“Of you?”
“No, the wall.”
She does what I tell her, but her attention is divided between me, the ice, and Lily and Waters. He misses catching her this time, and she stumbles, ending up in his arms. They’re laughing, and Sunny’s clapping again. If I had a free hand and a camera ready, it’d make a great picture. Except I don’t want pictures of her and Waters.
Then Violet flails, and her feet go in two different directions. She really is the most uncoordinated person I’ve ever met. Maybe her boobs throw off her center of gravity. She grabs me with both hands, kicking me in the shin with one of her skates in the process. It hurts, but I’ve been kicked way worse, so I try not to make a face or anything. I grab her under the arms as she shrieks and tries to get her skates under control. All she succeeds in doing is kicking my feet out from under me.
I roll to my back as we go down, making sure she’s on top so I don’t crush her when we land.
Waters puts Lily down, shooting me a dirty look. “Baby, what’re you doing? I would’ve come to get you!”
“I want you to spin me around like that!” She turns back and gives me a devious smile. Her voice drops. “Just so you know, I was totally fucking with you. I’m not worried about Alex and Lily. He and I are solid. But your response told me everything I already knew. It’s pretty damn obvious Lily’s more than just your fuck buddy. Maybe you should man up and do something about it.”
I’m about to laugh that off when Waters skates over and helps Violet up, Lily right behind him. Violet smirks as Alex holds her against him, and Lily gives me a holy shit face, coming to a stop beside me as I push to my feet. Her cheeks are pink, and she’s breathing heavy.
She presses her body flush to mine. “Are you okay? Violet’s a menace.”
“I’m fine. You looked good out there.” I won’t admit that I didn’t like Waters’ hands on her, or that Violet may be on to something.
“Thanks. Alex and I used to practice together sometimes. Come on, I’ll teach you some moves.” She circles me, urging me to follow her. And I do.
We spend the next hour on the ice. Lily’s incredibly talented. Between her and Waters, we finally get to the point where Violet can make it around the rink without falling. She still has to hold on to someone, but at least she isn’t landing on her ass.
After skating we go to an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant. It’s the only way to go with hockey players; unlimited options and no cut-off point is the best.
Lily and I end up being invited back to Waters’ place, which means no sex until later. And I’m okay with that. It’s a good day, even if it’s not the naked kind.
I pull into Waters’ driveway. We’ve managed to get here first, so we have to wait for them to show up. I play with the lock of Lily’s hair that’s flipping out instead of curling under. It always seems to do that. “Can I ask you something?”
“The answer is no. Sunny and I have never experimented with each other,” she says immediately.
I choke on a cough. “Where the hell did that come from?”
“Now you’re imagining it, aren’t you?”
I laugh. “There’s no right answer to that, Lily.”
“Maybe you like the idea of me and Violet better. Her boobs are huge, and we’re closer to the same height.”
“Jesus.”
“Sorry. I’ll stop. You had a question.”
“Does that mean you’ve thought about experimenting with Sunny?”
“Ew. No way. She’s my best friend. Violet maybe, because of her boobs. Okay. Question. Shoot.”
It takes me a few seconds to remember it. It’s a decent segue anyway. “You ever have a thing for Waters?”
“Alex?”
“Yeah. Like when you were a teenager—you ever crush on him? You know, hook up with your bestie’s brother or whatever?” I try to come off as casual, but I’m pretty damn sure I fail, based on Lily’s expression.
“Did I ever have a crush on Alex? Oh my God, no! He was such a dork in high school. I mean, he was always really nice, but so, so nerdy. I can’t even tell you. Why?”
I shrug. “Just curious.”
“Just curious? Is this because of the skating thing?”
“You guys seemed to know how each other moves. I figured maybe you knew more about that than just what he was like on the ice.”
“I grew up with him, and Sunny’s my best friend. I never would have gone behind her back like that.”
I nod like I get it. Mostly I’m relieved. And I recognize that’s not necessarily a good thing—much like the jealousy this afternoon when they were on the ice. It means I’m getting attached. Comfortable. I’m not exactly sure why that’s happened.
I told her to tell me if things got too intense, but I have no idea what to do with myself.
Chapter 24
Slap Shot to The Heart
LILY