Chapter 14

Amber

"Ready?" I find myself nodding, even though I'm not sure leaving the toilet is a good idea. Rico's arms come around me, startling me, and he lifts me to my feet. When I'm steady, he drops his arms. He walks ahead of me to the door. "Ready?" he asks again. "Don't breathe through your nose."

He opens the door, and I keep my mouth open. I walk past him, and he surprises me by putting his hand on my back. And then we're moving quickly through the crowd of people that looks suspiciously like more than just a few of Aiden's teammates. We finally make it to the back door and step out. It's only when we've stepped a little distance from the house that I take a shallow breath. I can still smell it, but I think it's more in my mind. "You good?" Rico asks quietly, and I turn to look at my savior.

"Thank you."

"What can I get for you to eat or drink?"

I grimace, and he gives me a soft smile. "I'll find something." I'm on the verge of telling him not to worry about it, but he's gone before I can get the words out. He comes back a few minutes later with a bottle of ginger ale and a plate of pretzels and crackers. I look up at him, surprised. "Give those a try."

"Did Brielle have these?" I ask in surprise. He shrugs and finds something interesting to study across the lawn.

Suspicion fills me. "Did you bring these, Rico?" I ask. It hits me. "Your mom said room-temperature Ginger Ale always helped her." When he still doesn't look at me, I hit him lightly in the belly with it. "Thank you."

He finally turns back to me. "You're welcome." I shake my head and take a tiny sip. "What do you think?" he asks.

I nod and take another small sip. "I think...your mom is one really smart person."

His grin widens. "Good."

"Want to try?" I ask, offering him the bottle.

He grimaces. "Warm ginger ale? Yeah, no thanks. You enjoy that." I laugh and put the lid back on before snacking on a few pretzels. "Come on. Let's go sit." He directs me over to the patio furniture.

I gaze around the peaceful yard and find myself relaxing for the first time in a long while. "You don't have to stay out here with me," I offer. "You can go join your friends."

"I'm good," he says, settling back on the patio recliner. I manage to finally do the same and release a sigh when I lay my head back against the pillow.

I groan. "I probably shouldn't sit here long; I'll fall asleep. And that's not something anybody wants to witness."

Rico chuckles. "Why because you sleep like the dead?"

I turn my gaze to him. "Why would you say that?" His eyes widen slightly before he turns away, guilt all over his face. "Rico? How do you know I sleep like the dead?"

"Didn't say that you did."

"Rico," I grind out.

"Fine. I came to your house that night after you left mine." He turns to face me. "I needed to make sure you got home safe. You didn't answer the phone."

I stare at him wide-eyed. "And you came into my room?"

His face turns slightly red, and I don't know whether to be amused or horrified. "Wait, was I snoring?"

He cocks his head. "You snore?"

"No!" I answer swiftly, too swiftly. He grins slowly.

"I didn't stick around long enough."

I glare at him. "What were you doing in my room? Wait, was I dressed?" His eyes widen. "Wait, I mean it's not like I sleep naked or anything or in just my underwear."

"Amber," he groans.

"What?" I can't help it; he's too easy to rile up. "I mean hopefully I was wearing some kind of something."

"You were dressed!" he almost yells at me, and I bite my lip to hide my smile as I lean against the seat.

"You little conniver," he says, reaching over and flicking my leg.

"Hey," I growl at him without any heat. "Watch it! No picking on the pregnant woman."

"Oh, now you're going to play that card," he says, smirking.

"Oh yeah." He just shakes his head and leans against his seat. It's silent for a little bit. I thought it would be uncomfortable, but it's not. It's surprisingly...nice. We watch the sun begin to set, and I shiver as a chill hits the air. He stands up.

"You're leaving me?" I ask, my words a little slurred because I'm sort of dozing.

"I'll be right back." I feel a soft touch on my shoulder, so soft that I wonder if I imagined it. Moments later, I feel warmth invade my body. I open my eyes and see a large blanket covering me, courtesy of Rico.

"Thank you," I tell him, snuggling under it. "You're going to make a really good boyfriend for somebody." I pull the blanket further up my body until it's up to my chin. I think he says something in response, but I miss it. "I can't believe nobody's come outside and told us to come in," I say around a yawn.

"I told Aiden that you wouldn't be able to because of the smell."

He says the words so nonchalantly. I turn to look at him. "You did?"

"Yeah." He doesn't look over at me.

"Thank you," I tell him softly. "I really wish you would go in; I don't want you missing out on my account."

This time, he turns his head to me. "Amber, I'm where I want to be." I stare at him a moment before I settle against the headrest.

