by Lily Kate
“I’m not involved.”
“You’re having sex with her.”
“What business is that of yours?” I’m pissed, my hand gripping the wheel tight. If I didn’t respect Jocelyn’s work as an agent so much, I would call her an taxi and tell her to get out. But, my Midwestern upbringing left me with some manners, and unfortunately manners don’t involve kicking a woman out of my car. “Who cares if I’m having sex with her? That doesn’t equal a relationship.”
“Maybe if it was a one-night thing, but you’re calling her. I’m not deaf.” Jocelyn’s pissed too, and this isn’t boding well for our working relationship. “When I asked who that girl was this morning when she was coming out of your house, you said nobody.”
“And I meant that she’s nobody you need to care about.”
“But she’s somebody you care about, which makes me concerned. I can’t tell you the number of hockey players I’ve signed who get distracted by their dick the first year of their career. We all look like assholes, and I don’t plan on letting that happen again.”
“Thanks for your concern,” I spit out. “But I can control my dick.”
“Really? Because it sounds like it’s getting away from you.”
“What the fuck, Jocelyn? Why does it matter?”
She turns toward me, eyes like blue steel. “You promised me you wouldn’t get involved. By default, that means she has to be a one-night stand. No strings attached. I don’t care how many one-night bunnies you feel like banging; I care when there are strings connected to the same girl. If you’re fighting me on it this hard, there are a lot of damn strings hanging loose, Pierce. Tie that shit up.”
I hate that she’s right. I hate that this thing, this agreement, whatever stupid idea I had with Andi, has turned into something more. I hate that it’s already affecting my career, and I haven’t even started the season. More importantly, I hate that I’m falling in love with her.
Now’s not the time, the place, the…anything. We’re a million miles apart, and we’re both at insanely important junctures in our careers. Everything about this situation is so wrong and yet, I can’t help it. There’s more here than I’m willing to admit, and Jocelyn’s calling me out on it.
“We have an agreement,” I say to Jocelyn. I tell her the truth—well, a part of the truth. “We’re fuck buddies. Got it? Sure, there are a few strings, but I don’t love her. That’s not where this is headed—for either of us.”
“How long is it going to last?”
I fix her with a hard gaze. “Until Lawrence and Lilia’s wedding. That’s how this whole thing started, anyway. We were friends, and I asked her to help me out. My mom’s been trying to fix me up with these girls I went to high school with. They’re not for me. I don’t want them. So, it’s easier to appease my mom with a fake girlfriend.”
“Good.”
“You’re changing your tune.”
“Not at all,” she says, gathering her briefcase as I pull over to let her out at the Sun Country terminal. “If there’s an end date in sight, I’m happy. The date to sign contracts is a week after Lawrence’s wedding.”
I knew where she was heading before she went there. I try not to break the steering wheel as I throw the car into park. Now I’ve gone and promised Jocelyn something I can’t uphold on my end—if Andi wants more after the wedding, I’m going to give it to her.
A chill centers on my spine as I consider the alternative. Andi might just catch her big break with Nick Bennett before my brother’s wedding and be so focused on her career she wants nothing to do with men.
In fact, who knows if she’ll even show up at the ceremony? I relax slightly, thinking that the chances of Andi wanting anything more than a few additional orgasms are slim to none, and if that’s the case, my agreement with Jocelyn is a non-issue.
“I’ll have my assistant book your flights for a few days after the wedding.” Jocelyn shuts the door, leans down to the open window, and gives me a cold-hearted smile. “You show up at my offices unattached, and we’ve got ourselves a deal. You show up sniffing around like a lovesick puppy, and everything’s off, you’re back to Minnesota, and you don’t fucking get her anyway. Are we clear? There’s only one option, Pierce.”
I grit my teeth, which she must take for agreement because she reaches through the window and gives me a pat on the cheek with fingers that grate like nails on a chalkboard.
“I’ll see you and your friend at the wedding.”
