“Huh?” I thought he would sleep in here with me again—it felt nice. “Umm, yeah, sure. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, goodnight, Bode,” he says as he picks up our dinner tray and leaves the room.
The click of the door is harsher than usual. I wanted to ask him to stay and hang out longer. This is ridiculous; it’s not like we didn’t just fall asleep last night next to each other. My brain starts to race, and I start having another coughing fit. Bryce knocks and then walks right in exactly like I was hoping he would.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You still don’t sound good.”
“Yeah—cough—still congested some—cough—and really cold.” At least I’m not fibbing about being cold.
He leaves the room and comes back with more water and meds. “I turned the heat up a little,” he says, pulling his shirt off and tapping my side. “Make room. I’ll stay for a little while longer.” He carefully slides under the covers far enough away that we’re not touching.
A little while longer turns into hours after we both fell asleep, my back against him, only to wake up with my head on his bare chest and limbs slung over his body. He has his arm wrapped around my back with his hand resting on my hipbone beneath my T-shirt. His body wash intoxicates my senses, reminding me of him coming and the husky groaning that left his body.
I let my cheek brush against his pecs and love the way his hair tickles me. He doesn’t stir. I push a little further, letting my lips gently caress his chest. I steal another chance to touch him, pressing my lips firmly around his nipple, slightly opening them to taste him before pulling away. He tastes nothing like a woman—woodsier and saltier from sweating—and I like it. There’s still no movement from my attempts to wake him, but I swear he stopped breathing for a moment. And what the hell was I going to do if he did wake up? Nothing is making sense right now, but I’m not scared because it’s Bryce.
Deciding to abandon any further attempts, I snuggle up to him and enjoy the comfort of his body.
The daylight is brighter than usual this morning, and my bed is empty, which makes it worse. Sleeping next to Bryce two nights in a row felt really fucking good. It’s different from with Amber. His hard body grounds me. Whether he’s hanging all over me or I’m lying on him, I feel secure. I think I did the same for him—when he seemed to be having a rough dream, my twenty-second rule worked to ease him even in his sleep.
He’s nowhere in the apartment, which is abnormal for him this early in the day.
Me
Hey did you leave early for work?
Wow, I sound like a needy partner.
Me
I just wanted to thank you for taking care of me. You’re the best!
Bryce
No problem. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow. Working tonight.
My stomach turns a little at his response. Normally that kind of response wouldn’t bother me, but…
I try to move on with my day, calling my coach again to let him know I’m feeling better and will be back today. When I get to the rink for open practice, the guys are more chill than the other day about my tardiness, though. There seems to be more of a crowd today.
Our warm-ups go by with minimal noise from the puck bunnies, but once I get to my net and begin scraping the crease, I hear the tapping of nails on the glass. I look and see a couple bunnies batting their lashes at me.
“Geez, Foster. Someone must’ve let out the secret that you’re finally on the market.” Mickells skates by, giving his two cents.
“Forget about any hookups now that the goalie is free to date,” Jacobs chimes in.
“Shut up and shoot me some pucks, assholes.” Several of my teammates laugh, but then the rapid fire of pucks gets me focused on what’s important.
After a grueling practice and team meeting, I shower and head out quickly before the guys make plans for me. They have a habit of coercing each other to hang out with the bunnies after practice.
Apparently, I’m no longer immune to the female fans waiting, though. I’m polite and talk with all the fans that hang out outside, even when they aren’t looking for hockey-related small talk or a signing. I may entertain them in conversation, but as soon as it switches to the ‘want to hang out’ narrative, I politely excuse myself. Even if I was interested, I’m not ready for casual hookups. And with whatever is going on with the way I feel about Bryce, I’m definitely not ready to explore anything with anyone else until I figure it out.
It’s been three days since I last saw Bryce in my bed. He either comes home late after I’ve fallen asleep, despite my attempts to stay awake, or he texts and says he’s staying at Calisse’s house and to not wait up for him. He’s avoiding me, and I’m not sure why. Did he get mad about waking up with me wrapped around him?
Me
Hey I was going to make tacos tonight. Are you working? Should I make enough for you?
Dots pop up right away and then disappear. It takes a few minutes for them to appear again.
