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I hold him close to me as we both slowly come down from our post orgasm highs.

TWENTY-NINE

Nikolai

Instead of my alarm being the catalyst to wake me up, it’s rapid licks by a very small tongue across my cheek. “Ander,” I say to the man sleeping on my chest. My voice is heavy with sleep. “Your dog needs you.”

“Oh, shit!” Ander sits up rapidly, extricating himself from my arms. “It’s late. He needs to go out.”

I check my watch. It’s only seven am. My alarm isn’t set to go off for another hour, but I suppose he does keep the little dog on a schedule.

“Stay here,” Ander says as he rushes out of bed. “I’ll be back quickly. I just need to take him for a little walk.”

I rub the sleep from my eyes. “I come with you.” A walk with Ander and Shutzie on an April morning sounds nice. Plus, I’m flying today with the team to Montreal. It’ll feel good to get some fresh air before take-off in a few hours.

“Yeah, come with if you’d like,” he says, his eyes bright. It’s really quite amazing how quickly he can go from dead asleep to bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Over the side of the bed, I look down at his dog. Shutzie is wearing the exact same expression.

Once we’re both dressed and Shutzie’s leash has been attached, we head to the elevator to go down to street level and get outside. Since it’s a Saturday morning, the streets are still quiet with very few cars on the road, and the only other people on the sidewalks right now are others who are also walking their dogs.

With each dog we get near, Shutzie acts like he’s found a new friend. We have to stop and let him sniff and get sniffed by the other dog, no matter the size difference. Shutzie doesn’t care. Before we’ve even turned the corner, he’s met a beagle, a Rottweiler, and to my surprise, a Great Dane. He’s a true social butterfly. Like father, like son.

“Damn, that was a big dog,” Ander says, when Shutzie and his new gigantic friend Hades have decided that they’re tired of exchanging polite dog pleasantries.

“I thought it was horse.”

Ander lets out a full laugh then turns around to get another glimpse of the dog. “That is an accurate description.” Once he turns around, we are met with another dog and its owner rounding the corner towards us. “We should cross the street,” Ander says. “We’ll never make it back to the hotel at this rate.”

But it’s too late. The owner of the dog has already stopped, letting their Yorkie sniff and play with Shutzie. At least Shutzie has finally found a new friend in his weight class.

The dog’s owner points her finger at Ander. “Hey, I know you,” she says, her brow furrowing as if she is trying to place him in her past.

I can’t help wondering if maybe they’ve hooked up. I know how it is with some of the single players. And truthfully, she’s quite pretty. Long blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail, blue eyes, clear fair skin, and quite petite. She can’t be more than five feet tall.

Ander for his part looks completely confused. Clearly, she doesn’t spark a memory for him, so she must know him from something else. Probably a fan. Though it would be weird for a Blizzards fan to be here in Toronto. Also, I’ve just played here, and she has no clue who I am.

“And you’re Nikolai Ivanov,” she says, pointing at me now.

So much for her not knowing me.

I hold my hand out to her. “And you are?”

“Right,” she says, looking sheepish. “You two would have no reason to know who I am.” She slides her slender fingers against my palm and shakes my hand. “My name’s Cassidy. I’m a huge hockey fan. My brothers used to play and it’s a whole thing in my family. Well, you two know what I mean.”

“I definitely know what you mean,” Ander says, smiling from ear to ear as she shakes his hand.

“That’s right! Your brother plays, too.” She looks around us. “Is he here as well?”

“No.” Ander laughs. “If I know my brother he’s still in bed sleeping off last night’s win.”

She glares at Ander. “Rub it in, why don’t you?”

“Oh. Right.” Ander grimaces.

“He is sorry,” I say for him.

“No, I’m not.” Ander continues to laugh and shakes his head.