Page 10 of Playboy

“Sorry,” War says, walking out of the room. “He had a few shots to numb the pain. Can you put my wife on? I think I’m going to be late getting home.”

I hand the phone over to my bestie, a big smile on my face. God, I love these people.

CALLIOPE’S COLUMN

April

Oral: The Lost Art

It’s about time we sit down and have an honest conversation, because the number of women who have written in saying they’ve never experienced this is criminal. Married women. Older women. Women in their twenties. What do you all have in common? Your man doesn’t go down on you.

In any spicy book, you can point out the ex-boyfriend almost immediately. He’s the guy who says he doesn’t dothat.

Likethatis a dirty word.

Let’s be clear, ladies: oral has become the lost art. Because make no mistake about it, there is an art to the female orgasm when it comes to a little tongue action. And if a man doesn’t tell me to sit on his face, then he’s not the man for me.

Now do me a favor: forward this article to your boyfriend, because I’m about to give him a step-by-step guide to pleasuring you.

And if he tells you he doesn’t dothat, then it’s safe to say this is the last chapter of your book you’ll allow him to be part of.

FOUR

DANIEL

Noah pulls back his stick,and with barely a flick of his wrist, the biscuit is flying past Brooks’s shoulder and into the net.

Gavin closes his eyes and breaks into a smile. Then, with a clap, he yells to the guys on the ice to switch out. To me, he silently nods, telling me I’m up.

With that look, I know what he’s going to say at the end of practice. It’s been coming for the last six weeks. Since Noah showed up and Gavin announced that we’d test out different lines.

We’ve done it before: Brought Camden up to first line with me or War. Put our second-line center in for Aiden. But for the majority of the last two years, War and Aiden and I have made up the first line. We have a chemistry that hasn’t been replicated.

Then Noah walked in, and from day one, he’s fit perfectly. No matter where Gavin puts him. I’m pretty sure he could hang with the defensive guys and still score. He’s just that sly.

Even on second line, he’s incredible. But there’s no denying that he and War communicate better together than he and Camden. I’m close to both guys. I’ve practiced with them for two years. I know that’s at the heart of this decision. Noah and War played together in college and in Minnesota. He doesn’tknow the rest of the team. After the hefty chunk of change Bolts’ management surely paid to get him here, putting him anywhere else makes little sense.

This is what’s right for the team.

But that doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it.

Aiden and I run the same drills. I pass to him, and he sinks it into the net.

The result may be the same, but if I have any chance of staying on the first line with my boys, this doesn’t help one bit.

I try not to be too hard on myself. Whether I scored that last goal or not, Gavin says exactly what I expect when he’s speaking to the whole team at the end of practice.

“Warren, Harrison, and Langfield are on line one this weekend. Hall, Snow, and Keegan on line two?—”

He continues, firing off line assignments. Assignments that haven’t changed at all. The only person who has been moved is me, and the glances from the guys tell me I’m not the only one who’s realized this.

“Now go get some rest. The flight for Arizona leaves early.”

I’d been looking forward to this weekend for months. Now, though? I can’t get out of this arena fast enough.

As I steponto the plane in my travel day suit, duffel in hand, and find Noah already settled beside Aiden—the seat I normally occupy—a surge of pain overtakes me.

As soon as War sees me, he slides from his aisle seat to the window and nods at me. War never sits in the window seat.Fuck, am I pathetic. My ass has barely touched the cushion when he leans forward. “How are you doing?”

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