Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

Logan

"This time I'll give you my number."

It's Sunday morning, and Annie's preparing to do another walk of shame, except dressed as a nun I don't think people will be assuming she just got laid. Multiple times.

"Okay." She sighs. "But we still never really sorted out what's going on here."

She's not wrong.

I don't know what to say. The smart thing would be to agree this can't happen again. But I don't want to agree to that. Because I don't even want her to go home right now.

I could totally get addicted to her. To the way she looks at me, like I'm actually worth something. To the way she gets me and my need to do better. To prove myself. To the lack of judgment when I talked about my dad. The way she's forgiven me (I think?) and looked past who I am on the outside. I don't let many people do that and it's fucking terrifying but also…not.

I admire her desire to be successful, to be respected for herself, because I want that too.

And her hot little body doesn't help with that addiction. All I have to do is think about her pussy squeezing me and I get hard all over again.

I settle on honesty, because I can be a cynical asshole but I'm not a liar. "I don't know what to say."

Our eyes meet.

"I know." She sighs again. "I want to be responsible and smart and do the right thing. Doing the right thing is important."

I nod.

"But we're not hurting anyone," she adds softly. "We just need to keep it on the down low."

I settle my hands on her hips. "I think it's riskier for you."

She purses her lips. "Yeah."

"I hate that. I promise you no one will find out from me."

Her eyes soften. "I trust you."

Why? I want to ask her why she trusts me. The fact that she trusts me nearly sends me to my knees, a swelling sensation rising in my chest. I don't know if I've ever felt this before. "Thank you."

She nods, smiling faintly.

I give her a last kiss at my door and, after making sure the coast is clear, she slips out.

I rub the back of my neck as I wander to the living room window and gaze out. Wow.

This is really…something.

The sky is overcast and gloomy. It looks like it might rain. I should have insisted on driving Annie home, but she didn't want to take a chance on us being seen together.

My phone buzzes and I grab it. It's a text.

ANNIE: OMG I ran into Hunter and Easton on my way out

There's a shocked face emoji.

I actually laugh.

LOGAN: Did they recognize you?

ANNIE: I don't think so! They were walking a dog. He's so cute!

LOGAN: Not as cute as Teemu

ANNIE: Of course not

LOGAN: That's Otis. Millsy's dog

ANNIE: I miss Teemu already

LOGAN: What about me

Her response is a laugh emoji.

ANNIE: It might take a wee bit longer to miss you

LOGAN: Jesus. I'm second to my dog

Now I get a kiss emoji. And I grin.

Our text convo stops there, but I keep my phone in my hand. Just in case.

Speaking of walking the dog, I should do that.

* * *

"Okay, let's get this show on the road!" Mike calls, standing in front of the big tour bus parked outside the practice facility. He's the manager of team services and is the guy that herds us onto buses, planes, and trains, and into and out of hotels so we get to our games and practices.

We're heading off for three days of fun in the "sun." We've never done a teambuilding retreat like this, but I guess it shows how seriously team management is taking this "we want to win" stance. I'm honestly not sure what to expect, other than I know we'll be golfing this afternoon, having a couple of practices at a nearby rink, and doing some mysterious teambuilding exercises.

I bound up the steps of the bus and come face to face with Annie, sitting in the second row. She looks up and our eyes meet in what feels like a physical jolt. It's all I can do not to break out in a huge smile and reach for her.

She gives me a polite greeting and I force my feet to keep moving down the aisle of the bus and then I drop into the seat next to J-Bo. "Hey."

"Hey, man. All set for some wild times?"

"I don't think that's what this is about."

He sighs. "I know. But at least we get to golf."

"Yeah, that'll be good. It's supposedly one of the best courses in the country."

"Amazing. The lodge looks really nice, too."

We've got a two-hour ride ahead of us. The bus fills up and the noise level escalates, everyone in high spirits as we take off to do some fun stuff.

It's a good way to get to know each other better. Some of us have been around for a while, but there are a lot of new guys here. Being away from all distractions, just us on the road, is cool, and it's not even a road trip with the pressure of a game.

I listen to a podcast about health and wellness, then one by a comedian that has me chuckling to the point where J-Bo beside me is giving me dirty looks.

I pop out an earbud. "What?"

"What are you laughing at?"

"A podcast."

"It's rude to laugh in front of someone." He frowns.

