Glove Save (Carolina Comets)

I’m alone when I wake up. I know it before I even reach over to find the spot beside me empty and cold.

Did I dream last night?

I roll over, and the ache in my body tells me there’s no way it was a dream.

I slept with Stevie. Not only did I sleep with her, it was the best sex I’ve ever had in my life.

There’s a clatter from somewhere in the room, and then I hear the shower kick on.

She’s still here.

I don’t know why I’m so relieved by that. If this were any other person on any other night, it would be me who’d snuck out.

I toss the sheet off me, climb out of bed, and make my way to the bathroom. The door is cracked, and I peek inside. Thank God for glass shower doors because it gives me the perfect view as Stevie stands under the spray of water, her head tossed back as it cascades over her body.

Fuck me, she’s so gorgeous. I don’t know how I’ve stayed away as long as I have, especially now, knowing how well her body responds to me.

I was scared she would tell me to get lost when I told her I wanted her on her knees for me, scared she would tell me to screw off when I denied her orgasm after orgasm. I thought for certain she’d run when I said I wanted to spank her with something other than my hand or she’d bolt when I said I wanted to fuck her ass, but she did none of those things. She welcomed them all.

I push on the door, and her eyes spring open.

“Greer.” She says my name softly like a prayer.

I pad deeper into the bathroom, lifting the toilet seat.

“What are you doing?”

I peek at her over my shoulder. “Taking a leak.”

“I’m showering.”

“I can see that. I’m taking a leak.”

“But I’m showering.”

“And I’m still taking a damn leak.”

“You can’t be in here,” she argues. “I’m showering!”

I sigh, finishing up, then shutting the lid and flushing.

“I had my tongue in your pussy last night, Stevie,” I tell her as I wash my hands. “You rode my cock like a fucking cowgirl rides a bull at the rodeo. I’m pretty sure seeing you in the shower isn’t a big deal.”

Her cheeks flush. “That was…different.”

I cross my arms over my chest, then lean against the doorjamb. “Was it?”

She nods. “Yes. That was…in the heat of the moment.”

“Hmm.”

“Ugh!” She groans. “Why did I sleep with you?”

“I didn’t hear you complaining about it last night. Actually, it sounded a lot like praise. No, wait—that was me doing all the praising and you coming from my words alone.”

“I hate you.”

I smirk. “Liar.”

“I was drunk.”

“You were stone-cold sober.”

“It was a late-night mistake, like eating a pint of ice cream at midnight.”

“Pretty sure that was much more satisfying than a pint of ice cream.”

She glowers at me. “Hate. You.”

I shove off the wall and stalk toward her, ready to punish her for her words.

“What are you doing?” she squeaks as I pull the shower door open.

“Getting annoyed with how long you’re taking because I have practice.”

“In like two hours!” she tosses back as I close the door.

“True. But I also have plans for you.”

“Greer, I—”

Her weak protests are silenced when I slant my mouth over hers, crowding her against the wall as the water splashes against my back. Our tongues tangle together so long the water begins to turn cold, but I don’t care, and it doesn’t seem like Stevie does either.

Not when she wraps her legs around my waist, and certainly not when I slide my cock inside of her.

Not when I slowly thrust into her, and not when I draw circles over her clit, making her fall apart around me, only for me to follow shortly after.

I kiss her through her aftershocks, not wanting to let this moment go so quickly. It’s different than last night. Softer. Slower. Yet, it’s still somehow just as good.

“Better than ice cream?” I ask when I finally drag my mouth from hers.

“Y-Yes.” She shivers. “Sorry,” she says through chattering teeth. “I’m cold.”

I reach over, shutting off the water, then I carry her out of the shower. I don’t bother to grab either of us towels—I’m taking her right back to bed.

“You didn’t even shower.”

“I rinsed off,” I tell her, pulling the blanket up over us. Her eyes are already drifting closed.

“Practice,” she mutters.

“I know.”

“Macie.”

“I’ll make sure she’s fine,” I promise.

She slips back into sleep, and I sit there watching her for a while. It’s long enough for my phone to buzz against the nightstand, telling me I need to get up and head out for practice.

Trying my damnedest not to wake her, I ease out of the bed and pull on the clothes I packed for today. I also grab the spare toothbrush and toothpaste I brought, along with the clothes for Stevie. I wasn’t sure if she would want to stay the night, but I came prepared just in case.

