Making a Play

by Victoria Denault

  I pull up so I can look at her in the mirror again but as soon as my body leaves hers, she is pulling her skirt down, pulling her panties up and moving away from me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I just don’t know what the hell we’re doing,” she whispers in a strained voice.

  “We’re putting on an amazing event and saving my career,” I blurt back.

  “And after that?” she counters.

  “After that we’re together again,” I remind her.

  She tries to smooth her hair and wipes off what little lipstick she has left. “Until when? Until you go back to Vegas or wherever and then it’s more public restroom sex and letting your buddy hit on me?”

  Holy fuck, where is this coming from? I clearly handled the thing with Brent all wrong, but what else was I supposed to do? I’m staring at her thunderstruck and speechless, which seems to annoy her further. “You should go back out there before someone calls TMZ Sports.”

  “Rosie…” I sigh. “I thought you understood.”

  “I do. I just don’t like it.”

  I take a step toward her and cup her cheek softly. When I speak, my tone is deep and serious. “I don’t like it, either. And I promise, once I get through this, we’ll talk. We’ll figure out the future.”

  She doesn’t say anything but I see her dark eyes get lighter at that and the creases in her forehead disappear. I kiss her lightly. “You go first.”

  She nods and, without another word, unlocks the door and slips out. That feeling of being tied to the tracks with an oncoming train sprouts up again and I rub my face with my hands. We just need to get through another twenty-four hours and then everything will be okay.

  Chapter 34

  Rose

  As the all-star game goes on before me I can’t help but smile. I love watching Luc, Jordan and Devin play together again—especially like this—in a fun, easygoing game. Of course, the day had started out rough for me. The captains of the teams were two retired NHLers, Leo Lafontaine and Markus Anderson, both Hall of Famers. Leo picked both Garrisons. Luc was also picked by Leo, but last. He even made a gentle quip about it, saying, “If you’d brought that supermodel you hang around with, I would have picked you first.” Callie was sitting beside me and she audibly winced at that. Jessie simply put a hand on my knee and squeezed it in consolation.

  Luc responded but not the way my heart had hoped. He grinned and said, “Silver Bay has the prettiest girls in the United States; clearly your vision is going, old man.” That got cheers from everyone in the stands, especially the women. But what I wanted him to say was “I have a girlfriend and it’s not the supermodel.” Logically, I knew that he couldn’t and that his answer was the perfect politically correct answer, but I was still throwing myself a pity party.

  Now, though, watching them play was lifting my spirits. Dev, Luc and Jordy fell back into that easy rhythm they used to have when they played together for the Silver Bay Bucks. It was like they could read each other’s minds and knew where one would pass before the puck was even on that person’s stick. Because the game was for fun and entertainment, no one was checking and people were pulling out their best tricks.

  There were spin-o-rama shots on net, attempts from people’s knees, hand passes and Devin even went to the net piggybacking Dan Watson, who decided that was the best way to defend. The crowd ate it up. My eyes kept darting to Luc’s agent and the Vipers’ GM, who were sitting a row in front of me near the benches. They smiled through the whole thing; even the Nessa quip didn’t seem to irk them.

  Maybe this whole thing would change everything. Maybe they’d lay off him and realize he can keep his private life private and be the leader they need. Please may that be the case, I pray desperately as the buzzer sounds and the game ends. Luc’s team won 9–7.

  The crowd begins to move, but instead of leaving, everyone floods the boards, seeking pictures and autographs. Every single guy on the ice happily obliges each and every request. I find myself waiting too, but unlike Jessie, who walks right up, leans over the boards and kisses Jordan on the cheek, I stand by myself on the edge of the crowd, my hands stuffed in my pockets. Callie wanders off to talk to Wyatt and Donna.

  I see Paul and the GM make their way closer and I smile at them. “What did you think?”

  “Great event!” the GM announces firmly. “Luc did a fine job.”

  “He’s a great player and a great human being,” I reply and my voice is so confident it piques their attention. I turn to them and smile. “I’ve known Luc my whole life. He’s always been a stand-up guy. It’s a shame the media tries to make him something else.”

