Page 35 of Fair Play
Otherpiercings?!
My dick just twitched again.
“I’m afraid to ask,” I say, trying to keep my tone light.
“Oh, you know damn well you want to ask.”
I nearly sigh but my mouth seems to have a mind of its own when it comes to her. “Okay, you win. What other piercings do you have?”
“My left nipple.”
Yeah, I had a feeling.
“Anything else?”
She smirks. “You’re going to have to kiss me again before I give up that information.”
Is she trying to tell me… nope. Not going there.
No way, no how.
Sensing my discomfort, she bursts out laughing.
“Does talking about piercings embarrass you?”
“Nooo.” I draw out the word to give myself a little time to think about a proper response. “It’s just…fuck.” I stop walking and jerk her around so she’s facing me. “What are we doing, Billie?”
She cocks her head. “Is that a trick question? Because I think it’s obvious.”
“Babe, you’re beautiful. Smart, sassy, and a lot of fun...”
“But?” She pulls her hand out of mine and folds her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“But Bodi. That’s thebut. The elephant in the room. We can joke about his overprotectiveness and whether or not I’mafraid of him, but at the end of the day, we work together. I’m making over a million dollars this year, and I need that money. I really need one more year to be able to pay off all my debts and get some money in the bank. If Bodi finds out we’re…doing whatever we’re doing… he’s not going to be happy. And no matter what you might think, it will spill over into the locker room. If guys have to take sides, it will cause the kind of problems that could get me traded. And if no one wants me, I’ll be forced into retirement.”
Her expression is hard to read.
She hears me.
She understands.
I don’t think she’s taking my words lightly.
But there’s no doubt she has a lot to say about it.
“Bodi and I haven’t had money since our parents died. There was a small life insurance policy, around a hundred thousand dollars, and Bodi invested half for him and half for me. I forget the details, something safe, that would hopefully give us a start in life when the time comes. He played hockey and waited tables, worked at a gym, did house sitting…did whatever he had to do to make sure I had everything I needed. We survived and we’re fine. Money doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“I know, but?—”
“There’s no but. There’s just this.Us. I don’t know what it is. I like you. I like how it feels when we’re together. You make me feel safe without smothering me the way Bodi does, and it’s refreshing. I think you’re hot. That kiss we just shared was fucking amazing. I want to kiss you again. I want to hold your hand and ride the Ferris wheel together. I want to sit across the dinner table from you and listen to your voice while you tell me about hockey or whatever else… I’m not looking for a rich husband to take care of me—I can take care of myself.
“I just want to spend time with you. I don’t know if it’s just today or forever or a brief blip on the radar of our lives. But how do we find out if we don’t try? There’s no reward without risk.”
Spoken like a twenty-two-year-old who hasn’t weathered two divorces, six hockey teams in the last ten years, and has probably never seen a forty-thousand-dollar credit card bill.
And yet, despite all that, she’s right.
“I’m thirteen years older than you,” I point out needlessly. “You probably want kids someday and by the time you’re ready, I’ll be in my forties.”
