She climbed up my body and did just that. We kissed and fooled around all night until we fell asleep, her back to my chest. There were no more excuses or bullshit reasons why we couldn’t be us. To give this a real shot. I wrapped my arms around her tight and held her close, finally fucking happy that I wasn’t lying to myself anymore.
After keeping people at a distance for years, lettingherin felt right. She was the one.
It was the best night’s sleep I’d had in a long time.
* * * *
The last thing I expected to wake up to was a text from Coach saying we needed to talk ASAP. My stomach sank because here I was lying naked next to one of his daughters.Fuck.Did he find out about us somehow? We were careful, but sure, we flirted at the games. It was impossible not to.
I stirred in my bed, trying not to wake Naomi. She slept with her body pressed against my side, her head on my shoulders and her leg thrown over me like she couldn’t get close enough. I knew the feeling. I ran my nose along her hairline and pressed a kiss on her forehead, hating how the text weighed me down.
ASAP. What would warrant talking ASAP? We won big last night. Cal played less like a dick. Yeah, Coach cornered me after the game asking why I got along with Cal, and I almost told him the whole truth.
Fear clutched at my throat as my mind spiraled. Could there have been an accident? Memories of gettingthe callfour years ago came in full force, and I closed my eyes, letting the anxiety fade away. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and Naomi ran her hand over my chest.
“Morning,” she said, her voice sleepy and perfect. I tightened my grip on her and pulled her even closer to me.
“Why haven’t we been doing this the whole time?” I asked, hoping to tease her to forget about my worries. It didn’t work. My voice came out gruff and scratchy.
She looked up and frowned. “Hey,” she said, that soft word breaking whatever shield I had around my heart. “What’s wrong?”
I could lie or deflect, but that’d make me a hypocrite. I took a deep breath and rubbed my forehead. “Your dad said to call him ASAP, and my mind went from zero to fucking sixty imagining all the things it could be about.”
Her brows lowered in understanding, and she pressed a kiss against my chest. “I imagine texts like that remind you of your parents.”
“Exactly.” My throat was on fire at this point. I hadn’t talked about this, ever. “I was at practice when it happened. I fucked around with some guys, laughing, not having any idea that Ryann was going through hell. I had fifteen missed calls and texts from her to get a hold of her ASAP. That something had happened. Even now, seeing those letters together sends a chill through me.”
She didn’t say anything, but she rubbed her hands up and down my chest and held me tighter. It was the best response, and after a minute of her soothing me, my heartbeat went back to normal.
“I won’t tell you that your worry is silly because it’s not. But with the way my dad operates, hockey is everything, so my guess is that it’s related to the team.”
She’s probably right.
“I’m going to call him in the other room.” I pushed myself up and tossed on some shorts. She ogled my thighs, and seeing her blush made me smile. “You stay there.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, stretching her arms over her head and thrusting her tits out into the air. Goddamn, she was a sight.
With one last glance, I marched into the living room and called him. It rang three times before he answered. “This is Simpson.”
“Coach, it’s Michael.”
“Can you meet me at the cafe next to the rink in fifteen minutes?”
“Um,” I said, thinking about Naomi in my bed. This was all sorts of weird. “Yeah. What’s going on?”
“Rather talk to you in person. Be there in fifteen.” He hung up, and I stared at my phone, my stomach twisting in knots. What the fuck was going on?
I went back into my room and shut the door. Naomi sat up in bed with a line between her brows.
“He wants me to meet him in fifteen minutes.”
“Did he say why?”
“No, just that it’d be better in person.” I scrubbed a hand over my face and got dressed. Jeans, long-sleeved shirt, hoodie. Hat. “I need you to know that I planned on spending all morning with you in bed. Please tell me you understand this.”
“I do,” she said, her voice soft. She gave me a half smile, and I cupped her face, dragging my thumb over her bottom lip.
“I’m glad we’re doing this. You and me.”
