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Chapter 29
Nolan
The playoffs were already the best part of the season. There was an elevated energy about those few weeks that everyone brought—the fans, the players, the rest of the organization—and I felt like I was floating on cloud nine not only because we’d secured the first seed, but also because I’d gotten to wake up almost every morning after New Year’s to Lottie’s beautiful face while she slept next to me in bed.
Every morning I got to roll over in bed and watch her sleep, so peaceful and unburdened from any of the responsibilities that she carried throughout the day. I noticed I was beginning to see Lottie grow less guarded as the days passed and, in turn, I felt the same happening in myself.
The normal pressure that came with the postseason wasn’t there this year. There was only a mixture of excitement and acceptance—excitement for the weeks to come and acceptance that the biggest and most important chapter of my life was coming to an end within these next few weeks. But most importantly, excitement for the first time in years for what was next.
“Do you want a coffee?” Lottie asked from my kitchen where she was getting ready to head to the training facility.
I finished tying my shoes before walking out of the bedroom to greet her. Somehow, this early in the morning, Lottie looked like she was ready to walk a red carpet. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, her face was clean and glowing, andshe somehow made her workout clothes look like high fashion. I wanted to thank my lucky stars that somehow the universe had decided I could finally convince Lottie I was worthy of her time after working so hard to be patient enough to let her come to that decision on her own.
“I’d love coffee,” I said as I came up behind her as she reached up into the cabinet where I had my travel mugs. She stretched up onto her tiptoes, the hem of her sweatshirt rising to show off a strip of skin on her stomach. I gently slipped one hand along the exposed skin as I reached above her to grab the travel mugs she was trying to reach.
“Thank you.” She gave me a smile over the side of her shoulder that had me wishing the two of us could ditch our responsibilities for the day and stay in bed.
“You are very welcome,” I told her as I dipped my nose into the slope of her neck and shoulder before placing a gentle kiss just under her ear.
Lottie turned around in the small space she had between the edge of the counter and my body. She draped her arms over my shoulders and her fingers threaded themselves in the hair at the nape of my neck. She pulled on the back of my neck until her lips fit perfectly into mine. I had been a ship lost at sea until I realized that Lottie was my shining light in the distance, bringing me home.
In one quick movement, I lifted her onto the counter. She hooked her legs around my waist and pulled me nearly flush to her body. My hand caressed her cheek down to the swoop of her shoulder and the curve of her waist until she decided to playfully bite at my lip.
Game on.
“I think we have a few minutes until we need to leave,” I mumbled against her lips.
Lottie playfully swatted at my chest to try and put some separation between the two of us again. “Nolan, we have to get your run in.”
“Running is just cardio, and I have a better idea for how we can get some cardio in.”
Lottie barked out a laugh at my poor attempt to convince her to stay home and steal just a few more moments for the two of us.
“Nolan, we can’t—” Lottie tried to get out between kisses.
I pulled back again and gave her my best devilish smile. “And who says we can’t?”
“Me!” Lottie gasped when I slid my hands underneath her ass and lifted her off the counter. “I say we can’t.”
I placed a kiss on her lips with each step I carried her back toward the bedroom. By the second kiss, Lottie was no longer protesting skipping our morning run in lieu of something a little more … fun.
The second we passed over the threshold of my bedroom, the rest of the world faded away. It was only me and Lottie and there was nowhere else in the world that I wanted to be.
Now that she and I had finally decided to give us a shot, I wanted to savor every moment we had together. So even though we did have to be at the training facility within the next hour or so, I was about to take advantage of every single second that she was willing to give me.
The sweatshirt Lottie was wearing was the first article of clothing to be discarded. Shortly after mine followed. A trail of clothing followed us to the bed as our hands scrambled over each other, yanking at each piece of clothing after the next. Lottie’s thighs hit the bed and she fell back onto it, breaking our kiss.
Her ponytail fanned out around her head like a golden crown and her lips were swollen from where I’d nipped and pulled onthem. She looked like a goddess that myths would be written about. I paused for just a moment as I stood above her. If it were possible to keep a mental image forever, this moment with Charlotte Thompson would be the one I’d want to have.
All the worries I had over the legacy I wanted to leave behind slipped to the back of my mind as I realized Lottie was the only person I cared about to know me wholly and truly.
“What are you waiting for?” Lottie asked me.
“Nothing anymore now that I have you,” I told her as I sank down on top of her.
The two of us together was like a dance that I had never had to learn. I knew exactly how she would move before she did. Our bodies moved in sync as her fingertips dug into the skin on my lower back to pull me closer to her.
I had never understood what it meant to make love to someone until Lottie held me in her arms with fervent intention. Only then did I understand what it meant to share something so intimate with another person.
