"And you're underestimating my glutes." I pat my thighs again and meet his gaze steadily. "Hop on. Let me win my cake."
He looks at me for one more long, considering moment like he's running calculations, like he's deciding whether this is worth it, like he's fighting the fact that some part of him, beneath all that careful grumpiness, is actually enjoying this.
Then slowly he moves toward me before sinking down onto my lap.
Chapter 6 – Seth
Awkward, missionary pose while fully clothed in a hotel gym with my new teammates just down the hall. That’s what’s happening right now.
I take a deep breath and slowly lower the rest of my weight down onto Bri, straddling her in some bizarre, absolutely questionable, arrangement. The last thing I need is someone walking in on us. I’m sure a photo of the new goaltender for the Mayhem dry humping a stranger in a hotel gym would do wonders for my clean image.
Okay… here we go.
“Hold onto my shoulders to steady yourself,” she says. Her eyes are more determined and focused now.
I gently place my hands where she asks, my fingers practically swallowing the delicate frame of her body. She’s not tiny; she’s definitely strong, but compared to me, she looks small underneath me, and the bones in her shoulders disappear under my massive, goaltender hands. And then—without any sort of warning—she plants her feet into the ground and launches herhips upward, sending me jolting toward the ceiling like an inexperienced bull rider.
“Holy shit, woman,” I bark out, scrambling to steady myself so I don’t fall backward.
Bri grins, completely unfazed by my reaction. “I told you. You’ve underestimated my glute strength. Now keep your feet off the ground so that these next few reps count. I’m not letting you cheat by shifting your weight.”
She lowers me back down like I weigh nothing, only to do it again. And again. And again.And again.And it’s not just the fact that she’s lifting me—it’s how she’s doing it. With so much controlled power, her muscles shifting beneath her skin, her body effortlessly thrusting my weight into the air like she’s been training for this moment her whole life. And I—I don’t know where to look now.
Her eyes, fringed with dark lashes behind those sexy-as-sin black rimmed glasses? Her lips, soft and pink, parted in concentration? The tiny bit of sweat that’s forming on her smooth forehead? Or maybe her goddamn pelvis, where my cock is currently being pressed into her with every single thrust, causing my brain to short circuit and every nerve in my body firing at once.
I’ve been an athlete my whole life. I know strength when I see it. And this is some kind of inhuman display of muscle control and power. What I’m feeling beneath me is more than a distraction. I can’t think straight. I can’t see anything buther.
By the time she finishes and sets me back down, breathing hard, I stumble away like I need the distance, like I need a second to regain some kind of sanity. My heart is racing, my head light, and Bri looks completely unaffected by what just happened. She blows a loose strand of hair from her face and wipes her palmsdown her thighs as she grins up at me, still leaning against the bench.
“That was ten. I didn’t time it, but I’m pretty sure I was faster.”
“Well, damn.”
She pushes to stand and then moves to the opposite bench, grabs the plate of cake she’d been eating from earlier and walks back to me, holding it out.
“You look like you need this more than I do. Plus, I already ate half.”
I hesitate for just a moment before conceding, because yeah, she’s right. I probably do need this more. My life is a fucking mess. I don’t know what’s going on in hers, but something tells me it can’t possibly compare to the disaster that I’ve been dealing with.
Dead wife. Living ex-wife who I never should have married. Single dad to a tween daughter who is dangerously close to full teenage rebellion and crushing on boys. A new, professional hockey team where I don’t feel settled yet. A nanny that I still need to hire. And now, I’m in a hotel gym with a stranger getting hip thrusted when I should be bonding with my teammates.
Yeah. I need this damn cake.
It takes only two bites to consume what was left of the angel cake, and damn was it worth it. Soft, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth perfection—served to me by my very own angel in a tight little black dress and a mischievous grin. I toss the empty plate in the gym trash and sink back onto the bench, hoping this isn’t the end of our strange little moment. I might not have much good in my life right now, but something about being around her makes me feel ten times lighter. Bri sits too, settling onto the bench opposite me, her knee bumping against mine playfully.
I should call it quits and go find my teammates. Walk away. But there’s something about her that I need a little more of. Something good. Something bright and warm and easy that I haven’t been around in a long, long time. Maybe it’s wrong to want more of it for just a bit longer. But I need her positivity as much as I needed that cake.
“Why are you here tonight?” I ask, eyeing her. “Besides for the free angel food cake.”
She grins. “That’s not enough of a reason?”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “You’re not one of my teammates girlfriends, are you?”
She leans back, looking up at the ceiling. “No. But maybe you shouldn’t ask so many questions. Maybe you should just roll with the unpredictability of it all. A magical minute with a stranger. Life is all about these kinds of rare moments of spontaneity, don’t you think?”
“Life is made of moments where you get bench pressed by a random guy in a shitty gym?”
She smiles and her green eyes brighten a little more. “Yeah. It’s beautiful. It’s unexpected. It’s…romantic.”