I give him a what-the-fuck look. "I'm not laughing at you ."

"How do I know that?" He shakes his head. "It's disturbing."

My jaw dangles open. "You have got to be kidding me."

"How would you like it if I sat here and laughed? You don't think you'd feel self-conscious?"

I stare at him. "Jesus. I don't know. No. Get a grip, man. Also, I have to listen to something entertaining or I'll fall asleep."

He huffs and I have to swallow another laugh. Shaking my head, I resume listening, but this time I cover my mouth with my hand to hide my amusement.

As we near the resort, the scenery is gorgeous. Autumn tints the leaves gold and orange, the foliage dense and lush, the sky a clear blue overhead. We turn off the interstate onto a narrower road and I catch glimpses of sparkling water between some of the trees before we slow and then stop in front of an immense building, three stories tall, all brick and stone and rustic wood.

Nice.

I get settled into my room on the third floor with an amazing view. Before we hit the links we have lunch in a big private room, and the food is fantastic—an impressive salad bar, butternut squash soup, and a choice between meatball bahn mi or a turkey panini. There are even chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I grab an extra one and munch on it as we head over to the golf clubhouse.

Our clubs have been unloaded by team staff and are waiting for us. I change into my golf shoes as Mike goes around telling us who's in our foursomes. My head jerks back when I hear I'm golfing with Annie. Oh hell, who made that decision?

Not just her of course; also TK (Tyler Kadny, our backup goalie) and Hellsy (Josh Heller). How did they pick these foursomes? It seems random but cynical me is suspicious.

Annie rolls up with her bag as we climb into carts. She's dressed in a shorts-skirt combo thing and a pink sleeveless collared top, and is wearing light makeup with shiny pink lips. Multi-shades of blond hair are sleeked back into a high ponytail that curves into a perky comma shape and diamond studs glint in her tiny earlobes.

I eye her golf clubs. "Are those children's clubs?"

She rolls her lips in on a smile and gives me a look, her chin lowered. "No."

I catch Hellsy's perturbed look. No doubt he's worried she's going to bust my balls like she did Jake's that time. "Kidding," I say with a smile. "Just a joke."

Hellsy moves to lift her bag into the car. Oh hell to the nah. I step forward, but Annie waves us both away. "I got it, thanks." She hoists it onto the back of the cart, belying her delicate appearance. The bag's nearly as big as she is but she can handle it.

Hellsy hops into the cart with TK leaving me and Annie. Fine.

We get in our cart and cruise over the first hole to wait to tee off.

"I didn't know we'd end up on the same foursome," she says.

"Me either."

"We'll have to be careful."

I nod. "Hopefully I can keep my hands off you."

She smirks. "Touch me and die."

I choke on a laugh. "Got it."

"This is a nice place." She looks around. "I've never been to the Poconos."

"Me either."

As we wait our turn to tee off, I say to Hellsy, "Are your dad and uncles coming to the retreat?"

His dad and three uncles own the team. Yeah, it's a little weird. It's our first season with the new owners, so who knows how involved they're going to be. It has to be weird for Hellsy, too.

"They're coming for dinner on Saturday night," he says.

"I'm impressed with this," I tell him, gesturing. "Nice place. But are they going to make us do weird team building things? Like…two truths and a lie? A scavenger hunt?"

"Build an egg cart," TK adds. "That'll protect an egg when we drop it. I did that once at a teambuilding thing."

Hellsy snorts. "I have no fucking clue what we're going to do." He slides a glance at Annie. "Uh…sorry?—"

She waves a hand and cuts him off, grinning. "Don't apologize. You guys have heard me swear." She makes a face. "I swear like a sailor. Much to my mom's disappointment."

"You have five brothers," I say.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," she replies. "And yeah, they swear like sailors, too. Or should I say, like hockey players. My mom never stood a chance."

"I played with Jakob years ago," TK tells her with a smile. "Great guy."

She smiles back at him. Damn, she's pretty and I can tell TK notices that too. "He's okay."

When I get up to the box to tee off, I'm conscious of her behind me. I want to look at her so badly, to see if she is watching me, what the expression on her face is, but I force myself to stare down at the small white ball as I adjust my stance and my grip. I take my swing and with a perfect ping I send the ball flying a good two hundred yards, nice and straight.

I exhale, straighten and turn. "You're up," I say to her.

