by Layla Hagen
"That's true. You did." She tapped her fingers against her cheek as if this required intense thought. "Fine, okay, I admit it too. That first orgasm made my knees weak. And that second one just took everything out of me. In a good way, though."
"Good to know."
Both our bodies were covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
"Come on, sexy girl, want a shower?"
"Hmm, no. I like you sweaty," She was looking at me with a shy smile. "I'm going to miss you during away games."
I liked that she was opening up to me. Kendra liked to be careful. Considering her past, it wasn't a surprise, but I was damn proud that she was finally letting her guard down.
"I'm going to miss you too. Today, I looked in the stands, and the fans were there being crazy as usual, and I was happy, but I kept thinking that I want you there."
Her eyes widened. "Me?"
"Yeah. You mean a lot to me, Kendra."
“I’d love to come to a game. But right now, I’m still sad that you’ll be away for a whole week.”
“I’ll call every day.”
She smiled brilliantly. “Promise?”
“Fuck yeah.”
“I’m going to be super busy in the afternoons. Luke’s handymen have started working on my house, so I’m going to drop by every day to check on the progress. And Reese scheduled a girly evening after your last game. We’re going out to celebrate.”
“You’re so sure we’ll win?”
“Obviously.”
I kissed her hard and unapologetically, exploring her mouth until she moaned. Her lips were red when I pulled back.
“You’re—” I began, but she interrupted me with a shake of her head.
“No, wait a few seconds. I’m still light-headed from the kiss.”
I burst out laughing, drawing my fingers up and down her belly.
“You’re fucking adorable,” I said. “Thanks for going out with Reese.”
“Sure thing. Lexi is coming too. And I’ve heard her sister is also flying in from Paris.”
“Kimberly mentioned it, yes.”
“I think Reese needs some time with girlfriends. She might not be ready for a new guy, but she’s ready for friends.”
I liked how well she got Reese and that she was willing to spend time with my cousin. I’d never had this kind of intimacy in my life before—staying naked on the couch, talking about everything important in our lives.
“Hmm... ready to eat some more of that pie I made?” she suggested after a moment.
“Sure. I forgot about it.”
She brought a hand to her chest in a theatric movement. “Oh no. I’d say you’re mean, but I forgot too with all our sexy adventures. But now I’m hungry.”
We got to our feet. Kendra walked in front of me, and I couldn’t resist palming one ass cheek. The next second, I wrapped an arm around her waist from behind, and we walked like that to the kitchen island. She tripped halfway through, but I kept her firmly against me as her whole body shook with guffaws.
“This is solid proof that you’re dangerous for me,” she said between fits of laughter.
“I could say the same.”
When we finally reached the counter, she carefully cut two more slices of the apple pie, putting them on our plates from before.
“This is Mom’s recipe. We made it all the time during the cold season. I used sugar replacement. I read it’s better for pro athletes.”
I stopped in the act of taking a second bite, glancing at her. She’d researched it? “Thanks, babe.”
She sighed. “I can’t believe you’re leaving.”
“Hey, even during away games, I can think of a way or two to be close to you. Hint: we've got phones, babe. And they've got cameras."
"Are you going to try to talk me into having phone sex with you? I'm just saying that the chances of convincing me are high. And I want it noted that I’ve never said those words before. You’re changing me. Just thought you should know."
She laughed, and I moved behind her, putting both hands on her hips. I wanted her here, in my condo, baking pies and walking around naked, tripping over nothing.
Drawing the tip of my nose along the side of her neck, I kissed under her ear.
“So noted.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kendra
The next couple of weeks moved at an insane pace. Tyler was gone more than he was here, and I was happy for him, but I also missed him a lot.
Luke’s contractor started working on my house. I was beyond grateful that he’d accepted to be paid in several installments, but I still needed the money from Jared to make it all work. I still hadn’t talked to Tyler about it, but I planned to do so tomorrow after he returned from New York. They’d played the New York Hellions today, and they won!