She doesn’t move a muscle the entire time I walk around the room, getting ready to leave. I glance at the clock. I don’t want to leave her, but I really need to go.

I grab a pen off the dresser, scribble a note, then press a kiss to her forehead and slip out the door. I pull my phone up to my ear as soon as I’m in the elevator, tugging my overnight bag higher up my shoulder.

“What’s up?”

“Tell Coach I’m going to be a few minutes late.”

“No shit?” Miller says on the other end of the line. “You’re never late to practice.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a slow start this morning.”

“He’s not going to like it.”

“I know. But tell him.”

“All right, I will.”

“Thanks.”

“Sure.”

I’m about to hang up when I remember. “Miller!”

“Hmm?”

“How’s Macie?”

He pauses, then I hear him laugh. “She’s good, Dad. We had a great time last night.”

“I’m not…” I pinch my nose, shaking my head. “Whatever. Just tell Coach. Bye, Miller.”

He cackles as I end the call.

“Fucker,” I mutter to nobody.

I’m not the kid’s dad, and I’m not trying to act like it, either. I’m just doing a favor for Stevie, checking on her kid. I don’t care if she’s okay or not.

Okay, fine, I do care—but so what? We’ve bonded since I’ve been training her. That’s all it is. Nothing else.

I keep telling myself this as the doors slide open to the hotel lobby. I make my way to the front counter, letting them know they can add another day to my card and that my guest will leave whenever she’s ready.

“Of course, Mr. Greer. Anything you need,” the clerk says. “Can we help with your bags?”

“No. Just bring my car around, please.”

“Right away, sir.” The employee disappears into the back room.

I hike my bag higher up on my shoulder, then head for the front door to wait outside.

“Jacob!”

I come to a halt just as I’m about to walk through.

“Did you really think you could just sneak away this morning without saying goodbye to your mother?”

“Sorry, Mom,” I mutter, turning around to find her hustling through the lobby. She’s wearing head-to-toe velvet in the form of a jogging suit. I’d bet a hundred bucks the back of her jacket says Bride and poor David—who is wearing a matching outfit—has Groom on the back of his.

He’s a better man than me because there’s no way in hell I would ever be caught dead wearing something like that, not even for Stevie.

Whoa. Where did that come from? I’m looking at the new bride and groom, and I automatically think of Stevie.

I shake away the thoughts. I’m just tired from last night and then waking up early. That has to be it.

“How’s Stevie feeling?” My mother comes to a stop in front of me as David tries to catch up. She’s short, but man, can she walk fast. I’m sure the four bags her husband has slung over his shoulders aren’t doing him any favors in the speed department, though. “I hope her headache is better.”

“She’s feeling much better.”

“Oh good. I really liked her, you know. I wish I could have spent more time with her, but the little that I did, she was lovely. She feels like an old friend or something.”

“She was just my date, Mom.”

The words taste sour as they fall out of my mouth, mostly because they don’t feel true.

“Maybe, but a mom can hope for more, you know.”

“Sure.” I give her a tight smile. “Wait—don’t you two need to get to the airport for your flight?”

“You mean the flight you booked for the trip you bought me?” Her eyes narrow. “That’s too much to spend on me, Jacob. You’ve already done enough.”

“I could spend a million dollars on you, and it still wouldn’t even touch how much I love you.”

She sighs, patting my cheek. “Oh, Jacob. One day you’re going to make someone very happy with the sweet words that come out of your mouth.”

Stevie’s face flashes in my mind, her expression when I told her I wanted to worship her coming front and center.

Fuck. Why am I thinking about her again?

“We’d better get going,” my mom says, pulling me back to the present. “I’m sure security is going to be a pain.”

“I have practice to get to anyway.” I press a kiss to my mother’s cheek. “Have fun on your trip. Don’t do anything too wild, and keep your hands off the Irish men.”

“With that accent? There’s no way. I’ll have my fifth husband picked out before we leave.”

“Mom…”

She swats at me. “I’m kidding. I have David now, and I’m madly in love with him.”

“Good. I’m happy for you, you know.”

She grins. “I’m happy for me too.”

“I love you.”

“But never as much as I love you.”

I give her one last kiss, then wave goodbye to David and head outside just as the valet brings my ZR1 around. I slide behind the wheel and gun it to try to make it to practice on time.

I only think about Stevie for nine and a half of the ten minutes it takes me to get there.

