I’m the first player after Ares to step out into the rink. Every single game. And as soon as my blade hits the ice, the energy of the home crowd seeps into my bones. There’s nothing like it.
Within the first three minutes of play, my teammate Raffi Shaw takes a hit so hard the whole arena holds its breath.
Shaw has barely hit the deck when McLeod, our trainer, is out on the ice faster than we can blink. We like to tease him that he’s a distant relative of the old Calgary Flames trainer Bearcat Murray. He was known for how fast he could get to a fallen player, and McLeod comes a close second. He crouches over Raffi’s motionless body on the ice, a scowl furrowing his forehead.
It’s not long before Raffi is stretchered off the ice, and the tension in the barn reaches suffocating levels. It’s never a good thing when a player goes down, but when it’s one of your own it hits like an enforcer against the boards.
The Viper gets a penalty, play resumes, and we have our asses handed to us in a 3-0 loss. But none of that matters, because all I want to do is get back to my girl, hold her close, and forget all about how fucking fragile life can be.
CHAPTER16
Edith
(JANUARY 30TH – DAY 34 POST OP)
Ihate this.
It’s been two weeks since Apollo’s face was buried in my pussy, and I’m aching for a do over. Stupid hockey and stupid school have kept us apart, and I. Hate. It.
He’s so busy. All the freakin’ time. The Raccoons have had back to back away weekends, first in Kansas City, then they played Notre Dame. If it’s not at hockey training and games, it’s papers and studying, and if it’s none of those, he’s working with his father. I can’t even complain. I mean, I will, because it’s all I fucking do these days. It’s not like I have a packed schedule since I’m still laid up with this recovering fucking foot.
But before the accident, that was my life too. It’s why our friendship worked so well together. We understood the demands of each other’s lives. It sucks when I’m laid up with a broken leg and can’t do the things that bring me joy.
If one good thing has come out of barely seeing him for the past two weeks it’s that I haven’t been distracted by his toned chest and chiseled jaw every day. And I’ve been able to do some low-key exercises without him giving me shit about it.
I’m lying on my living room floor, sweat trickling down my temples, staring at the ceiling, my core burning from all the crunches. Bacon snorts quietly at my ear.
“She’s coming, piggy.” I scratch behind his ear as he plops down beside me.
I have shared custody of the pig. He’s litter box trained so he’s not too much work. Who even knew that was a thing? I had no idea you could litter box train a freakin’ pig!
Eloise is on her way to pick him up for the next few days before he comes back to visit me for a sleepover. I thought it was a ridiculous idea at the time, bringing a pig to visit to cheer me up, but Bacon has been the best therapy animal I could have asked for.
He listens to all my depressive soliloquies and doesn’t judge me. At least not out loud. He’s also the most high maintenance pet I’ve ever known. His wardrobe is more extensive than mine, and I’m a performer. Was.
“Knock, knock!” Eloise’s voice rings out around the room. “Sorry. I didactuallyknock, knock, but I guess you didn’t hear me.”
This is what happens when I daydream about my best friend’s washboard abs and grumpasaurus smolder. Eloise is with one of the other camera-winning-smile de la Peña brothers. I don’t know how she ever leaves his orbit to live her life.
If Apollo wasn’t the prince of darkness, and flashed his pearly whites at me more often, I’d be a quivering wreck of pure need. We didn’t just open a window between the two of us, we kicked down the damn door and detonated the walls. He’s not consuming my every thought, but it’s getting close the more time I spend within this apartment.
“Hey, Eloise. How are you?” I push up from the floor with a grunt, pulling myself up to stand with the arm of the couch. It’s not easy to do with two limbs in casts, but Apollo was right about one thing, my other arm and leg are stronger, so things aren’t as hard as they could be. I try to remind myself of that, at least three times a day when things feel shitty. So, every day.
Eloise doesn’t move to aid my movements. She learned that lesson the hard way last week when she stepped forward to help, and I snapped her face off. Understandably, she’s been a little skittish with me ever since. Can’t blame her. Even Pen feels like she’s drifting. I tried to talk to her, apologize for yelling at her, but I’m not sure it stuck.
Eloise slides her backpack from her shoulder to the floor before crouching down to scratch Bacon’s tummy. “I’m okay, thanks. How are you doing?” She pins me with a piercing stare. There’s no sympathy in her gaze, but concern weighs heavily on her face.
Shrugging, I brush it off. “It depends on the day.” With Apollo gone so much, my sleep pattern is fragmented. I never thought I’d be the girl who needs a snuggle buddy to sleep, but apparently I am. Not just any snuggle buddy either. When she was around, Penelope tried to spoon me a few times over the past couple weeks, and it didn’t work. Like, at all.
Turns out, my best friend has magic, trauma fighting arms. My gaze drifts past Eloise to the half played chess game on the table behind her. If I was only craving sex, or the company of a warm body, I could probably booty call someone from one of those apps online. But I’m not. I’m yearning for one very specific person, and I’m still a little torn about that. Fine. A lot torn. What will things look like when I’m back to my own life and neither of us have time for the romancing?
“You don’t have to talk to me about it, Edith. But it’d be a good idea for you to talk to someone professionally.” Her fingers drift to the scars on her face. “Ares found me a really great trauma specialist to talk to. She’s helping. If you want, I can—”
Holding up my hand, I shake my head. “Thanks, but I’m good.” I’m not good. She knows it, and I know it. I have no idea why I’m lying to her face, but to her credit she doesn’t outwardly react.
“Okay. Well, when you’re ready.”
I nod, and she stands, picking up her bag. “I brought you this month’s book club book.”
