Empty Net

by Toni Aleo

  A game to win.

  Tate turned, dropping his mask over his face before setting up for the faceoff. Within seconds the Bruins’ relentless offense was throwing pucks at speeds that were hard even for Tate to keep up with, but he did. Tate moved to the side as Tyler Seguin crashed the net, blocking his shot, Tate deflected the puck to the wall where Adler took possession and sent it up to Anderson. Anderson then took off, moving around the defensive men and before Tate knew it, the lights went off, signaling a goal.

  Throwing his arms up for his team, Tate watched as his team mates wrapped Anderson up in a hug, congratulating him. Tate turned, reaching for his water bottle as his stomach settled a little. Ignoring his desire to check out his girlfriend, he looked down at the ice, the nervousness still lingering in his stomach. Taking a deep breath, Tate moved to the front of the net again and dropped into position when the puck dropped. Unlike before, the Bruins were now desperate. So desperate, they pulled their goalie so they could have the extra man advantage.

  Two Bruins stood in front of him, but his eyes were on the four who were the points. His heart was pounding, the crowd’s cheering was ear spitting, and Tate could see the drive on his teammates’ faces. Coach Baxter was screaming. Adler was yelling something about the point. But Tate could only keep his eyes on the puck and what the person who had the puck was doing. In his head, he was going over what he had to do.

  Puck, slide, tip to Adler, glove hand, toe, top-self grab, blocker, stick, push the idiot in front of him, whack the other guy in the leg, scream for defensive, blocker, stick, tip….

  FUCK!

  The lights went off behind him as the Bruins all gathered in a hug for the goal they had scored.

  The first goal on the Assassins in twelve games!

  To add insult to injury, the Bruins scored another goal, winning the game.

  It was a great way to end his streak.

  Just fucking great.

  ~*~

  After the horrible loss, Tate slowly made his way down the hall to the room number Audrey had given him. His body was aching, and his head was a mess. He didn’t want to be anywhere but with Audrey. He just hoped she hadn’t planned anything important because he didn’t want to do anything but hold her in his arms. Reaching the door, Tate knocked and waited until she answered. When she opened the door, she smiled a sad smile before wrapping her arms around his middle.

  “Well that blows,” she said when they parted; “it wasn’t your fault though. They had you blocked and that damn Chara and his 108 mph slap shot took it. I’m sorry, babe. You had one hell of a run though, and you sure aren’t done.”

  Tate smiled as she weaved her fingers in his, bringing him inside. “Yeah,” he muttered as he followed inside. “You can’t win them all, I guess.”

  “Yeah, but that’s okay, you’ll get ‘em next time. Let’s forget all that. I have a great night planned. I made cupcakes and brought them with me. But before that I thought we could go down to the hotel restaurant to eat.”

  Tate wrapped her up in his arms, resting his forehead against hers. She moved her hands up his arms before wrapping her arms around his neck. “I am really tired, love. I know you came to see me and probably expect more of me, but I’m dead on my feet.”

  “Oh, I understand,” she said quickly, nodding her head, “that’s fine, wanna order in?”

  “Yeah, and you know what else would make everything better?”

  “What?” she asked, nipping at his lip, causing him to smile.

  “Spending the whole night in bed, holding you.”

  With a grin, she said, “Then, you got it.” Reaching up, she kissed him again before saying, “I’m gonna go slip into something a little more comfy, will I be meeting you in bed?”

  Tate nodded, moving his hands down her body before resting them on her ass, “Yes, I more than likely will be naked.”

  “Fantastic,” she cooed moving out of his arms to her bag. She took what she needed and walked to the bathroom. Tate watched every move she made. Once the door was shut, he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he rested his hands on the back of his head. It felt great to come home to someone who was there to build his spirits back up. Letting out the breath he had taken in, Tate moved around the room, removing the clothing he had on. When he was completely naked, he slid under the covers, cuddling into the down comforter. His body was stiff and aching, but it wouldn’t keep him from making love to Audrey. He had missed her just as much as she had missed him, and he couldn’t wait to get his hands on her. Leaning back in the covers, he closed his eyes, but then the bed started to vibrate. He opened his eyes, sitting up before pulling the blankets back and looking around the bed. He found that the culprit was Audrey’s phone, signaling a text message. He didn’t mean to look at the display. He only meant to accept the text message so it would shut off, but in a way he was glad he looked at it.

