Page 46 of Securing the Pucking Rebound

“Just here is great. Thanks, man,” I say to the driver as we pull up outside our building.

My leg aches as I climb out. I’ve been overdoing it, and I’m paying for it. I’ve spent all day trying to hide it, but Darcy knows. The motherfucker can see deeper. He knows what hockey players are like, how we hide the pain that we’re in. Hell, we’d do anything if it meant we could get back on the ice faster.

Just like last night, our dinner is waiting for me, and Harold hands it over as I hobble through the foyer.

“How are you doing?” he asks, his eyes dropping to my knee that’s unusually exposed. I’ve pretty much been living in sweats since the accident. It’s stupid; it’s not like I’m going to forget it happened, but I was going for out of sight, out of mind.

This afternoon, though, I pulled on a pair of athletic shorts after my session with Darcy, showing off my unflattering new accessory: my knee brace.

I fucking hate it.

“Yeah, you know,” I mutter.

“You’ll come back stronger, just remember that.”

I nod as I continue toward the elevator. I don’t mean to be rude, but the only place I want to be right now is on Sienna’s couch, eating my body weight in Mexican while we watch sappy movies that will make her smile.

I swear the elevator goes slower than I’ve ever known. My fingers drum against my thigh as I watch the numbers rise at a snail’s pace.

No sooner have the doors opened than I’m out and marching toward her front door as fast as I can move, which isn’t all that fast these days.

I knock, and only a few seconds later, the lock disengages and she pulls the door open.

The moment my eyes land on hers, everything inside me relaxes.

“You look good,” I say as I hobble inside. She’s got more color in her face, and the circles beneath her eyes have lightened.

“Thanks. I slept all morning, then had a bath. I feel a little more human.”

And you smell incredible. Like strawberries and cream.

I keep that little nugget to myself, though, as I follow her to the kitchen, where she already has plates out ready.

“I knew you weren’t ignoring me,” I tease as we work side by side getting the food out.

She chuckles, and I lose myself in the sound. Fuck. I want more of that.

“Have you decided on a movie?”

“I’ve got a couple of ideas,” she says coyly.

I glance over and find a smile playing on her lips.

“I can’t wait,” I say.

“Who’d have thought it—Calvin Keller, willing to have a night in, watching movies with a girl.”

“Shush, don’t say it too loud. You might ruin my rep.”

“Do you need a heating pad or something for that?” Sienna asks when I shift my outstretched leg for the millionth time in my quest to get comfortable. “Painkillers?”

I shake my head. “I’m okay.”

“Liar,” she accuses.

My lips part to argue, but I quickly find that the words I want to say die on my tongue.

“It’s…it’s easier to try and pretend,” I confess.