Page 88 of Hockey Boy
“Listen, the band performed at my birthday party last year—Lake’s surprise.” She smiles at the mention of her best friend. “And while I’ve never interacted with Ryder outside of that event, I know his type, and I’ve heard stories. I’ve dealt with plenty of men like him in the industry. Stringing you along until they get what they want.” She screws up her face in disgust. “I’ll do the event. You can do dinner with Ryder if you want. Or skip it. But at least you won’towehim anything.”
It takes more effort than it should not to pump my fist in the air and scream girl power, but I manage. Though there’s no stopping me when I grab Mel by the shoulders and pull her in for a big hug.
Her bodyguards immediately shift closer, though they settle when they see she’s hugging me back.
“Thank you so freaking much.”
Mel shrugs like it’s no big deal, and I decide in that moment that I’m going to buy every single one of her albums for all my friends and the entire hockey team.
“Honey, I’m home,”I yell in my best Ricky Ricardo voice. Lennox is on the couch, curled up with her Kindle.
She tips her head and smiles at me. “How was your game?”
“Skate,” I say, reminding her of the lingo again.
With a grin, she goes back to her book. The move is comforting. Because we’ve fallen into a routine. She knows precisely what I’ll do next. I’ll saunter up to her and drop a kiss to her forehead, then throw myself over the couch and snuggle with her while she reads. She’ll make it another few pages before I finally annoy her enough that she can’t concentrate, thus she’ll pay attention to me. From there, we’ll figure out what we want for dinner.
This is what we’ve done every night since I moved in a few weeks ago. Dinner at home some nights, restaurant hopping on others, ensuring we’re being seen fawning over one another. Though the fawning doesn’t end when we close the door to the apartment. She’s just as affectionate.
Most nights, we barely make it back home before she’s ripping my clothes off and talking me into trying something new. Toys, plugs, ass play—you name it, and the girl wants to do it. And I’m all about it.
I pull her feet onto my lap and dig my thumbs into one heel. “What are you in the mood for tonight?”
With a moan, she leans back, eyes closed. “I was thinking we could try anal tonight.”
I cough out a laugh. “I meant for dinner.”
She gives me a lazy smile and shrugs. “Oh, I guess steak is fine.”
I drop her foot and pull her onto my lap. “Nah. I like your first suggestion better. We’re staying in, and I’m having your ass for dinner.”
Licking her lips, she holds my gaze. Captivated. That’s what I am when she looks at me. “Takeout it is, then.”
Grasping her face, I pull her in for a deep kiss. It’s intoxicating. She’s intoxicating. Doing this whenever I want is heaven. There’s no pressure to force a smile, to force joy, when I’m with her. I can simply exist. Be myself. I should probably be worried that I feel most at ease with myself when I’m ‘faking’ with my ‘fake girlfriend’ but I’m not going to think about that right now. With one final chaste kiss, I pull back and smooth out her hair. “Did you see the articleJoliepublished on their website that mentioned Josie’s party?”
I’m so fucking proud, my heart is bursting.
Lennox rears back, wearing a confused frown. “What?”
Shifting, I pull my phone from my pocket. “They did a piece about kids’ birthday party ideas, from simple to extravagant.” I eye her. “Clearly, yours was deemed extravagant.”
Her cheeks are as pink as her hair, and her blue eyes shine with excitement. “You’re not fucking with me?”
I tip my head as I hand her my phone. “You think I’d do that?”
As she reads the article, surprised delight takes over her expression. “Holy shit, Aiden, this is amazing!”
“Your boss even sang your praises.” I point to the section where Serena talks about how they’d never considered children’s parties before, but that Lennox had a vision. She went on about how they’d be happy to create memories like this for more of the children of Boston.
Clutching my phone to her chest, Lennox beams so brightly it’s hard to look at her. “I can’t believe this.”
“Why? The party was spectacular. You should be recognized for all you did. And after Gavin’s wedding this weekend, everyone is going to be talking about you again. This is only the beginning, Lex.”
She bites her lip, a hint of uncertainty flashing in her eyes. “You really believe I can do this?”
“Of course I do. You can do whatever you put your mind to.”
She blinks at me, her lips parted.