Chapter 12

So are you team Kane or team Toews? 

“Be good while I’m gone,” he said before I could as he kissed the corner of my mouth like he was too cool to give me a full on lip smacking smooch in front of his teammates but he squeezed my hand at the same time like he was trying to make up for it in a secret handshake sort of way. 

“I will,” I promised, as if there were any alternative. I worked, I went home. I’d probably watch a bunch of girl movies and eat ice cream. There was the promise of a girl night out with some of the other WAGs to look forward to but I wasn’t sure if he knew about that, or if he needed to. 

Was it my imagination or did he let go of my hand a little reluctantly? I watched him turn and head into the airport with his teammates and felt...relief. I rolled my shoulders and shook out my hands. It felt like I’d been holding onto a rope for dear life and I’d suddenly been yanked to safety and could let go, like all the blood was suddenly rushing into my extremities and I could feel them again but hadn’t realized that I couldn’t before.

“And so it begins,” Kelly-Rae sighed, still watching her man walk away. Duncan was talking animatedly with his hands as he and Patrick walked side by side into the terminal. He was either talking about a fish he caught or Kelly was a very lucky girl.

“What’s that?” I asked, doing my best not to smirk. 

“The worrying,” she replied without hesitation. 

“About him getting hurt?” I offered, thinking about what I’d heard about his concussion the season before. She shook her head immediately. 

“Cheating,” Dayna, Seabrook’s fiancée piped up immediately. I turned to stare at the petite brunette and she shrugged. “Fact of life I’m afraid,” she said almost apologetically, but not quite. I looked around at the other women and not one of them looked shocked. 

“Okay, maybe not this early in the season,” Julia piped up, “because the games don’t matter as much so they don’t necessarily feel the need to take it out on someone...oh!” her face fell and she reached over and touched my arm. “I’m sorry.” She didn’t say it wasn’t true, or that it wouldn’t happen to me, she just apologized as if she’d spoken out of turn. I shrugged. After all, I’d been warned. 

“It’s fine...I just thought I was the only one who had to worry,” I said quietly and was rewarded with sympathetic smiles all the way around. 

As we turned to go, the ladies now chatting about shopping and lunch, I caught sight of the Captain out of the corner of my eye. He was just disengaging himself from a scrum of reporters, looking grave and determined as always. I stopped to watch him sign one more autograph for a small, golden haired boy who he smiled down at and took the time to say something to before turning to go again which is when he looked over at me as if he’d known I was there all the time. 

His intense gaze rooted me to the spot, as if my feet were sinking into wet concrete and I had no choice but to stand there and stare back at him. His mouth twitched at one corner, as if he was going to smile but thought better of it and then he twisted his face away and with a resolute set to his jaw, he headed towards the same gate the rest of his teammates had already disappeared into. 

“Are you coming?” Julia called. I gave myself a shake and forced a smile back on my face. 

“Coming!” I called back and found that I had full use of my limbs once again and turned to follow the ladies out to our cars. 

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“Holy shit man, did you see that chick’s tits?” Sharpie looked up between the two pairs that were currently a cunt hair away from his face and grinned as I stumbled off the dance floor. “I fuckin’ love this place!” I cried before downing half a pint of something cool and bubbly. I licked my lips and then wiped them with the back of my hand. “C’mon man,” I reached for Tazer but he shrugged my hand away. “Fuuuuck man, stick up your ass much?” I laughed as I headed back into the crowded dance floor. Sure we’d lost but the game was over now. To me there was no point in brooding over it. Of course for Captain Grouchy Pants there was always more time for worrying at things that coulda shoulda woulda. 

The place was hoppin’, the chicks were hot and we hadn’t had to pay for a beer yet. This was my kind of bar. It was hot out and every chick in the place was wearing next to nothing over their tanned, hot bodies. I’d had my first threesome the first time we’d come to this place. I could totally see me pulling off a foursome...or more tonight. 

“Welcome to Miami,” a blonde purred in my ear as she poured her body up against mine. I grinned and slid my hands down over her ass. Her breasts pressed against my chest and she licked her lips as she looked me up and down in that slow considering way before she raised her blue eyes to mine and gave me a slow, sultry smile. “Is it true,” she purred in my ear and then gave my earlobe a tiny, playful bite, “what they say about professional athletes?” I gave her ass a squeeze and laughed. 

