“Okay,” I exhale slowly. “So… what do I do?”
“When you get home on Monday night,” Rhiannon says with a comically straight face, “sit on his face.”
“What!?” I choke out, sitting upright.
“Sit. On. His. Face.” She enunciates each word like she’s giving me a prescription for a new type of therapy, her tone deadly serious.
And even though she’s the only one here who’s aliteralsex therapist, all I’m focused on now is how we went from a PG-13 dry humping session with some fingering tothatin record time.
“No! I need… something easier. Like a warm-up. To ease intothat.” I’ve never even sat on a guy’s face before. I wouldn’t know where to begin.
Rhiannon smiles wickedly. “Fine. Then offer him a blow job.”
I blink at her, trying to process the casual way she just tossed that out. “Okay,” I say, exhaling through my nose like I’m about to go into battle. “I can do that. I like giving blow jobs. I’m good at them. It's just a... job. I can do jobs.”I’ve been doing jobs my whole life and this is just one more.
“Perfect,” she says, clapping her hands. “So, what did it for you? Biceps, abs, or hands? You know I love a strong pair of biceps.” She mimes the squeezing motion in the air.
“I’m all about the abs,” Eden chimes in.
I think about what it is about Boone that caught my attention in the first place. What made me feel safe enough to lower my guard. What’s been pulling me toward him from the very beginning.
Yes, he’s handsome. An athlete with a body shaped by years of discipline and devotion to being the best at what he does. But with Boone, it goes so much deeper than a pretty face and a nice body. I’ve dated attractive men before, and none of them ever felt like him.
“I think it was the way he looked at me like I was precious to him. The way he spoke to me with so much sincerity and interest. How it felt like he wasyearning for me.”
Rhiannon smiles. “Well, you know what they say, ‘a man who yearns is a man who earns.’” She stands up. “If he keeps that up, I bet he’ll be earning soon.”
Eden snorts while I roll my eyes.
“Alright you two, I’m going to take a nap while Piper’s asleep.”
I pull her into a quick hug before she turns to leave, her socked feet sliding softly over the hardwood as she goes. I stay where I am, heart thudding, caught somewhere between being completely overwhelmed by everything ahead of me and strangely, undeniably excited to see Boone when I get back to the city.
Chapter 20: Boone
“You ready?” Cain asks me, his voice all business as he adjusts his three-piece suit.
His dark hair is slicked back, and he’s wearing glasses I’ve never seen him wear before. I guess this is the lawyer version of him. The guy who’s here to help me get my life and career back on track. It’s a strange thing to realize he’s also my brother-in-law now.
I nod, tugging at the knot of my tie. “Yeah. Let’s get this over with.”
We head into the courthouse, and I try to ignore how stiff and formal I feel. It’s not like wearing a suit is foreign to me—post-game interviews usually call for one—but today, standing in front of a judge instead of a camera for an interview, it feels different.
It feels... wrong. Like I’m pretending to be someone I’m not. I'm not the bad guy this judge thinks that I am, and I guess that's thewhole point of everything Rosie and I are doing. To prove that to him and the rest of the world.
The press conference we left Brookhaven for on Saturday went better than I expected. There were a handful of reporters, a few questions tossed my way about the open case and what happened that night at the bar where the photo was taken.
It wasn’t technically a legal interview, and I wasn’t under oath, but I answered honestly. I said what actually happened, and why that photo looked as bad as it did.
After I finished my portion, the attention shifted to Lochlan and Ty who were called in for support. Thankfully, they spoke about my leadership on the team and the way I carry myself off the ice being the same.
It was essentially a proactive character witness moment ahead of today’s hearing. And when we left, Cain told me it was exactly what he’d hoped for going into this meeting today. I just wished Rosie had been present.
I fuckingmissher.
“Boone Tremblay!” the judge’s voice booms. We’re the only ones in here today so there’s a little less pressure, but I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the feeling of being in trouble.
I step forward.