When she leaves, I’m fuming. I slam my palm against the wheel, frustrated that there are no good options before me. I sign with the Ice Queen, and she’s going to expect me to drop things with Andi. I don’t sign with her, and the chances are high that I’ll be in Minnesota another year. I love the state, love my team, but it still puts me two thousand miles away from Andi.
Then again, I’m not even sure Andi wants me. She’s the one who proposed this whole sex-without-attachments thing. Maybe Nick Bennett is going to make her a huge-ass star and she’ll forget about me. God knows she has the talent to do whatever the hell she wants in this world.
If only I’d played by the rules, maybe I wouldn’t have fallen in love.
But I broke the rules, and now I want more.
CHAPTER 36
Andi
My phone beeps as the airplane coasts to a stop. My nerves are shot, my heart is fluttering, and my fingers are trembling. I hardly manage to open the text message without dropping my phone.
Luckily, it’s just Lisa. She’s texted me another seven eggplant emojis, which still doesn’t make sense to me. Do they really look like penises? Peni? I text her back a frowny face, and she sends back hearts and kisses which I interpret to mean Good luck in Minnesota.
She and I have learned to read each other’s minds, and at this point in our relationship, we can have entire conversations via emojis. It’s quite convenient, and a lot more fun than actually spelling out words.
My phone rings before I leave my seat.
“I love your emojis,” Lisa says. “But I figured you might need some talking down from a ledge.”
“No ledge,” I say. “I’m still on the airplane.”
“Well, you have a big giant penis waiting for you at the gate, and I know you’re nervous about it.”
“Lisa!” I glance next to me. The old man in the seat there has clearly heard the words giant and penis and is giving me a serious onceover. “Quiet. You’re embarrassing me from two thousand miles away.”
“Well, I’m here to distract you, and I’ll bet it’s working. Are you even nervous anymore?”
“Not about Ryan,” I say, thinking that the old guy next to me is looking too interested in my shirt and what’s underneath it. “Nervous about getting off of this plane, maybe.”
“What do you have to be nervous about? Ryan has called you every day for a month.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Bullshit. He’s head over heels for you.”
“Maybe he just wanted to make sure I’d still hook up with him this weekend.”
“If he hadn’t called you once, wouldn’t you still have hooked up with him? After all, y’all say you’re friends with benefits, and that specifically means he doesn’t have to call.”
I think for a moment. “I suppose you’ve got a point.”
“Don’t kid yourself. You still would’ve slept with him.”
“Maybe,” I say defensively. “You don’t know that.”
“Come on,” she says. “You might’ve tried to resist, but you wouldn’t have been able to. All that wedding crap and love in the air, Mr. Charming flying you across the country just to be with him—you would’ve caved the second he laid a hand on your panties.”
I debate arguing with her, but it’s probably true, so I let her statement go unchallenged.
“You don’t have to tell me I’m right,” she continues. “My only point is that he didn’t have to call. A man doesn’t call once or twice a day to talk to a fuck bu
ddy. A guy calls once or twice a day to talk to the girl he can’t stop thinking about.”
“But—”
“Don’t be nervous. Just go have a good time. You’re probably wondering what the point is, or what’s going to happen next, but I instruct you to let your mind be blank. Zen.”
“What am I supposed to think about?”
“Getting off! His schlong! The fact that you’re going to a wedding with Ryan in the first place! I don’t care. Just don’t worry about something you can’t control. No use focusing on the future when you guys have an agreement that specifically says no future.”
Finally, the aisle begins to clear, and I climb from my seat. “You’re right.”
“I know it’s not easy,” she says, her voice a bit softer. “You both have feelings for each other and all of us on the outside can see it, but there is so much up in the air right now—for both of you.”
“You’re right.”
“I’m right?! Of course I’m right. You just signed on to film a pilot for TV. Television. If that gets picked up, you’ll be going places.”
“You too,” I say with a smile, warming at the fresh memory.