“I don’t know what they say but it’s true about me,” I promised and slid my hand up the back of her very short dress only to find smooth, toned flesh. I searched around, looking for that t-bar, that elastic at the top of a g-string and found none. “Mmm you’re ready to go,” I said appreciatively. She raised a drawn on eyebrow and smiled. 

“Anytime baby,” she purred and then licked those lips of hers. I could already see that blonde hair of hers bobbing over my dick and smiled to myself. 

“I need to take a leak, I’ll be right back. Stay here okay?” She pouted but nodded and I stumbled away from her. The club was so hot that my shirt was sticking to me and I needed another drink, even though the beers were going through me in record time. 

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Predictably it was Tazer who held his hand over my glass as I went to tip the pitcher into it. I frowned at him and then tipped the pitcher into my mouth. “You’re drunk,” he pointed out pointlessly. 

“I am and I’m about to get lucky,” I pointed out and turned to wave at the blonde in her disco ball dress. She waved back to me and pouted prettily. “What you doin’?” I grinned and peered around him. “Awww Tazer all alone,” I stuck out my bottom lip but couldn’t hold it. I laughed and took the pitcher with me. There was always a line up for the bathroom and I needed to hydrate. 

“You have a girlfriend at home.” I made a face as I turned around. Why was he following me? Guys didn’t do the group bathroom thing. 

“Yeaaaah aaaaand?” I smirked and continued on my way. Sure I’d promised to be a good boy but.... 

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her right?” I offered him the pitcher. He shook his head. I wondered if he’d had anything to drink all night. I frowned as I tried to remember if I’d ever seen a drink in his hand. Captain No Fun, in da house. 

“So you’re okay losing the bet?” We’d reached the line. It wasn’t too bad. There was only a couple guys holding the door open and a couple more inside waiting. I tipped the remainder of the cool golden suds into my mouth and then, very carefully, put the pitcher down on the floor. My head swam as I straightened up. I had a good buzz on. 

“I only lose the bet if you tell her I lost the bet,” I smiled up at Tazer who didn’t smile back, “and you’re not gonna tell her anything because what happens on the road,” I tapped the guy in front of us in the line on the shoulder. He turned around and looked questioningly at me. “Hey, guy, what haaaaappens on the roooooad,” I repeated slowly and he grinned and finished it with me, “staaaaays on the roooooad.” I clapped him on the back like he’d given me a great pass that I’d scored on and he laughed. “Hey, that’s the rule. I don’t make the rules, I just know that’s the rule,” I added and then yawned. 

“You’re drunk,” Tazer pointed out again. “You should go back to the hotel, alone, call her and then sleep it off.” I opened my mouth to argue with him, to ask him if he’d seen how hot the blonde was I’d been dancing with but I yawned again and then the room sort of spun around me. I was kinda tired. 

“You know...I am kinda tired,” I yawned again and leaned against the wall. 

“What am I saying?” Captain Tedious ran his big meat hands through his short dark hair and frowned at me. “Do whatever the fuck you want. You want me to go get her for you?” he offered and I blinked at him. Christ I must be drunk I thought as I peered at him. Was he really offering to go get that girl for me to fuck?

“You totally couldn’t pull a hottie like that if you tried,” I smirked and it was back, that look, that dark, menacing, disapproving look. 

“Faster than you could,” he growled. 

“You’re fucking on man!” I laughed and then stumbled into the guy in front of me. “Sorry man, sorry. I just...I gotta pee like a racehorse y’know?” I grinned at him and after a moment’s contemplation the guy shoved me ahead of him. “I’ll be right behind you man! I’m gonna beat you to it Tazer!” I called and then stumbled towards the urinal, snickering to myself as I contemplated watching Captain Seriously Uncool try to pull. 

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“Oh my gawd, I can’t believe I’m here with Jonathan Toews.” I sat on the edge of the hotel bed untying my shoes and clenching my teeth. This was turning into a very bad idea. First, giving in to beer pressure from Kane of all people and second, picking this red head to try and exorcise a certain woman’s face from my brain. “The girls are so not gonna believe me when I tell them about this tomorrow. Can I take a picture?”

“No,” I snarled, kicking off my shoe and reaching for my bag. I pulled the zipper on the pocket at the end of the bag and reached in. “Open your mouth,” I grumbled. 

