Page 39 of The Power Play

She pops her head up like she didn’t realize I was here before resting her chin on her hand, looking so defeated. I want to do something to help wipe the look from her face.

“Well, first of all, you were right about the rat situation. It’s bad apparently and they have definitely done some damage. So now, they have to open up everything to check every inch of the place. Do you know how expensive that is?!”

I nod, “Yeah, unfortunately I do.”

“Right, you saw it a lot with your dad. You and him just gouged people out of their life savings so they could be comfortable enough to live in their own homes.”

I bite back a small laugh because I know she wouldn’t appreciate it right now, and that she’s currently in the middle of a meltdown, but I wouldn’t say we “gouged” people for their money when I worked with him.

“You can stay here as long as you need to, you know?” I offer, because if I’m being honest, I’m really not in a rush to have her leave. I don’t know when that happened officially, but she can stay here as long as she wants.

“Thanks, but I wouldn’t do that to you. I know I’m crashing the bachelor pad and will figure something out sooner rather than later. I’m sure this thing will take a while even if I somehow figure out how to pay for it.”

I narrow my eyes at her, “Not sure what you think you’re crashing, especially when I’ve told you about my particularly boring life outside of hockey.”

She rolls her eyes, “Still. You don’t need me hanging around forever just because I can’t seem to get my shit together and pay another mortgage to have power.”

I’m going to ignore the way I reacted to her hanging aroundforeverand the fact that I didn’t panic about it.

Audrey gets up, but I block her path. She looks up at me and I tentatively push the hair that’s fallen into her face to the side, lightly grazing my finger on her skin. I watch the way her breath catches for a moment and that she tries to hide it from me.

“You can stay here as long as you need,” I repeat, looking directly into her hazel eyes to make it known that I’m serious.

I see her swallow roughly before nodding. “Thank you,” she says quietly. And the look on her face, the sound of her voice, gives me insight to the tiniest bit of vulnerability she has. Audrey has a tough exterior and exudes confidence. But in this single moment, I catch the uncertainty there. Whether it’s about her financial situation or intruding on my space, it’s there.

“Come with me somewhere tonight,” I blurt.

She’s taken aback, and I don’t blame her. I don’t know what I’m doing right now, but I’m going with it.

“Where?”

I shrug, “Come with me and find out.”

“When?”

“Meet me here once it’s dark out. Wear a swimsuit.”

“Um, Charlie, it’s November. Any body of water is frozen.”

“Just trust me.”

I watch her bite her bottom lip in thought. I want to bite that lip for her, then she looks back up at me with a small smile. “Okay.”

18

Ispend my day distracted by the stress of what is going on with my house, and curious about what Charlie has planned. It’s the only thing keeping me somewhat sane if I’m being honest. I hope it is going to at least lead to something sexy. If there’s anything that helps keep me distracted it’s sex. It’s one of the times I’m able to pull myself away from real life and focus solely on something else. Something that feelsgood.

It's also the only time I can either lose myself in being completely in control of what is going on, and bringing my partner pleasure, or letting them control me and be consumed in themtakingthe pleasure from me.

Either way I win.

I’ve never been with someone long enough to get to explore both sides with them, and usually hookups consist of the guy being pretty set on taking control. Which I don’t mind, but Ilikewhen I get to. IlikeCharlie letting me take the lead and that he wants to please me.

I spend my day getting the mail from my place, seeing yet another letter from dear old granny. She’s always been persistent, but these feel like they are coming more often than before and if maybe she’s finally on her way out of this lifetime. Too bad I’m pretty sure she thrives on hatred and sucking the souls out of anyone who crosses her, so at this rate she will end up immortal.

As I drive back to Charlie’s condo after getting some groceries, I can’t help but think about some of the shit I went through after I was forced into my grandma’s care. She wouldn’t let me watch anyDisneymovies because it’s a cult or something. I especially couldn’t watchHerculesbecause it “glorifies a fake religion.” Not sure who made her in charge of what is a real or fake religion, and in my opinion, they are all fake.

Then, there was high school when everyone was obsessed with some vampire book, so naturally I wanted to read it to see what the hype was and be able to fit in with what everyone was talking about. Grandma saw me reading it one day, saw it had to do with vampires, then proceeded to throw the book away, ban any talk of it from her house, and told me to not even try to read it behind her back because she would know.

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