Page 76 of The Grinder

“Yeah, but I need you to find somewhere to crash tonight. I’ll make it up to you, I swe—”

CJ’s laughter cut Riley off.

“Dude, I’m not stupid. As soon as I saw Aly at the game, I checked around. I’m gonna crash at Malone’s place tonight. He’s got an extra bed since O’Neill’s still in the hospital—”

Riley grabbed CJ by the nape and yanked him forward to kiss his head. “I love you, kid.”

CJ pushed him away with a laugh. “Yeah, yeah. You owe me, Rye. Just don’t fuck it up.”

“Don’t plan to.”

Seconds later, Riley was out of the locker room and into the hall. Pulling out his phone, he breathed a sigh of relief to see a text from Aly.

Not sure where I should meet you so I’ll wait outside until I hear from you. If something changes, I’ll go home with Vivi and you can text me.

Hell, nothing was going to change his mind. She’d made the next step and he was going to make sure the only way they kept moving was forward.

I’m done. Where are you?

Already on his way out of the building, Riley stopped and looked around. There were still a crowd of fans milling around, waiting for the crush at the train station to ease. He didn’t think he’d be recognized. He wore a beanie that hid his hair but had forgotten to factor in the suit. Dead giveaway.

“Riley! Will you sign my program?”

A little girl in pigtails and a Colonials sweater asked him to sign her souvenir stick, the smile on her face adorable. Of course, he said yes. Five seconds later, he had a crowd of people around him.

And the vague remembrance of a conversation with the team PR woman to be polite at all times and not to open his mouth too much.

Which was a virtual impossibility for him.

He spoke to everyone who stuck something in his hands. Mostly they were kids who wanted him to sign their sweaters or their programs. He’d done it thousands of times before but never on an NHL sweater.

His face hurt by the time he’d signed every piece, he’d smiled and talked and took photos.

And when he looked up after the last person walked away, he found Aly, smiling at him from a bench lining the walk to the entrance.

She had her hands stuffed in the pockets of her coat and she looked cold. Standing when she saw he’d noticed her, she walked toward him. He met her halfway, trying to find the perfect thing to say.

She looked like she was doing the same thing, her smile a little strained, like she didn’t have a clue what he was going to say.

When she stood right in front of him, he realized he didn’t need to say anything.

Wrapping his arms around her, he pressed his lips against hers and kissed the hell out of her.

He kissed her like a parched man gulped water after three days in the desert.

Her lips softened under his and her arms went around his waist to hold him almost as tightly as he held her. He lost himself in her taste and her touch. Not even the catcalls from the security guards and the few lingering fans made him want to stop.

Hell, if he could continue to kiss her and still get to his hotel room, he would’ve considered it.

He didn’t know how long they stood there, kissing each other like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks. He couldn’t get enough of her, probably would never get enough of her. This… She was exactly what he wanted to come home to every night.

But when Aly pulled away, he let her go. Reluctantly. And not far. He kept his arms around her shoulders and her body tucked against his.

“I fucking missed you.” He spoke before she could say anything and probably should’ve taken time to think of something better. But the truth was, he meant every word. “I don’t want to miss you again. I want you to be the first person I see when I get back from a road trip. I want to be the first person you want to talk to in the morning and the last person you want to talk to before you go to sleep. And I want to be inside you as often as I can. Starting in the next half hour.”

Laughing, she slipped one hand under his beanie, into his still-wet hair, and tugged him down for another kiss that made every part of his body hot and ready. Some more than others. “I missed you too, Riley.”

His cock hardened even more than it already was. The walk to the car would be interesting. “You have no idea how damn glad I am to hear that.”

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