I nod and open up the app on my phone, placing an order, and feeling a little ashamed of my feeble attempt to delay the inevitable.
“What you said earlier,” Lily starts, her hand coming to rest on my chest. “What you…called me.” She turns her face up and I see a mixture of hope and fear. “Did you mean it?”
Even now, after finding out exactly how broken and dysfunctional her family is, and how her sunshine exterior hides a wounded interior, it still surprises me when Lily’s vulnerability shows. The girl I remember as a child was full of energy and bold, brash confidence. Even later on, as an adult, I never thought of her as anything but outgoing and happy. Now I know better. Now I know that, yes, she is happy and confident and outgoing, but she’s also got more than her fair share of inner demons. And sometimes, that outer confidence is a mask for the anxious self-doubt she hides.
This is one of those moments.
“Yeah, sunshine, I meant it. I never say words I don’t mean. You’re my girl. Mine.” I tuck her hair behind her ears, running my fingers over the purple strands. “I’m crazy about you. Your wild side and this quieter side that I’m lucky enough to see. I’m here and I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me.”
“You’re my boyfriend.” There’s a sense of wonder to her voice and it makes me smile.
“Yes.”
I abandon my good intentions at keeping my hands off her until after I tell her about the call from the Blaze. Instead, I wrap my hand around the front of her throat, possessing her, claiming her, and making it really fucking clear I mean what I say. “Mine,” I growl before crashing my lips to hers again. I shift us so that she’s stretched out on the couch under me, praying my fucking knee lets me do this.
I trail my lips down, tugging the neck of the jersey lower as I go, so that her tits pop free. “No bra. Good call.”
Lily’s body shakes with laughter. “I need to do laundry.”
“Nope,” I say, releasing one nipple with a pop. “That’s not necessary at all. This is just fine with me.”
I continue to lavish attention on her tits until she’s squirming under me, her hands roaming my back, pulling my own shirt up in a feeble attempt to get it off. But a knock at the door has her growling in frustration.
“Pizza’s here,” I say, standing up with a wicked grin. “I’ll save what I was doing for dessert.”
I pay for the pizza and carry the steaming hot box back to set it on the table between us. Sitting down again, I grab her feet and swing them up into my lap, open the box, and hand her a slice. After taking a bite of my own, I turn to her, only to find Lily staring at me, her untouched pizza in hand. “What?” I mumble around my mouthful of food.
“How can you… You just… Ugh!” Lily shrieks, smacking my shoulder with her free hand. She tries to pull her feet away but I’m holding them tightly.
“Feeling frustrated, sunshine?” I tease. The truth is, I’m halfway to rock hard myself. But the light is back in her eyes. She needed me to reassure her that we were good, that my feelings were real. And I don’t care if I have to do that a thousand different ways every fucking day, I will. Because seeing her smile is worth it.
I finish off my slice as my mind drifts back to the news I really need to tell her. I might be almost certain what my decision is, but I also know I’d be a fool not to consider the offer from the Blaze. Even if my priorities have changed.
“You know, I’m not the best at the whole girlfriend thing, but I’m pretty sure part of it is getting you to talk when I sense there’s something going on.”
My hand stills from moving to pick up another slice before I shift my gaze and give her a sheepish grin. “Is it that obvious?”
Her gentle smile gives me the push I need.
“I got a call from my former GM today. He wants me to fly to Vancouver tomorrow and spend some time with the team, not because he wants me back as a player, but he wants me back as a coach.”
She doesn’t say anything right away, just looks at me thoughtfully with those big eyes. It’s hard not to rush in and try to reassure her that this doesn’t change how I feel, but I have to trust she knows that. Especially after what we just talked through earlier.
“The NHL was a huge part of your life for a long time. If you’ve got a chance at that again, you have to explore it.”
I exhale. I don’t know what I wanted her to say, but I’m definitely not loving the fact that she’s pushing me to go. Still, she has a point.
“I could be happy here, coaching the Ravens. There’s potential to build something amazing with them, and it lets me be close to my family and close to you.”
Lily nods and moves so that she’s closer to me. She picks up my hand and laces our fingers together. “You’ve got two great opportunities. And I don’t want to influence your decision at all. I also don’t want you to regret not exploring something that could make you really happy.”
You make me really happy.I should say that out loud. I should tell her that staying here, being with her, that’s what would make me happy.
But she’s right. I have to satisfy my curiosity and see if being back around my teammates in a different capacity is something I want to consider.
“I have to fly out tomorrow. I’ll be gone a couple of days.”
“Then I had better not waste any more time.” Lily lifts up and swings her legs over mine, straddling my lap and circling her core down on my dick, which instantly jumps to attention. “After all, I don’t want you forgetting about yourgirlfriendwhile you’re being wined and dined by the NHL.”
