Because it wasn't just Ryan who was leaving. They were all leaving. Ryan, Andy, and Amelia were all heading to the airport tomorrow to get on with their lives — and they were leaving Sydney behind. Her life had been pretty rough lately, but she was able to buffer herself with her friends, both old ones and new ones. Amelia had been so motherly to her, making sure she was well fed and watching out for when she wasn't watching out for herself. Sydney's own mother hadn't even come close to that. Ryan had kept her company and pushed her to be around people when she didn't want to. He made her feel like her life was still normal, like there was nothing different from those days before she had found out her boss was a crook.
And Andy was Andy. Sydney could feel the smile that was trying to break its way out of her, but she just couldn't do it. Andy had been good for her, good in a way that she had really needed when things around her were going bad. But he had also confused her. Andy was an open book. He was a trainer, a healer, and he wanted to heal her. As much as that made her feel good, it also was gnawing at her. Did he really want to help her, or was she just a charity case he was trying to fix to make himself feel better?
Sydney wiped her hands over her face and slowly walked back to her bedroom. She had actually put on clean clothes for Amelia and while the jeans she was wearing were fine, she needed to get out of her confining bra and sweater. She took both of them off and grabbed a black tank top from her dresser drawer. Then she dropped herself on to her sofa and grabbed the remote for her television, hoping there would be some sort of mind-numbing show for her to get lost in. But just as she was about to turn on her cable box, there was a knock at her front door.
Dammit. She groaned and walked over to answer it. As she had suspected, it was Andy.
"Hi."
"Hi," she replied apprehensively.
"Can I come in?"
Sydney nodded and moved out of the way, noting the way his eyes had lingered a bit on her breasts. Right, no bra. He was probably getting a bit of an eyeful, and she didn't dare call him out on it. But that would probably be the only thing she was going to let him get away with if the conversation they were about to have is what she expected it to be.
Andy walked over to her couch. "Do you want to sit?" he asked.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "No."
"Right." He nervously scratched behind his ear, which only made her more leery of what he was going to say next. "I just wanted to come over and see if you were OK."
And there it was.
"Why?" she asked with a sneer. "So you can fix whatever is wrong with me?"
"What?"
"You're a trainer. Your job is to fix people, and right now, it feels like you're trying to fix me."
He took a breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm not trying to fix you," he said. "You just seemed a little upset when you found out Ryan is going back on the road."
Sydney turned her head to look out her window over the city. "I don't want to talk about it."
"You're going to miss him?"
"Of course! He's my friend. Why wouldn't I miss him?"
Andy nodded somberly. "What about me?" he asked.
"What about you?"
"Sydney, you know what I'm asking. Are you going to miss me too?"
He looked at her with his piercing blue eyes, and things began to click in her head.
"Is this about the other morning?"
"Well, yeah," he replied. "I don't sleep with my players' neighbors every day, Sydney. That wasn't just some one-time thing for me." He shrugged. "I mean, I hope it's not a one-time thing."
"Ryan is just—"
"Sydney, stop. Please."
She did as he asked, particularly because he was worrying her. He seemed so happy when Ryan said he was going back on the road. But standing in her apartment, he was subdued and quiet. Something just felt heavy between them.
Andy seemed to decide that he didn't care whether Sydney was going to sit down or not. Instead, he dropped down on her couch, his head in his hands. Then he looked up at her with those blue eyes of his, as if he was pleading for her to join him. So she decided to show him some mercy and took a deep breath before sitting down next to him. Whatever he was going to say, she at least owed him that much.
"Listen, my relationships with women haven't been all that successful, especially when it comes to women who know guys on my teams." He ducked his head to avoid her eyes. "I've been with my share of beautiful women, Sydney. You saw one of them at the bar the other night. But beautiful women are more interested in hockey players than in me."
"Did you just call me beautiful?" Sydney said with a small smile, trying to change the subject.
Andy looked annoyed. "That wasn't my point."
Her smile quickly faded as she started to understand just what this was really about. Sydney wasn't the only one who had trust issues when it came to relationships. But she had developed her problems after the S.E.C. waltzed into her office. For Andy, it must have been much longer.
"Andy." She waited for him to finally look at her. "Are you asking me if there's something between Ryan and I? Because I promise you there is nothing going on."
"I know you've said that," he replied quietly. "But the way you reacted when you heard Ryan was leaving didn't make it seem that way."
"This isn't just about Ryan," Sydney said. "It's about all of you. I had all of you to protect me, and I won't have that anymore."
"That doesn't mean we aren't going to be here for you."
"It does."
"No, it doesn't." Andy's eyes looked directly at her, as if he could see what was going on in her head. "Is that what this is all about?"
Sydney looked down at her feet again to avoid Andy's prying gaze, but she could see him moving closer to her on the couch out of the corner of her eye.
"Sydney?" he said quietly. "Tell me I'm not the only one having some issues here."
She closed her eyes, trying to control the emotion that was threatening to overwhelm her.
