Mom tilts her head like she’s considering it.
“And I can get the popcorn and a Thrusters jersey for you,” I say. “I know you’ve been crushing on Jaeger.”
Her cheeks go pink.
So do Muffy’s.
“He’d be first line material on any other team,” Muffy declares
“Fucking right,” my mom agrees.
“Saturday it is. And just wait until you meet the guy I’m gonna set Muffy up with.”
Mom grins.
Muffy groans.
And I wonder if Felicity will let me borrow Loki for the night.
“Oh my god,” I suddenly gasp. “I’m starting to think like Nick.”
Mom and Muffy both stare at me for a minute.
Then Muffy shrugs, and Mom says, “At least he’s not an astrophysicist,” and we all crack up.
Because she has a point.
But I should still probably find Muffy a better date than a monkey.
Probably.
Forty-Two
Nick
Since the great wanker yanker incident—yes, that’s exactly what Zeus Berger is calling it—our truce is off. We both agreed to cool it after Halloween, but he’s going down.
I’m on edge the rest of the road trip.
I still kill it on the ice, and we win both our away games, including a second shutout for me, but by the time we get home well past midnight Friday night, I’m ready for some downtime.
I swing by my folks’ place to check on Sugarbear—fucking plan is taking longer than it should—then head over to Kami’s. I should go to bed—we have morning skate and a home game tomorrow—but I’m desperate to see her.
There’s a light on in the living room when I pull up. I knock softly, because if she’s sleeping, I don’t want to disturb her, but the door swings open almost immediately. “Sshh,” she whispers as she opens the screen door for me too. “The dogs are asleep.”
I’m good with that. I don’t need to talk.
I just need to kiss her.
She’s reaching for me the same time I’m reaching for her, and soon we’re shoving the front door shut with our bodies.
She squirms out of her Thrusters jersey while I shake off my coat and tackle the buttons on my shirt, kissing her the whole time.
My pants hit the floor by the time I finally get all the fucking buttons on my shirt undone, because Kami’s quick, and she’s managed to de-pants both of us in the time it’s taking me to get out of this fucking shirt.
But once my skin is free, her hands are roaming my chest, her lips are locked on mine, her bare leg is rubbing my thigh, and Christ, she’s just everything.
“Thought—you—asleep—” I gasp between kisses.
“Missed you,” she replies, pulling me closer and going up on her tiptoes to grind her hips against mine.
Fuck, she feels so good.
I lift her against the door, her legs go around my hips, and she centers herself over my cock. I thrust into her hot, slick channel in one smooth motion, and we both shudder in relief.
And now that I’m inside her, everything slows. Her milk chocolate eyes lock with mine, our breaths sync, and I kiss her again, slow and leisurely, while I take my time thrusting in and out slowly.
“Remember—first time—wall,” she whispers against my lips.
“Made it to the finals.” That night, back in the spring—we’d been out at the bar celebrating. I made eye contact with Kami, and ten minutes later, she slipped out of the bar. I followed her after five more and caught up with her in the lobby of my building. We made out all the way up the elevator and barely made it inside my condo before our clothes went flying. “I should’ve known that night,” I tell her while I stroke into her again.
There was no one else I’d wanted to celebrate with.
She flexes her hips to take me deeper. “I’d never come so hard,” she whispers breathlessly, tilting again as I pull back and then fill her once more.
“Your pussy is so soaked for me.”
“I was watching you play and touching myself.”
My nuts tighten more and my next thrust is harder. Her breasts are pressed between us, and I want to lick them. “Did you have your fingers in your pussy?” I ask.
“So deep inside,” she whispers.
“This deep?” I slam into her.
“Deeper.”
My dick’s turning to iron at the image of her masturbating. “Fuck, Kami.”
“When you blocked that last shot—oh, god, yes.” Her head drops back as I drive deeper and deeper into her, faster and faster, and one eyeball drifts toward her nose. “Your face—so hot—wanted—jump you—kiss you—fuck you—yes, Nick, YES!”
Her pussy clamps hot and hard around me, and I roar her name as I come with her, falling over the edge into the perfect heaven of her body, everything fading to blackness except her eyes glittering as she watches me watching her come. Her lips are parted and quivering, her breath ragged and uneven, her eyes barely focused while her pussy squeezes and squeezes and squeezes me, making me come so hard even my toes are shaking.
