Chapter 7: Chapter 7

TYLER

My best friend joined me in my misery, toting a thirty-rack of beer. Guys didn’t participate in the nonsense talk of women, but I let him know how pissed I was.

Mainly discussing the sex we’d each had the night before was better than talking about feelings. He told me that Kate’s friend, Piper, was a wild one.

She’d whipped him a few times, but he liked that shit. He showed me the bruises on his stomach, laughing. I’d have gone crazy if a chick whipped me, and not the good kind of crazy.

“They’re best friends, but they’re complete opposites,” Ben mumbled.

“Oh yeah,” I replied. “Because you know Kate so well.”

He glared at me. “Well, I was just with her.”

That got my attention. I downed the rest of my beer, looking at my best friend. “Yeah?” I asked.

“She went over to Piper’s and I was still there.”

“And…?”

His smile grew wider, seeing me acting that pathetic. “~And~ she was there to hang out with her best friend.”

I mumbled some shit under my breath, trying to avoid asking him more questions. I knew what he was doing. He wanted me to admit that I liked her, even though he knew how fucked up our situation was.

I grabbed two more beers from the fridge, tossing one aggressively to him.

“Fine,” I relented. “Tell me what you know.”

He smiled more. “Because?”

“Because I like her. Shit. Are you happy?”

“Ecstatic,” he replied. “So anyway, she went to Piper so she could complain about you being a player. Basically the same exact shit you said to me.

“She calmed down enough to laugh about the situation, which I took as a good sign.” I agreed, continuing to listen attentively. “I told her you guys have some shit you need to figure out. I also told her I was rooting for you two.”

“Dude,” I yelled. “You’re encouraging a dangerous, ~dangerous~ situation.”

“So you don’t want to see her again? In a non-professional way?”

I chugged more beer. “You know I do.”

“I do know that, and I also know you could use a Kissing Kate in your life.”

I didn’t respond, and we didn’t speak of Kate or Piper anymore for the rest of the evening. There wasn’t much else we could say.

We watched some crap on TV, had a few more beers, then he left to help his sister with something. She had recently moved to the city and was completely useless on her own.

She relied on Ben for as long as I’d known him, and we’d met in high school.

Taking my frustration out on my punching bag, I was annoyed to see~ Jason~ flash on my phone. I wondered why my brothers always had to call when I was in the middle of something. “What’s up,” I answered.

It was ten o’clock at night. He probably wanted me to go out with him and help score chicks as a wingman.

“Dude,” Jason said, and I heard the faint laughter of a woman in the background. “There’s a picture online of you arguing with that hot chick in a parking lot.

“Article says she owns your team, but obviously they got that wrong.” He laughed, and I kicked a box, sitting on my messy living room floor.

“Fuck. Send me the link.”

“Will do, little brother. Why were you two arguing?” he pushed.

“Doesn’t even matter. It’s not a big deal. I’ve got to go get a quick workout in before bed so I’ll hang up now.”

“Oh yeah? Sounds like you’re avoiding something,” he said, rightfully skeptical.

“Nah. Just busy. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Alright,” he said. “I’m here if you need me.”

After we hung up, I clicked on the link my brother had sent. Sure enough, the photo captured Kate and me standing an inch from each other.

One of my hands was up in the air, which I didn’t even remember doing, and her fists were balled at her sides.

Under the photo was some shitty caption:~ New York Blades Center, Tyler Carlson, yelling at the rumored new owner, Kate Martin.~

~Great, just fucking great~.~ Now I appeared even more of an asshole than I was already thought to be. I wondered why my hand was up in the air. It looked like I was going to hit her. I wondered if she’d seen the picture yet.

One night with that girl, and trouble was already brewing. My annoyance was diluted when I looked at the picture again. Sure, she looked mad as hell, but it only made her hotter.

Tight jeans hugged her ass in a wonderful way. Her tight shirt was layered over with a coat, but I knew all about what was under there.

I texted her the link, hoping she’d grace me with a phone call after. As mad as I was, I would use any excuse to be beside her again. The fact that we couldn’t be together made me want her even more.

Unfortunately, an hour passed, and I still had no inkling if she’d read my message, or if she did and just didn’t care. I passed the link along to Ben, who thought it was funny.

Two knocks sounded on my door. Assuming it was probably Ben returning with more beer, I didn’t even bother looking through the peephole.

I was definitely stunned when I saw Kate standing there, looking innocent and brilliant all at the same time.

A long-sleeved black dress clung to her tiny body. I attempted not to stare at her, but it didn’t work.

“Hi,” she whispered, and I stepped aside to let her walk in. She avoided touching me. I hated that.

