Chapter Twenty-Nine
Aiden
Losing fucking sucks. On top of losing, all these damn commentators keep saying shit about my new girlfriend. Then Maksim showed me what people are saying about her in the comments of our picture. I’m so over all this shit. I want to just take Saige and run away.
But instead, we have another game tonight and Saige is coming over to throw wine in my face. She said she’d even do it naked like I like to make sure it’s extra effective.
I’m out by the pool when she comes to the side gate. She’s wearing her bikini with a coverup.
“Strip, woman!” I call.
After going out with the guys, I ended up back in the hotel room early because going out didn’t do what it used to for me. I called Saige and we talked until Maksim’s drunk ass came back to the room. She made me feel better with her pictures and her teasing. I’m a lucky man, no matter what a bunch of strangers on Instagram say.
She grins. “You first.”
“You sure you want to go with that approach?”
She giggles and walks over. “With you? Never.” She bends down to kiss me, and I pull her into my lap.
“Want to go skinny dipping?” My hands slide up her torso to grab her breasts.
“Tonight. After you kick some Texas ass,” she says.
“I love when you talk dirty.” I capture her lips with mine and slide my tongue in. “I missed you so damn much.”
One night. One night and I craved her like a junkie looking for his next hit. To have her in my arms right now is pure happiness.
She snuggles up to me on the lounger and my hand dips under the elastic of her bottoms so I can cup her bare ass. We lie there talking about nothing really but basking in each other’s company.
Later on, she’s naked in the bathroom and I strip down and step in the bathtub.
She shakes her head and drips some wine down the front of herself. “Want to lick it off first?”
She steps into the bathtub with me, and I capture her waist and pull her into me, bending my head to suck on her tit. Just as my tongue is swirling over her nipple and my hand reaches for her other one, the wine splashes on my face. Her chest vibrates with laughter. I run my soaked hair and face between her breasts and her laugh grows deeper.
“I thought I’d surprise you like the first time. Maybe that’ll do the trick.”
I pick her up and her legs wrap around my waist before I take her to the shower.
I’m in the locker room and there’s a bit of a gloom over everyone after losing in California. Even Maksim isn’t hanging out in his jockstrap like usual. Most of the rest of the guys have resorted to their old faithful superstitions. Tweetie’s eating Taco Bell, Ace didn’t wash his socks, and so forth.
Ford sits down next to me, his head in his hands. I don’t really want to talk about losing. So what, we lost a game? It happens. Pick yourself up and fucking play with all your heart tonight.
“Looks like I’m the winner,” Ford says quietly.
I lean in closer. “What?”
“First one came back as me, but my dad insisted on a DNA test with one of his people too. I’m the dad. I’m gonna be a fucking father.”
I blow out a breath. “And what does the mom say?”
“She says nothing right now. I think she wants money.”
“And what are you gonna do?”
He stands up with fire in his eyes. I hope he takes that attitude out to the ice with him tonight. “Oh what, you assume I’ll do what my dad thinks? Shell out a few mil to get her off my back?”
I hold up my hands because I have no clue what Ford will do.
He points at me. “I’m gonna be a fucking great dad. That’s what I’m gonna do. He or she will want for nothing, including a relationship with their father.”
I smile and stand, patting him on the back. “That’s the Ford I know.”
He looks at me with wide eyes. “I’m scared shitless though.”
I laugh. “I think you’re supposed to be.”
“I’m never scared.” He shakes his head as though he can’t believe it.
“I think it’d be weird if you weren’t scared.”
He doesn’t respond and ventures back to his locker and gets dressed.
My phone dings, so I pull it out.
Saige: Same seat as the first game. How’s my superstitious man doing?
She’s making fun of me, but just like my teammates, I’ve pulled all the superstitions out of the bag. I had a roast beef sub before the game, had her throw the drink in my face, I got her in the same seat as the first game she saw me.
Me: Tell me Tedi is next to you
Saige: LOL … she is.
I mean, if we lose tonight and I’m not on my game, it means I’m on my way back into a slump. With only a week until trade deadlines, I might as well pack my fucking bags.
The team heads out onto the ice and all I see is Saige on the other side of the glass. I want to hop over the glass and kiss her, but I settle for tapping the end of my stick on the glass and winking instead.
We do our usual warmup skate, and the familiarity of being in our home rink makes me feel as though we’ll kick Texas’s ass. There’s no way we’re losing again.
During the first period, we’re unstoppable. I’ve scored two goals with Ford assisting. He’s on fire tonight from the adrenaline of finding out he’s going to be a dad, I guess. Maksim has helped our goalie keep the puck out of the net multiple times. We’re all in rhythm and everything’s going great.
In the second, Texas scores, but we’re still up by one.
In the third, I get slammed into the boards and all I can think is that I’m going to have to ask Saige to nurse me back to health with a blow job after the game. I’m not lying, the hit hurt like a motherfucker. Texas ends up stealing the puck after that hit and ties the game.
Revenge being the name of the game in hockey, Maksim slams the guy who slammed me into the boards on the next play and Tweetie shoots me the puck. I skate it down the ice, my eyes on the net, ready to score, but for some stupid reason, I glance at the stands and see Tedi talking to Saige. Saige gets up and walks up the stairs, and I lose my concentration and wonder where she’s going. It all happens in a split second. Ford’s screaming at me, and I slap shot the puck and it doesn’t even come close to the net. That could’ve been our winning shot.
With little time on the clock, Texas secures the puck and their left winger does some fancy move to get by Maksim, scores, and the clock buzzes at the same time. Texas fucking wins. Unfuckingbelievable.
The minute we’re back in the locker room, I pull out my phone and message Saige.
Me: You okay? I saw you leave.
Saige: Yeah, I’m sorry. Restroom.
I call bullshit because she told me once she held it for an entire game because she didn’t want to miss me scoring. I doubt she’s that bored with me scoring this early in our relationship.
Me: I’ll be out when I can.