  Levi Moss: Cupcake, call me. I really do miss you. I’m done messing around. This is for real.

  Tate blinked a few times and then the bathroom door opened. Looking up from the phone, he saw his girlfriend in a little blue lace set. She was mouth watering, her hips wide, her thighs thick, her curves the sight of perfection, but Tate couldn’t enjoy it. Anger was bubbling inside him.

  “What’s this?” he asked holding the phone out.

  Audrey dropped her hands from her hips as well as her sexy grin as she looked at her phone and then back to him, “My phone?”

  Tate shook his head, “Levi is still texting you?”

  Audrey froze. Her eyes darted from the phone to him, “I never answer him.”

  “I don’t care. I thought you said you were done with him.”

  “I am,” Audrey said coming towards the bed, “He just doesn’t know how to leave someone alone.”

  She reached for the phone but Tate moved it away, looking deep in her eyes, “So delete him. Block his number.”

  Audrey narrowed her eyes, “Okay, but why do I have to do all that? Do you not trust me?”

  Tate shook his head, “I never said that. I don’t understand why he is still sending you this. If you were done with him and you let him know that, then why would he still text you? Did you not make it clear?”

  “I did and it’s because he’s crazy,” she said, snatching the phone from him. She typed quickly, and then held the phone out for him to see.

  Me: Leave me the hell alone, Levi. I told you I am seeing someone. Someone who makes me forget every single thing you did to me, so just leave me alone.

  Looking from the screen into her eyes, he felt beaten. Had it really happened this quickly? After only three weeks, he was this insanely jealous? Because he felt he was. Jealously ate at his heart as the idea of Levi even texting a word to Audrey came to mind. His stomach dropped at the idea of Levi touching Audrey. Tate wanted to kill someone and he had a prime candidate in mind.

  As Audrey knelt on the bed she took Tate’s chin in her hand. “Baby, I don’t want anyone but you. I would never cheat on you, I respect you too much. I will delete his number, block it, but you have to trust me, you have to believe I would never hurt you.”

  Tate took in another long breath, he was so fucking tired. It had been a rough season so far. Being the new team member had been stressful. His family’s death was still heavy on his heart. When he had thought all was lost, he found it wasn’t, because through all that darkness came this beautiful, special light.

  Audrey.

  Nodding, Tate moved his hands around her, looking deep in her eyes before he said, “You are right. I’m sorry. You drive me wild, love. I don’t want anyone to have you but me.”

  Audrey nodded, her lips dusting his, “And I don’t want anyone but you.”

  Moving her fingers through his hair, she pulled him close, her lips inches from his. Tate closed his eyes, taking in her scent as his hands teased the lace of her bottom. Looking deep into her eyes, he reached up, moving a piece of her hair out of her eyes before he ran his thumb over he
r cheek. She gave him a small smile, pressing her body against his, causing his body to catch on fire from the feel of her softness. Closing his eyes, he said, “Good, because you got me, love. All of me.”

  Chapter 20

  Audrey had spent the day shopping for the perfect outfit. She had gone to get everything done: hair, nails, and her eyebrows. She was polished, primed, and ready for the evening out. She wanted to look good so when she stood beside Tate, Fallon and Lucas would think they belonged together. Was it crazy? Sure, but it was their first outing together as a couple and she wanted it to be a success.

  In her grey thigh-length dress that had ruffles along the bust, a yellow ribbon around the waist and flared out at her thighs, she felt great! Her hair was perfection; done with a braid along her scalp. The yellow and grey eye shadow she had gotten from Sephora made her eyes pop. When she paired the dress with Gucci yellow pumps, she felt gorgeous and she couldn’t wait for Tate to see her.

