AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Umm, that’s not—” This is maybe the first time I’ve seen Ben truly at a loss for words. “Let me ask you this. How many of my teammates, then and now, have you hooked up with?”
“Zero.”
He knows this.
A nod. “But would it have been all the same to you if it had been one of them that night… just so long as it was someone from the team?”
Eww.
“Okay.” I sit back, settling a little. “So not the first bunny.”
That smirk. Glad he’s amused.
“Sorry, but nope. Not the first bunny…” He winks. “Just the first.”
* * *
Ben
I sleep until seven thirty. Pretty late for me, but I’m still up before Lara. Still grinning over yesterday. Last night. And the idea that had me springing out of bed when I could totally have justified another thirty minutes or so.
Whatever, I got enough sleep to last a lifetime being out last season.
I brush my teeth, pull on my running gear, and head out into the humid morning air.
My mind is as calm as it ever gets, and the sounds of my feet hitting the pavement have me drifting into a kind of Zen state. I feel good.
Good about Lara, good about my nut, good about this three-day skills camp Bowie and I signed up for in Arizona later this week. Unlike the team training camp that happens just before preseason, this is a private thing where we’ll be working on specific skills development with an elite coach and a handful of defensive guys from around the league.
It’s hard work, but I’m looking forward to sharpening my edge… and seeing a few buddies from other teams in an environment where we aren’t at odds.
So yeah, it’s all good.
About a block from home, I pop into my favorite convenience store. The owner is this woman who’s got to be seventy if she’s a day, and every time she sees me, she starts chatting me up.
She knows who I am. Teased me about putting my “big, strong hockey muscles” to good use more than once. I usually end up helping her with something heavy and getting an earful about her grandkids.
“Well, good morning, gorgeous.” She puts down her copy of the Trib and leans both elbows on the counter, giving me a once-over that would make a mere mortal blush. “Come by to beg me to run away with you?”
“Hey, Mel. I would, but you keep turning me down.”
Her lipstick is pink and kind of all over the place, no doubt thanks to her shaky hands. But at the moment, it’s definitely curving up at the corners. “I like a persistent man. Proves his devotion.”
“Got it. Keep trying.”
I hit the coolers first, grabbing an energy drink and then a can of wannabe tea that Lara used to like back in high school. Why not, right?
I set the drinks on the counter, and she lifts a penciled brow. “You don’t drink this crap.”
She’s right. Not even sure Lara still does, but she’ll get a kick out of seeing it anyway.
“Couple more things. One sec.” I find what I’m looking for in the second aisle and set them beside the drinks. “That’s it.”
She hums, ringing me up. “Steppin’ out on me already?”
“Never. This is for a friend. That’s all.” It is. But the way I’m grinning, I can see why Mel doesn’t buy it.
I skip the bag and make the trip home, saying hi to the few people out this early on a Sunday morning. Lara’s still sleeping when I get back, so I set my haul on the counter and pull a platter from one of the cabinets she wouldn’t be able to reach without me.