  The GM leans forward, extending his hand. “Maurice Legros. I’m with Luc’s current NHL team.”

  “Rose Caplan. I’m…” Luc’s girlfriend and hopefully the love of his life. “Jordan Garrison’s soon-to-be sister-in-law.”

  His face lights up. “Oh! Well, congrats—to your sister. Jordan is great. Wish he played for the Vipers.”

  I almost smile at that. Clearly Maurice only follows his own players’ tabloid adventures, because Jordan provided quite the subject matter for them before he and Jessie reunited. “Luc is great too.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Maurice replies quietly.

  Luc is coming off the ice now and he sees us and waves, walking over to the railing right beside our section. All three of us move to meet him. Maurice leans down over the railing and pats him on the shoulder pads. “Great job, Luc. This event was just fabulous.”

  “Merci.” Luc smiles proudly.

  “We were just talking to this lovely lady, who is a big fan of yours,” Paul chirps in.

  Luc looks at me. “Rose is an old friend who was kind enough to help me organize this whole thing. I really couldn’t have done it without her.”

  There’s that heinous friend word again.

  Maurice leans closer to Luc again and lowers his voice but I can still hear. “Good to see you focused. And I know it was a leisurely game but you looked good out there.”

  Luc smiles again. I feel so happy for him. That praise is exactly what he needed.

  Maurice turns to leave, giving me a smile. “You live here in Silver Bay?”

  “I… well, I just graduated college so I came home for the summer but…” I am suddenly tripping over my words.

  “Rose is going to Europe,” Luc pipes up. “She’s thinking about staying there for a while.”

  What the fuck.

  “If you’re ever in Vegas, young lady, give your friend Luc a call and we’ll get you some tickets,” Maurice says to me kindly.

  “Thanks,” I reply and watch as he and Paul merge with the crowd heading to the exit.

  “Rose…”

  “I have to go,” I tell him flatly. “I’m working at Last Call tonight.”

  “Oh. Okay.” His voice is low and full of need. “I guess it’s for the best. My teammates are spending another night and I’m sure they’ll want to party so it’s probably best we still keep our distance.”

  I stare at him, searching for something to hold on to, but considering I’m not even exactly sure why I feel like I’m dying inside, I don’t know what I want to see that will save me. “Have a good night, Luc, and I’ll see you later.”

  I leave him there, staring after me.

  Chapter 35

  Luc

  By midnight I’m completely and totally drunk. This is only the second time in my life that I’ve let this happen and I’m not proud of myself. In fact, just as it did the first time, it makes me feel even worse than the reasons that drove me to drink did in the first place.

  Hockey for Hope was a success. We raised a little over ten thousand dollars for Hope House. I was thrilled with that. And, on a personal level, I came off as the mature, professional hockey player I knew I really was. It was perfect. Except, on the inside, I felt like a lonely jerk. I wanted nothing more than to share this with Rose. She was a big part of how well this event went. There’s no wa
y I could have done this without all her planning and help and sure, I thanked her, but I couldn’t do it with as much heart as I wanted to. Seeing her the last few days and not being able to touch her or share my bed with her… it caused me actual physical pain. I ached for her—and not in my pants like I had in the past. In my chest.

  Paul was pleased. Maurice was pleased. Life was good and I was miserable. With everything over, reporters, Vipers management and my agent on planes, I’d texted Rose and begged her to come over. She’d texted back saying she was working and reminded me that some of my teammates were still in town. Like a pouty child I’d texted back that she should skip her shift and I would just bail on my teammates. She didn’t respond.

  I know she is still hurt by that awkward conversation we had in front of Maurice. I couldn’t have handled it worse if I tried. And why did I have to say she was going to Europe indefinitely? I didn’t want her to do that and she hadn’t brought it up in a while so why the hell did I say that? I know I could have handled it better and that’s what is eating at me. And I can’t even see her to make this right.

