as she moved to settle between Lana’s legs. “We have something in common, then.”
Forty-five minutes later, they were rushing to get out the door so they wouldn’t be late getting Eric to the arena. They took their seats and settled in to wait for the game to start. They weren’t there even five minutes before a man came and sat next to Court. He looked familiar to her, but she couldn’t place where she knew him from.
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