We got the news yesterday, signed the contracts today. Nick Bennett secured us positions to film the pilot of a new female comic-centric show. Nothing is set in stone yet, but it’s a better start than we’ve ever had before.
“At least I know that you and me, we’re going places together.”
“Damn straight!” She laughs. “I’d handcuff myself to you before I let them drag us apart, but that’s not all you’ve got going for you. Graduation is around the corner. You’ll have your degree. You have a job and a family who loves you. We’ll find an apartment together so I can get rid of Derrick for good.”
“You’re right,” I agree. Life’s really not so bad. “But I’m still nervous.”
She lets out a long sigh. “What are you wearing?”
I look down. I have on everything. “Everything,” I tell her. “Ryan told me to be prepared. Minnesota has unpredictable weather.”
She sucks her breath back in. “You know it’s August, right?”
“Yes.”
“It’s too late now, I suppose,” she says. “Go. Get off the phone with me, then get off with Ryan.”
“Jeez, you’re crude.”
“I’m honest.”
“Bye,” I say as my phone beeps with a message.
It’s from him.
Ryan: I’m here.
Those two little words have me ready to collapse back into my seat, even if it means giving the creepy old man next to me a peek down my V-neck t-shirt. I can’t wait to see him, but I’m not ready, either.
Plus, I’m really really hot—literally. Since I didn’t quite know what to wear on the plane—Ryan warned me multiple times that the weather in Minnesota is finicky at best, disastrous at worst—I wore everything.
Being a Cali girl, I know exactly two sorts of weather: sunshine, and a little bit more sunshine. Therefore, to battle this so-called ‘unpredictable’ weather, I wore clothing to be prepared for all occasions: a t-shirt, a cardigan, a rain jacket, knee-high boots over skinny jeans, and a pair of gloves tucked into my pocket. Judging by the attire of other passengers, I am slightly overdressed. Most women here are sporting shorts or dresses.
Damn, I should’ve checked the weather before getting on the plane, but I was running late after signing contracts, and I don’t have any room in my bags to stash additional clothes. Therefore, I’m stuck wearing all of it, and now I’m about to die from overheating.
The line moves along. “Did you come from the North Pole?” The man behind me crinkles his old, fluffy eyebrows and I frown at the amount of hair poking out of his nose. “All you need is a team of sled dogs.”
“Funny,” I murmur.
“You look good,” he says. “Would look better with less clothes, I bet. I have to say, I overheard you talking to your friend on the phone, and—”
“Bye,” I say, bursting through the gates of the plane. I’m running down the terminal dragging my carry-on behind me. I’m breathing heavily—between the running and the clothes, it’s like a sweat lodge in here.
I don’t have the patience to deal with my new-old friend; I’m already rattled enough. Heading to a new state with a guy I hardly know is more than enough to do the trick.
Sure, I’ve talked on the phone with Ryan more than I’ve ever talked to anyone in my life. It sort of feels like we’ve known each other forever, but in the grand scheme of things, we’re new, and the feelings are strong.
I don’t stop jogging until it’s too late, and I barrel into the waiting area. I mean to dodge the other passengers and slow down, maybe use the restroom to reapply perfume and mascara, scrub some of that gross airplane air off of me, but I’m totally out of it. I crash into the first pair of arms I see.
The embrace is familiar, his arms strong as bricks, muscle twined beautifully underneath a simple white shirt. These arms are attached to a sturdy torso, a chest so firm I let out a puff of air as I hit it, losing what little breath I have left.
The legs underneath this torso are gorgeous in a pair of worn jeans, as if someone styled Ryan Pierce for a country fashion catalogue, and of course all these body parts are attached to the sexiest face on the planet.
“You sure are in a hurry to see someone,” he says, those chocolate eyes of his melting my stomach to nothing. “I sure hope it’s me.”
“Yes,” I say. “Definitely yes.”
