36
LIKE OLIVIA, BUT TALL, AND
MINUS THE BOOBS
Carter
IF I WERE TO ADD up all the hours, I’m certain I’ve spent more of my life in arenas than in any other place, including the home I grew up in. They’re not new to me, the smell, the noise, the excitement that races up my spine every time I set foot in one.
But it’s this I’ve missed: kids dashing around, the smell of freshly baked cookies at the snack bar, the strong coees every parent clings to to get them through another morning at the rink.
Being here brings a ood of happy memories, years I spent in rinks like this one, my dad teaching me to skate, my parents cheering me on, helping me become the person I am today by supporting my dreams.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch someone’s blatant stare, the way they nudge the person next to them as I check out the board that tells me which of the four rinks I need to go. Being recognized at a place like this on a Saturday morning is inevitable, but this game isn’t about me, so I tug my toque down a little farther and nd the rink I’m looking for.
A shiver shakes my spine at the sharp bite of the rink as I step inside and up to the plexiglass, watching the girls zip around the ice. My heart cracks wide open when I spot Olivia in the doorway of the bench, talking to a girl who, on
skates, isn’t that far o in height from her, regardless of this being the eight-and- under league.
“Well, I’ll be fucking damned. Carter Beckett, slumming it at the local rink.”
I turn to the man sidled up next to me. With dark brown hair and eyes that match, his smirk tells me he’s been waiting for this day, but not in the way most people do. There’s a baby strapped to his chest, gnawing on a silicone hockey skate. He’s got a glob of drool dangling from his chin, coating his dad’s jacket.
“Should you be swearing right now? Doesn’t seem like a very good impression to set for little Jem.”
Surprise paints his face when he realizes I know exactly who he is, but how could I not? He looks remarkably like Olivia except— “Damn it, she really does look like me, doesn’t she?”
“Except—”
“Except I have a kid strapped to my chest instead of a pair of tits?”
“I was gonna say the height dierence, but sure, we’ll go with that.” Olivia’s tits are perfect, but something tells me he wouldn’t appreciate that elaboration.
“What are you doing here? Ollie didn’t say you were coming.”
“She doesn’t know. I’m not supposed to come to any games.”
“And you came anyway?”
“Mhmm. Caught an early ight back.”
Jeremy’s brows jump, but his gaze is cautious. “You paid for your own ight back instead of ying with the team? Why would you do that?”
Because I’m obsessed with your sister? “Because I wanted to see Ollie coach and watch Alannah play.” I turn back to the ice where Olivia’s still talking to that brown-haired girl. Laughing, she grips her cage and gives it a little shake. “Five bucks says that’s your daughter.”
Jeremy chuckles. “Yeah, Alannah rarely leaves her side.”
She throws her arms around Olivia’s middle, hugging her tight, before stepping onto the ice. Her eyes roam the stands, and when they settle on Jeremy,
her face lights up and she waves.
And then she sees me.
Her stick clatters to the ice, jaw hanging as she stands there, staring. And then shrieking. She’s shrieking, and I’m laughing. She jumps up and down on her
skates before rushing back to the bench and crushing Olivia in another hug that nearly knocks her on her ass.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Auntie Ollie,” she shouts, and Olivia looks from Alannah, to the stands, to her brother, to… Me.
I wink, wiggling my ngers at her. Her face ignites with the most brilliant, cheek-splitting beam.
“Damn,” Jeremy mutters. “Was totally counting on her being pissed at you for showing up unannounced.”
Before I can agree, Alannah whips across the ice, leaps into midair, and slams her lanky body against the glass in front of me.
“I’m gonna score a goal for you!” she shrieks.
“What about me?” Jeremy asks. “You gonna score one for your old man?”
Alannah scos. “Get lost, Dad. There’s a new man in town.”
Jeremy swears under his breath before gesturing toward the stands. “Well, come on. My wife refuses to stand, and she’s had her panties in a knot since she saw you walk in here.”
OLIVIA’S TEAM CRUSHES THE OTHER. Halfway through the second period, she has to tell them to ease up. Alannah scores two goals and gets an assist, and like she’s got my DNA, she points at me after both goals before winding up her arm and pretending her hockey stick is a guitar and she’s rocking out to a wild solo.
Her mom, Kristin, is mortied, burying her face in her hands, and Jeremy and I battle for the loudest adult in the stands.
I win, obviously, but Jeremy will try to tell you dierently. Maybe that’s why when the girls exit the change room together, we elbow each other out of the way, trying to be the rst one to get to them. I win again. Obviously.
