Page 113 of Checking It Twice
Fighting Dirty
Clare
Bennett and Lucy’s house is a whirlwind in the best possible way. Music pumping, drinks flowing, half the team crammed into their living room, playing some ridiculous drinking game that involves way too many rules and not enough actual drinking.
I’m perched on the arm of the couch, watching Mitch argue with Hayes about whether a penalty shot counts as a “skill play” or a “lucky break” when Lucy appears at my elbow with two dangerously strong margaritas.
“How’s domestic life treating you?” she asks, settling beside me.
“Can’t complain.” I take a sip and immediately feel the tequila hit. “Though he does leave his socks everywhere.”
“Bennett leaves entire outfits on the floor. Like he just dissolved out of his clothes.” She grins. “But they’re cute when they’re sleeping, so we keep them.”
Across the room, Mitch catches my eye and winks. The simple gesture sends heat racing through me, even after two months of this. Even surrounded by his teammates and their girlfriends, he has this way of making me feel like we’re the only two people in the room.
“You two are disgustingly happy,” Lucy observes.
“We have our moments.”
“Like what?”
I think about this morning, when I found him making coffee in just his boxer briefs, hair still messy from sleep. How he’d pulled me against him and kissed my neck until I was breathless, whispering dirty promises about what he wanted to do to me later.
“I’m not giving you details,” I say.
“Boo. You’re no fun.”
The drinking game reaches some kind of crescendo, with Ty doing what appears to be an interpretive dance about hockey penalties. Everyone’s laughing, including me, until Bennett claps Mitch on the shoulder.
“So you still doing the cabin thing this summer?” he asks. “I’ve been looking forward to that fishing trip since last August.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Mitch says, grinning. “Already called my dad about getting the boat tuned up for me. The whole month of July. Nothing but fishing, drinking, and absolutely no responsibilities.”
My stomach drops. A month. He’s planning to disappear for an entire month this summer, and this is the first I’m hearing about it?
“The whole month?” Chase perks up from across the room. “I thought it was just the usual couple of weeks.”
“Nah, I’m thinking of extending it this year. Really disconnect, you know?”
“That sounds amazing,” one of the girlfriends says. “Like a guys’ retreat.”
“Exactly. No phones, no schedules, no—” Mitch’s eyes find mine, and something in my expression must give me away because he stops mid-sentence. “No distractions.”
The word hits like a slap. Distractions.
Is that what I am?
“Sounds like paradise,” I manage, my voice steady despite the anger building in my chest.
“You should come up for a weekend,” Bennett suggests to Lucy. “Make it a couples thing.”
“Oh, the cabin’s not really set up for...” Mitch trails off, clearly realizing he’s digging himself into a hole. “I mean, it’s pretty rustic. The guys don’t mind, but you know?”
Just the guys. Right. Because including your live-in girlfriend in your summer plans would be crazy.
Bonkers, even.
“Clare loves rustic,” Lucy says, oblivious to the tension crackling between Mitch and me. “Don’t you, Clare?”
