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I chuckled. “Look, honestly, the biggest reason I don’t want word to get out is that this is just casual. We’re having a good time. He’s got this situation with Joey and I’m trying to finish my PhD, so it’s been nice to have someone to talk to. For both of us.”
Lucy looked skeptical. “You realize that’s what we all say, right? It’s casual. It’s just sex. I don’t know where it’s going. Friends with benefits. Oh, it’s no big deal. Those are literally the lies we tell ourselves when we’re in denial.”
“I don’t even know if I’m staying in St. Louis,” I said slowly. “I’m assuming I’m going to get my PhD by summer, but then I have to find a postdoc job and it’s probably not going to be here. In fact, I’m thinking of interviewing at Johns Hopkins in New York City.”
They all stared at me.
“And you guys know how hockey is,” I continued. “Boone could get traded anytime. Then what would we do? How would that work? So in our case, it’s exponentially complicated by my work.”
“Love is always complicated.”
“Seriously, it’s been two dates,” I protested. “Love isn’t anywhere on our radar.”
“Famous last words,” Nina murmured.
“But the sex is good if you’re letting him leave you love bites,” Sheridan teased, her eyes gleaming.
“The sex is…really good.” We could talk about sex. Feelings were a lot messier, but sex was easy.
“Don’t dismiss a guy who rocks your world in bed,” Hadley said. “Sex isn’t everything, but it’s hard to find a guy who knows what he’s doing.”
“That’s for sure,” Nina said, nodding.
“I’m going to have to wear a scarf on Sunday,” I moaned. “My dad will spot a hickey a mile away.”
“I’ll text you the name of a concealer that’s like magic,” Sheridan said. “It’ll cover it right up.”
“Thanks.”
“Coach Jolie, will you play air hockey with me?” Joey came running up to me, his eyes bright with excitement.
Thank god.
“Sure.” I got to my feet and let him take my hand. “Duty calls,” I said as he dragged me away.
It was fun to have girl talk but also a little scary because these women all knew Boone. If they told their husbands about us, word might get out and I really didn’t want him to be the focus of my father’s ire. And I had no doubt Dad would be spectacularly unhappy if he found out I was dating one of the Mavericks, even though I was happier than I’d ever been.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Boone
“You haveto cycle the puck back.” Coach Gizzard pushed a button on his remote, freezing the video on the TV screen in the Chicago training room. “You see, right there. That’s a missed opportunity.”
I nodded and glanced at Nash, who was grimacing. Our five-man first line was in a pregame meeting with Coach Gizzard, reviewing film before tonight’s game. The missed opportunity Coach had just pointed out had been Nash’s, and Nash didn’t make many mistakes.
Being on the first offensive line with Wes and Nash carried a lot of pressure. They were both exceptional players. I’d worked my way up to the first line, and I often wondered how long I’d be able to sustain playing at this level. After this meeting, I had to get my hand iced because it was sore from getting boarded hard in a home game the night before last.
“Hudson consistently does this,” Coach said, now talking about one of the Chicago players so we could hopefully take advantage of his weakness in tonight’s game.
I was still listening, but my mind was wandering. To Jolie, because this was the first day since our first date that we wouldn’t get to see each other, and to Joey, for several reasons.
He’d gotten to talk to Emma on the phone yesterday, and it had been a mixed bag. He was thrilled to hear her voice, but he’d hit her hard with questions about why she couldn’t come get him. The hurt in his little voice had gotten to me; I could only imagine how hard it had been for my sister.
Fifteen days in and she was doing well, but she missed her kid. She’d stayed strong while talking to him but broke down when it was just me on the phone. I’d assured her he was in the best of hands, and then I’d had to leave again today.
Joey had begged me to stay. He had a good time over at Wes and Hadley’s, but that didn’t make me feel any better when he was crying for me not to go.
“There’s not one reason we shouldn’t dominate this game,” Gizzard said. “Dominate. Especially with Stanton on the IR.”
