"That sucks."
She looked up at him and smiled a real smile for the first time that night. "It really does."
He kissed her forehead and continued to stroke her back.
"You're awfully wise for someone your age," she said.
"Age is just a number. It's not something to get hung up on."
"Easy for you to say."
"What do you mean?" he asked carefully.
While they had never outright discussed the age difference between them, she had definitely hinted at it before.
"You just aren't what I've come to expect from young hockey players."
"We aren't all the same."
"I know," she said quickly, looking into his eyes. "I just meant that . . . I don't know. You're so easy to talk to, and you listen. Most men my age are still shitty at that."
He ran his hand through her hair. This was a problem he couldn't fix, and if this ever was going to go anywhere, she would need to get over it.
"Is that why you never let yourself think this could be anything besides hooking up?" The sincerity was evident in his voice, and the breath she took before answering told him her response would be the same.
"It's not the only reason, but yeah, it's a big one."
"What if I want this to be more?"
"Murphy . . . " she said carefully.
He kissed her forehead again. "I don't want an answer tonight, your mind is all over the place. I just want you to know I'm open to this being something real. No. Open isn't the right word. Iwantthis to be something real."
She bit her lip and nodded.
"But if that is something you don't want, then I'm good with this too," he said before smacking her ass, trying to lighten the mood.
They were interrupted by the moans coming from the other side of the wall.
"Is that . . . ?" she asked, looking up at him tentatively.
"Sven."
And with that, they both laughed.
"I should probably get back to my room. Can you imagine if anyone caught me here in the morning?"
"It wouldn’t be so bad," he said as he handed her some of her clothes.
As she got dressed, he stood and slipped on his athletic shorts. Once she was dressed, he walked over to her andwrapped his arms around her. She slid her arms around his waist and reached up to kiss him.
"Good night, Murphy."
"Good night, Boss."
16
HILLARY