  All the stress and frustration of the summer finally got to me and when my teammates Dan and Brent had shown up at my place for one last night together before they headed back to their hometowns, I’d gratefully had a beer with them. And then another and another and then a few shots from the Fireball whiskey Brent had brought over. And then I’d called Adam to join us and bring another case of beer. I knew this wouldn’t fix my problems. I knew it but I was being an idiot. At least if I was drunk when I fell asleep I wouldn’t dream of her. I wouldn’t dream of anything. And then morning would come and the boys would leave and I would be able to be with her again.

  I’m sitting in a chair on my back deck next to Jessie and Jordan, who are debating wedding dates. I watch Adam and Tasha bob up and down in the lake, attached only by their lips and tongues. He’d come over and brought the beer, Tasha, and three of her friends: that Bri girl I met at the beginning of the summer and two blonds whose names I don’t remember but they rhyme, like Terry and Sherry or something. Brent and Dan thought they’d hit the jackpot. Both are single and “ready to experience the local delicacies,” Brent had said slyly to me as soon as they arrived.

  “August is too muggy,” Jessie is saying now. “How about mid-July?”

  “Whenever you want.” Jordan smiles at her.

  “I want it to be special,” Jessie tells him with a smile of her own. “And speaking of special, Tori was telling me that when her sister got married she and her fiancé stopped having sex for six months before the wedding so that their wedding night would be special.”

  Both Jordan and I turn and give her horrified stares. “Don’t even joke, Jessie Caplan. We are not abstaining.”

  “I think it could be romantic,” she counters.

  Jordan glances over at me. “Tell her it’s not romantic. Tell her it sounds like a nightmare.”

  “That sounds like the worst idea ever, Jessie,” I say and Jessie sticks her tongue out at me.

  “I bet you Rose would agree with me,” Jessie replies.

  “Mon Dieu, I hope not,” I mutter back and groan. She laughs at me.

  Fuck, how I wish Fleur was here.

  I yawn and my eyelids feel heavy. Adam had already asked if he and Tasha could crash in one of my spare bedrooms, because they’re too drunk to drive. I think they’ll probably just spend the night having sex in the lake, since it looks like they’re about to do that, but I told them they could use the room. Brent and Dan have already claimed the other one, the one with the twin beds. Judging by the way things were going for them, they’d be having sex in front of each other later, but whatever. Probably wouldn’t be the first time.

  Cole and Leah are in the last bedroom already, too tipsy to drive home as well, so I offer Jessie and Jordan the couch, which has a decent pullout mattress, but they decline. Jordan lifts his giant frame out of the lounge chair beside me, placing Jessie, who had been curled up in his lap, on the deck in front of me. I pull myself up and follow them as they head back into the house.

  We pass through the den where Brent is sitting on the couch, a girl plastered to each hip like holsters. Bri is whispering something in his ear and one of the ones with the rhyming name—Terry or Sherry—is kissing his neck. He grins up at me. “Silver Bay is a nice place, Richard. Thanks for inviting me.”

  I smile and keep walking to the front hall. Jordan is shoving his feet into his shoes, as he takes Jessie’s hand in his and opens the door. Jessie reaches up and kisses my cheek. “Congrats again, Luc. It’s been a great couple of days.”

  “Thanks.” I smile and lean against the doorframe. I can hear the slur in my words. I am officially very drunk. “Please tell your sister I miss her desperately and she should get her ass over here ASAP.”

  “I’ll let Callie know.” Jessie winks at me as she and Jordan start their long walk home.

  I close the front door and lean on it, closing my eyes. I want Rose. I want to snuggle up to her and pass out on her and wake up with her and have hungover morning sex with her.

  “Luc.”

  My eyes flutter open. Brianna is standing in front of me. She looks innocent and harmless, but she’s not wearing anything but a bra and panties. Both are white lace and incredibly close to see-through. How the fuck did that happen?

  “Where is your dress?” I ask drunkenly.

  “We’re going swimming,” she answers. “Want to come?”

  Is she fucking serious? “No thanks.”

  She says nothing—just stares at me a few more minutes. “Are you still taking a break from women?”

  “No. I’m involved with someone.” God, it feels so fucking great to say that. I know I shouldn’t say it but… “And it’s serious.”

  There’s a long, incredibly awkward pause broken only by a hiccup that escapes Bri’s mouth. She runs her hands through her short, bouncy hair.

