AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Can I be honest with you, Gia?” Sylvia sighs, and I dread whatever it is that she’s about to say next.
“I’d rather you weren’t.” I roll my eyes and lean back into the couch, glaring at the ceiling tiles above my head.
“We’re friends. Whether you like it or not.” I’m going with not right at this moment. “You can sit there and close yourself off from me all you want, but friend to friend…you need an o. It’s written all over your face. I know how hard it is to get alone time with the tiny o-blockers. Trust me, it takes some creativity. I’m offering you the weekend. Two nights alone with your man in a hotel room. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
Two nights alone with Damien? I can’t say the thought of spending even one night alone with him in the same bed hasn’t crossed my mind, a time or…thirteen thousand four hundred and sixty-two.
“You make it sound so glamorous.” I exaggerate.
“Marriage isn’t glamorous. You know that. But sometimes we just need to get dirty in a hotel room and remember what it was like before we swapped out our name for Mama. You know? Keep the arguments clean and the sex dirty, it’s the only way to survive this thing.”
No. I don’t know what any of those things feel like.
“So, you’re saying if I say no, you’ll kidnap my child? Is that what I’m hearing?” I cross my arms over my chest, refusing to allow myself to consider the possibility.
“Semantics. Take the offer, Gia.” She demands.
Honestly, I trust Sylvia. A tiny thought begins to take hold somewhere in the deep recesses of my brain.
I could take my camera and my laptop and get a ton of work done over those forty-eight hours of freedom. I wouldn’t have to worry about keeping another human alive. I wouldn’t have to make snacks. I could sleep in. I could get my own hotel room, and there will be no one to wake me up in the middle of the night demanding a drink with no words, just blood-curdling shrieks.
“Why aren’t you going?” I volley the question back in her direction.
“I can’t. I’m totally booked up at the salon on Friday. Don’t worry, though. I’ll take the kids to their regular playgroup at the center while I work. Afterward, I’ll pick them up and bring them back here. It’ll give Camden someone to play with while Carter is away. What’s going from one to two? They’ll occupy each other. Actually, it’s the perfect solution.”
Perfect, for who exactly? I don’t even know if Damien would go along with it.
“I don’t know.” I chew on my lip, unsure as to why I’m even considering this. Damn peer pressure is what this is.
“Just think about it, okay?” She eases off just slightly, but I hear what she’s not saying.
“Or else you’ll kidnap my child.” I finish for her, knowing her exact intentions. She means well, but she can’t understand what she doesn’t know. She has no idea. Nobody does.
“I didn’t say that.” She bats her eyelashes at me innocently, and I know she’s teasing. I appreciate her friendship, and her advice, even if it is unwarranted and misplaced.
Sure, it sounds like a great idea, but it just won’t work.
Chapter Nine
Damien
I slip my key into the lock and slowly open the door to our apartment. I stayed late after practice tonight to work on tightening a few things heading into our games this weekend, but not so late that I’ll miss bedtime.
Fucking Chambliss. I knew if our season was as good as everyone was predicting we’d end up here eventually, but I tried not to focus on that. I knew if I let it get into my head early on, it’d affect my game. So, I pushed that knowledge to the side and continued to work my ass off for my team. We’re all working our asses off, and we’re so close.
Nobody knows my connection to Tyler Patterson, starting center for the Chambliss Lions. They don’t know he’s Gia’s brother. They don’t know that we may as well be brothers. They sure as fuck don’t know that he hates me with the ferocity of a thousand angry hornets.
I know he’s bringing that shit to the ice, and that knowledge has been weighing on me heavily this week. We head out tomorrow, and it’s my job to keep my emotions in check. I have to be the bigger man. I have everything to lose and nothing to gain by starting shit on the ice with Tyler.
I smile to myself when I hear the music of a familiar show playing on the television. Astria’s giggles are loud and joyful. The sound immediately eases the building tension in my shoulders. Honestly, I’m feeling better after my practice today than I have all week. I’m resolved in my ability to do this. I know our team can pull off a win. I’m confident.
I see Gia’s reflection in the mirror that hangs in our living room, as she picks up toys and places them into a basket.
I close the door behind me gently. I slowly bend and place my bag down on the floor remaining as quiet as I possibly can. I’m a voyeur in my one home, but I’m not ready to interrupt them just yet. I kick off my sneakers and walk on just the balls of my sock-covered feet as I inch my way near the living room.
I pause near the wall that separates our kitchen from the living space. I take a minute to study her, while she doesn’t know I’m watching. She mumbles to herself, probably running through the list of things she thinks she needs to do before bedtime. She’s the hardest-working woman I know. Somehow, she balances everything, and she makes it all look effortless when I know it’s anything but.
She bends down to pick up Astria’s favorite blanket, just a few feet away from me. She’s so damn pretty. I don’t know who to credit for the invention of leggings, but damn if the black leggings she wears don’t hug every single curve of her hips. She wears a cream-colored tank top that barely contains her ample breasts. With each movement, they nearly topple from the top, and send my heart racing.