“Hey,” I replied, running a hand through my hair. “So you got my text…”

She tilted her head. “No. My phone’s off, I’m ignoring the world.” So she wasn’t there because of my text then. “What’d you say?” she asked.

I should have told her, I know I should have; but more than that, I wanted to know why she’d knocked on my door. “Doesn’t matter, really,” I said, not feeling even a little bad about lying.

“Miss me already?” I joked, keeping the mood light.

She trod carefully, barely moving an inch, a smile playing on her pretty little face. She licked her pouted pink lips, and I almost tackled her right then and there.

She may have owned the hockey team I played for, but we both knew damn well that I had owned every inch of her the previous night.

Her blue eyes danced like fire as she whispered, “One last time?”

She didn’t need to ask me twice. She reached down, pulling off her high heels just before I rammed into her with brute force. Her dress only meant one thing: easy access.

Lifting her dress to her waist, I tightened my hold around her. She eagerly pushed her body into mine, a light moan escaping her precious lips.

She paused and looked up into my eyes. “Are we going to regret this later?”

“Does it really matter if we do?” I asked.

I knew I wouldn’t regret it. I was so convinced I’d never have her up against me like that again. She’d surprised the shit out of me by showing up at my apartment, not even knowing I’d texted her that ridiculous article about us.

I was well aware of the complications that were about to rise, but I had no regrets. Not a single one. I wanted Kate, and she wanted me just as much.

My mouth moved to caress her fragile neck while I used my skilled fingers to unhook her bra within a second.

I lifted her, carrying her light weight to my kitchen table. It was pretty much the only furniture I had, and it would have taken five seconds too long to carry her into my bedroom.

My glass table was the appropriate height, allowing me easy access to her. She gasped at the initial thrust, which only made me more excited.

If that was the last time we could be together, I knew damn right I was going to make it so good that she’d never forget the way she felt beneath me.

An hour later, we made our way to my bed, and she peacefully slept beside me. I didn’t plan on letting her sleep for long though, only a couple of minutes.

I wanted to enjoy the little time with her I had left before she freaked out again and knew how horrible an idea what we’d just done was.

My phone beeped, and I picked it up to see a text message.

Ben

How’d she take it?

He was referring to the article I’d sent him. I snapped a picture of her innocent sleeping face in my bed and sent it back.

Tyler

She hasn’t seen it yet, obviously…

Ben

Oh shit, man! Have fun ;)

I woke her a few minutes later, but I did it in a nice way. Climbing on top of her, I kissed her neck until she opened her eyes. I knew she wanted more.

After another round, she pulled away from my grasp to find her phone. I was surprised when she came back to bed, grinning like a woman who’d just had too many orgasms to count.

I lay back on my pillow, putting my arms behind my head. I flexed my muscles when she looked down at me, but she didn’t seem to notice I was trying to impress her.

“Can I ask you something?” she said quietly, and I nodded. “Why did you really not tell me you were a hockey player?

“I’ve met many in my day, and seriously, it seems like most of the guys scream it from rooftops, especially to get a girl.”

Her blue eyes still looked tired, and I forced myself to answer her questions instead of staring at her.

“It probably sounds stupid, but I hate getting used for my money or who I am,” I answered honestly.

“At first, I did tell every girl who I was, but now I try to prevent it if I can.” She was nodding along, like she understood completely.

“And if I’m completely honest,” I continued, “you were the first and only girl~ ever~ to walk away from me.

“Not just walk away, but kiss me and then walk away.” She was now grinning ear to ear. “I was intrigued from the first moment I met you.

“Even more because of the conversation about Henry.” I smiled as she blushed. “So tell me, why didn’t you say who you were? You’re a pretty important person owning a hockey team.”

A small frown crept up on Kate’s face. I kind of felt bad for asking, but I did want to know.

“I don’t want someone interested in me because of my financial status. I feel the same way you do in that sense.

“But more so, I’d just flown back and signed the paperwork to take over my dad’s stuff the day I met you. It’s a lot of work filling the shoes of someone like my dad.

“And I don’t just own a hockey team; I own all of Martin Financial. I guess I haven’t gotten used to it yet.”

My mouth dropped. I knew Martin Financial; everyone knew Martin Financial. I thought I was wealthy, making a few million a year, but Kate was ridiculously wealthy. She was so far above me, I was having trouble breathing.

She lowered her eyes at me. “Don’t start being weird now or I’ll be pissed,” she added, seeing my expression. Instead of answering, I leaned over and kissed her hard on her soft lips.

After I pulled away, she turned to her phone and frowned. “Motherfucker.” She shot daggers at me, and I knew she’d seen my text.

I couldn’t help but laugh, hearing such profane words come from such a beautiful mouth.