6. Courtney

COURTNEY

I stareat my door after Zack leaves and I"ve locked up. I"m still shell-shocked over the way the evening panned out. I never would have guessed he"d end up at my place, nor that we would have kissed or done everything else we did.

My body still hums from his touch and the pleasure he showed me. The exhaustion sets in, so I turn to head for bed. I stop in the kitchen and fill up my water bottle to take it with me to my bedroom. I drink greedily from the bottle as I stand next to my rumpled bed. Once I set the water bottle on my nightstand, I find the pillows and blankets before sliding between the sheets. I can smell Zack"s cologne on my sheets, so I pull in a deep breath, letting his smell fill my lungs.

I pull out my Kindle, needing something to keep me awake until Zack gets home and texts me that he made it safely. I get pulled into the book I"m reading until my vibrating phone startles me.

Zack

I made it home. Sleep well, sweetheart.

Courtney

I"m already tucked into bed and was just reading until you texted. Good night, Zack. Thanks for coming over.

Zack

Thanks for opening your door and not kicking me right back out after I kissed you in the entryway.

Courtney

Are you going to be okay with your situation?

Zack

I"ll be fine, sweetheart. I"ll just think of you coming on my tongue, and I"ll come like a geyser. (smile emoji) (devil face emoji) I thought my problem would have gone away on my drive home, but apparently not, as this evidence shows: {Picture of tented slacks}

Courtney

I still think you should have let me take care of that for you.

Zack

Next time.

Courtney

I"m holding you to that. {winky kissy face}

Zack

Whatever you say, sweetheart.

Courtney

Not to cut this short, but I"m having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I need to go to sleep.

Zack

Sweet dreams. Text me once you"re up and about.

Courtney

Will do. Good night, Zack.

I plug my phone in and set it on the nightstand. I hear it vibrate against the wood, but my eyes are already closed, so I leave it for the morning.

"What has you so smiley today?"Ryan asks. We sit on his patio as Jax runs around playing.

"Nothing specific, just starting to feel like myself again."

"I"m proud of you for getting out of a bad situation."

"Thanks," I tell my brother. "How was your date?"

"It was good. We"re going out again later this week."

"And how did you meet this girl?"

"One of my clients set me up. It"s his cousin. She just moved to town a few months ago and is trying to meet people."

"And her name?" I ask. Getting information out of my brother can be like pulling teeth sometimes.

"Allison. She"s twenty-eight and is a counselor focusing on adolescents and young adults."

"She sounds great and sounds like she"s got a good career path."

"She"s wicked smart, down to earth, and beautiful in that natural way. She doesn"t try too hard like a lot of women do. She reminds me of you, actually."

I scrunch my nose and look at my brother. "Eww, I hope you aren"t attracted to women who remind you of me."

Ryan tosses a napkin at me, but it drops on the ground before it even reaches me. "Not physically, brat. Just her determination and how she"s handled situations that have come up in her life."

"Does she have kids?" I ask.

"No."

"Well, I"m happy for you if it works out, and I look forward to meeting her when the time is right."

"What about you? Do you think you"ll date again?" I can feel my ears and cheeks heat, and I"m sure they are burning red.

"Eventually, yes, I could see myself dating and settling down with someone who treats me right. He"ll have to understand that Jax is my top priority and will always come first. So if I can find someone who fits that bill, then yes, I"d like to be in a relationship again."

"No one out there will ever be good enough for you," Ryan grumbles.

"If that"s the case, then there"s no guy in the world who is good enough for any woman, and that goes for you and Allison," I state, giving him my stern mom look.

He holds up his hands in surrender. "I see your point." He rubs his chin and cheek with his hand as he ponders his words. "I think it"s just the older brother protective instinct to think that about you, especially knowing the relationship you just left behind. I can"t tell you how many times I wanted to drive across this state and give Chad someone his own size to pick on. The things he put the two of you through aren"t normal or something you do to your loved ones."

"I know, and it"s why I finally left. But I"m safe. Jax is safe. We"re here now and not leaving."

"Any progress with the attorney and the custody issues?" Ryan asks.

"I talked to Zack"s attorney last week, and she"s reaching out to Chad"s attorney to see if we can get him to agree to mediation and keep this out of the courts. I"m hopeful he"s on board with that as it should be a lot cheaper for both of us with legal fees."

"Do you know how much you have to come up with right away?" he asks.

"She said nothing is required as Zack has her on retainer. I tried to argue, but she wouldn"t let up and give me a dollar amount."

