Page 39 of Power Play

“Sorry.” Maven laughs and sips her water. “You all know I love hosting, and it’s my first time having people over at the new house.”

“I would love to host too if I lived here.” I glance around the living room and admire the decor and furniture. The freshly painted walls and the windows that look out to three acres of land without a neighbor in sight. “I can’t believe you all built this from the ground up.”

“I love it so much. I’ve always lived in apartments, and I’m so excited to have a yard. To have a porch and a tree-lined street.” Maven sighs, blissfully content. “This is a dream come true.”

“It’s so beautiful. Definitely worth making the drive.” Emmy pulls her legs to her chest and rests her chin on her knees. “I’d love to live outside the city in a place like this. With enough landto have a garden full of fruits and vegetables and space to build an ice-skating rink in the backyard.”

“Aren’t you and Maverick looking to buy?” Maven asks. “I thought you went to an open house last month.”

“We did, but when we’re both home for longer than a night and not exhausted from our games, the last thing we want to do is talk about neighborhoods or HOAs. It’s like everything else we’re doing: it’ll happen when it happens, and until then, life is good,” Emmy says.

“I love your love.” Lexi sighs. “It makes me so happy.”

“It took sifting through a dumpster of trash ex-boyfriends to find Maverick, but it was worth it. After my last breakup, I told myself I was content with being alone. That it’s what I wanted, and I’d be happier without a man. When I’m with him though, I realize how much I don’t want to be alone. It scares me how much I love him sometimes, because what if he decides one day he doesn’t want me anymore? It’s terrifying to put so much trust in someone not to break your heart.” Emmy realizes what she’s said a second too late, and her mouth opens in horror. “Shit. I’m sorry, Piper. I didn’t mean?—”

“I know you didn’t.” I wrap my arm around her and rest my head on her shoulder. “Maverick isnotSteven. Just because I was sad doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to be happy.”

“We can talk about something else.”

“Like Piper’s sex life? Any luck on finding someone on Craigslist?” Lexi teases.

“What?” I squeak. “Nope. Nothing. Not a single thing to report.”

“You’re such a bad liar.” Maven narrows her eyes. “You’re hiding something.”

“Ugh. Fine.” I groan, knowing they’re going to wear me down eventually. “I, um, have a development on the wholegetting better at sexthing.”

“Finally.” Lexi grabs the bottle of chardonnay and fills up her glass. “Thisis what we should’ve been talking about all night.”

“Before I start, you all have to swear what I say doesn’t leave this room. You can’t ask me about it when we’re not behind closed doors. You can’t tell anyone on the team. It’s very private and very personal.”

It’s been almost a week since I proposed my idea to Liam.

We’ve had three games—two away and one at home—so I know he’s been busy, but he hasn’t given me an answer one way or another about where he stands and I’m going out of my mind.

Putting myself out there washard, but I have to be prepared for a possible rejection.

He said it himself: he doesn’t date during the season. And while I know we’re not falling in love or anything profound like that, this will be a time commitment. For someone so dedicated to his craft, asking him to give up precious hours away from the thing he’s passionate about might not go over well.

“Whoa.” Maven scoots to the edge of the couch opposite me. “This is serious, isn’t it?”

“Very,” I say. “I need you all to swear on girl code.”

“Swear,” Lexi says, and Maven and Emmy echo the agreement.

I take a deep breath and a sip of my wine. “Something happened at the bar when we were in Edmonton.”

“Ihatebeing on a different team. I miss out on all the exciting stuff,” Emmy grumbles. “Please tell me you had a wild night of sex with some nice Canadian. Isn’t there a position where you do it on a mechanical bull?”

“Okay, if those are your expectations for this story, you’re going to be verydisappointed. There was no kinky bull riding, but I did stepwayout of my comfort zone by telling someone how uninspired I felt in the bedroom,” I confess.

“What do you meansomeone?” Lexi presses. “Who the hell did you ask? Is it someone famous? Is that why you’re being so secretive?”

“It’s Liam,” I blurt out, and all three girls gape at me. “I told him about Steven and the lack of intimacy and—oh my god. I said I’m not sure a guy can make me orgasm. I can’t believe I did that.”

“We need to backwaythe fuck up. How the hell did you end up telling him all of that? What did he say? Is he agreeing to it?” Emmy asks, and there are so many questions I don’t have the answer to.

“It all just happened. One minute I’m telling him I could be into hockey players and the next he’s saying I know where to find him. So, I found him. Proposed the idea. Asked if he would be my coach, and now I’m in limbo while I wait for him to decide if this is a good idea or not.”

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