I’m not sure I remember the last time I was so eager for practice to be over.

I love being on the ice. Playing hockey means everything to me. Practice is one of my favorite things because it means I get to work on getting better at the game, and I always want to get better. I want to be the best, and you do that by practicing.

But today…today I want to be done with this so fucking badly.

“Optional skate tomorrow morning, boys. Wright and Fitz, Doc wants to see you,” Coach says before skating off the ice.

Finally, it’s over. We’re dismissed.

I skate off in a hustle.

“Damn, dude. What’s the rush?” Hayes asks, catching up to me down the tunnel.

“No rush,” I say.

It’s a lie, though. I’m always the last to leave the ice, but not today.

“Uh-huh. Clearly.”

I ignore the rookie, making my way to the dressing room, already stripping my gear off.

“How was your mom’s wedding?” Lowell asks. “Good?”

“Yep. She’s all married and off to Ireland on her honeymoon.”

“Ireland for a honeymoon? With those accents?” Miller shakes his head. “Her husband is a brave man.”

I agree, but not for the reason he’s referring to.

I pull off my gear as fast as I can without making it seem like I’m rushing. The last thing I want is more questions thrown my way. I grab a quick shower, then scoop up my bag and race to my car.

If anyone notices me hustling away, they don’t say anything. I’m grateful too because all I want is to get to Stevie. I want to talk to her and see how she feels after everything.

When I pull into the parking lot of Scout’s Sweets, it’s packed. There’s a line of at least ten people, and I can see Stevie bustling back and forth inside with Rosie. Macie’s sitting at one of the picnic tables, her head in a book like usual.

I’m not sure how long I sit there watching them like a creeper, but I really don’t want to get out when there are still so many people showing up. Maybe it was a bad idea to come here. Maybe I should just leave.

I’m set on driving away when there’s a knock at my window.

“What the—”

I look up to see a toothless, grinning Fitz. He waves, and I shove the door open. He barely jumps out of the way.

“What.”

It’s not really a question. I’m annoyed he’s bothering me. I’m more annoyed, though, that he caught me sitting here like a weirdo.

“Why are you just sitting in your car?”

I gesture toward the chaotic line. “Do you want to deal with that shit?”

He shrugs. “It’s not so bad. I’ve seen worse.”

I huff. I forgot he’s a people person and perfectly fine with standing in line and being bothered by fans.

I’m not really in the mood for it, but he already has me out of my car, so I might as well. I pop the door back open and pull out a ball cap, tugging it down low, hoping and praying it’ll help keep people away.

“Greer!”

Well, there goes that plan.

“Hey, kid,” I say to Macie, taking a seat at the table with her as Fitz plops down beside me. “Whatcha reading there?”

She holds up the book. “This Team Is Ruining My Life (But I Love Them) by Steve ‘Dangle’ Glynn. This is how I feel about the Comets, by the way.”

Fitz snickers. “Noted.”

I’m used to her shit-talking, so I ignore her. “You have a good time with Scout this weekend?”

“I did. Miller let me paint his toenails.”

Fitz grimaces. “You touched Miller’s feet? Ew.”

Macie laughs. “I did, but I made them prettier.” She looks at me. “Mom said you guys had fun at the wedding. Did you dance with her? She loves to dance. I assume you did because she smiled so much when she picked me up from Aunt Scout’s.”

I like the idea that it was me who made Stevie smile so much.

“We danced,” I tell Macie, but my eyes are somewhere else.

Stevie’s staring at me from the donut truck, a sly grin tugging at her lips. Is it possible she got even prettier in the few hours we’ve been apart?

“I’m going to grab a coffee,” I announce to the table, rising to my feet and heading for the truck.

“I’ll take one, too,” Fitz calls after me.

I lift my hand in acknowledgment, continuing my prowl. I bypass the line, not caring about the few people who call out their protest. I don’t stop until I’m on the side of the truck. Then, I wait.

I watch as Stevie bustles around, slinging coffee and donuts with a smile on her face. Every minute or two, her eyes slide to me, and that same knowing grin curves her lips. When just a few people are left in the line, she reaches behind her back and undoes her apron.

“I’m taking my ten, Rosie.”

The baker bounces her brows a few times. “Have fun.”

Stevie takes a glance at Macie, who is deep in a paper football competition with Fitz, then meets me at the end of the truck.

“Hi,” she says softly…shyly.