"He"s one of the few good guys I know," Ryan says, and I can feel myself relax at his words. If he knows the kind of man Zack is deep down, then maybe he won"t freak out when the time comes to tell him we"ve been seeing one another. I"m trying not to let my hopes get ahead of me too far, knowing all too well that this could be just a fling that only lasts a short time.

"He sure is," I agree and hope I"m not on fire for not telling my brother all the details from the past few days.

I"m readingFroggy Goes to School for the third night in a row as it is Jax"s current favorite book—well, at least for this week—when my phone vibrates in my pocket.

"Who"s calling you, Mommy?" Jax asks.

"Not sure, but I can call them back after we"re done."

"What if it"s Uncle Ryan?"

I pull my phone out of my pocket and see Zack"s face on my screen.

"Zack?!" Jax asks, excitement filling his voice. "Answer it, Mommy. I want to say hi."

I slide the bar across the screen to answer the call. "Hello, you"re on speakerphone, and Jax is in my lap," I warn quickly so he doesn"t say something inappropriate for little ears.

"Hey, buddy," he says to Jax.

"Zack, are you playing hockey today?" he asks.

"Not today, we got today off, but I still have a game tomorrow night and one on Sunday before I"ll be back home. Did you watch my game on TV last night?"

"A little, but Mom made me go to bed because it was my bedtime."

"Yeah, sometimes my games are late, especially when I"m gone and having to play in different time zones. Speaking of late, are you getting off to bed?"

"We were almost done with his bedtime book when you called," I tell Zack. "Jax insisted I answer your call so he could say hi to you."

"Ah, well let me let you go then. Call me later?" he asks.

"Yep, give me a half hour or so."

"I"ll be waiting," he confirms before the line goes dead. I turn back to the book and pick up right where we left off.

Once I"ve finished the book, I move over so Jax can get himself situated fully under his blankets. "I love you to the moon and back," I say like I"ve done since the day he was born. Whenever I put him down for a nap or bed, I tell him those eight words.

"Moon and back," he replies with half-closed eyes. I press a kiss to his cheek and get up and walk to the door. Before I pull it closed behind me, I stare at my son in his bed. He looks so peaceful. About a week after we moved back, he stopped waking up at night, which had been an almost nightly occurrence. He stopped having accidents at night and has started to thrive overall. I can only attribute that to no longer being in an environment where we are always afraid of what kind of mood Chad would be in. Never knew if he"d be sober, or drunk and high.

I fill up my water bottle before heading into my bathroom and drawing a bath. Once I have the tub filled, I sink into the hot water. I prop my phone up on the tray that fits across the tub and tap Zack"s contact.

"Hey, gorgeous," he says as he answers the call. "Can I FaceTime you? I want to see your beautiful face tonight."

"Umm…" I hesitate.

"What"s wrong?" He"s instantly on high alert.

"Nothing bad. I"m just soaking in the tub. It"s why I needed a little bit to call you back."

"Fuck me," he says under his breath.

"What was that?" I ask.

"Nothing, sweetheart. I was already at half-mast just hearing your voice. Seeing you naked will make me as hard as steel," he says.

"Then we don"t have to switch to the video," I say, knowing damn well he won"t let that slide.

My screen flashes with the notification that he"s requested to change the call over. I chuckle as I accept the video call and wait for the few seconds it takes for our cameras to start working correctly. The way my phone is propped up in the holder, you can only see from about my collarbone up.

"Any chance you can lower that camera?" Zack asks. I can practically feel his smolder through the damn phone.

I adjust it ever so slightly, giving him another inch or so of skin, but not what he really wants—my breasts.

"Damn, you take my breath away." I tap my phone to make the little box that shows what he"s seeing larger, so I can see myself through his eyes. I just see a tired mom relaxing in a bath.

"How was your free day?" I ask, not really sure what else to say to his last statement.

"It was good. Went down for some treatment. I have a hip flexor that is causing some problems. Nothing that a few extra stretches and some time with one of the trainers massaging it out won"t cure."

"With today being an off day, does that mean no practice, as well?"

"Just kind of depends on the day, where we're at in our schedule, how many guys we"ve got out on injury. The list goes on and on. There was a short optional skate, but I didn"t go. Treatment was my priority today."

"Will you be okay for tomorrow"s game?" I ask.

"Oh yeah, I"ll be fine. The trainers will stretch me out really well tomorrow afternoon. I probably won"t even notice the nagging injury during the game."

"Is it something you"ve dealt with for a long time?"

