She chuckles. “I’m sure.”
“What’s that mean?” I sit on my bed with my back against the headboard.
“It just means I’m sure there’re plenty of puck bunnies more than happy to spend time with you.”
I shrug, even though she can’t see me. “You’re not wrong, but in all honesty, random hookups have never been my thing. Not saying I’ve never done it,” I add quickly.
“You saying you’re into monogamy?” she asks.
“Basically. I mean, I date, but if I can tell it’s not going anywhere, I end it.”
It’s the truth. I’ve had a couple of long-term relationships, but my last one ended a few years ago. Since then I’ve dated casually, but never more than five or six dates because by that point I was pretty sure it wasn’t leading anywhere and life’s too short to waste my time—and hers.
“I can respect that,” she says.
“That mean you’re still going to go on a date with me?” My heart speeds up while I wait for her answer.
“Yes, I’ll still go out with you. I just have one request.”
“Okay…”
“Can we have our date somewhere private where we aren’t going to have our picture taken and loaded online for all to see?”
I really feel like something great is possible between the two of us and if that’s the case, eventually we’re going to have to go out in public, but there’s no sense pushing her now. I fear it will only cause her to bolt in the other direction.
“Sure thing. Now we just have to pick the day and time.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“How does Tuesday evening sound? I have the day off.”
“I’ll have to check my schedule.”
“You forget. I know your schedule because it mirrors my own.” I chuckle. But realize that one good thing about dating Kelsey is that it’s literally her job to follow my team around.
In the past, all the travel I do during the season has proven to be a point of frustration for any long-lasting girlfriend.
“You say that as if I don’t have a life outside of work.” Her voice is teasing, but I realize she’s right.
“How ’bout this then? You text me after you’ve checked your schedule and if Tuesday doesn’t work, then we’ll pick a different day. But we will pick a day, Kelsey.”
Her laugh is musical. “Don’t worry, I always make good on my bets.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“You do that.”
The door to my room swings open, and my teammate enters. I hold my finger up to let him know to be quiet for a second. I don’t think that Kelsey would like the thought of someone else overhearing our conversation.
“Listen, I’ve got to run but get back to me as soon as you know.”
“Will do.”
I hang up the phone and look over at Karl.
“Pretty late for a phone call, isn’t it?” he asks.
“It was just my business manager. He wanted to go over a few things with me and I forgot to call him before the game.”
Karl nods and strips his shirt off. “Manager, huh? Didn’t realize your business manager turned you on so much.”
My forehead creases and I glance down at my boxers where my half chub is evident. Kelsey’s throaty voice will do that to a guy.
“Fuck off.” I toss the pillow beside me at his head, and he successfully ducks out of the way.
He cackles as he heads into the bathroom, and I just shake my head. Karl has no idea who I was talking to.
I don’t want outside forces to ruin this thing between Kelsey and me before it has a chance to even start.
8
Kelsey
I knock on the condo door and stand there, nervously waiting for Brock to open it.
Turns out I was free Tuesday evening, so here I am. Wearing the new shoes he bought me along with a red A-line dress and lips that match. My hair is down and styled in soft waves and because of the lipstick, I went with a simple black eyeliner to accent my eyes.
Because I asked for privacy, Brock offered his place up for our date. I don’t think it’s a ploy to get me into bed with him. In fact, he sounded nervous when he suggested the option and even said we could have dinner brought to my place if I was more comfortable there.
But I told him his place is fine. I’m just nervous because I’ve never really been alone with him before, other than in the hallway at the Inferno arena and that doesn’t count.
The door swings open, and Brock stands there in a pair of charcoal dress pants, black belt, and black button-down with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up. His shaggy hair is curled up at the ends and looks like it might still be a little damp from a shower. He looks good, he smells good, hell, everything about him so far is good.
“You look… phenomenal.” His eyes burn as they take me in.
I stick my right foot forward. “Do you approve of the shoes?”
“Yes, they’re sexy as fuck.”
My cheeks heat and he opens the door further and gestures inside. “Come on in.”
“Thanks.” I smile as I walk in past him and I investigate the space to see what it tells me about the man who lives here.
It’s pretty much what I expected from one of the newer condo buildings downtown. It’s definitely bachelor, but it’s not sad and barren the way you usually picture them. It’s more in his choice of decor—lots of dark, moody colors but rather than cold steel or something, the space is accented with warm wood pieces and actual art on the walls.
“You have a lovely place,” I say once I’m in the center of the living area. It’s open to a large dining table on one side and the kitchen on the other.
“Thanks. It’s too bad you’re here when it’s dark, otherwise you can see out to the water.” He gestures to the massive floor-to-ceiling windows in front of me.
“I’ll bet the view is gorgeous.”
“Sure is.” Something about his voice causes me to turn over my shoulder to look at him.
He’s staring right at me, not the glass wall behind me. Again, my cheeks heat.
“Can I get you a drink? Wine?”
“Wine would be great.” I smile.
“Do you prefer white or red?”
“Surprise me.”
He nods, walking over to the kitchen area.
I step up to the glass wall and look down at all the twinkling lights below. The city looks beautiful in the dark. For the first time since I arrived, I realize that there’s jazz playing softly in the background from a turntable. I enjoy the sultry notes and turn back to look out the window.
“Here you go.” I turn and Brock is holding out a glass of red wine.
“Thank you.” I take the glass and bring it to my lips. “Mmm, it’s good.”
“One of my faves. It’s from a distillery down in Napa.”
“I’ll have to get the name from you.”
He takes his own sip from his wineglass and then the awkward silence cues.
“Did you want to eat now or wait a bit? I got a few things brought in from Cole’s new restaurant. We can eat now while it’s hot or wait and I can warm it in the oven later.”