"I believed in a man that I trusted," she said. "He's probably going to jail and I don't have a job anymore. I feel lost and my friends are leaving me behind."
"We aren't leaving you behind, Sydney."
"I know," she said quietly.
"You can trust me." Andy reached out to pull her hand towards him. "Trust me."
She kept her eyes closed, too afraid of what she would reveal if she looked at him. But she could feel his breath on her cheek as he leaned in and gently kissed her. His hand reached around her waist to pull her closer to him, and she unfolded her arms to wrap them around his neck. But unlike that morning together when they were hot and fast, he was taking his time with her tonight, slowly kissing her neck a few more times before he pulled himself to her lips.
"Andy," she whispered.
She could feel his lips curl up in a smile before he gently pressed them against hers. She didn't want this slow and steady version of Andy. She wanted frantic, horny Andy who pulled off her yoga pants in one quick move. But he was having none of that. Every time she tried to speed things up — kiss him harder, pull him closer, let her hands find a new spot on his body — he pushed back.
"Slow down, Barton," he teasingly said in her ear. "I'm not leaving until tomorrow."
"But I want you tonight."
He laughed softly, the vibration traveling through her fingers on his strong chest.
"Believe me. You have me tonight," he said reassuringly. "Just let me take my time with you."
Sydney took a breath and let go. If she wanted to be able to trust again, if she wanted to try and get over what had happened to her, she needed to take a chance. What better way to do that than to give her body over to Andy. And she knew from past experience that it was going to be well worth it.
He gently pulled her up off the couch and into her bedroom, making sure to gently lay her down on her bed this time. He was almost reverent with her body, treating it like a temple he wanted to worship at all night.
She finally decided to give in to his tenderness. She wanted to have that extra time to explore his body and find out what drove him crazy. It turned out there was a small spot right on his side above his hips, a fact that Sydney learned as he involuntarily moaned as her hands slid down his body. She would definitely remember that for later.
But later was too long to think about — and too distracting when a gorgeous man was pulling off her shirt. Taking her bra off before he knocked on her apartment door was a good call. Hell, going slow was a good call. Sydney was actually enjoying this. A lot. She was going to file away the memory of his hands sliding down her ribs, into her jeans, and finding the perfect spot, warm and wet between her legs.
"Oh, fuck," she moaned.
"It seems you're more than ready for that, aren't you?"
"I think I've had enough slow, Andy."
He just laughed. "Too bad," he said, raising himself up to pull off his shirt. "This may take all night. You're worth it."
Seriously, for a man who was supposed to be a trainer for the hockey team and not an actual player, he still had an amazing body that she planned to take full advantage of.
Sydney smiled as he reached for the wallet in his back pocket. You're worth it, he had told her. He wasn't making this about him. He was making this about her. That was frankly the sexiest part of being with him. If that's what he wanted to do to make sure she was satisfied, then she was going to let him do it. And in return, she was going to be more than happy to make sure he got what he needed from her.
Chapter 15
Andy's alarm went off on his phone, making him thankful he even remembered to set it in the first place. After the night he had with Sydney, he was surprised he didn't just fall asleep as soon as his head hit her pillow. But he hadn't done that. Instead, he stroked her bare shoulder and laid soft kisses on the back of her neck until she fell asleep next to him. Then he quietly programmed his phone to wake him up at 6 a.m. and closed his eyes next to her.
The alarm wasn't by choice, of course. Because if he had a choice, he would be staying in this bed with her for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, the real world was sneaking into this quiet space and he had to go.
Andy slid out of bed, careful to not wake Sydney up. He went into her bathroom to throw some water on his face and brush his teeth. The pink toothbrush that Sydney had given him had somehow found its way into this bathroom. He had to smile a bit since he wasn't sure if she did it just because or if she had let her hopes get up after their first encounter in this bedroom.
That first time with her was amazing, but there was something special about last night, about the way she let him take his time with her. By her reaction, he wondered when the last time was that she had a man paying that kind of undivided attention to her. Perhaps he could save that conversation for another time.
He tiptoed back to her bedroom, quietly finding different articles of his clothing strewn all over her floor. It was a bit difficult to get dressed with the low winter sun filtering through the blinds, but he refused to turn on a light and potentially wake Sydney up. She looked so quiet and peaceful, especially after everything that had happened to her. Sydney had mentioned in passing at dinner last night that she was having trouble sleeping, but she looked like she was more than enjoying it right now. Andy hoped part of the reason she had finally found some peace was because of him.
He walked over to her side of the bed and quietly sat down next to her. He brushed some hair out of her face, tucking it gently behind her ear, and let the back of his hand gently brush over her cheek. She was beautiful, even if she was snoring just a bit as he sat next to her. He pulled the blankets up around her to keep her warm and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Then he used all the will power he had to get himself up and out of her bedroom.
The living room was a little brighter as the sun started to come through the windows, making it easy for him to find his coat. But then what? He realized it was a bit crazy after what they had shared, but he still didn't have her phone number. How was he supposed to stay in contact with her and encourage her while he was gone on this road trip? He reached for his wallet and grabbed a business card out of it. He never understood why he needed business cards, but the team insisted. Thankfully, he was going to finally find a good use for them.
