Chapter 26

TWENTY-SIX

Claudia

I wake to the sound of rain beating against the windows. I can’t tell what time it is because it’s cloudy outside, but I don’t particularly care. Today is my last full day in Florida—and with Anders. All I want to do is stay in his arms, and drink in as much of him as I can because forty-eight hours from now, I’ll be in my new office in Philadelphia.

As excited as I am about the job, I hate that I have to leave so soon after finding him.

We spent the night alternately making love, dozing, and talking.

It was romantic. Passionate. Erotic. Fun .

I adore everything about this guy.

He’s gorgeous and sexy, but also tender and thoughtful.

We like the same food, the beach, and television shows.

He doesn’t mind when I go off on a tangent about computers, and I enjoy listening to him tell me stories about hockey.

I can’t even wrap my head around the things we’ve done in bed.

And on the floor.

In the shower.

On the chair by the window…

There had been a lot of places and positions last night, once I got past my initial shyness.

He rocked my fucking world, and tomorrow I’m getting on a plane to start my post-college life without him.

Why does fate pull shit like this?

Why couldn’t we meet a year from now? I’d be settled in my job, potentially living on my own, and in a much better position to start a relationship.

Well, okay, I might never have been ready for a relationship if I hadn’t met Anders, but still. It feels wholly unfair to have this thrown at me at the completely wrong time in my life.

A time when we’re going to be living hundreds of miles apart.

I nestle closer to Anders, letting sleep pull me under again, and the next time I open my eyes, I’m alone in bed. I sit up in confusion, because it’s raining even harder now so I can’t imagine where he’s gone, but before I can think about what to do, Anders comes back into the room. He’s carrying two coffee mugs, and the aroma hits my nostrils before I even fully realize that he’s bringing me coffee in bed.

I’m falling hard.

No doubt about that.

“Good morning.” He leans over and kisses me, putting the mugs on the nightstand.

“Good morning.” I smile. “I wondered where you were.”

“I figured I’d bring us coffee, so we can stay in bed longer. Looks like it’s going to rain most of the day.”

“I can’t think of a better reason to stay in bed.”

“I don’t think we need a reason to stay in bed, but if it gives us an excuse, I’m all for it.” He looks toward the coffee. “I don’t think we’ve had breakfast together before so I’m not sure how you like your coffee.”

“Lots of cream and sugar. I’m a bit of a princess.”

“I’m not sure there’s a correlation there,” he says, frowning. “Because if there is, then I’m a princess also.”

I laugh. “I want to see you in a tiara.”

“You’re going to have to get me drunk first.”

“Challenge accepted.”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Try my coffee—if you like it, you can have it and I’ll go fix the other one. If not, tell me how to make it right.”

I reach for the mug and take a sip.

Somehow, I already know it’s going to be perfect—and it is.

“Yup. Just the way I like it.”

He nods, like he was expecting it to be correct too. “Be right back.”

He takes the cup containing the black coffee and disappears again, coming back a couple of minutes later, and locking the door behind him.

“Is Felix home?” I ask.

He nods, getting into bed next to me. “But I haven’t seen him yet. We like to sleep in the off-season.”

“I love to sleep. I used to schedule my classes late in the day or at night so I could sleep in. Working a real job is going to be a big change for me.”

“The start of hockey season is always hard,” he says. “We have practices and meetings and stuff. Not to mention travel. And I have to be up early enough to eat something, so I have the fuel I need for practice.”

“I’m sure hockey season is rough on your body in general.”

“It is. But I love it, you know? It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. The minute I get on the ice, I forget about everything else.”

“I can’t wait to go to a game,” I say.

“I’ll make sure to get you tickets when we play in Philly, in case you want to bring a friend or your parents.”

“My dad will love it, and Mom will probably go just because she’ll want to meet you.”

“I want to meet your parents too. Mine will be here for Christmas, so we’ll have to figure that out.”

“You, uh, you want me to come for Christmas?” I ask, peering at him over the rim of my cup.

“If you want to. I understand if you’d rather stay with your family, and you may not have time off with a new job, but we can try to squeeze in a few days.”

“Actually, after the ninety-day probationary period, I have unlimited vacation.”

“Unlimited?” He stares at me.

“I know, pretty wild, right? It’s a thing now, especially in the tech world. The idea is that people will be so afraid of taking advantage of it, they’ll actually wind up using less time than they would otherwise. I don’t know how accurate that is, but it’s in my employment contract.”

“Your ninety days will be up mid-December, give or take a few days,” he says thoughtfully.

“Yup. In addition, the whole office is closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s, so technically, I could come down right after Christmas, depending on what we decide.”

“Sounds like it’s a great place to work.”

“I hope so. I was really excited when I got the offer, and there’s a lot of buzz about them in the tech industry right now. But we’ll see. You know how it is when something seems too good to be true. Although, to be fair, they said we’ll be working a lot of hours the first six months or so, getting the company off the ground.”

“So it’s brand new?”

“Not brand new, but up until recently, it was just the owner, Randy, and his business partner, Glen, along with their assistant. Now there’s about twenty-five people and they’re looking to be up to fifty by January. Hopefully, one of them will be Hana.”

“Do you think the visa thing will be a problem?”

“Potentially, but good lawyers can make it happen.”

“We’re both going to have a busy few months.”

I put my mug down and nestle against him. “I can’t believe our week is already over. I don’t know how we’re going to say goodbye tomorrow.”

“It’s not goodbye,” he whispers, putting his own mug down and then pulling me into an all-encompassing hug that makes me feel safe and warm and…happy. “We’ll see each other in just under four weeks. We play in Philly on Friday night, and believe it or not, we’re off on Saturday. We could potentially spend the whole day together and then I’ll meet up with the team in Montreal on Sunday. I already got permission.”

I love hearing that he’s planning ahead so he can spend time with me. “That sounds good.” I close my eyes and breathe in his scent. It’s a little musky, after so many rounds of lovemaking since our last shower, but masculine with the faint scent of his aftershave still lingering. It’s woodsy but light, so it’s not overpowering, and I want to bury myself in it.

“Don’t be sad. We can talk and FaceTime. And I can teach you about phone sex.”

I laugh. “I don’t think that’s as much fun as the real thing.”

“No, but it’s still pretty fun when it’s with someone you really like.”

“I may have to invest in some toys.”

“You should. We can use them together, too.”

“You’re getting me worked up again.”

“Good. Because I plan to spend as much time inside of you today as I possibly can. We’ll take a break for the show tonight, but then we’re coming right back to bed when we get home.”

“Good thing I’m going to spend a good part of my day on a plane since I’m not going to be able to walk tomorrow.”

“That’s the goal.”

“Does it impact you the same way?”

“Somewhat. Obviously, the soreness is different since I don’t have a vagina, but yeah, my hips and abdomen get a workout sometimes. I use different muscles with sex than I do with hockey.”

“I would hope so.”

We laugh together before I roll over and grab my coffee.

“I like this coffee in bed situation. You’re spoiling me.”

“I think it’s important to spoil the woman in your life.”

“What about you? Me spoiling you, I mean.”

“You can reciprocate when I come home after a long road trip or a particularly grueling game or practice. You can rub my shoulders if I’m sorer than usual. Or make my favorite dinner. It’s give and take, but right now, things are new, so we’re easing into all that. It’s not a competition. And since I know this is your first real relationship, I’m taking the lead.”

Yup.

I am head over heels for this guy.