Page 36 of Worth the Risk
“What?”
“Can we just be us for a little while? No agent. No friends. I’d like to get to know you better before anyone else gets involved,” she whispers.
“I’m cool with that,” I tell her with a smile. “So we’re secretly together?”
She nods, but still looks uncomfortable.
“What’s on your mind, Pixie?”
She takes a deep breath and then says, “Would we be together, together? Like exclusive? I just want to be sure …”
I interrupt her immediately.
“I don’t share, Hannah.”
Her eyes widen at my tone. I’m dead serious.
“I don’t fucking share. You’re mine. End of story.”
“How very alpha of you, Luca,” she teases. I give her a small smile.
“In this situation, yeah. Guess I’m taking on a possessive role here, but baby? I’m yours just as much as you’re mine. It goes both ways. I’m your man, okay?” I ask her, and she gives me a beaming smile and a nod. “But this — this is new for me. I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing. And we need to be careful at work. Will you trust me? And be patient with me? I’m probably going to fuck up a bunch of times, and I don’t want you to run for the hills as soon as you get an opportunity.”
“I promise I’ll be patient. And you need to be patient with me. My past relationships haven’t been the best, and I’m a little trigger-shy.”
I tense, wondering what she means by ‘not the best.’ But as I’m about to ask another question, she yawns.
Shit. It’s almost midnight. I don’t know what time she’s been up since, but it’s been a long day for me, so it’s probably been as bad or worse for her.
“You need sleep, bella,” I tell her, and she nods sleepily.
“Would you … I mean, will you …” she trails off, uncertain.
“Yeah, baby. I’d really like to sleep here, if that’s okay,” I say softly, running my hand along her cheek. “Let me go grab my toothbrush and I’ll be back, okay?”
I give her a quick peck as she stands up from my lap, and I jog over to my apartment. I left all of my stuff at the arena in my locker, since I knew I’d be going straight to the party. I make a mental note to remember to go get my things tomorrow. It’s nothing pressing tonight, just the item that became my superstition once I made my NHL debut. Arianna gave me her favorite Barbie the morning of my first game, and when I scored, she said it was because of the doll. When I scored the following game, I wondered if she was correct. Barbie has faithfully attended every game, both home and away, since then. Once my teammates got wind of my unique superstition, however, they took advantage. Let’s just say Barbie is now rocking half a mohawk, some interesting clothing choices, and quite a few Sharpie tattoos … mostly of dicks. We might be men, but we’re all the equivalent emotional intelligence of fourteen year old boys. Also, don’t mess with a hockey players superstitions. Ever.
I grab my toothbrush and head back to Hannah’s apartment. She left the door ajar for me, so I close it and lock up, turning off the kitchen light before walking toward her bedroom. She’s in the bathroom washing her face, and I walk up behind her and lean down to kiss her shoulder.
I know this is her aunt’s apartment, and it’s clear they have different tastes. Caroline is bougie. All the best clothes. Designer everything. There isn’t a thing out of place in this apartment. Hannah … Hannah is comfort. She’s a cool breeze on a hot summer afternoon. The first sip of an ice-cold limoncello after an amazing home-cooked lasagna. Caroline may be defined as refined and elegant, but Hannah is class and poise. I’d be shocked to know they’re related, but I know how different my own siblings are, so I understand how personalities differ.
We brush our teeth together, and it’s weirdly comfortable and domestic. I’ve honestly never felt this connection with anyone where I’ve wanted to spend as much time together as possible. Every time I catch her eyes, she giggles. It’s like a melody straight to my heart.
I remove everything but my boxer briefs, and Hannah strips down to a tank top and panties. As soon as we’re both under the covers, I pull her toward me and kiss her deeply. My tongue slides into her mouth as her nails drag up my spine, making me shiver. I break off the kiss to look at her.
“I just needed another kiss before we go to sleep, baby,” I admit sheepishly. She giggles.
“Highly doubt I’ll ever say no to a kiss from you, Luca,” she whispers. I reposition us so her back is to my front and I wrap my arms around her tightly. She sighs in bliss.
I fall asleep the fastest I’ve ever fallen asleep.
Hannah
While it was great to establish some parameters for whatever was going on with Luca, it was pretty dang hard to move forward when our schedules were complete insanity. I thought college football teams had harsh schedules, but they don’t even touch what Luca and the team go through.
Luca skates almost every day of the week. Non-game days have him attending morning meetings, and a morning skate, sometimes doing interviews, any social media assignments, and personal appearances, or charity work. He heads back to his apartment for a couple hours, but then he’s back on the ice in the late afternoon. Luca told me the afternoon sessions aren’t required at all, but he puts in the time to improve his own skill, and to set an example for the younger guys. Then he naps before he’s meeting with teammates to watch game tape, or spending time doing extra workouts in the evening hours.
Game days are even worse. All of that, plus a game, plus a quick post-game meeting with the coaching staff, and then he typically does a post-game workout to help with any injury or muscle soreness. I’ve barely seen the man in two weeks, because I’ve been as busy as him. Keeping on top of all the content going out across all Wolves social media is definitely more than a one-woman job. Since my two interns, back from their month off, are more concerned with chatting with players than actually doing any work, I’ve been working fourteen to sixteen hour days trying to stay ahead.