  It had been five days since she left him and their almost ‘big fight’. She had been so nervous when she saw him holding her phone with a text from Levi on it, she didn’t know what to do. Thankfully, Tate listened and realized that Audrey wanted nothing to do with Levi. The great thing was that Levi hadn’t texted her since. Audrey felt good. She felt as if a thunder cloud was gone from over her head. Since Tate was home, Audrey not only felt complete, she felt like the sun was shining and all was well in the world.

  Corny, yes.

  Did she care? Nope.

  She was too happy to care.

  Audrey was standing at the island, balancing her checkbook when Tate walked in. She looked over at him and smiled. He had a bright grin on his face, his hair falling in his eyes as he looked at her from her head to her toes.

  “I am supposed to take you out in public like that?” he asked, still watching her as he took off his jacket. “I would rather take you upstairs,” he said with a wink.

  Audrey bit her lip while her body sang for his. When he winked, or bit his lip while holding her gaze with those bedroom eyes of his, she swore it was as if he was ripping her clothes off and having his way with her. If they didn’t have somewhere to be, she would have allowed him to take her upstairs, but they had to be at Fallon’s in less than an hour.

  Smiling, Audrey said, “That would be a waste of a really pretty dress.”

  Tate nodded as he started towards her. That was when Audrey noticed his shirt, but before she could say anything, Tate wrapped her in his arms, meeting his mouth with hers. Audrey’s eyes drifted shut. Her hands came up to rest on his chest as he continued to kiss her. But in the back of her mind she pictured his light green shirt. He looked amazing in black slacks, a dark green tie and his light green shirt, but she swore he had told her he was wearing a yellow shirt. She bit his lip softly before slowly backing away.

  “Mm, I love it when you do that,” he said against her lips.

  She smiled, nipping again as his hands squeezed her hips. Giggling, Audrey pulled back, looking up into his eyes, “Tate,” she said softly.

  “Yes, love?”

  She shot him another small smile before saying, “I thought you said you were gonna wear a yellow shirt.”

  Tate shrugged his shoulders, “I changed my mind, why?”

  “Because I planned my outfit to coordinate with yours. I wanted us to match. We’d be dressed alike which basically means we belong together.”

  Tate arched a brow, a smile tugging at his lips, “We do belong together love, we don’t need to match for that.”

  “I’d like if we did,” she said with a grin, “Fallon will be watching everything we do.”

  Tate shrugged his shoulders, “So? Let her watch. We are great together. Matching outfits will not help or change that.”

  Audrey gave him a pouty look, knowing he wasn’t going to budge. When he only grinned at her, shaking his head, she said, “So no matchy matchy?”

  Tate shook his head, “No, we don’t want to be too attractive, then it won’t be believable.”

  “Too attractive?”

  Tate smiled, his eyes drifting down her body, “Yeah, you are so, so hot, and then I am a good looking guy, so you put us together and it will blow people away. Make us match and, Audrey, I would need to say a prayer for the general public. We are going to your sister’s. We don’t want to make them jealous do we?”

  Audrey was in a fit of giggles, “You’re such a dork!”

  “You know it’s true,” he said smacking her bottom before walking away. Audrey shook her head, still giggling as she finished up with her check book. It was hard to concentrate because Tate was in the room. She watched as he moved around the kitchen, picking up different things, glancing at them and putting them back down. In a way, Audrey felt he was nervous.

  “Are you nervous?”

  Tate chuckled, looking back at her, “Why would I be? It’s Lucas and Fallon.”

  Audrey eyed him some more, watching as he moved his hand through his hair before taking in a deep breath. Audrey laughed, pointing a finger at him before she said, “You are!”

  Tate’s cheeks grew red as he looked away, shrugging his shoulders, “Maybe a little. It’s different now.”

