“Two drinks it is, then,” Mia said as she got the attention of the server.
By the time Kennedy was on her second glass of wine—Mia had ordered a bottle, the sly vixen—it was clear that Casey was not the problem. Kennedy had always been a lightweight. Now she was the embodiment of loose lips sink ships. As in relationships.
“But no sex? At all?” Mia gawped at Kennedy. “For a whole season?”
“That’s what he said. Something about focus. All part of his training regimen.”
“Cal tried that for a few weeks after …” She glanced Tara’s way. “I think he wanted to punish himself because he and Tara had that weird breakup.”
“You mean when he forced me to dump him at Levi Hunt’s wedding? The rascal.” Tara seemed very amused by this, which was good because otherwise, Awkwardsville. If Kennedy had the story right, after the Cal-Tara breakup, Mia had asked her brother’s best friend to train her for a shot at the Olympics—and a shot at another man. Sounded complicated, but probably no more so than Kennedy’s own living situation.
“Too right he should take a hit in the sex department,” Tara was saying. “Of course that didn’t last long as soon as you started wowing him with your moves on and off the ice. So how do we get Reid over his hang-ups and onto the Kennedy train?”
Kennedy held up a hand. “That’s not the goal here. Of course I’m attracted to him.” The memory of him emerging from that hot tub was burned into her retinas and playing on a loop. “But this isn’t just a case of hot, horny roomies with no choice but to consummate their lust. There are brains involved.”
“Hearts, too,” Casey said wisely.
“Yes—no! Not hearts. Not souls. Nothing in the chest area.” She waved at her breasts, then realized that this didn’t help the point she was trying to make given that her breasts, or more specifically, her nipples turned into bullets in Reid’s presence.
Nipples were always the first to know.
She came at it from another tack. “It’s not like whatever that dude said when asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest?” When all she received was a collection of unfocused stares—everyone was on their third glass by now—she said, “Because it’s there. That’s what the guy said.”
Mia squinted. “So you’re saying that proximity alone shouldn’t be enough to dictate how your genitals are used or not used in this situation.”
“Precisely! If you were to ask me ‘why do you want to ravish Reid Durand?’ the answer shouldn’t be ‘because he’s there!’ That’s ridiculous. It should be because there’s a connection, an attraction, a buzz whenever we’re in a room together.”
“And is there?” Casey eyed Kennedy over her glass. “A connection, an attraction, a buzz?” She emphasized buzz to the point Kennedy looked around for a nearby hive.
“Yes! But it’s probably only because he’s put it out there. Like a challenge. Behold, look at my muscles and hot scowl and cute dog. Do not touch!” Did she sound frustrated or was that the wine talking? “It’s just that I’ll be gone soon and this feels like a missed opportunity.”
“For boning,” Sadie said.
More than that. She felt a pull toward Reid unlike any guy she’d ever met. Maybe if they gave in to their attraction, she could treat him like any of her other on-the-road conquests. Place him firmly in her rear view instead of wondering what if.
“I can’t believe you’re only here for a few more weeks,” Mia said, her smile fond but sad. “A lot of clients and their humans are going to miss you.”
“And I’ll miss them. The dog-walking thing was only supposed to get me by for my few months here. I didn’t expect it to take off.” Or that she would enjoy it so much. She’d also started adding more personal errands for clients to her to-do list. “One of the players—Tate Kaminski—even asked me to help him with his grocery shopping. Apparently apps aren’t good enough. He needs someone he trusts to feel up the mangoes.”
“He’s recently divorced, right?” Tara asked as if she didn’t know the exact details of the settlement.
“Watch out,” Mia said. “Tara would love to give Tate a shot at feeling up her mangoes.”
“Mangoes? These babies are in the cantaloupe range!” Tara plumped her excellent rack, drawing appreciative cheers from the table. She pointed at Kennedy. “But seriously, that personal assistant lark can be good money. Ask Sadie.”
“You do that?”
“Used to for Allegra McKenzie of Punani Power fame,” Sadie said. “I do not miss that job but I did enjoy the free dildos. Before that I did concierge services for several clients. It was kind of fun, actually. Bigger in LA but definitely taking off here, especially if you have a needy and wealthy client base.”
“Hmm, like a team of multi-millionaire athletes,” Mia said with a wink at Kennedy.
Concierge services? That was a real thing? She had tried a number of jobs, and as much as she enjoyed yoga and teaching, there was something about her current gig that spoke to her. She liked the busyness of it and the notion she was truly getting shit done, even if it was other people’s shit. It didn’t hurt that she felt so comfortable under Reid’s roof.
In his arms, the lure of the open road faded.
“She’s already got one player on the hook,” Tara said. “Now she could have her pick of them.”
“Well, I’m living with one of them and he’s not interested in what I have to offer.”
Tara leaned in. “You two are so going to do it.”
“Tara! That is not the moral of the story. He’s hot. I’m hot. But these are not good enough reasons to be getting down and dirty.”
“I understand what you’re saying,” Casey said. “Though I’m a little worried about whether all this self-denial is good for the team.”
“She’s right,” Mia said, waving her empty glass. “What about the children? And by children, I mean, the players. These guys have killer libidos and urges up the wazoo. They need an outlet and the ice, while an excellent mistress, can also be cruel. No Rebel should be relying on the game to get his jollies!”
“Jollies,” Kennedy said with a tipsy giggle. That was a fun word, especially because it so did not apply to Reid.
“Harper wouldn’t like it,” Casey said. “She’s very much in favor of the guys taking a healthy stance to sex.”
“Do not tell Harper what you have learned here!” Mia pointed at her. “You’re in the circle and you better not break the sacred trust we’ve placed in you while we discuss how Kennedy can get inside Reid’s hockey pants.”
“But, I don’t—”
“Reid’s hockey pants? What have we missed?”
They looked up to find Erik Jorgenson, the Rebels goalie with a big grin on his face. Beside him was Theo Kershaw, one of the defensemen. Insta-famous, Kennedy had heard, as well as hockey-famous.
Mia’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “Just joking about Reid’s roommate situation.”
Theo shook his head sadly. “You mean how he’s keeping little D under wraps?”