Olivia’s attaches herself to me, and I feel whole again. “You’re here, and I’m not even mad about it.”
“Does that mean I get to do more stu I’m not allowed to do?” For example,
there’s this hole that I— “No.”
Damn it.
Hooking a nger under her chin, I bring her lips to mine for a soft kiss, ignoring the gagging noise her brother makes. “I missed you, pip-squeak.”
“Hey.” The little girl at Olivia’s side gives me a half wave before leaning against the wall, arms and ankles crossed. She icks her head up in a nod. “Hi.
What’s up? I’m Alannah. You can call me Lana. Or Lanny. Or Al. Or Allie. Or just…” She lifts a lazy shoulder and lets it fall. “Alannah.”
I don’t have a chance to respond before her small sts are at her mouth, doing nothing to hide the shriek that gurgles in her throat. She launches herself at me, gangly limbs wrapping around my body.
Chuckling, I hold her tight. “You kicked some serious ass out there, Lanny.
Oh shit. Am I allowed to say ass? Oh shit. I said shit. Shit, I said it again.” Hey Google, how do I stop swearing?
“Daddy says bad words all the time.” Alannah hops down. “Sometimes Mommy makes him go down to the basement for a time-out, and then he has to put money in the swear jar. Then Mommy uses that money to buy new shoes and the fancy wine.”
My gaze slides to Kristin. “How much money do I owe the swear jar?”
“Four swears equals four dollars.” She holds out her hand. “Pay up, buddy.
Mama needs the fancy wine.”
I slap a ten in her hand and tell her to keep the change, because I’ll probably owe more by the end of this day.
Alannah rummages through the messenger bag hanging o Olivia’s shoulder, coming out with a Sharpie. “Can you sign my stick?”
“Can I sign your stick?” I shake my head as I scrawl my name over the taped blade. “Dude, I should be asking you to sign mine after the way you played.”
“Dude.” Alannah lets out a pu of giggles as she swoons back onto Olivia.
“Carter Beckett just called me dude.”
I wink. “What are you guys up to now? Can I take everyone to lunch?”
“Yes! I’m having lunch with a superstar, I’m having lunch with a superstar,” she sings, doing some sort of weird dance. Flossing, I think it’s called?
“Oh, well, we have that thing…” Jeremy scratches his head.
Kristin slaps his hand away. “We have no thing. Don’t pretend like you aren’t fangirling hard right now. You can’t wait to text all your friends.” She smiles at me. “We’d love to have lunch. Thank you so much, Carter.”
“Where are we going?” Alannah asks as I sling my arm around her shoulders
and head for the parking lot.
“Well, what’s your favorite food?”
“Pizza and chicken wings, dude!”
“Dude.” I drop my head back with a groan. “We’re gonna be best friends.”
“Can I ride with you, Carter?”
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter to me.”
“Please, please, please,” she begs her dad, gripping his coat, giving him a shake.
“Fine. But you have to take your booster seat.”
“I’m almost eight.” Alannah hus, crossing her arms and popping her hip out, real Attitude-y Judy. “Car seats are for babies.”
“And when you’re eight, you can ditch the booster.” He shoves it into my chest with a grin, as if I have any fucking clue how to install this thing. “But for now, you’re still my ittle-wittle baby.”
Olivia laughs at the face I’m making, taking the seat and clipping it into my backseat. “You’re an angel,” she whispers, kissing me on the cheek. “I came with them, so I can ride with you, but my bag for the weekend is still at home.”
“Perfect.” Because I’m slightly terried to be alone with a child. Surely I can’t be trusted with a little person’s life? I’m barely an adult myself.
Forty-ve minutes later, I’m six pieces deep in one of the three pizzas at our table, I’ve lost count of how many wings I’ve eaten, and I’m highly impressed at the way Alannah tries her damnedest to match me bite for bite.
“Holy cow.” She clutches her stomach. “You can really eat.”
“I’m a big boy. I need all the food I can get.”
“Yeah, you’re huge! Auntie Ollie’s a little baby pip-squeak compared to you!”
She gives Olivia a pitying smile. “No oense. You have to be careful you don’t
crush her when you hug her, Carter.”
Yes, when I hug her…
“Can you hold him?” Kristin asks Jeremy, passing baby Jem o as she stands.
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“Sure,” he replies, but the second that baby is in his grasp, he stands, leans over the table, and plops him into my unsuspecting arms.
It’s a fucking miracle I don’t shriek.
