Page 2 of Dreams on the Ice
“Coffee?” a voice calls out.
I turn my head and look over to find Grace standing just a few feet away. She’s got her phone in her hand, ready to take our orders. I really shouldn’t have one, especially since I just wokeup only an hour ago. But I’ve never turned down a coffee in my life, and I’m not about to start now.
“I’ll take one,” I blurt out.
I’m literally unable to control myself when it comes to iced coffee. I can’t help it. I don’t know why I love it so much. I love it more than cocktails and charcuterie—which is saying a lot because I seriously love charcuterie.
Grace laughs as she types my order into her phone, then starts moving from station to station. My first client walks in, and I push all thoughts of Forrest out of my mind and shift that focus to making my clients feel beautiful.
Because that is one of my loves, too—making people feel their absolute best.
FORREST
Fuck me.
No. Not fuck me because I want to fuck Brooklynn.
I’m not sure how much longer I can live across the street from her and not be inside of her. It’s been fucking excruciating watching her, being around her, trying to be her friend when all I want to do is fuck her brains out.
“Get your head out of your ass, Westwood,” Coach Burns shouts from across the rink.
I ignore him, mainly because my head isn’t up my ass, but I wish it were in Brooklynn’s. Lev glides up beside me, his face full of concern. “What the fuck is wrong?” he demands.
Letting out a grunt, I shake my head. “Just got my head up my ass,” I grunt.
He snorts, gives me a smirk, and skates off. For the rest of practice, thankfully, Coach leaves me alone. But I can tell heclearly fucking thinks that my head is up my ass. Maybe it is. Maybe I just need to get laid and relieve the pressure.
Except the only person I could possibly imagine sleeping with right now, and since the moment I laid eyes on her, is Brooklynn.
“Forrest,” Alexei calls out. Turning to him, I jerk my chin. “Tavern tonight?”
He can tell I need it, and I do. “Sure.”
Stripping out of my clothes, I grab my towel and head for the showers. Practice was tough today, but only because I was distracted as shit. Seeing Brooklynn watching me through the window got me all fucked up.
Once I’m clean, I make my way back to my locker and throw on some clean clothes. The Tipsy Tavern is calling my name. Maybe I can get drunk enough and distracted by something… or someone else, but I doubt it.
That woman has a goddamn choke hold on me like nothing I’ve ever felt before. As I head out of practice, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and glance down at the screen. My feet stop moving immediately at the name that flashes on the screen.
Sliding my thumb across to answer, I hold it to my ear. “Hello?” I greet.
“Hello, my son,” my father’s smooth voice murmurs into the phone.
I hate it when he calls me that—my son. Drives me up the goddamn wall. Pressing my lips together, I think about telling him to fuck off, but I’m pretty sure I know why he’s calling, so I don’t.
“Hey, Dad.”
My dad would want me to greet him formally asFather, which is the exact reason I call him Dad… just to piss him off. It’s not enough that he would actually say something to me about it, but it’s enough that I know it ticks him off.
“It is time for you to give up this game you’re playing and come home.”
I almost,almostlaugh. My father truly believes that this is just something I’m doing for fun, that hockey is just a hobby, and that the North Carolina Fury isn’t my whole world. Hockey has been the only thing that has brought me joy, aside from women, since I was ten years old.
My family, sure as shit, has never brought me joy, not for a single fucking moment. And if myfatherthinks I’m giving up the only thing I love for a life I would abhor, he’s got more than a screw loose.
“I do not think I will be doing that. But thanks for thinking of me,” I state, trying to keep from telling him to fuck all the way off.
“Forrest,” he growls. “Think about what you’re saying. You are almost twenty-five years old. It is time you stop playing games and truly think about your future. We have indulged you in your desires, but the time is nigh.”