My dick wanted to do something about that, but we’d been up late, and I wasn’t sure when she had to be at class. I didn’t want to disturb her if she needed the sleep. I slid out of bed, half hoping she’d wake up, but she just sighed and snuggled farther into the covers.
The room was a little cold, so I pulled on my clothes as quickly and quietly as I could. I glanced back at her one more time before opening the door and slipping out. I sent her a quick message, wishing her a good morning and telling her I’d had a fantastic time. Then I got back to my car and drove to my place on the mostly empty streets.
Practice was drastically different from anything we’d been through for the past month or so. Coach was smiling, for one thing. There was more conversation in the locker room, and a more relaxed air on the ice as the coaches gave us a lighter workout.
At the end of practice, we circled around Coach.
“That was good, what you did last night. I was proud of how you played.”
The relief was palpable.
“Good understanding of the team dynamic, Ducky.”
My face went hot as all the attention turned to me. “Yeah, well, if it hadn’t worked…”
Coach shook his head. “Let’s not go there. It did. We’re heading out tomorrow, and I expect that kind of play on this road trip. Enough slacking off.”
We hadn’t been, any of us, but we got the idea. It was time to play up to our potential, and now we believed we could.
Back in the locker room, I checked my phone. Katie had sent me a picture of the kitchen. We hadn’t cleaned up last night, too focused on each other. There was a pile of dirty dishes.
Sorry. Want me to come and wash those now?
I got it. Just wanted you to feel guilty.
I do. So guilty, I’ll take you out for dinner tonight.
There was a pause, and I stood, still in my sweaty gear, waiting for the response. I thought we were properly dating now. In a relationship where we spent time together and went on dates.
Fuck. Fitch had said things had to be different. We should have talked about this, not jumped to sex.
Finally my phone buzzed.
I don’t get home till seven. Is that too late?
I didn’t care if we ate at midnight, as long as we did it together.
Pick you up at 7:30?
Great.
I tossed my phone down and started to pull off my gear. Now I just had to find a great place to take her.
Katie
So, that was it. I was dating Josh again.
I wasn’t as naïve as I’d been last time. He wasn’t perfect, and neither was I. He was a big hockey star, while I was a student. Our chances of lasting beyond a few weeks were small. Right now, I was the one who got away—was given away, or something like that. But I suspected when he remembered how ordinary I was, he’d get bored and move on.
In the meantime, we were always good in bed, so that would be fun. And as long as I didn’t expect too much, I’d be okay. I had to control my expectations or I’d be hurt again.
Tonight, we went out to a restaurant. Josh wanted to call some expensive place that had a waiting list, get in using his star power, but I was tired after a long day of classes and study and wanted something easy.
Josh immediately changed plans and promised we’d do easy. Easy was a steakhouse, with prices that made me blink, but the guy was making bank so maybe that was another perk of dating him for a while.
“Order anything you want. This isn’t like when we went to Tony’s.”
I laughed, remembering our most extravagant date from high school. “Right. You only had an appetizer because everything was so expensive. You didn’t need to take me there, you know.”