I was in a celebratory mood and couldn’t wait to go out with Reese, Lexi, and Kimberly, who was here for a week. They invited Emma too. It was going to be amazing. Truthfully, it was just an excuse to go out, but I’d been so busy lately that I’d take any excuse I could get.
Right before I left my apartment, I had taken a picture of myself in the mirror, sending it to Tyler, though I had no clue when he was going to see it.
I met the girls at a trendy bar in the West Loop, just a block away from Tyler’s condo. Emma came with me, and we were both dressed to impress. I was wearing a short red dress, sheer tights, and black heels with a strap, and Emma was in black pants and a yellow top with a pink hat. Lexi had a tight dress that showed off her curves. Reese wore jeans and a black silk top with spaghetti straps and looked like a million bucks.
"Nice to meet you," Kimberly said, shaking my hand and then Emma's. Her hair was in curls. She was wearing a black skirt and a sweater hanging off one shoulder, kind of a carefree ensemble. She looked fabulous. "Okay, so the motto for tonight is ‘The girls are having fun.’"
The bar was in a stylish corner building painted green and black. We chose a round table that was strategically close to the counter.
"Tequila is on the house, ladies," the bartender said.
"Wait, did we just step into heaven?" Kimberly asked. "How is tequila on the house?"
"They just want to get us drunk to order more," Reese replied.
"That makes sense," I said.
We all raised our glasses.
"To everyone being together," Reese added before we clinked our drinks and downed them.
"Woohoo," I exclaimed. I was the first one to plunk down my glass, and Emma finished next.
Lexi came in third, and then she tapped her fingers against the table. "It feels good to be out with the girls."
"We should make it a thing," Reese declared. She glanced at Emma and me. "All of us. You two included."
My sister grinned. "Damn, all I have to do is show up and I'm already invited to all future events. I like this family."
I just smiled, feeling a bit shaky. As usual, I was emotional at being included so effortlessly. And also, as usual, my sister just accepted it all at face value.
"Okay. Let's order something," Kimberly said. "Look, they have a special page with handcrafted cocktails."
"What the fuck is that? All cocktails are poured by hand." Reese snickered.
"I'm guessing it's just a fancy way to name them so they can charge more. But damn, they sound sexy," I said, perusing the menu. I ordered a strawberry daiquiri with a secret ingredient. Every cocktail was a well-known one but with a twist.
This would be fun. I was so relaxed with these girls, it was like I’d known them forever.
My sister nudged me. "You know what? We should include drinks in our spill-it sessions."
Kimberly straightened in her seat. "What's that?"
"Oh, my sister and I, we just have regular catch-up times. We call them our spill-it sessions."
"I like that," Kimberly said. "We should do the same." She looked at Reese and then at Lexi.
Lexi shrugged. "I'm up for it."
"So, how does it work?" Ki
mberly asked. I had the impression she might take out a notepad any second now and write down everything.
"We don't have rules or anything. We just say whatever is weighing on us or on our minds."
"Should we start now? I mean, it seems as good a time as any. We have drinks. They have dodgy ways of getting our money. There's a dance floor for us and more drinks. And oh, a hot bartender." Kimberly looked behind the bar before focusing back on us.
Reese nodded. "I’ll go first. I'm seeing a new therapist, and I need to know why I still care enough to be hurt by Malcolm and my ex-best friend getting married. The old therapist couldn't help, so I needed an upgrade." She was saying this in a playful tone, but it was obvious she was suffering.
Kimberly put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug. "We're not therapists, but we can listen."
Lexi held up a finger. "We can also throw eggs at his car. I offered it once, and it still stands, especially now when I've got some extra liquid courage from the tequila... or from the cocktail."
"Or we can throw them at hers," Emma suggested.
I felt bolder than usual, so I offered, "Or both of them?"
Kimberly looked at her sister intently. The chatter of the people around us was pretty loud, though, so we all had to lean in whenever we spoke so we could hear anything.
"You could come to Paris for a while. I stand by my offer to introduce you to a Frenchman or two. And they'll take your mind off that asshole."