"It's a gorgeous sunset," I say softly.

"It's beautiful," he responds just as softly.

I sort of lose sense of things after that. Sometime later, a hand shakes me gently. "Amber." I blink open blurry eyes and see Rico kneeling next to me. "It's getting late."

I blink, trying to clear my eyes. "Okay."

I sit up, and he doesn't move back. "If you're too tired, I'm sure you can crash here."

"No," I say quickly. "I'm good. I'll go home." I push the blanket back and kick my feet around to the side of the chair. Rico stands and puts out a hand to me. I gratefully take it and let him pull me to my feet. Momentum makes me practically collide with his chest, but he steadies me with strong hands.

"You good?"

I think I must be really tired because his voice sounds deliciously low and sexy. I swallow. Time to go. I step back. "Thank you." I turn around and grab the blanket, trying to wake fully up. "Thanks for spending the evening out here with me."

"Anytime."

I don't look back at him as I head towards the house. "Don't breathe through your nose," he warns softly before he holds the door for me. His hand finds its way to my back again, and we're moving through the house and to the front door.

"Wait, I need to say bye to Bri and Aiden."

"I'll have them come to you out front," he responds.

"They don't need to do that."

"They do, or you risk throwing up again," he says easily. I realize he's probably right, and I'm tired. So I don't fight him on it. We're out the front door seconds later.

When I feel we're far enough away, I take a deep breath, thankful when I don't smell the dreaded seafood smell. "Amber," Bri says, coming outside. "Hey." She walks towards me and gives me a hug. "I'm sorry about the salmon; I didn't even think about it."

Not wanting her to feel bad, I reassure her. "Everything makes me sick these days. No worries."

Bri wraps her arms around her in the chilly air. "Still, I should have known."

"It's okay, Bri. Honestly."

Aiden appears behind her and tugs her into his arms, rubbing his hands up and down her arms in an effort to warm her up. He leans close to her ear and mutters something I can't hear. I turn away, more than ready to go home for the night. I'm ready to be in my own bed for the night. "Thanks, Bri and Aiden." After hugs from both of them, I head to my car. Well, at least I try; but Rico puts a hand around my elbow and pulls me in a different direction.

"This way."

"My car's over there," I point out.

"I know, but my truck's over here."

I stop on the sidewalk. "Rico, you're not taking me home. It's not remotely on your way home. Besides, I have to take my mom."

"Aiden said he'd run your mom home in your car, so it will be there for you tomorrow. Come on, Amber. Don't fight me tonight. Let me take you home; you're exhausted. Look, my truck's already on, and the heat's running. It's going to be nice and toasty."

"Uggh," I groan. "You know my weaknesses."

He laughs, and it's low and delicious. I shake my head. I'm more tired than I realized. Before I realize it, we're standing next to his truck. He opens the door and almost lifts me into his truck before shutting the door. I'm ready to argue one last time with him, but then the warmth of the vehicle combined with the heated seat hits me, and my argument is lost. Rico climbs in, and I turn my head to look at him. "You have heated seats."

He chuckles. "I do." He begins to pull out. "If I knew you were so in love with heated seats, I would have started with that argument." I hear the amusement in his voice and want to tease him, but my eyes drift shut instead. He wakes me when we get to my house. It takes me a moment to get my senses.

"Thank you, Rico. I was more tired than I realized."

He comes around and helps me out of the car before walking me to the front door. I dig my key out and open the front door. "Thanks for a good night."

"You're welcome." He shocks me by leaning forward and kissing me softly on the forehead. "Get some sleep." He's down the front steps before I come to my senses.

"Did you just kiss me?" I call out.

He stops and turns back to me. I can see his face clearly because of his headlights. "I did." There's no shame or uncertainty in his voice.

"Why?"

"You'll figure it out." He gives me another of his smiles before waving at me and climbing into his truck. I stand there a minute longer, staring at his truck. "Amber, go inside so I can leave," he calls out through the window. I turn around and open the front door. I wave one last time and then close the door and lock it, knowing my mom has her keys on her. I make my way to my bedroom feeling really off-kilter, and I don't think it's just from being tired. No, this is because of a certain goalie.

After brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed, I snuggle down into my covers and rub my belly subconsciously as I stare up at the ceiling. I'm suddenly wide awake. I run a finger over the spot where he kissed my forehead, still unsure why he kissed me. I mean, I told him I'm not interested in dating. Right ? Doubts hit me. I can't be in another relationship, especially one with a hockey player. And yet, I think back to the night. It was the best night I've had in a long time...a really long time. I groan and roll over. This isn't good.