I don’t have time to dwell on the fact Dad and I made up some ground between us last night. Or that he and Ares did as well because his sad face makes me think someone died. I bolt upright in bed, panic seizing my entire body in a chilling instant.
He curls his arms around me, squeezing me against his chest, not letting me move even an inch. “It’s okay,tesoro. Easy. I’m sorry for startling you. I need to go.”
“Oh my goodness, it’s game day!” My words are muffled against his shoulder as he chuckles.
“Back to back games in Minnesota. I’ll be back Sunday afternoon, okay?” He pecks my nose, a scowl creasing his forehead. “I don’t want to leave you.”
That makes me giggle. My guy is falling for me as much as I’m falling for him, but nothing will ever take the top spot from hockey in his affections. It’s something I knew before we even started talking. The moment I looked him up online was the exact point where I discovered I’d forever be the mistress in his life.
Oof. I flex internally at my poor choice of words.
Part of me wants to grab him and make him say goodbye properly, and the other is acutely aware that Dad is on the other side of the wall, probably listening.
“I’ll see you Sunday, okay?”
He nods, clearly as unhappy about the situation as I am, not least of all because his penis is standing at attention in his pants.
He kisses me in a promise of things to come, on Sunday, after a weekend of being apart. I groan as he leaves, rolling over in bed, pulling the quilt over my head. Maybe I can lie here and sleep the weekend away and my aching girl parts will forgive me for not jumping his bones.
About fifteen minutes after he’s gone I bolt upright in bed once more. The Raccoons have lost most of their away games so far this season. They’ve had a few injuries and bad luck, but the unspoken belief from Ares, and okay, me a little too, is that it’s because I’m not there after the games for him to… blow off steam. What can I say? His goaltender superstitions are rubbing off on me.
Ha. Rubbing off. I should have rubbed him off this morning before he left. Maybe I can take one for the team and help him out this weekend somehow. A grin stretches my face as I spring out of bed to grab my case from the bottom of my closet and disconnect my phone from the charger.
Unlocking it, I open my underwear drawer. I didn’t even get to hide a pair of undies in his kit bag. I push a button on the screen, her name is the first contact in my phone, and I hit call.
Jamming the phone between my ear and my shoulder, I start tossing clothes into the bag. I’m sure I won’t need many, but I’m a girl, which means I pack thirty-five pairs of underwear for a two-day trip. It’s perfectly logical, even though there’s every likelihood that bringing thirty-five pairs of underwear will mean that Ares steals another pair, or twelve, from me.
“Hola, amiga. ¿Qué lo qué?”
“Athena!” A sudden wave of panic engulfs me as I realize what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks I’m actually doing.
“Sí. Did you call the wrong number?”
I stand totally dumbstruck.
“Eloise?” Her voice sharpens. “What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing. It’s fine. I’m fine. I just…” I just what? Wanted you to help me get to Minnesota today so I could do dirty things with your brother after his game as a good luck charm for the team?
“Eloise? Eloiiiiise. Talk to me, Goose.”
“It’s a stupid idea.”
She snorts. “All ideas are stupid. What makes them not stupid is whether or not they work out.”
That makes a weird kind of sense that I don’t have time to dwell on. “I need to get to Minnesota. Today.”
Silence stretches on the other end of the phone. I’m starting to think the call has dropped, but when I clear my throat, she starts laughing.
“You want company?”
“Y-you want to come with me?”
She crunches on something. “Sure. I have nothing planned this weekend. Why wouldn’t I want to travel to another state to deliver my brother’s girlfriend so he doesn’t lose back to back games against the Snow Pirates?”
I can’t help the gasp that escapes me. “I… I…”
“I might hate the game, amiga, but I love my brothers. I know all their stats. And Ares…” She whistles. "He sucks when he’s not around you. You’re in his head.”