Reese blushed.
Lexi did a little shimmy in her seat and pointed at Kimberly with both her forefingers, moving her shoulders up and down. "You are a genius. I think that's exactly what Reese needs: a change of scenery."
Reese ran a hand through her hair, straightening up at the table, and we all came a bit closer. "You know what? I might do it, but only if you can take some time off. I don't want to be in Paris on my own."
"I'll try," Kimberly said. "There's a lot going on at the travel agency, but it won't go under without me."
"That must be so fun," Emma said, "to work as a travel agent."
"Oh, it is fun," Kimberly said. Clearing her throat, she looked around the table. "I think Gran’s seeing someone." Groaning, she tipped her chin into her chest. "That was not my secret to share. I’m terrible. I just felt like exploding if I didn’t tell someone.”
Reese jerked her head back. "Wait, what? How?"
Somewhere behind us, the bartender turned the music louder. We had to hover around our table even more.
Kimberly bit her lip. "I saw her drinking coffee with an elderly gentleman at the coffee shop next to The Happy Place.”
“I go to The Happy Place every day. How come I didn't see this?" Reese asked indignantly.
"I guess she's careful around you,” Lexi said.
“I'm happy for her but also stunned. Well, maybe it was just a coffee anyway, and we can't say anything until she does."
"I agree," Kimberly added. Turning to me, Emma, and Lexi, she said, "Sorry, girls, we hijacked this evening."
“Hey, we’re enjoying this, aren’t we, sis?” Emma exclaimed.
I nodded. “We are.”
Lexi was drumming her fingers on the table. "I wish that for Beatrice. But I don't want to get my hopes up, because you know how much she cares about your granddad.”
“Has she been a widow for long?" I asked.
"Oh yeah. I think she's been a widow for longer than she was married. To be honest, I can't do the math after so much alcohol," Reese said.
"We never even met Grandad. He died before we were born when Dad was still in college. But I know what you mean, Lexi. She's still so attached to him. Part of why she keeps The Happy Place is because it was the first thing they built together. And every year around the anniversary of his death, she just goes into this sad place inside her, where we can’t reach her," Kimberly explained.
My heart hurt for the poor woman.
"But Paisley can," Lexi said. "I mean, not consciously. They don't talk about it, but she's happy when she's around Paisley."
"That's true," Kimberly said.
I couldn’t help but wonder how things might be like if both our parents were still with us. We’d probably have a very similar dynamic to the Maxwells. I smiled despite the bout of sadness settling in my chest, bringing the glass to my lips.
For my entire adult life, I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere. It was just me and Emma against the world. But now, for the first time, I felt like I belonged here with these girls.
"Shall we get another round?" Kimberly asked.
"Sure." I made to reach for the menu when my phone lit up with a message. It was from Tyler.
Tyler: Hey, beautiful girl. Guess who’s back early. Declan just picked me up from the airport. Where are you and the girls?
"Oh my God. Tyler's back early," I exclaimed.
"Woohoo. Our champion’s back,” Lexi chanted.
“He wants to know where we are," I mentioned.
Kimberly burst out laughing. "I can't believe he's crashing girls’ night."
"I can," Reese singsonged.
"Oh, I'm going to tease him about this forever," Kimberly announced.
So would I, but I couldn’t wait to see my man.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kendra
Tyler and Declan arrived a short while later. I jumped to my feet, excited to see my sexy goalie, and wrapped my arms around his neck as soon as he was in front of me. He sealed his lips over mine the next second, kissing me so wickedly hot that my entire body felt on fire. He didn't hold back at all. He tasted like mint and smelled like shower gel, and he overwhelmed all my senses. We only stopped because I heard distinctive whistling sounds even over the music.
Tyler looked at me with hooded eyes as he pulled back, smiling lazily at the table. "What? I've been away. Can't I kiss my girl?"
"Of course you can," Kimberly said, "the whistles were appreciative."
