Our first set ofaway games were scheduled for a Saturday and Sunday two weeks into the season, making for a long weekend of travel to go along with them. I was used to the early morning bus rides on a Saturday. A lot of the guys got a few extra hours of sleep during the drive, and I usually used the time to catch up on schoolwork or review game footage of the opposing team. But this time, I was hoping to hang out with Sophia.
Coach had said her last few game writeups had gotten more views than any of our previous writeups. Coach and her editor claimed this boost was because of the more personalized stories she submitted between the games. As a result, she’d been heavily pushed to attend this weekend trip. When I’d asked her about it the other day, she hadn’t seemed that bothered by the request and said the quiet time alone in her hotel in between games would give her time to work on her novel. I teased her about the fact that I was clearly inspiring her just fine if she intended to work on her book, and she’d laughed and swallowed my dick in response. I was pretty sure that was confirmation, but I’d forgotten to ask.
The only thing Sophia had complained about was having to be on the bus at five-thirty in the morning. Ackerson’s wouldn’t be open yet, so she’d have to go without one of the iced lattes she seemed to be utterly addicted to. It was a good thing the owners’ son was becoming addicted to her smile, because I’d called Kelly, the manager, who was always in by five prepping things and asked her to have an iced vanilla latte and a muffin ready for me to run in and grab just after five.
I spotted Sophia as soon as I got to the arena. Most of the team was standing around or tossing bags underneath the large Coach bus idlingin the parking lot. She stood off to the side, looking politely interested as Devon talked to her.Her interest is clearly fake, her smile is too tight. When it’s real, her cheekbones become more defined.
She registered me approaching and her cheekbones popped as her lips turned upward, giving me a burst of joy at being the source of her real smile. Devon looked between us as I greeted him before holding the coffee out to Sophia. “Good morning, Hawaii. I thought you could use one of these.”
Her lips parted in surprise as she looked at the latte and then back at me. “Did you really go all the way to Ackerson’s to get me this?”
Devon slowly meandered away, looking like a sad puppy as he realized Sophia was no longer showing him any interest, but rather beaming at me.
“It’s only a few blocks,” I said. “Besides, you’re about to be trapped on a three-hour bus ride with a bunch of hockey players. Even without what I’m gathering is a serious addiction for you, you shouldn’t be without caffeine for this.”
She chuckled and took it from me. “This is really sweet. Thank you.”
I held out the bag with the muffin in it. “I wasn’t sure if you’d eaten, so I grabbed a blueberry muffin. If you don’t want it, I’ll just let these guys fight over it.”
Her piercing blue eyes studied my face for a second. “I’d love it. I’m starving. I threw a banana in my bag, but then I tossed my bag in there.” She pointed to the storage area under the bus that was now full of hockey equipment.
“Do you want me to try to find your bag?” I offered.
“No, thanks.” She took the muffin. “This will be great.”
She looked me over again. “You didn’t get yourself anything?”
“Nah, I don’t drink caffeine on game days. Just made a quick trip over there for you.”
She eyed me suspiciously. “And what? Made it yourself? They open at six.”
“The manager starts prepping at five, so she made it for me. I called her last night and asked her to have it ready to go.” I trailed off as her eyes started to bore a hole into me. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you think I have some ulterior motive. You’re my friend. You needed caffeine. I have behind-the-scenes access to the exact caffeine you prefer. I got it for you.”
Her face expanded into another cheek-defining grin.And I’m definitely addicted to that smile.
“Well, thank you, Leo. I really appreciate it,” she said.
The players started to load onto the bus as Coach shouted reminders about bus etiquette—mainly that he didn’t care how tall we were, we could all sit two per row and he didn’t want to hear any grumbling about it. It was like he’d done this with us once or twice before or something. I could honestly say that as captain, nobody would try to stop me from having a row to myself if I wanted it, so I wasn’t usually involved in the arguments that broke out over who had more space last time.
“After you, Hawaii.” I gestured to the bus. I tossed my bags into the undercarriage before following her into the already-packed bus. Devon was bringing up the rear behind us and I spotted two rows still open. Sophia settled into the first open row about halfway down on the left and I thought about my options for only a split second before plopping down next to her.
“You’re not taking the last open row?” Devon asked, stopping in the aisle and leaning over me.
“Nope, it’s your lucky day, man. It’s all yours.” I dropped my backpack between my legs, clearly settling in.
He raised an eyebrow and moved on, not one to argue if it meant his six-foot-four frame was going to be able to stretch out for the morning. Devon preferred to sleep during travel anyway. Now, Sophia and I had three hours to hang out when sex wasn’t an option, something I was looking forward to even more than our usual time together.
Chapter Nineteen
Sophia
Leo sat down nextto me just as I took the book I’d planned to read on this trip out of my purse. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow and spoke in a low voice. “You know I’ve already agreed to have regular sex with you, Leo. You don’t have to pretend you want to sit with me for a three-hour bus ride.”
“Pretend?” he asked, speaking quietly as the corners of his lips dipped. “Has it not yet become clear to you that I like hanging out with you?”
