“Oh, baby.” Lily strokes my beard, and her fingertips brush over my lips.

It’s not the reaction I expected.

“Is Brynne okay? It can’t be easy with her so far away.”

“I don’t know. There’s gotta be more going on than she’s telling me. I hate that she’s all the way in Australia; I can’t do anything. I’m not awesome with the talking, as you know.”

“You’re better than you think.”

“I don’t know about that. Fuck. I’m sorry I was a dick.”

“You weren’t a dick…maybe a little possessive and ridiculous.” She stresses the dick in ridiculous and gets a smile out of me.

Lily pushes up on her toes and runs her hands through my hair. Her touch is gentle, soothing. It’s what I need. She’s what I need. Sometimes it makes me nervous how much. Like now. And earlier when she was skating with that guy to our song.

“Why didn’t you tell me your dad called?”

“It puts me in a bad mood. I figured it wasn’t worth mentioning.”

Lily sighs. “You can tell me these things, Randy. You don’t have to keep this stuff to yourself.”

“I know. I just… I get worried.”

“Worried about what?”

“He was talking about coming to Chicago this weekend.”

“Did you tell him we were going to be away?”

“I mentioned I wouldn’t be in town.” But that doesn’t stop him from wanting a place to crash. I could manage that before, but not with Lily living with me. He’s grown progressively worse over the past couple of years—making a mess, being a big dick.

Sometimes it’s hard to be honest. I’m not accustomed to having these truthful conversations about feelings. I haven’t really expressed how much it worries me that I’m going to be on the road. And my dad’s recent phone calls haven’t helped. He’s also mentioned the girlfriend rumors, and I haven’t told him about Lily. But then if he bothered to check the media, he’d know anyway.

When I talked to him last week, he was full of his usual little digs about my playing, about how I handle myself off the ice, about my mom—just everything. And he gets to me; he gets in my head and makes me question what I can and can’t handle. I hate it.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I shove down the negative thoughts. I just want this weekend with my girlfriend without any issues.

I take in Lily’s outfit. She’s wearing a sundress. She’s definitely braless; I know because the dress is strapless, and she doesn’t bother with bras unless they’re absolutely necessary. The top of the dress is all gathered and elastic-y. I could pull it right down, and she’d be in her panties in a second.

I run a finger from one collarbone to the other. “Lily.” Her name comes out all gravelly and low. I’m sure my expression tells her more than words will.

“What can I do to make this easier for you?”

I shrug and ease my finger under the elastic. This time I skim the swell of her breast. I’m pretty close to a nipple.

“You want a distraction from what’s going on in your head?” she asks.

This is one of the reasons I love her. She calls me out on my bullshit, and then makes it better.

“It might help.”

She drops her bag on the floor and pulls my mouth to hers. She fumbles with my belt one-handed while I tug her dress down. Once it reaches her thighs, it drops to the floor and pools at her feet.

I grab her hips, searching for panties to remove. “Where’s your underwear?”

“In my bag. I wanted to be prepared. I had a feeling something was going on.” Her hand goes down the front of my boxers. I’m wearing my favorite pair; the ones she defaced almost a year ago when we first met at Waters’ Ontario cottage. They say Tiny Dick Inside. That’s a lie. There’s nothing tiny about me.

“I love how good you are to me.” I groan when she wraps her fingers around my cock. Turning, I lift her by the waist. Lily wraps her legs around me, and I pin her to the wall with my body. We’re all lined up and ready for fucking.

“You need a primer, or are you good to go?” I ask.

“I’ve been primed for the past hour.”

I take her mouth again and ease inside her. Her eyes roll up and she hums, like my being in her is a relief we both need. She’s hot and tight and naked, and I’m still fully dressed, but that doesn’t matter. Later, when we get to Waters’ cottage, we can both be naked, and I’ll take more time with her, show her how much I appreciate what she’s giving me right now.

“All the doors are locked?”

“Yup.”

“So you pretty much called it that I’d come back looking for more of you?”

“You’re always looking for more of me.”

She’s not being cocky. It’s true.

She clasps her hands behind my neck. “It’s your turn to take what you need, baby.”

So I do. Because she lets me. Because I love her. Because she loves me back.

***

By the time I’m done with the taking, and the giving, we both have messages. Lily’s are from Sunny, and mine are from Miller. We both message back to let them know we’re on our way—for real this time.

Alex and another of my teammates, Darren Westinghouse, are already at Sunny and Miller’s place with Violet and Charlene by the time we get there.

“Neither one of you is allowed to use the bathroom before we leave,” Violet says by way of greeting.

“I’ve already taken care of Randy; he should be good until we get to the cottage,” Lily replies with a sweet smile.

I chuckle and kiss the top of her hair.

“Road head?” Violet asks.

“Nope.” Lily’s smile widens until she hides it behind her latte cup. It’s probably cold by now, but she doesn’t seem to care.

Sunny wrinkles her nose. “Please tell me you did not have sex in a Starbuck’s bathroom.”

“God, no. Those are gross. We had locker room wall sex,” Lily says.

Violet’s eyes light up. “Oooh! High five. The locker rooms in the arenas are so clean. I remember when Alex got kicked out of that game and I went to find him. That was some seriously hot sex.” She turns to Waters. “We should do that again. Except let’s not get caught this time.”