"You were gone for one week," Reese pointed out, "but I think this proves my theory about the true soul mate."
"What theory is that?" I asked, perking up.
"Never mind," Reese said quickly.
I made a mental note to address it in the future. If the girly evenings were here to stay, I was going to make the spill-it tradition a regular thing.
"Declan, thanks for picking him up from the airport," I said.
"No problem,” Declan replied. “Couldn't let the star goalie be ambushed by people. I mean, he sort of was anyway."
Tyler waved his hand. "It's nothing I’m not used to."
"Okay, well, since you two are here to stay and crash our girly evening, how about a shot to celebrate the win?" I suggested.
"I don’t want to drink," Tyler said. "Too close to the next game. But I'm happy to treat you all to a round."
He and Declan pulled up two chairs, and we made space at the table. Tyler sat right next to me, and Declan sat between Reese and Kimberly.
“Handcrafted cocktails? What the fuck?” Declan exclaimed.
Kimberly made a loud noise between a guffaw and a snort. "I forgot that you and I are two peas in a pod. I’m still annoyed that they have the nerve to charge extra for that."
I shifted a bit closer to Tyler and whispered somewhat shyly, "Welcome home."
He squeezed my thigh, looking at me with soft, heavy eyes.
"I missed you," he said, "and I know it's just been a week."
"I missed you too," I confessed. "I'm happy you came home earlier. Didn't your teammates give you a hard time?"
"Nah. Well, the ones who are single did. The ones who aren't actually came back too."
When our round of drinks came, we all clinked to Tyler, who put a possessive hand on the middle of my back, pulling me close to him.
"This is for you," I said, turning to him and downing the tequila.
“Kendra, Luke says the workers are making good progress at your house. How did it go with getting the paychecks from your ex-boss?” Declan asked
.
Crap. I looked at Tyler. “I didn’t go there yet... or have a chance to tell Tyler.”
"What? Babe?" Tyler asked, turning to me. I bit my lip, ran my hand through my hair, and sighed. “Tell me what?”
“My ex-boss owes me a few paychecks and insists on me coming to the diner. I went once—the evening those guys wanted to mug me—but he wasn’t there. I didn’t want to go again alone. But I’m cash strapped, so I have to go before the next payment to the contractor is due.”
"Why didn’t you tell me until now?" he asked as soon as I finished.
"I wanted you to focus on the games, okay?"
He squared his shoulders, clenching his jaw. "Fuck the games, Kendra. Don't keep stuff like this from me. I need to know what's going on in your life."
Declan leaned closer. "I knew you'd react like this."
"How come you knew?" Tyler asked.
Declan groaned. "Fuck, I need Luke for this. I’m no good at playing devil’s advocate.”
"Luke knows too?" Tyler looked at me expectantly.
I dipped my head. “I told them when we met for coffee. It was a slip of the tongue. I didn't mean to.”
He ran his hand through his hair but didn’t say anything else.
“Oookay, the mood just turned sour,” Reese said. "Why don't we let the two of you talk it out?"
“No, no, it’s your party,” I protested.
“Let’s go home,” Tyler said, looking straight at me. His eyes were full of fire, and his jaw was still clenched so damn tight.
I nodded, wanting to be alone with him too.
As the two of us stood up, so did Emma.
"Hey, play nice with my sister. She only thought about not distracting you."
"Yeah, play nice," Reese said.
Kimberly pointed at Tyler. "I'm going to ask for a report tomorrow, just so you know. We're holding you accountable."
Tyler always had a fun comeback for his family's teasing, but he didn’t say anything. I glanced at Declan, who was looking straight at his brother. Maybe he picked up on the vibe too, because he didn't attempt to tease him.
"You want to take your bag from my car?" he asked Tyler instead.
"Yeah, let’s go."
Declan came out with us. He'd parked across from the bar. I shivered, and Tyler put an arm around me. Then I shivered even more, fretting about the rest of the evening. I felt guilty for not telling him until now. This was not how I’d hoped he'd find out.
