Page 51 of A Scoring Chance

“Sure you don’t want some company?”

“Oh, you know I do, but I doubt Beau is going to respect the closed door for long.”

“You’re probably right.” Ramona unwraps my arms from her waist and dashes around the bed to the bathroom. My eyes remain locked on her as she closes the door behind her and turns the lock.

After making sure my dick is no longer ready to burst out of my pants, I push to my feet and stride out the door. Beau is exactly where he said he’d be—in the den, the sound of the television echoing off the walls.

“Why the fuck is the television so loud?” I ask, grabbing the remote off the coffee table to turn it down to an acceptable level.

“I didn’t want to hear you moaning and shit.”

“You could’ve also, I don’t know, fucking left or called before you walked into my place uninvited.”

“Would you have rather it been me or Momma? They should be here any minute now.” Beau shakes his phone in the air, notbothering to take his eyes off the television. “I’m sure you’d have seen her text if you weren’t otherwise occupied.”

“Good point. Thanks for having my back.” I slap him on the back before heading into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. Momma walking in on Ramona and I would’ve been terrible. Not only do I not want my mother to catch me in any type of sexual position, but we haven’t defined whatever this is between us. Sure, we talked about this being more than just a fling, but we need to discuss so much more. I know that I’m all in on this. There’s no one else I want to spend time with besides Beauty, but does she feel the same way?

“Aren’t you afraid of Momma getting the wrong idea?” Beau strides into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator door to examine the contents.

“The wrong idea?”

“Ramona stayed in your house last night. Now you’re bringing her son and her to a game that you aren’t playing in and want them to wear your jersey.”

“I don’t see the problem here.” I stride toward the small breakfast nook off the kitchen and take a seat at the table. Something tells me this is going to be a very involved conversation. I appreciate my brother looking out for me, but his need to overanalyze things and come up with the perfect plan of attack isn’t for everyone. Sometimes you need to act on what you feel, and for the first time in my life, I’m doing just that. I may not have all the answers right now, but I know in my soul that if I miss this chance, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.

Beau pulls out the chain across from me and takes a seat, his arms resting on the table. “I need you to think with the brain between your ears, not the one between your legs for a minute. Ramona is a m-o-t-h-e-r.”

“Was the spelling really necessary?” I chuckle, leaning back in the chair. I’m sure Beau has a point, but I’m losingmy patience. Has things between Beauty and me progressed quickly? I don’t know. We’ve only known each other for forty-eight hours, but there’s something there. I’m not planning on getting down on one knee and proposing marriage the moment she walks out of my room, but I want to see where things are going between us.

“Yes, it was, because I wanted to make sure you were fucking paying attention. You don’t just take a single mother on a date, have sex with them, and then bounce.”

“Do you really think?—”

“I know you fucking aren’t and Momma does too, but does the world? And that, dear brother, is your problem.”

“You’re overreacting, Beau. No one gives a shit about what I’m doing when I’m not on the ice.”

“That’s whereyou’rewrong, brother. I’ve been asked at least twenty times in my interviews this week where you’ve been and why you aren’t on the roster for the game. The team isn’t saying shit either. What’s going to happen when the world sees you walking into the arena hand in hand with a woman they’ve never seen before and a pre-teen boy?”

Well, shit. Beau has a point. I had planned on going to the arena early to have a talk with Murphy about his timetable for my coming back to the team, but maybe I should make a stop in to see Coach and the general manager. After they told me I wouldn’t be on the roster for the start of the season and they wanted me to coach at the hockey club back home, I stopped listening. If they have a plan to announce something, I need to know. A call to Remy is probably in order, as well.

Beau has given me a lot to think about, but that doesn’t change my course of action. Ramona and Darius are coming to the game with me, and she’ll be wearing my name on her back if I have anything to say about it. I’ll just have to make sure I can handle the rest before anyone catches wind of it.

“Thanks, brother.”

“Anytime. Just wanted to make sure you’re thinking things through completely and have a plan.”

“Of course, because God forbid you don’t have a perfect, foolproof plan before starting something with a woman you like. How’s that working out for you?”

Beau pushes back from the table in a huff, storming out of the breakfast nook to sulk in the den. I could’ve been gentler with him, but it serves him right. He wants me to be happy, but the same goes for him. I just wish he’d open his mouth and say something before it’s too late. He swears he has too much to lose by admitting his feelings, but to me, the risk is worth the reward, especially because I have a feeling that his lady love feels the same way.

I should probably apologize, but just as I’m getting up from the table to follow him, something dawns on me. “Wait. How do you even know her name?”

Beau turns his head to look at me, the answer written all over his face. “Alise,” we say in unison before he continues his thought. “She called me bright and early this morning, demanding to know as much detail as I can give her about what happened last night.”

“And you told her…”

“That I stopped you from fucking on the floor of your entryway but have no idea what you two were up to after I left.”

---