“Oh my gawd, oh my gawd,” she squealed and clapped her hands like a little kid expecting a treat. What she got instead was a ball gag. She looked up at me with huge, terrified eyes as I pulled the band of the harness over the top of her head and secured it. 

“Tell your friends about this,” I smirked as I dragged her arms behind her and snapped a pair of handcuffs on her. 

She made a noise that I was sure was an objection, which I ignored. If she screamed later there was a dozen people that saw her leave more than willingly with me and even more people that had seen her all over like a sunburn on a newbie on a nude beach. 

I hauled her up onto her knees and put my hand between her shoulder blades, forcing her head down. She made another noise, this time it sounded angry and I ignored that one as well. 

I stared at the black lace panties that stretched across her plump little ass and bet that when she’d put them on she’d been hoping to get lucky. They were getting laid kind of panties and I knew, if I pulled that lace fabric aside she’d be juicy wet and ready. After all, she was with me because she thought that I was somebody and that being with somebody was important. That thought didn’t bother me but something else did. 

This...this sight before me, a good looking girl trussed up and ready to be thoroughly fucked should have had me excited but I wasn’t. All I could think of was Beth, sitting back at Pat’s place, waiting to hear if one of us had been unfaithful and I’d made Sharpie take Kaner back to his room, alone. 

“I’m sorry.” I picked up the key from the side table and unlocked the handcuffs. “I must be too drunk,” I added, a small attempt at being a gentleman. After all, she was a pretty girl and I didn’t want her thinking that this was about her.

I unclipped the ball gag and slipped the harness over her head. The ball slipped from her mouth and she gasped, dragged the sheet up to cover herself and then looked at me over her shoulder. There were tears in her eyes but murder too. 

“You...asshole,” she hissed like a snake. I shrugged. 

“I said I was sorry,” I repeated, though it looked like an apology was not going to make everything all right with her. Not that I blamed her at all. “I’ll go down the hall...give you some time to get dressed.” 

This little episode would no doubt be all over the internet in the next hour and then all of those bloggers would be having as much a field day with me as they ever did with Pat. 

I shut the door to the room behind me and leaned heavily against it. This didn’t happen to me. Women did not get under my skin and they never, ever stopped me from being able to do what I wanted to do. I didn’t want her in my head and I’d hardly even touched her...yet. 

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The bed was too big and too empty and I rolled over restlessly, unable to find a spot in it that would allow me to fall asleep. I could have blamed watching a dishy Colin Farrell playing a naughty vampire for keeping me awake but it wasn’t thoughts of him that had me tossing and turning. Every time I closed my eyes I saw deep dark chocolate eyes alright, just not his. 

My phone vibrated and lit up and I cursed quietly. Pat had already drunk dialed me twice, slurring nonsense once and making a pathetic attempt at rapping the second time. I rolled over and faced away from my bedside table and squeezed my eyes shut. It was kind of cute once. It was just annoying now. 

I gritted my teeth and waited for the beginning notes of “Club Can’t Handle Me” to begin, altering me that Pat was calling again, but they didn’t. Instead the sound of a robin’s plaintive twilight cry told me it was only a text. 

I lay there for a while, telling myself anything sent this late by text wasn’t important, that I could read it in the morning, but the longer I tried to ignore it, the more my fingers itched to grab my phone. I rolled over and lay on my back and stared at the ceiling. 

The way he’d looked at me at the airport kept replaying in my head. He hadn’t so much as looked at me as looked into me, like he could see that I was thinking about him. 

Did that mean I wanted Pat to fail? 

I rolled over again and stared at my phone. It wasn’t like Pat would text me and admit that he was doing something...or someone but someone else might. How would I feel about that? Would I be angry or relieved? 

I rolled back over and faced away from my phone. If Jon texted me, throwing Pat under the bus, then he would have lost as well. How would I feel about that?

With a frustrated growl I reached for my phone and thumbed the bar across to unlock it. It was from Jon and it stole my breath. 

I want you

Right now

If I was there I wouldn’t take no for an answer

I put my phone down carefully and slid back onto the bed and just started at it, like it might suddenly develop fangs and come after me. I had the sudden urge to hide under the covers or leave the room altogether as if by doing so I could escape those words and the intent behind it. 

Slowly, careful not to make any sudden moves that might get the attention of the little piece of inert technology, I slid the drawer open on the night stand and dropped my phone into it. Then I shut the drawer fast and hard, pulled my blanket over my head and started to count sheep.