Page 109 of Dangle

Hookups circling each other.

It was always the same. And I…loved it. Or I used to. Now, I wanted something different. I needed something different.

What I wanted was to climb Slone like a tree. Get something to eat. Then, crash. We had morning skate, and then we had to pile on the bus for a week-long road trip.

Maybe. The anticipation ate at me. I hated not knowing.

Tuning out the chaos—and the post-game celly planning—going on around me, I stripped out of my gear and base layer, then headed to the shower. Guys filtered in, the room filling up quickly, and with them came the pressure to be the guy they were used to. The guy who went out, got wasted, and hooked up with one or more people.

But I wasn’t that guy anymore, and I refused to pretend to be. I had an amazing man waiting for me.

Mumbling to…probably myself since the volume in the room competed with Taylor’s ERAS tour in an indoor arena, I grabbed my phone and moved out to the hallway, tapping the notification from Slone.

Correct that. Notifications. There were so,somany texts.

Slone

Stay out of your head. It’s just the first faceoff.

Fucking slick.

You’re a motherfucking beautician.

I laughed, remembering Ewen laughing with me. Ewen called me a beautician, and we’d laughed our asses off at Slone’s confused face, trying to make Slone understand hockey.

There were…

I scrolled. And scrolled. The number of texts soared into the double digits. I loved that he texted me during the game, even though he knew I wouldn’t see them until after. He wasn’t the first man or woman I dated, but he was the first who actually watched games they didn’t attend. Hell, one guy admitted he didn’t pay attention even when he sat in the stands.

Slone

Okay, now you’re just making me horny.

You score like that again, you’ll get a prize.

HOLY FUCK! That hit looked nasty.

I’ll set up the polar pack.

If you’re coming here, that is. No pressure.

The man always said that after commenting on me coming to his place. Even after months together and saying I love you to one another, he still seemed hesitant about us sometimes. I spent more time in his bed than I did in my own. But he never took my showing up at his place for granted. I should probably tell him, but, I wanted to see how long it took him to realize we’d basically been living together since I approached him after Nashville.

Slone

He deserved 5 the fucker.

Slone wasn’t wrong. Marsden hit me after I passed the puck. So long after, I saw Ethan snag it before Marsden crashed meinto the boards. He’d known it was a bad hit, too, if the apology after they let him out of the box was anything to go on.

Smiling, I waved at the guys and left the locker room ignoring the protests behind me. I wanted to get home to my man.

I settled behind the wheel of my truck and started the engine, blowing into my hands to help ward off the cold. My phone dinged with a text message. Glancing at it as I attached it to the phone mount, my stomach dropped, and I felt numb.

Charlotte

It’s done. Good luck in Minnesota.

“Holy shit.” The words were barely audible. Before that could settle, my phone rang.