His eyes twinkle, and in the next second he’s got me dipped, carry-on and all, in front of all the passengers and airline staff. I hear at least one woman sigh, and a man near the back whistles loud enough to pop an eardrum.
The kiss is just as fantastic as I remember, if not better. Our month apart has both of us burning for more, and if I’m not mistaken, one or both of us will spontaneously combust into flames as soon as we’re alone.
“Hi,” he whispers against my neck as he returns me to my feet.
“Hi,” I say back.
“Let’s get out of here.” He grabs my hand. “Please.”
I nod, mute, and follow him.
He leads me through the airport, and I have to admit, I feel like a queen. Ryan Pierce didn’t only pick me up from the airport, he showed me off to the world, and by George—whoever George actually is—I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anyone.
If we part ways after this wedding, my heart is going to hurt.
A part of me wishes I’d played by the rules, had never let any of this evolve into anything more than the physical relationship I requested.
But the other part of me, that little corner of my heart that my dad tugged at with his words of advice—that part of me is content.
Despite all my efforts to remain distant, I am falling in love with Ryan Pierce.
CHAPTER 37
Ryan
She’s even more beautiful than I remember. Despite the odd getup she’s got on, she’s the prettiest person in the entire airport. We shuffle into my waiting car, which I parked illegally at the curb while praying airport security would be light during the lunch hour.
I hold my breath as we push through the doors.
“Where are you parked?” she asks, scanning the pickup lane.
“Here.” I gesture to the truck right before us, its hazards blinking.
“But—” She frowns and bites her lip, and it’s the most adorable thing ever. I want to lean over, nibble on that lip for her, but she’s too busy glancing furiously toward the man in a security uniform strolling toward my vehicle.
“Ask questions later,” I say. “Hop inside.”
She lets out a flustered laugh, one I take to mean she’s amused at the narrow escape from the parking lot attendant. We pull away from the curb just as the man scratches his stomach, looks toward our car, then to the doors of the airport, and then back again. He waves a hand and continues his stroll.
“You weren’t supposed t
o park there!” She faces me, her face flushed. “You could’ve waited outside for me so you didn’t risk a ticket. What were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t.” I take my eyes off the wheel for a split second to look into hers, hopefully conveying some of my excitement about seeing her again. “You texted me that you landed and you were running early, so I ditched the car to meet you at the gate.”
Her eyes blink once, and then she turns to stare out the window. “You didn’t have to do that.”
I reach over and rest a hand on her leg. I’m determined to make sure this weekend isn’t weird in any way, even if she’s decided she doesn’t want anything physical. Maybe she’s met someone, or maybe she’s decided this is a horrible idea. Regardless, I’ve already decided to make sure she has a good time in my home state.
“So, how’ve you been?” I ask, struggling to keep my voice even.
“Since we talked last night?” She gives me a mischievous smile, and we’re back. The awkwardness is gone, the tension dispelled, and we’re the two people who have become inexplicably intertwined over a pizza. “Good, except for a creep on the plane who tried to stare down my shirt. Oh, and Lisa says hi.”
“Hello to Lisa,” I say, trying not to show my annoyance about the creep. “If you got a name, I’m happy to pay him a visit.”
“Relax!” she says on a laugh. “He was eighty years old.”
I’m grumbling about it, but I back off. Might as well save the frustration for the rink.
“So, this is Minnesota?” She gestures to the green landscape as we drive toward the suburbs where my family has a little farmhouse. “I thought it would be colder than this.”
“Is that why you’re wearing…uh, whatever it is you have on?”
She looks down at her mismatched outfit. It’s almost like something out of a cartoon, but somehow she manages to rock it like a supermodel. She’s got a stiff little jacket, tight jeans that show off her gorgeous legs, and boots that go up to her knees, despite the fact that it’s the middle of summer.
“By erratic weather, I meant sometimes it rains,” I say. “It does snow, but that’s in winter. I’m thinking I should have been more clear.”