I grab her hand and haul her around back, pushing her back against the bright blue metal and boxing her in.

“Hi.” I grin down at her. “How’s your day so far?”

“You know, it’s not too bad. I woke up kind of early, took a shower, then crawled back in bed and went to sleep in a big comfy hotel bed, where I wasn’t bothered by anyone for the next two hours. It was nice.”

“Nice, huh?”

She grins. “I’d say more than nice.” She pushes up on her toes and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “I’d go as far as to say it was spectacular.”

“Spectacular, huh? That must have been some shower.”

She giggles, and I love how flirty she is right now. I wish more than anything we were alone so I could slide my hands under her ass and haul her into my arms and then carry her to one of those picnic tables and eat her for lunch.

But unfortunately, we’re not. We’re surrounded by people, including her kid.

“Soo…” she starts, dragging out the word. “Last night.”

“Spectacular?”

She nods. “And then some. I… It might have been the best fun I’ve ever had.”

The word twists around in my gut, leaving a sour feeling that I don’t like.

“It was the best I’ve had too.”

“Really? I wasn’t…rusty? It’s been a minute, you know.”

I drop my lips to her ear. “I’d say based on the way you swallowed my cum, there was nothing rusty about you.”

When I pull back, her cheeks are bright red.

“You can’t say things like that to me right now, Greer. It’s not fair.”

Fair? She wants to talk fair? I’m the one standing here with my cock pressed against my zipper.

I crowd against her, letting her feel what just being near her is doing to me.

“So you mean I can’t tell you how I was just fantasizing about tossing you onto a table and spreading your legs to take a look at that pretty pink cunt of yours?” She lets out a soft gasp, her eyes sparking with fire at my words. “How, if we were alone, I would bury my cock inside of you for hours? How I so, so badly want to run my tongue over every inch of your body until you’re begging for me to stop, just so I can start all over again? We can’t talk about any of that?”

Her lips part, breaths coming in sharp as she stares up at me like she’s debating taking me up on everything I just said.

“You’re mean.”

I laugh. “Oh, baby. You haven’t seen me be mean yet.”

I capture her lips with mine, kissing her hard and fast because I know we could get interrupted at any moment, and I don’t want to waste another second not touching her.

“Mom?”

Stevie shoves at my chest, wrenching her mouth from mine and sliding out from under my arms. She tugs at her shirt, pulling it down, then runs a hand through her hair just as Macie rounds the corner.

“There you are,” she says, barely casting a glance my way. “Rosie said she’s out of half-and-half and needs you to go grab some.”

“Yeah,” Stevie says, rushing toward her daughter. “I can do that.” She doesn’t spare me a backward glance as she disappears into the truck.

Macie, on the other hand, can’t take her eyes off me. They’re shrewd like she knows I was just kissing her mom, but if she suspects anything, she doesn’t say.

All she asks is, “When’s our next practice?”

I’ve never been so relieved to talk about hockey before.

“I’m not sure, kid. We have a road trip.”

“I know, but I was hoping we could practice at least once before then.”

“I might not have time. I’m sorry.”

She nods. “It’s okay. Maybe we can do an extra practice or something when you get back? I can finally wear all the gear this time.”

I chuckle because she’s been on my case about wearing all the goalie gear for the last week. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Macie!” Stevie calls out, rounding the back of the truck. “I’m heading to the store. Are you staying or going?” Her eyes slide my way when she says this, and I know it’s a question for me too.

“I can stay here with Greer,” the kid says.

“I’m sure he has plenty of other things to do today.”

“I don’t,” I say, even though it’s a lie. I have shit to get done at home and stuff to set up so my cleaners can stop by while I’m gone, but I don’t tell them that. “She can stay with me.”

Stevie’s brows rise. “Are you sure?”

I nod. “I’m sure. Come on, Macie. Let’s go see how many straws Fitz can fit in his missing tooth hole.”

“Yes!” Macie pumps her arms up and down, racing around the front of the truck.

I follow behind her, stopping next to Stevie, who is looking at me in surprise.

“What?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “Nothing.” Then, after a quick look around, she rises up and presses a quick kiss to my lips. “I’ll be right back.”

I stand there grinning like an idiot as she walks away, wishing like hell she’d come back.

“Greer, come on! He already has two in there!” Macie calls. “You’re missing it!”

I laugh. “Coming!”

Guess I’m spending my day here.