Page 33 of Blindside Love

The highlight of the day was definitely spending more time with Ellie. After Friday—specifically our kiss—I thought it’d be best to give her a little space to process, to think about everything that had happened between us before I mentioned that I wanted more.

I know damn well I wanted to take it further, but I need her to want it. No, I need more than that. I need her to crave it. To crave me.

But if the looks she’s been giving me today mean anything, she’s definitely coming to terms with her feelings for me. Feelings? Desires? The tingly things that happen to your body when you meet someone you want to get naked with and have a conversation with.

It’s rare and exciting, but all I want is to get to know her and maybe have some fun in the process.

And maybe, just maybe, she’d like that too.

Early morning practices are always the hardest to wake up for. Especially on a Saturday when, for some godforsaken reason, our coach thinks we should be laced up and on the ice by seven a.m., which actually means 6:50. This morning was no different than usual but was made infinitely better when I saw Ellie had texted me on one of our ten-minute breaks.

Ellie

Hi. I was wondering if you were free on Monday.

Good morning, kitten. Besides practice till 10 a.m., my schedule is wide open.

The dots start and stop a few times, and I wonder if she’s changed her mind about whatever she was just about to say.

Ellie

Would you like to come over for dinner?

I can’t help it, I smile.

I’d love to. When?

Ellie

Six?

I’ll be there. Can I bring anything?

Ellie

Just yourself. :)

How could I not be on top of the world after having that conversation before eight a.m.? Plus, I finally scheduled a meeting with my agent to discuss my plans. As much as I know that he could work out a killer deal for me, I still can’t commit to that yet. But I also can’t commit to retirement until I talk to my father.

Thankfully, we have our weekly dinner tomorrow, and my sister will be there. Hopefully, that’ll help take some of the heat off of me when I talk to Dad. And now that Ellie just invited me over to dinner, I have that to look forward to the day after. It seems like this week is finally looking up.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about dinner, though. I’ve hung out with Ellie before, but usually in a more public, less intimate setting. It’s nearly impossible to keep my hands off of her when we’re in public; how the hell am I supposed to when I’m at her place? All I can think about is the way her body felt in my hands, her tongue on my own, and the way her eyes looked up at me like I hung the moon. And in that moment, I decided it had become my life’s mission to see that look in her eyes as many times as humanly possible.

“Whatever little daydream you’ve got going on up in your head, close it down, bud; it’s time to get back out before coach reams our asses. I don’t wanna bag skate the rest of the morning,” Harris grumbles as he makes his way past me.

“I’m fine,” I snap as I follow Harris out onto the ice.

We’re doing shootout practice for the rest of this morning. Coach is still pissed we lost a game in a shootout a couple of weeks ago, so he makes us practice this constantly.

“Are too. I saw you texting. Then you got this big, dreamy smile. It was adorable. But adorable doesn’t score goals.”

“That’s still to be determined.”

Out of the ten shots I took, I made nine. Harris made six.

I guess adorable does score goals. Now, if only I could score her.

Chapter 13

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