Landon snorts. “Bend them over the boards, Abby? You have no idea how hard it would be to take everything off, all just to get the bottom half naked. It’s not only pants you yank down. There arelayers. Tight shorts first, the cup locked in, then leggings and shin guards. Plus our socks are pulled up over those and taped so nothing moves, andthenthe hockey pants go on top. By the time we’re dressed, our bottom half is basically armor. Getting out of all that isn’t quick, and it’s definitely not subtle.” His mouth quirks. “So yeah, while hot in theory, in reality you’d need patience.”
“I have a lot of patience.”
“And what is the reason you watch hockey?” he asks as we walk out of my room.
“I lied, there are two reasons,” I answer, and he looks over at me with a smirk, so I slap his arm. “Not you and your brother, if that is what you’re thinking. The warmups, those are good foreplay, and the violence—it turns me on.”
“Glad to see nothing has changed with your experience at the boy aquarium.”
“Stop deflecting—I want to know more about Tate.”
“Okay, but first let’s eat before I get hangry and wither away into nothing. Then we’ll take your photos.”
When we reach the kitchen, I pull a stool up to the kitchen counter while Landon grabs meat and salad out of the fridge.
“So what do you want to know about Tate?” he asks while chopping a tomato.
“Everything you want to share,” I answer with a shrug.
He tells me about when they would play against each other in college, about Tate’s injury and how he’s now playing for the team Tate should have represented. Now I can understand the hate part of the equation; Landon is living the life Tate wanted. He also tells me about what happened in the locker room and at the bar, all while maintaining eye contact.
“So,” he asks when he is done. “Was that TMI?”
“No. But I’m just imagining how hot it would have been to be a fly on the wall before I give you a reply.”
Landon flicks a loose piece of lettuce at me.
“So, I definitely think you need to fuck him to see if all this has just been built up over the years, and to make sure you’re not holding on to the past. Doing it as a masked man would be ideal. Think about it: if you do this and feel nothing after, at least you’ll know without risking your place on the team. There is no way his family wouldn’t take his side if things between you fell out.”
“You’re not just a pretty face after all.”
I scoff—I hate being called pretty. It took me a long time to come to terms with two hot hockey players like the Kane brothers wanting me. I might seem confident on the outside, but deep down I am self-conscious about the way I look.
“Abby,” he growls, knowing exactly where my brain went, and a tiny piece of me hates how much he still remembers.
“What? I’m not classically pretty. My nose has a slight curve from being broken, my bottom teeth are not straight, and let’s not even start about my lop-sided tits.”
Landon pushes a plate with my sandwich on it toward me, and he even cut it into four small triangles. Nothing says “I don’t like you” like giving someone a sandwich that is not cut into four triangles. Everyone knows that.
“I happen to remember loving saggy sally thank you very much.”
I throw my head back and laugh. “Oh god, I can’t believe you remember that. I much prefer perky patsy, thank you.”
“You are beautiful inside and out, Abby, and I feel like shit that I haven’t been around to remind you. You don’t need to be perfect to be beautiful—you need to be yourself.”
A lump forms in my throat. Landon always had the right words to make me feel beautiful, and Levi always worshipped my body in a way that made me feel worthy. They are two sides of the same coin, and I didn’t realize how much I missed them.
“Do you think Levi will let me peg him?” I blurt out in true Abby style, using my words to deflect how I feel.
Landon’s mouth falls open, and then he snaps it shut, pausing a moment before he speaks.
“Please add that to the list of questions that you need to ask him, and pretty please do it while I’m in the room. But seriously, I think the idiot would do anything if you asked. And Abby, I know what you just did then, and I mean it when I say I thinkyou are absolutely stunning. Anytime you are in a room, I can’t take my eyes off you.”
Damn him and his beautiful words. I take a bite of my sandwich so I don’t have to say anything. Taking a compliment is something only drunk Abby can handle. Sober Abby, not so much.
Chapter Thirteen
Levi