  “Are you happy?” she asks suddenly.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come swimming?” she asks again, her bottom lip jutting out like a pouty child’s. Although in her bra and panties it’s more of a sex kitten move, I suppose. It does absolutely nothing for me.

  “No. Thanks.”

  She turns and heads back toward the living room and I watch her wiggle her almost bare ass out the French doors to the patio. What the fuck was that about?

  I decide I don’t even care what that was about. I just want to sleep this off, get sober and get to Rosie and make sure we’re okay. I know I can trust Adam, even drunk, to lock everything up when they head inside so I decide to stumble up to my bedroom.

  When I get there, I halfheartedly kick the door closed and pull my shirt over my head. I undo my belt and pull my phone out of my pocket. I dial Rosie. I don’t care how late it is. I have to hear her voice. I miss her. I need her. Her voicemail picks up after four rings. I’m still groaning my unhappiness when the beep ends.

  “Fleur, why didn’t you pick up?” I sigh and start to kick off my pants but end up tripping and toppling onto the bed. The phone is bumped free of my hand and bounces on the mattress beside my head. I grab it back. “I’m drunk and I hate myself right now and if you were here, everything would be better. It’s always better with you.”

  I yawn and burp at the same time. “Did you know Jessie is joking around about not having sex with Jordan until their wedding night?” I mumble. “When I get married I’m having sex right up until the wedding. May even have a quickie between the ceremony and reception. You’ll be all beautiful and sexy and I’ll die if I can’t have sex with you. Nobody needs to become a widow on their wedding day, Rosie. Nobody.”

  I sigh, suddenly overcome by alcohol and exhaustion. I don’t even remember disconnecting the call before I’m out cold.

  Chapter 36

  Rose

  Adam opens the door looking like he just survived a tornado. His hair is all over the place. He’s got a crissc
ross pattern on his left cheek from something he was sleeping on and he’s wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs and an electric blue shirt with missing buttons.

  “Where’s Luc?”

  “Luc?” He repeats the name like he’s never heard it before.

  I roll my eyes. “The guy who owns this place. Your buddy. How hungover are you, Adam?”

  I glance over Adam’s shoulder and see that girl he’s been chasing, Tasha, standing in the middle of the hall. She looks worried or something.

  I push past Adam into the hallway. I see the tips of Cole’s bare feet, followed by the rest of him, as he pads down the staircase. He looks better than Adam. I can only hope Luc looks better too. Last Call had been dead so I got off work early last night and I was feeling sorry for myself so I just went to bed. I was already asleep by the time he called me, and I’d forgotten my phone in my purse downstairs. If I’d known he was drunk I would have hopped on Esmeralda and rode straight over to his place. Luc does not drink to excess. He’s very careful about it and I know why, so I also know if he did it, something is really bothering him.

  “Hey, Rosie,” Cole says and yawns.

  “Hey, Cole. Is Luc still sleeping?” I ask and he crinkles his brow, thinking about it.

  “I think so.” He yawns again. “Not sure, though. I just woke up.”

  I slip past him on the stairs and start up them two at a time, excited to wake Luc up. As worried as I am that he got drunk, I missed him so much last night and his little drunken voicemail was beyond adorable.

  “When I get married I’m having sex right up until the wedding. May even have a quickie between the ceremony and reception. You’ll be all beautiful and sexy and I’ll die if I can’t have sex with you…” Luc had slurred into the phone. I didn’t care that he was hammered or that he was rambling. All I cared about was that when he thought about getting married he thought it was to me.

  I was too young, I guess, to get engaged anytime soon, but with Cole and Leah’s wedding, Jessie and Jordan’s engagement and falling deeper and deeper in love with Luc every day, I’d been unable to keep myself from fantasizing about my own wedding. Kind of dumb considering we had to pretend we weren’t even dating and he hasn’t told me he loves me. But that one message had taken all the doubt out of my head. I wasn’t going to spend a year in Europe. I would go for the originally planned two weeks and then I would stay close so I could be with him whenever we had the chance. Luc was the future I’d been looking for my whole life—and now I knew I was his.