A baby? I don’t know what the hell to do with a baby.
I hold the little chunker at arm’s length. He’s still gnawing on that damn hockey skate, drool dripping down his arm. He blinks up at me with these huge blue eyes, gurgles, and giggles.
“Oh shit,” I whisper, chuckling. “You’re kinda cute, little buddy.”
Olivia’s elbow hits the table, cheek resting in her palm as she shoots me a wide, dopey grin, so beautiful.
“Do we look cute?” I ask, snuggling Jem into my side. He presses his wet mouth to my cheek in something like a super-sloppy raspberry.
“So cute.” It’s more sigh than words as her chest deates.
“Oh. My. God.” It’s Kristin, back from the bathroom. Well, not fully back.
She’s two tables away, feet glued to the oor while she aps at the air. She dashes over and whips her phone out. “Can I take a picture?”
She takes about a hundred, just me, Jem, and Alannah before she waves Olivia in, and then Jeremy, who comes begrudgingly, but not really. Then she asks the waiter to take a picture of us all, except she calls us her family and I’m part of it. Olivia blushes and I kiss her warm cheek before smiling once more at the camera.
Because fuck yeah, this girl is my family.
“We should have a sleepover,” Alannah says as we head out to the parking lot.
“One day, maybe. Like, if you wanted to. I know how to make pancakes. We can crush up Oreos in the batter. Auntie Ollie says they’re your favorite cookie, and they’re mine too.”
“Deal. You make Oreo pancakes and I’ll make Oreo brownies. We’ll have an Oreo-themed slumber party.”
Her face shines like a lighthouse. “Really?”
“Really-really. I’ll check my schedule and we’ll pick a day.”
“You’re the best,” she tells me, crushing me in a tight hug.
“Seriously, you’re a saint,” Olivia says to me two minutes later when we’re packed into the car, nally alone for the rst time in way too long. “You were amazing with her. And don’t worry about the slumber party. I’ll get you out of that.”
“What? Fuck no! Oreo-themed slumber party? That’s, like, my dream come true, right after you.”
She lifts a brow. “You want to babysit my niece?”
“Fuck yeah. She’s fun as hell. We’ll take Jem too.” I sweep a kiss across her knuckles. “I loved today. I’m glad I got to meet your family. But I can’t wait to
be alone with you.”
“Mmm. Big plans?”
“Huge plans. And by huge, I mean my dick.”
“Trust me, I knew exactly what you meant.”
“Well, as long as you know. You should also know I’m going to destroy you tonight.”
She sighs, but it’s a happy, pleased sound, so I waste no time getting started the second we walk through the door, throwing Olivia over my shoulder and carting her up the stairs.
“I’m gonna lick every damn inch of this awless body,” I whisper against her lips as I ditch her jeans. My mouth closes over her hip bone, her ngers sinking into my hair as I leave my mark on her.
Her ass hits the bed, and I fall to my knees. With her foot in my hand, I work my way up the inside of her leg nice and slow, driving her wild, until she’s wrapping her legs around my head and begging me to lick her.
“Greedy girl.” I kiss the wet spot in the center of her panties. “Look; you’re already wet.”
“Carter.” It’s a warning, a demand. “Take them o and get to work.”
I laugh, inching them down her legs. “I love getting you worked up, bossy girl.” My phone rings, but I don’t stop. I’ve been craving this x for six fucking days, and I’m gonna get it.
“Carter.” It’s one part desire, two parts irritation, because that phone won’t fucking stop, and she starts reaching for it.
“Leave it.”
“But what if—”
“Leave it,” I growl, ripping her panties o.
Her head falls back with a gasp when my tongue icks out over that swollen
bud. “Ohhh, yes.”
And my phone rings again.
“For fuck’s sake.” Tearing myself away from the only place I want to be, I grab my phone, not bothering to check the name rst. “What?”
“Carter? I… I’m sorry.”
I sink to the oor, running a hand through my hair at the broken voice on the
other end. “Adam? What’s wrong, buddy?”
He snies. “I just… I just got home.”
“And?”
“And I… Courtney was… she was…” His voice cracks as he whispers out a barely audible fuck. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who to call. I don’t know what to do. I don’t think I can drive, but I can’t stay here. I need to get the hell out.”
Each word comes out faster than the last until it sounds like he’s on the verge of a panic attack.
“Okay, man, take a breath.” I wait until I hear that staggered inhale. “Tell me what happened.”
“I caught Courtney in bed with someone else.”