  Audrey nodded, “Yup, now you’re not the cute little goalie who hangs out at the house.” She moved towards him, snuggling close to his chest as she said, “You are my cute little goalie boyfriend, the guy who means a lot to me.”

  Tate shook his head, looking up at the ceiling, “I don’t know what it is. Maybe I am nervous they won’t think I’m good enough to be your boyfriend.”

  “You are good enough, babe, and they love you. You know that, don’t worry about it. It’s not like you’re meeting my parents.” Tate looked down quickly, worry all over his face causing Audrey to giggle.

  “When do I do that?” he asked.

  Audrey shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know. Do you want to?”

  She didn’t know how she felt about Tate meeting her parents. She knew Fallon and Lucas would love him, that’s why she wasn’t nervous. But her parents? Her Dad? Um, yeah, she would need lots of time to prepare for that.

  Looking up, Tate shrugged his shoulders, “Back home, I would have known the parents before the girl, so this is weird.”

  Audrey nodded, “Yeah, people usually wait ‘till they are serious before they meet parents and all that.”

  “Okay, so soon then?”

  Audrey smiled, her heart warming. She had never been with someone who wanted her, and wanted the whole world to know it. She never once felt this confident in a relationship. Never felt like it would last forever and no one could touch them, but with Tate she did. It was so invigorating, so amazing, so perfect.

  Nodding, Audrey said, “I’ll call and see when it’s a good time for them.”

  “Awesome.”

  “Maybe this summer we could make a trip to Sweden, see your family. I would love to meet Matilda and your parents,” she said brightly, but when Tate looked up, meeting Audrey’s gaze, her smile fell. He had a sad look in his eyes, and it made Audrey’s stomach drop. Did he not want her to meet his parents? “What?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” he said, shaking his head, “are you ready to go?”

  “Yeah,” she said moving away from him to slowly put things in her purse, “did you not want me to meet your family?”

  Tate didn’t look at her as he took in a deep breath, “I would want nothing more, love, but we can discuss that later. Let’s go to your sister’s.”

  Audrey watched him for a minute as he went to get her coat and his. When he held it out for her, Audrey grabbed her purse and then moved towards him to put her jacket on. Tate took her hand in his, and they made their way outside.

  “You can drive, right?” he asked as she locked the door.

  “Sure, do you not want to?”

  Glancing back at him, she saw that he looked worried again. “No, I don’t like to drive.”

  It made sense, she thought as they made
their way to her car. He was probably not used to driving in the States, and he always rode with someone else when he needed to go somewhere. Audrey started the car and backed out the driveway while messing with her radio, trying to get her iPod to play. Finally, Demi Lovato’s voice rang through the speakers, playing one of Audrey’s favorite songs.

  “Oh my God, this is my jam!!!” Audrey yelled out before she started to move to the music. When the chorus hit, she sang at the top of her lungs, even though God knew that with her voice she shouldn’t be, “You my only Shorty!” Glancing over at Tate, she sang to him and then giggled before letting go of the wheel to do the sprinkler. Stopping at a stoplight, Audrey was fist pumping while singing her heart out. She looked over at Tate, hoping that he had joined in with her, but he was clutching the armrest, and looking straight out the windshield.

  “You don’t like this song?” she asked.

  Tate did a quick shake of his head, “No.”

  “Oh,” she said, reaching for the iPod to change the song.

  “Do you always dance in the car?”

  Audrey nodded, grinning up at him, “Yup, it’s fun.”

  Looking back down at her iPod, she found another Demi Lovato song, and put it on just as the red light changed to green. Hitting the gas, Audrey took off, rocking out to the amazing music. She was the music, moving, singing with no cares in the world. She wasn’t paying attention to Tate, which was probably bad, but it was the way she was. In the car, she didn’t talk, she was too busy singing or dancing.

  “Tonight, tonight, I’m letting go,” she sang, bobbing her head to the hard hitting beats. She was so lost in the music, that when Tate yelled out, “Stop the car!” Audrey jumped before looking over at him.