Penny:That’s Halsey. Eli was saying he’s easily the sweetest on the team. Cares the most. He gave some of the best advice to him and Silas when they were struggling with their relationships. I’m not surprised at all that he didn’t want you on the couch.
Blakely:Yeah, he is the sweetest. I’ve actually been surprised by how he’s taken this. And also at how well he’s communicated things too. We were going back and forth about how he injured his leg and whose fault it was. He stopped us both and suggested we just apologize to each other and leave it at that. It felt so . . . grown-up.
Penny:He’s a smart man. Maybe this one bed situation will lead to something else. **wiggles eyebrows**
Blakely:You realize I’m only a few weeks out from breaking up with my longtime boyfriend and that by no means am I even close to ready to date someone else, let alone think about it.
Penny:I know . . . but he’s so yummy.
Blakely:Do you tell that to Eli?
Penny:No way, his man ego isn’t strong enough to handle such a sentence.
Blakely:Didn’t think so. Okay, I’m exhausted, I’ll see you tomorrow.
Penny:See you tomorrow.
When I enter my room, I notice the deflated air mattress is gone and the sheets and blankets are folded nicely in the corner. God, the guys really are the best. Hard to believe these strong, intimidating hockey players have actual lives outside of the rink. Like I’d never expect just from the look of them that they would care this much about each other, and I know that’s probably an awful thing to say. But they cleaned up this whole place while Halsey was getting treatment just so we didn’t have to deal with it when we got back.
They aren’t just teammates, they’re a family.
Reminds me of my college days when Kenzie and I did pretty much anything for each other. These boys have the same kind of bond.
I move around my room, throwing on a pair of cotton shorts and a simple tank top before heading into the bathroom where I finish getting ready. I’d normally wear something else to bed, something silkier—I just like the way it feels when I’m sleeping—but I don’t want to show up for our sleepover looking like I’m ready for a dirty romp. Don’t want to scare the man.
I brush my teeth extra long, not wanting to breathe potato salad on him, go to the bathroom and throw my hair up into a silk scrunchie before heading to his room where I find him sitting on the bed looking at his phone.
Extra pillows in hand and a bottle of nerves in my stomach, I step into his room and say, “All set?”
He looks up from his phone and nods. “Yup. Wasn’t sure what side of the bed you wanted.”
“Whatever side you don’t want and, I swear to God, if you argue with me about it, I’ll hurt your other ankle.”
He smiles. “I’ll take this side, closer to the bathroom in case I need to use it in the middle of the night.”
“Probably smart.” I look at his shorts and T-shirt and ask, “Is that what you normally wear to bed?”
“No,” he answers, “but I also didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“The only thing that will make me uncomfortable is if you’re not comfortable, so strip down to whatever you sleep in.”
He thinks about it for a second and just shrugs as he pulls his shirt from over his head—the only way men know how to take off a shirt—and shimmies out of his shorts, leaving him in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs.
Okay . . . so Penny is very right about the whole yummy thing because . . . wow.
I know I’ve seen him without his shirt on before, but now that he’s in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs, it brings our friendship to a whole new level.
I mean, look at those thighs.
I’ve never been a man-thigh kind of girl, but my God, his are thick and his calves and his knees and . . . oh my God, Blakely, stop looking at the man’s legs.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Lean back and I’ll get the pillows situated and drape the blankets over you. Does that work?”
“Yeah, that works,” he says as he sets his phone on the nightstand, then leans back and moves his legs up onto the bed.
Because I’m apparently an absolute pervert, the first thing my eyes go to is his crotch where I catch an obvious bulge. It’s not the kind of bulge where he’s turned on, just his everyday package and . . . wow. It’s there . . . a bulge of all bulges.
It’sreallythere.
