Page 16 of Riding Pine
“Well, that’s what I get for not planning ahead.”
Ben watches as I adjust my pants to find a little less constriction and sighs.
“I like spontaneous sex. It’s the best. Don’t feel bad about that and whip out a day planner or anything and kill the mood.”
Laughter bursts from my lips, and I grin at Ben. “Message received. I’ll let you get to your meeting then.”
Ben follows me to the door, but before I can open it to leave, he grabs my arm. “Thank you for coming here tonight, but you can’t leave without a kiss.”
He stretches up, and I bend to meet him, greeting him with a searing kiss that feels like it goes on forever, and I wish I didn’t have to leave.
Finally, he steps away and pats my chest.
“Okay, for real, you need to go because I can’t miss this meeting.” His voice is thick, and like me, the distance is needed because we just gravitate to each other like we're tethered by an invisible string, and I step back with a sigh.
“I’ll see you soon, Ben.”
The lock clicks into place as I walk away, and when I reach my car, I know I’ll see him soon. This time I’ll make plans, and hopefully he’s open for a date.
I’ve not dated anyone seriously since the first relationship I had while playing hockey didn’t end well. I think it’s time to try it again.
five
Ben
Lukas showing up was both a blessing and a curse.
It was great to have a live audience, even if it was just him, but dear god, the man is too sexy for his own good. It’s like he emits sex hormones custom-designed for me, and I’m perpetually wanting to rip my clothes off every time we’re in the same room.
Rushing into my bathroom, I clean myself up the best I can without an actual shower and return to my office, where I brought a fresh button-up shirt and dress pantsto change into.
Last night I told James how odd it was to keep meeting this PR gal in the evenings, and he agreed, but I’ve never dealt with professional sports teams, so maybe it’s common. Either way, I need to get to the waterfront for this meeting and hopefully sign a contract to get performing for an audience again.
With time to spare, I parked on the street and made my way up the giant office tower elevator to Suite 815.
The suite’s door stands open, and Christine, the marketing director for the local hockey team, the Bloomburg Aspens, sits behind her desk.
With a soft knock, I enter the office. “Christine? Hi.”
“Ben.” She stands and motions to the chair across from her desk. “Come in. Thank you so much for being flexible and meeting me this evening.”
I settle into the chair across from her and smooth my shirt. A sudden case of nerves settles over me. It’s been far too long since I’ve had a job interview.
“You’re welcome. I’m usually put together better than this, but I had a class I couldn’t cancel, and I rushed over as soon as it finished.”
She waves her hand while opening a file folder.
“It’s quite all right. I inconvenienced you after all. And I don’t want to keep you any longer, so if you don’t mind, let’s get right to business.”
Christine is all smiles as she slides a sheet of paper towards me, and the first thing I notice is the dollar amount. Wow. It’s considerably more than when we first talked.
“After discussing with a few other teams that have mascots, it was determined that the pay we were offering was grossly under the market rate. Your pay would be split into even weekly or monthly payments, whatever you prefer.”
She flips to the next page, and it’s a game schedule. It’s nicely colour-coded for home and away games, and there’s a little picture of a beaver on some blocks. It’s definitely cute.
“Obviously, you need to attend every home game as Slappy. We expect you to interact with fans in the stands during the game as well as entertain during at least one intermission. We’d prefer it to be during the second intermission to encourage people to stay and watch you.”
“And what are the days with the beaver on them?”