"It pops up every season or so. Sometimes it goes away after a few days, and other times, it sticks around for weeks or months. Just depends on how many hits I take."

"I still can"t fully wrap my mind around how physically demanding your job is," I admit.

"Don"t you worry, it has also built up my stamina." He winks.

"Ugh, you"re incorrigible." I slosh the water around a little as I shift in the tub.

"I"m feeling a little overdressed this evening," he says, and moves on his bed. He reaches behind his head and grips his T-shirt. He pulls it up and over his head, all in one movement. His chiseled torso fills my screen, and I might start to drool when I get a good look at the ridges of his abs. "Like what you see?" he asks. I slowly drag my eyes to meet his, finding a cocky smirk on his lips. One that I"d really like to kiss off.

"I don"t just like what I see. I"m a little fonder of it now that I"m getting a good look."

"Want me to keep going?" he offers, sliding his hand down his abdomen.

"No!" I adamantly state. "I"m not having sexy times over FaceTime."

He pouts slightly but quickly brushes it off. "I understand."

"But do you?" I ask with a laugh.

"I do. It doesn"t mean I wouldn"t take advantage of the situation should it present itself to me," he quips.

"Spoken like a true red-blooded man," I tease. "Sex, sports, and food are the top three things on your mind at any moment, am I right?"

"Pretty much. There are times when other things are on my mind, but those three are normally at the top of the list."

"Oh, I meant to tell you something. When I was over at Ryan"s place, we talked about his date, and then he asked me if I thought I"d ever want to date again. I treaded very carefully, never mentioning anything about you and me. But he made a strange, yet good, comment. He said you"re one of the few good guys he knows. I think that"s a good omen for the two of us, especially if and when it"s time for you to have a little talk with him if we continue whatever this is," I say as I motion to both of us.

"Good to know. Did he say how his date went?" Zack asks.

"Said it went well. They"re going out again, so that"s a good sign. He seemed to really like her."

"That"s good. He needs a good woman in his life. One who balances him out and can put him in his place a time or two."

"Something like that. So what"s your schedule like for tomorrow?" I ask.

"Morning skate will probably only be on the ice for forty-five minutes, at most. Followed by some treatment, then back to the hotel for lunch and a pre-game nap, then back to the rink by four. Since we're on the road, we all arrive at the same time via motor coach. Then, off-ice warm-ups, stretching, all the normal pre-game stuff until it"s time to hit the ice."

"I"m going to surprise Jax with some pizza on the way home so we can have it while we watch the game on TV. We"re going to stop at Target, as well, so he can pick out a special treat for dessert, and we"ll make a fun night out of it."

"I love that."

"My plan is during the second intermission, we"ll take care of bath time and get into pj"s, then stay up a little late to watch the final period."

"I"m sure he"ll be ecstatic."

"Yep, but that is also why I"m not telling him my plan until after I pick him up from after-school care."

"Smart woman." I sit up and reach for the drain plug, flipping it open so the tub drains.

"Are you getting out?" he asks.

"Yeah, I"m well pruned up." I flip my phone over so the camera is face down on my bath tray. I don"t need to flash him while I"m trying to get out of the tub and dry off.

"Hey," he objects.

"You"ll get over it. This isn"t flattering at all."

"Nothing I haven"t seen already."

I can"t help but laugh at his words. "Seeing me the way you did the other night is different."

"How so?" he asks as I pick the phone back up. I have my robe on and tied tight.

"I can"t explain it, but it just is, okay?"

"Okay," he says with a puffed-out lower lip, like he"s a toddler pouting.

"I"m immune to pouts," I tease.

"Well, that"s no fun. How am I supposed to get you to bend to my requests?"

I smile at him. "I guess you"ll just have to figure it out."

I love our easy banter and flirting. Zack makes me feel so relaxed and like I"m important, and that feeling just does something to my insides.

"Where"d you just go?" he asks.

"Nowhere. Just enjoying this feeling," I tell him honestly.

"Fuck, I wish I was there and could kiss you right now."

"Maybe you can come over on Monday night," I suggest.

"Yes, what time will you be home? I"ll bring dinner with me so you don"t have to cook."

"Probably six or shortly after."

"I"ll be there waiting."

"I look forward to it," I tell him.

We continue to talk for another half hour or so as I get ready for bed. My alarm goes off early tomorrow, so I need to get to sleep.

"Sweet dreams, sweetheart."

"Thanks. Sweet dreams yourself. Talk soon." We disconnect the call, and I fall back on my pillow. The giddy feelings haven"t gone away. If anything, they"ve gotten stronger.