Page 96 of Hot Shot
We haven’t hung out a lot lately outside of practice and games. I’ve been so wrapped up in my relationship with Madison. Wes’s face falls.
“Madison is coming over. How about the next time we’re home on a Sunday night?” I do miss our Sunday night dinners, and Madison will understand if I want to hang out with them one night.
“I get it,” Wes says.
“Well, count me in,” Holt says from behind me.
“Mind if I invite myself?” Brody asks.
I don’t stick around to hear the rest of their conversation, heading for the door so I can get home and take a nap. I’m exhausted. The season is starting to wear on me.
I can’t wait for the All-Star break in a few short weeks because it means a whole week of no games or practice. I plan to spend as much time as possible with Madison.
The second half of our season has us traveling more, and I know our time together will be sparse. I smile as I unlock my truck and toss my bag in.
For the first time in a long time everything is going right, even with last night’s fight. We don’t play the Fury again during the regular season, so I won’t have to face EJ again.
I’ve got the career I always dreamed about.
And I’ve got the girl I didn’t even know I always wanted.
“Hey, sweets.” I pull Madison into my arms a few hours later, not even bothering to close the door first.
“Hey, hot shot. Are you okay?” she asks, tipping her head back to look at me.
“I’m fine now that you’re here.” I hold her for a few seconds longer before releasing her.
She steps through the doorway and drops her bags. I grab her hand and lead her down the hallway.
“Where are we going?” she asks.
“My bedroom.”
“Hunter? I think we should talk about what happened the past couple of days.”
“We will,” I say, moving over to my bed. “I want to hold you.” She nods.
Tugging off my shirt so I’m left in only athletic shorts, I climb into bed and use the pillows to prop myself against the headboard. As much as the decoration in this apartment isn’t to my taste, the bed is comfortable.
Madison climbs in and comes over so she’s sitting with her back to my chest. I band my arms around her, pulling her close, leaning over to bury my nose in her hair.
“Are you okay?” she asks again, stroking my arms.
“I’m fine,” I mumble into her hair.
“I’m sorry about EJ.”
“That wasn’t your fault, sweets. But why didn’t you tell me that EJ was Elliot Jacobs of the Nashville Fury?” That’s something that’s been bothering me—why she never told me who EJ really was.
Madison shifts so she can look at me. “I’m sorry. I should have told you but I wasn’t sure how our dinner was going to go. I didn’t want to say anything to you that might have you fighting him on the ice for no reason.”
“It wouldn’t have been for no reason.” I run a hand through my hair. Why does she think me fighting the asshole that hurt her would be for no reason? “How did dinner go?”
She chews on her lip for a moment before saying, “Not great.”
She takes a deep breath and tells me about their conversation and how Elliot asked her about our relationship. Yep, probably a good thing I didn’t know about this before our game because I definitely would have started a fight with him during warm-ups and not gotten any ice time.
“I wish you’d told me,” I admit. “But it’s probably better that you didn’t.”
