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Bain’s eyes bore into mine. “I don’t buy that for a second. It’s not just curiosity. You want to go but you can’t figure out how to balance it all.”
“Okay, fine… I want to go, but it’s not about figuring out the balance. I simply can’t. I have to watch the boys when Drake travels.”
“But do you really?” he asks with enough sarcasm the answer must be evident to him already. “I mean, Drake and Brienne have resources for the kids. There’s a whole community of players with wives who will help. You could still chip in, and I know damn well that Brienne is sometimes staying home from away games to watch the kids.”
“Yeah, but—”
Bain’s fingers cover my lips. “No buts. If you want it, do it.”
It’s the same advice Danica gave me so maybe there’s something to this. Maybe it is possible for me to start back on achieving my own goals. But now’s not the time to broach it with Drake. He’s focused on proposing to Brienne and with that comes a whole host of issues with the boys. I know he wants to make sure they’re okay with it.
“Just fill in the application. What does it hurt?” he asks.
I hedge a little, my tone uncertain. “It doesn’t. Not really.”
“Then do it.”
Up until this point, I’ve enjoyed the friends aspect we explored today, but it’s been all light and fun. Now Bain is hitting on something I have deep feelings about, and while I know his heart is in a good place—and he’s encouraging me—I feel uncomfortable. It crosses over from this being sort of fun and casual. He’s giving me strong advice and while it touches me he would care enough to give it, it blurs the lines again.
I must distract. I take Bain’s hands in mine and raise them from my thighs, putting them over my breasts. I’m wearing his T-shirt again with only panties underneath—we showered together before dinner—and he wastes no time taking my cue.
His hands contract and squeeze before pinching my nipples. His eyes burn with lust as he stares at me. “You’re good at distracting.”
So he has me a little figured out.
I’ve got him figured out too.
Lifting the bottom of the T-shirt, I pull it over my head. My hands lace around the back of his neck and I pull him forward. Bain hums just as his mouth latches on to one of my nipples and liquid heat pools between my legs. I gasp as he uses his teeth, and that’s enough for Bain to surge off the couch and carry me to my bedroom.
CHAPTER 11
Bain
Despite the latehour, I’m exhilarated as I board the team plane headed to Anchorage where we’ll take on the Blizzard. We’re leaving the beautiful city of San Francisco after thoroughly trouncing the Bay Brawlers in a 5–0 shutout. This game was especially significant as they were at the top of their division and every time we can take down a top-tier team, it lets the world know that these wins aren’t flukes.
We have a team worthy of a championship.
Of course, I’m not going to get ahead of myself. We’re only halfway through the regular season. But it cannot be denied that Callum Derringer managed to put together a team that has clicked in all ways. He mined the raw and sometimes unnoticed talent, turning it over to Cannon West to shine up. The two men were featured in a national sports magazine week before last, dubbed the Dynamic Duo. And they are quite a pair, except… it’s not really a pair who’s responsible for this. The players were up in arms that Brienne Norcross wasn’t included in the formula for our success, but Drake assured us she wanted no credit. And given that the Titans’ operations have been running so smoothly, she’s going to be pulling back to manage her billion-dollar empire that is separate from hockey.
There’s no one person and no single reason for our success this year but rather a lot of good decisions made along the way. I’m hoping I’m one of those good decisions. I feel positive about my time here in Pittsburgh. It’s been two months and I’ve meshed incredibly well on the first line. I’ve formed solid friendships along the way, although no doubt I miss my buds in Phoenix.
Probably best of all has been reuniting with Baden, who was my teammate on the Vengeance. When he was injured the summer before last, it pulled that team together, bonds forming unlike any I’ve had before in my life. When Baden decided to move into coaching and left us for Pittsburgh, it put holes in everyone’s hearts. Being here with him on a team that’s bouncing back from tragedy and watching him own his new role has been the most unexpected pleasurable side effect of my transition here.
I don’t make it but five rows into the plane before I see an empty seat next to Camden. He and Hendrix are the two I’ve hung out with the most. That started as three single guys around the same age and years of play in the league who liked to go out and have fun. Hendrix has Stevie now, so I’m not sure how much he’ll be coming out with us, but really… Stevie owns a bar. We’ll probably all just hang out there.
Slumping down into the seat with my backpack on my lap, I unzip a side pocket and pull out my earbuds. I give Camden a quick glance. “You were on fire tonight, dude.”
He lifts his chin. “Thanks. Now I just got to keep it up to that level.”
You’d think this might be an awkward conversation because Camden and I play the same position. The only thing separating us is that we play on different lines. I’m on the first, he’s on the second. When Nolan Carrier was traded for me, I went right onto the first line as my stats were better than Camden’s. It’s never something he begrudged me, though, and that’s because he’s a great guy. He is, however, making it known via his spectacular game play that he’ll never stop gunning for my spot.
And good for him. That’s what makes our team better. Because I know he’s coming for me, I’ll bust my ass to stay ahead of him.
“Everything else good?” I ask, placing my backpack on the floor and pushing it under the seat before me. All the seats are wide with plenty of legroom to accommodate hockey players. I’m the tallest on the team and my knees don’t even come close to bumping the seat in front of me.
“It’s all copacetic,” Camden says, and that’s all I think needs to be said. He missed practice last week, freaking everyone out. Coach went to his house, probably expecting the worst that he’d somehow died, but Coach was relieved—and pissed—that Camden had merely overslept.
Camden filled me in on the aftermath, which included Coach West insisting he go to a meeting of the support group that formed after the crash. I can only assume something is going on with Camden and he’s still suffering the trauma from being a survivor—guilt and all—but we didn’t specifically discuss that.