How self-conscious does she feel, surrounded by guys? Actually, she seems pretty relaxed.

My gaze lingers on her hands gripping the club—her nails are a pearly pink, perfect oval shape—then drops to her legs, slender and toned. She may be dressed appropriately for a golf course, but she doesn't look like a golfer. She looks like five feet two of pure sex.

I swipe my forehead.

She glances down the fairway then swings, and holy shit, her ball goes nearly as far as mine. Well, about hundred sixty yards, maybe. Pretty good for a little thing.

I exchange a glance with TK, both of us lifting our eyebrows.

I want to grin. She's fucking awesome.

"Was that just lucky, or do we actually have a chance of winning today?" I ask her.

She purses her lips and gives me a saucy look. "Totally luck."

"It's not a tournament," Hellsy reminds us.

"Everything's a competition," Annie and I say at the exact same time.

Our eyes meet.

Electricity dances over my bare arms, and I laugh. "Glad we're on the same page."

Our eyes meet and hold and it's like pulling two magnets apart for us to disengage.

We watch TK tee off.

"Try choking down on the shaft!" I call to him.

He straightens and turns to face me.

Hellsy cracks up and Annie hides a laugh.

"Are you serious?" TK calls.

I bite back my grin. "Yeah. Also, spread your legs a little more."

Hellsy nearly falls down onto the grass and TK sags over his club, laughing too. "Fuck," he mutters. "Shut up, man."

I catch Annie's dancing eyes and we share our amusement.

Look away.

We can't be eye fucking on the golf course all afternoon.

Things get easier when TK jumps into my cart with me at one point, leaving Annie and Hellsy together. Hellsy's all married off, so I don't need to worry about him flirting with her.

At the eighth hole as we watch Hellsy tee off, I'm looking at the map of the course and the dogleg at this hole, and I call out to him, "It bends a little to the left."

I hear a choked laugh and look up at Annie.

"That's what she said," she says.

Hellsy drops his head forward, and TK snickers.

I guess we don't have to worry about her complaining to management about us making her feel uncomfortable.

I manage to finish the game with a respectable score of ninety-nine. Annie ends up with a hundred five.

"So, not luck," I say to her dryly back at the clubhouse. "You know how to golf."

She tosses her ponytail and smiles. "I golfed with my brothers a lot in the summers. My parents are both good golfers, too."

"Your dad had a great hockey career. What's he doing now?"

"He coaches. He and Mom still live in St. Paul."

I nod. "Nice."

Things get awkward again, but Axe and J-Bo stroll up to us. "How'd you play?" J-Bo asks me.

"Decent." I shrug. "Okay, ninety-five. How about you?"

"Didn't break a hundred." J-Bo frowns. "I hear Nate shot ninety-one."

"Damn."

"We told you it's not a tournament," Hellsy says with a laugh and a slap on my back. "Let's go get beers."

We start moving toward the clubhouse and I sense Annie hanging back. I turn. "Coming?" I ask casually.

"Yep." Her reply is equally as casual and she follows along.

That's pretty much our itinerary for tonight. We have dinner in the private room, a three-course meal where we choose our starter, salad, and main course. I enjoy a delicious char broiled pork chop. Annie and I manage to take seats far apart, but I can't stop myself from looking over at her, time after time.

After dinner, she disappears and I hang out for a while with the guys, bragging about our golf games and basically shooting the shit, then we head up to our rooms. We have practice in the morning.

In my room, though, I can spy the outdoor hot tub glowing steamy turquoise blue through the trees. Man, I'd love to sink myself into that and let the jets pummel my muscles. Why not? I did pack a pair of swim shorts knowing there's a pool and hot tub here, so I quickly change into them and grab a towel from the bathroom to sling around my neck. I head back downstairs and find the exit to the hot tub.

Crap. It's chilly out here. My sandals slap softly on the wooden deck as I stride toward the pool nestled among trees and some big, rugged rocks. The pool lights illuminate the steam rising from the water, giving the space an eerie kind of vibe. I pause at the steps down into the water and drop my towel onto the deck, then descend into the wet warmth. Aaaah.

"Um. Hi."

I miss a step and pitch forward, nearly going face first into the pool. With some blundering splashes I manage to save myself from falling in, and when I finally get my feet firmly beneath me, I focus on the other person in the hot tub—a small blonde I didn't notice in all the vapor.