Page 103 of Instigator

“Smart chicks are hot,” Jenkins says with an exaggerated moan.

I glower at him. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

He lifts his hands innocently. “I’m just saying.”

“Well, say less.”

He snickers to himself as we reach his floor, giving us a two-fingered salute. “Later, assholes.”

Sinclair shakes his head as the metal doors close and the elevator surges upward. “One day, he’ll figure it out.”

They’re only two or three years apart in age, but Sinclair has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Whatever he’s been dealing with, he hasn’t shared with me, and I can see the physical toll it’s taken. Dr. Liz has been helping, and I don’t need the details. As long as he’s getting better.

I just don’t know if he is.

“Somehow I doubt that,” Ryan mutters.

I shouldn’t badmouth my teammates, especially not to another. Yet…

“He’s got a lot of growing up to do.”

“You going to teach him?” Sinclair grins, bumping his shoulder against mine.

“Might have to.”

It’s Jenkins’s fourth or fifth year in the league. He’s old enough to know better. I won’t stand for that kind of talk in my locker room, and yes, that extends to the elevator too. That sort of language is not appropriate, period, end of story.

Fuck. Another difficult conversation.

I glance at Sinclair from the corner of my eye. I want to ask how he’s doing, but since Ryan is with us, I know it’s not the time.

Instead, when we reach his floor, I give him a nod. “You good?”

Something passes over his face, and he swallows hard. “Yeah. I’m good.”

“See you,” Ryan says with a wave. Once the elevator closes again, he turns to me. “Okay, what’s that?”

“What’s what?”

“Sinclair is being weird.”

I shake my head. “Not my place to talk about.”

“Captain shit?” When I don’t respond, he nods. “Captain shit,” he repeats. “Well, I hope it works out. For him and for you.”

“Want to play some FIFA?” I ask instead. “Ceci’s at the office today.”

“She’s really spending a lot of time here.”

“I guess. I like when she’s here.”

I hadn’t really thought about it much. Hockey is such a grueling schedule, plus she has her board commitments and charitable work, all on top of her work for the helmet project. We’d barely have time to see each other if we weren’t in each other’s pockets all the time.

The other night, we sat together and gamed for a few hours. Her hand drew circles on my leg, creeping higher and higher, until I tossed aside the controller and practically tackled her on the couch. Then she rocked against me until her legs shook, and I carried her to the bedroom and finished the job with my mouth.

If this is what it’s like to have a girlfriend… why did I wait so long to try to date?

From the beginning, I haven’t had any nerves or hesitation. It’s nothing like the other women I’ve tried to date, where I overthought everything and couldn’t perform. That first time, she didn’t judge me or complain when our plans had to pivot. She simply accepted me as I am.