“Finally!” Violet holds up her phone, showing us the time. “They were about to leave without you.” She thumbs over her shoulder to where Alex is standing outside. Darren’s phone rings as Alex brings his to his ear.

“I gotta run. I’ll see you tonight. Have fun today.” Darren brushes his lips across mine in a very uncharacteristic public display of affection.

I stare after him as he heads for Alex, who throws his hand up in the air. All I catch is “What the fu—” before the doors close and cut him off.

Darren holds up a hand, probably telling him to settle down. He claps him on the back and Alex shakes his head, shoulders rolling as he turns and climbs onto the bus. Darren looks over his shoulder as he brings two fingers to his lips and holds them up in my direction.

I smile until I realize it’s the fingers that were inside me not that long ago—the same ones that did not provide me with an orgasm. As my grin falls, his rises. And then he disappears onto the bus.

As soon as he’s out of sight, I turn to the girls, ready to issue a somewhat insincere apology for holding them up. They’re all staring at me, eyes wide.

“What?” I touch my face and pat my hair, making sure it’s not all messed up.

“What the hell was that?” Violet makes wild hand gestures.

“What was what?” Why are they all looking at me like I’ve grown another head? I look down to make sure I’m not flashing a nipple or have a wet spot on my crotch.

“I didn’t think Darren was big on PDAs,” Violet says.

I shrug. “He usually isn’t.” Until now, I guess.

“Well, I think it’s sweet,” Sunny says, rubbing her bump. “Can we get something to eat before we go shopping? I’m starving.”

I’m grateful that she takes the attention off me.

“I second that!” Violet says, and we pour out onto the Toronto street.

We stop at a breakfast place that has vegan options. Violet orders a full breakfast and a side of bacon and devours everything. We stroll down the street, stopping at a candy store, and then of course we find a sex shop, so it’s imperative that we go inside, at least according to Violet and Skye.

Violet’s eyes light up as she rummages through the penis-themed party favors. “Oh! Poppy, we need to start planning your bachelorette party!”

“I don’t think that’s necessary quite yet since we’re not getting married for at least another year, maybe two, depending.”

“Unless Lance knocks you up,” Lily wags her brows.

Poppy rolls her eyes. “He’s not going to knock me up. I’m on the pill.”

Sunny raises her hand. “I was on the pill, and I got knocked up.”

“Yeah, but you were on antibiotics and forgot that makes the pill ineffective,” Lily reminds her.

“Oh, right. Oh well, at least this time around it was planned. Might as well have them all now so they can grow up together.” She pats her tummy.

Lily smiles softly, but there’s a sadness there, too. Her mom got pregnant by an NHL player when she was eighteen. He took zero responsibility and never paid a dime in child support. Randy’s dad, a former NHL player, had a bad habit of sleeping with women who weren’t his wife while he was on the road.

While Lily and Randy seem to have a great relationship, they’re both a little skittish about marriage and kids. She’s still young and not in a rush to start a family of her own, but I think part of her is sad that if she does end up having kids, they’ll be much younger than Sunny’s.

I can relate, I guess—not that I want to get married and have kids. I mean, I guess maybe I would eventually consider the kid part, but marriage seems a lot like a prison sentence from my experience growing up.

On the way back to the hotel, we’re forced to stop again because Sunny needs more food. The game doesn’t start until seven, but we arrive back at the hotel around four in the afternoon. It appears housekeeping has been by to tidy up, and Darren has come and gone. On the bed is huge black box tied with a red ribbon and a small black card with my name written on it in silver ink.

The ache between my legs that finally dulled into something tolerable this afternoon becomes sharp again as I consider the contents of the box.

I’d message Darren, but I don’t like to distract him before games. I pick up the card and flip it open.I shiver at the memory of what he said this morning when he left me hanging. It’s been a long time since he’s brought me to the edge like that—twice even—and kept me wanting all day. What if it’s some kind of sex toy in there? How the hell am I going to make it through the rest of the night without an orgasm?