Page 59 of The Chase

Today was one of those days.

We didn’t have time to catch each other before he had to get to the arena, so the first time I saw him again was when I watched him skating around the zone during warmups. And, of course, he didn’t notice me because TJ got inside his head during games and tried to block out the crowd.

I wasn’t sure I would have survived this life if I hadn’t formed strong friendships with the other girls. Especially with Rox.

“Is Fi gonna come?” Rox asked Dinah.

Dinah shook her head. “She’s balls deep in edits right now. Riley understands.”

I almost spit out my drink. Dinah and Rox always said what they were thinking, and it still came as a shock to me at times. They also had mouths worse than hockey players. TJ’s words, not mine.

I kept my swearing to a minimum, but lately, it had been coming out more. Mostly during sex. If I was riding TJ, or underneath him, or he had me bent over the bed, swear words that used to make me blush flew out of my mouth. And I didn’t care because being with TJ was like he unlocked the cage I had been trapped in.

Rox poked my arm. “What are you thinking about?”

“Sex,” I blurted out and clamped a hand over my mouth.

While that was true, I didn’t mean to say that out loud. I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck, but my face was flushed and hot at the admittance.

Dinah let out a loud laugh. And holy crap, that tiny girl had a booming laugh. She had such a big personality, which made sense since Noah was such a quiet, sensitive guy.

Rox blanched and pretended to put her finger down her throat. “Gross, I’ve already been scarred for life now.”

I cringed and gave her a pained look.

Last night, we thought we had the condo to ourselves. I didn’t realize Benny and Rox were there until TJ’s phone kept vibrating with a text from his sister telling him I was being ‘loud AF.’ At the time, I had been lost in pleasure, but now I could barely look Rox in the eye.

Rox laughed. “Oh my god, you should see how red your face is! For the record, I’m so happy for you. I haven’t seen Tristan this happy in…well, I can’t remember the last time.”

“Can I ask you guys something weird?” I asked. I bit my nails and felt the blush creeping up my neck again.

Shut up, Max. Don’t even ask them your weird, naïve question. What are you doing?

Rox raised a dark eyebrow, clearly intrigued, and I hoped I didn’t gross her out by my question.

“It’s a sex question,” I said and stared down into my plastic cup of wine.

Dinah put a hand on my leg. “Honey, you don’t need to be taught the birds and bees, right?”

“No! It’s…not that…I…um…” I sputtered and put my hands over my face.

“Oh my God, spit it out!” Rox exclaimed and took a sip of her beer with the shake of her head.

I pulled my hands away from my face and turned to both of them. They looked giddy with anticipation. “Um…is it weird if a guy calls you a ‘good girl’ in bed?”

Dinah barked out a loud laugh and then chugged her beer. Rox stared at me open-mouthed.

Dinah finished her beer and laughed again. “Holy fuck. That was NOT what I thought you were going to ask. But no, I don’t think it’s weird…if you’re into that thing, but everyone’s different. Some dudes like to be called Daddy.”

She made a face.

“Don’t kink shame, D!” Rox teased.

Dinah held up her hands in surrender. “No judgment, it’s just not my thing!”

I nodded in agreement. TJ asked for that once, but we both decided it wasn’t for us. He preferred me moaning his name instead.

“I prefer the opposite,” Rox said with a grin. “But if you’re both good with it, there’s nothing weird about it. Yeah, I’m not a fan of the Daddy thing, but everyone has their tastes.”