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“Yes, and I have the marks as proof.” I touch his face, tracing his pinched brow with my fingertips. “I don’t have any regrets, Leo. None. It was the best night ever. I was actually disappointedwhen I woke up and you weren’t there. I was hoping you’d give me abigsend off.”
He grins in relief and slides one hand up my leg. “I thought you might be sore.”
“Just a little,” I say, losing a breath as his fingers edge towards the apex of my thighs.
“Let me kiss it all better.”
I swallow a moan and squeeze my thighs around his hand. “I have to go. I can’t be late for my class.”
His lips brush across mine. “Come over tonight around nine and bring your stuff with you.”
Ooh, another sleepover. I stand and he makes room for me between his legs. “I can’t wait to have you inside me again.”
He groans into my hair. “This is going to be the longest day of my life.”
CHAPTER 14
Leo
“YOU’RE LOOKING MIGHTY HAPPY,” Damon remarks as we’re getting ready for practice in the locker room at Danforth Arena. “Spill it, brother. Who is she?”
I laugh off his remarks, but the lingering scent of Jazz on my hockey jersey isn’t helping me play it cool. She looked damn good wearing my name and number. She looks damn good in everything, and even better in nothing at all.
“Must be serious if you’re keeping tight-lipped.”
“It’s not serious,” I slough it off, the words ringing hollow. I can’t quite categorize my feelings for Jazz. All I know is that she’s like a long drink of water after a drought, a ray of sunshine after a storm, a blast of warmth after a chill. Jazz is beautiful, intelligent, sweet, sexy, and interesting. She’s strong and resilient. My initial impression of her had been wrong. I thought that she was similar to Kai, but she’s nothing like him. Sure, she’s free-spirited, but she’s also incredibly focused and driven. But that doesn’t erase our differences or bridge our age gap.
“I gotta tell you, Foster, whether you know it or not, you’re giving off serious vibes,” Damon says, studying me as hefastens his chin strap. We’ve played together on several beer league teams over the years. We hang out with Chris and other teammates on occasion, but we don’t get deep. Truth is, I don’t get deep with anyone. I tend to keep people at arm’s length. Maybe that’s old baggage from my father bailing. I don’t know. Yet, I find myself wanting to open up to Jazz. She makes it easy with those big, soulful eyes and her calm vibe like jazz music—the name suits her.
“We just met,” I explain. “It’s new. I’m still processing.”
“Ah…I get it. Hit you from out of left field,” he laughs.
“Yeah, she did,” I admit. I hadn’t expected someone like her at all, but Jazz is only twenty-four, just starting her adult life. I’m at the age where I should be settling down. But I haven’t found a woman who I wanted to plan a future with. Talking, laughing, sleeping together, sharing breakfast…I pause and give my head a shake, realizing those are all the things I enjoyed with Jazz last night and this morning. It rattles me that I could even consider combining “future” and “Jazz” in the same breath.
As if he recognizes my internal struggle, Damon claps my back and says, “Here’s some advice from a married man. Once it hits, you can’t fight it. Don’t overthink this; just go with it and save yourself the battle scars.”
He might be right, but thinking and analyzing is what I do. Shoving on my hockey gloves, I grab my stick and follow Damon onto the ice, letting practice distract me from thoughts of Jazz for a while. But I know I’ve got it bad when I stop at the store on my way home to buy chips in every flavour.
“Hey, Mom.” I enter the kitchen with a bouquet of tulips. Sunday dinners are important to her, so I’m here. I just have to survive Kai for a couple of hours; then I get to have Jazz…all night long.
“Hi, honey.” Grey eyes, more like Kai’s than mine, light up as she takes in the vibrant flowers. “They’re so pretty. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” I return her hug and kiss her cheek. “I wanted to brighten up your day.”
“You have.”
I lift the pot cover, where beef stew is simmering. She’s always been a great cook, and her dinners are the rare times when I’ll indulge and break my restrictive diet. “Looks delicious.”
“We’ll eat as soon as Kai gets here.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know, but he left two hours ago smiling and smelling good.”
“Sounds like a woman.”
“I lose track of them,” she says, filling a vase with water and arranging the tulips. “You always know how to make your old mom feel special.”