But just putting the card down on the counter next to her cell phone felt a little weird, like he was completing a business transaction or something. He didn't want to give that kind of impression at all. Plus, the card only had his cell phone number for his job on it. The last thing he needed was Sydney calling that number while he was working on some winger's groin injury. That just couldn't happen for so many reasons.
He looked around and found a pen on her kitchen counter, deciding it would be best to leave his personal cell number with her. He rarely got any calls on that number, but it was the best way to have her reach him. Then he stood there, looking at the numbers on the card. Should he add a "Call me," or "In case you need anything," to the number? Would writing "I miss you," be too much? That was a definite. So instead, he just wrote "Andy" above it. To be fair, there was no one else who would put a phone number on the back of Andy's business card and it seemed a bit pedestrian, but there it was.
He left the card on the counter next to her phone, figuring she would see it when she woke up. If and when she actually used it would be up to her. He wouldn't be the one to push her. She needed to call him when she was ready, whenever that would be. Then he opened the door to her apartment and quietly slipped out.
The streets of Detroit were starting to wake up to another Monday morning, but most of the traffic was coming into the city, not out towards his apartment in Royal Oak, so it didn't take him long to get home. The drive also gave him some extra time to think about the stuff he had to pack in his suitcase — something he had planned to do last night before he ended up sleeping at Sydney's place.
Not that he would complain about spending the night with Sydney instead of packing for a west coast road trip. He would never complain about that.
Sydney stretched out in her bed, trying to shake the stiffness from her limbs. Then she remembered why she was stiff and smiled. Andy had done some amazing things to her the night before, had taken his time worshiping her, had made her feel wanted again. She would definitely be happy to get more of that.
She rolled over to see if Andy was awake and ready for another round. But instead, she found her bed empty.
"Andy?" she called out.
No response. She sat up and took a look around her bedroom. She was naked and cold and would feel much better with his shirt on her to keep her warm. But there was no shirt. No pants. His clothes were gone, which probably meant he was gone too.
Sydney sighed and let her head fall limp. All that talk about trusting him, all those things about making sure he took care of her, and he didn't say goodbye before he left.
She pulled herself out of bed, keeping the sheet wrapped around her as she headed for her dresser. She grabbed a shirt and sweatpants from the drawers, and threw them on as she let the sheet drop to the floor in a pile she would deal with later. Then she walked into the bathroom to put some water on her face before reaching for her toothbrush. She noticed the pink toothbrush she had given Andy a few nights ago was sitting on her counter and it was wet from being used. He had enough time to brush his teeth with the toothbrush she gave him — albeit a free one from her dentist — but he didn't have enough time to tell her he was leaving.
Maybe there was an explanation. He had mentioned that everyone was headed out for a road trip this week. Perhaps he had to leave and catch a plane for wherever they were going. It would at least explain the fact that he had already left by whatever time this was. Sydney checked her clock. 9 a.m. She shrugged. Being out of a woman's apartment by that time in the morning seemed reasonable. Of course, she still didn't know when exactly he left.
It was all a bit too much to think about this early — well, this relatively early. S
o instead, Sydney dragged herself into the kitchen and started brewing a pot of coffee. It was a bit boring and mundane to watch the machine drip drip drip into the pot, but she was over thinking other things this morning so at least she had found something that didn't take much brain work.
She was pouring her first cup when she heard a knock on the door. She took a sip from her mug and quickly put it down next to her phone on the counter before checking to see who was bothering her this early. There was a lovely Canadian woman dressed in a huge parka on the other side of the door.
"Sydney!" Amelia said as soon as she opened it.
She threw her arms around Sydney, who took a few seconds to process that Ryan's mom was hugging her, and it was a good mom hug. One that Sydney had desperately needed lately.
"Hey, what are you doing here?"
"Just saying goodbye," the woman replied as she pulled away from Sydney. "We're on our way to the airport to get both of us out of here."
Sydney was trying really hard to hide the emotion that was once again threatening to creep up into her throat. She wasn't about to tell Ryan and Amelia just how much the time she had spent with them had meant and how hard it was for her to say goodbye.
"So you're both leaving now?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ryan said. "And we're going to be late if mom keeps lamenting the fact that she's leaving me in someone else's care."
"I know that Andy knows what he's doing, but Ryan is still my baby."
Sydney turned to her friend just in time to see the disgusted look on his face.
"Don't worry," she told Amelia. "I'm here to look out for him too."
"I know you are," Amelia replied. "Maybe you and Andy can work together, if you know what I mean."
"Mom!" Ryan sighed and turned towards the elevator. "It's time for you to go."
Amelia gave Sydney a smile that said that she knew exactly which buttons to press to tease her son the most, and she planned to press every one of them before her flight took off to the Great White North.
Buried Treasure (The Detroit Pirates Book 2) Page 10