Kami drops her head to my shoulder. “I missed you,” she whispers again.
I pull her close to carry her to the couch when I realize what I did, and my entire body clenches.
“Nick?”
“Oh, fuck, Kami—I forgot—I didn’t—”
Her eyes widen as she seems to understand what I’m trying to say. “You—oh.” She goes pale. “I should’ve—”
But she breaks off, and I realize she’s not saying what she’s supposed to say.
That it’s okay.
That she’s on the pill or something.
She was always on the pill. She told me so.
“I—quit—when I—we—broke up.”
She’s so pale, but a warm fuzziness starts in my chest, and as she blinks quickly against the sheen coming to her eyes, I wrap her in a tight hug, because it’s okay. It’s okay. “It’s okay,” I tell her.
“I didn’t—” she starts again, but I squeeze her tighter, because fuck.
Kami, carrying my baby?
That’s not a terrifying thought at all.
Not to me.
I don’t know how she’d feel about raising two kids—both a baby and me—but there’s a goofy grin spreading over my face, and fucking hell, why did this scare the shit out of me for so long?
“I—so sorry.” Her voice cracks, and if I thought I could hug her harder without cracking a rib, I would.
“Shh,” I murmur into her hair. “Everything’s okay.”
I carry her upstairs and tuck us both into her bed, pulling her close while she burrows into me.
“I know this isn’t what you wanted,” she whispers in the darkness.
“You’re what I want. Every day. All day. No matter what.”
“Nick,” she whispers.
Like I’m the one who’s special. Like I’m the one who brightens her world. Like I matter.
Doesn’t she know I’ll never be half the person she is?
Or has she started figuring it out, and now she’s having second thoughts about wanting a future with me?
No, she missed me.
She said so. And Kami doesn’t lie.
Not well, anyway.
But she’s still trembling as her breath evens out, and I can’t help but wonder—has she finally realized just how much trouble I am?
Does she even want to carry my baby?
That’s it.
No more fucking around for me.
I’m getting my life in order, and I’m going to prove to the entire world that I can be everything she always wanted me to be.
Forty-Three
Kami
Nick’s gone when my dogs wake me up, but he left a note.
Kami –
Had to go take care of Sugarbear. Finalizing plans for her new home THIS WEEK. Promise. Fucking complicated. Don’t know why you did this for us for so long.
Miss you already. See you tonight.
XO,
That sexy stranger you banged behind the shed last night
I’m smiling and shaking my head at his signature line when I realize the note isn’t all he left.
There are certificates for popcorn, hot dogs, and drinks at the arena tonight, because of course there are.
Nick’s not nearly as oblivious to the little things as people think he is.
I’m still smiling over breakfast and contemplating who I should ask to be Muffy’s date while my dogs tumble together in the living room when my phone dings with three incoming text messages.
Felicity: Kami, are all four of your tickets claimed tonight? Mom’s making “I want to get to know Kami better” noises. Like she doesn’t already love you. I think she wants to suck up for ruining…that thing I’m not thinking about.
Muffy: She’s bringing me and her mom and a date.
Maren: If I were you, I’d take Felicity’s mom.
Muffy: Wait, if you were me, or if you were Kami?
Maren: Both. Kami needs to suck up to her potential future mother-in-law, and you need to not let Kami set you up on dates.
Alina: Isn’t it a little soon to be talking about potential future mothers-in-law?
Maren: No
Felicity: No
Muffy: Can I be your maid of honor? I’ve never been anyone’s maid of honor, and since Mom’s clearly never getting married again…
Kami: There’s no wedding. IF we get married, we’re eloping where no family can tell embarrassing stories about either of us.
Felicity: Considering the rumor going around the locker room that Nick gave you a blow-up sex toy as his final apology gift, that’s probably really smart.
Maren: WHAT?
Alina: Why didn’t I hear about this?
Muffy: Whoa, if that doll I saw was supposed to be a sex toy, was it actually a big dildo, or was there something else?
Kami: THERE. IS. NO. BLOW-UP. SEX. TOY. And for the love of pucks, DO NOT SUGGEST ONE TO NICK.
Maren: Oh no, trouble in paradise? And I was just warming up to the idea of Nick maybe being good enough for you.