She looks amazing. It’s just a plain, short-sleeved navy dress. It’s not even tight or clingy. And a pair of low-heeled brown leather boots that hit at her knee. Somehow, though, what might look like librarian wear on someone else looks sexy as fuck on my Dixie. Which is why I don’t make eye contact when she walks into the locker room. “Great job, boys! Fifteen-minute media scrum, and then hustle through the shower because the bus to Ms. Bateman’s is parked outside ready and waiting.”

She marches out. I steal a glance at her perfect ass as it swings out the door. Levi nudges me. “You might want to wipe that drool from the corner of your mouth before someone sees it, little brother.”

I glance over at him and smirk guiltily. It’s nice to have him in the loop—and Jude too. It’s been three days since the hospital talk. I’m trying to get used to this weird holding pattern Dixie and I are in and not to dwell on how much it sucks, because there’s nothing I can do to change it. Jasper was called up last week when one of our forwards broke his foot blocking a puck, and they put him in the same hotel as me, on the same floor. I love Jasper and I’m happy to have him here and be playing with him again, and he’s a welcome distraction that keeps me from thinking about my romantic limbo.

“You like having a car again?” Levi asks me, because Jasper also drove my car up.

“Yeah. Definitely beats begging you for lifts.”

“So you’re getting over your commitment issues slowly but surely,” Levi quips with a smile. “Next up, you get a permanent place to live.”

“As soon as I know I’m getting a real contract, I’ll pull the trigger,” I promise. I’ve started looking for places, but Coach hasn’t said I’m staying here past this season and management hasn’t offered me a new contract, so I’m still not willing to buy anything. It feels like counting my eggs before they’re hatched.

He pulls off his jersey and starts to remove his shoulder pads. “Well, with the way Rollins is playing, that should happen any day now.”

“It’s not about Rollins,” I argue quietly, even though Eddie has been pulled in the last two games he started and I’ve come in and saved the games. “It’s about me. They need time to see I’m back and this isn’t a fluke. I’m okay with it, and I’ll give them that proof.”

Levi is looking at me with this weird expression and I can’t decide if it’s amusement or respect or what, because Levi doesn’t do expressions often. He’s more of a poker face or resting bitch face kind of guy. “Who are you and what have you done with my emotional, chaotic, temperamental little brother?”

“Get bent,” I tell him with a chuckle.

Jasper walks over, already changed into workout shorts and a crisp new Thunder T-shirt and baseball cap, and sits down beside me. He’s about to participate in his first post-game NHL presser, and I figure he’s coming over because he’s nervous but instead he says, “How are you guys able to stare at that fine piece of ass all day and not make a move? I mean, I know we’re not supposed to, but she’s…damn. She’s worth getting your hands smacked for if you get to smack that ass first.”

“Dude, enough with the locker room talk,” Levi tells him bluntly.

“But…it’s a locker room,” Jasper replies, baffled.

My shoulders are so tight they start to ache. “She’s Jude’s sister, Jasper. Tone it down, or else he’ll make your time here hell.”

Jasper looks stunned. “Really? Holy shit.”

He is stunned into silence…for now. Thank Christ.

Forty-five minutes later I’m standing in Ryanne Bateman’s insanely opulent mansion in Pacific Heights. I’ve been here before, after one of the preseason games last year. But I feel like I have a right to be here now. Back then they were testing me out, and I tanked in the game and felt like a poser. Like the little kid sneaking into the adult party. I’d spent my night in the corner drinking Piña Coladas and feeling sorry for myself until Dixie walked over and let me flirt with her relentlessly. God, that feels like a decade ago, not a year.

“Nice game, Elijah.” Her soft voice hits my ear as she walks by me toward the bar the catering service has set up in the corner of Ryanne’s expansive living room. I watch her go and try not to leer. Then I also walk over and stand beside her, a couple feet away so that it looks casual.

The bartender walks over, and before I can say it, Dixie orders. “Two coconut pineapple Margaritas please.”

I lift an eyebrow. She grins. “You’ll love it. I promise.”

“I’m sure I will,” I say casually and pause to make sure no one is close enough to overhear. “I love everything you’ve brought into my life.”

Her smile goes from cheeky to flattered. My body feels like it’s magnetic and being pulled to her. The bartender slides our frosted Margarita glasses across the bar, and I move the little yellow paper umbrella to the side and take a sip. It’s fucking heaven. “Holy shit, I have a new favorite Margarita.”

She smiles proudly, but before we can continue our conversation Jasper is standing beside me. He looks at my frozen cocktail and then at Dixie’s and smiles at me. “What? Did you lose a bet and you need to drink girlie drinks all night?”

“No” is the only answer I give.

Jasper just shrugs and leans across the bar. “A beer, please!”

The bartender hands him a pint glass filled with some foamy pale ale. Before he can drink it, though, I see Dixie’s eyes attach to something behind me and the casual ease of her expression tighten as her shoulders straighten. And then the focus of her attention speaks. “Well, if it isn’t the two newest additions to my dynasty.”

I turn and am face-to-face with Ryanne. She’s stunning, as usual, in a sleek black wrap dress that hugs her ample breasts and clings to her curvy hips. Her long brown hair is stick straight, and her makeup is sultry and smoky. She’s in her forties and has accomplished more and acquired more wealth than most men have, even ones ten and twenty years older. She knows it, and she enjoys it.

I smile and extend my hand. “Ms. Bateman, thanks for opening your home to us again.”

“I love showing the team some relaxing fun while I’m in town,” she replies, and her thin, perfectly symmetrical pink painted lips part in a smile. “Especially when you boys are on a winning streak.”

She turns her attention to Jasper and introduces herself, because he seems to be completely starstruck and unable to speak. He’s looking at her like she’s his favorite porn star. Since the attention is off me, I use the opportunity to look at Dixie. She’s standing quietly, absently touching the sugar on the rim of her glass with the tip of her index finger while her eyes, as wide as saucers, take in Ryanne. I know she’s met her before. I was there one time when she did, but she still looks like she’s seeing some kind of messiah. It’s cute, but I worry, because unlike Dixie, I know the rumors about Ryanne are true.

“So have you found a place to live yet, Elijah?” Ryanne asks casually.

“No, Ms. Bateman. I’ve found a few possible options but haven’t committed to anything yet.” I take a gulp of my Margarita because the way she’s looking at me makes me uncomfortable. She’s like a leopard sizing up her prey.

“Drop the Bateman stuff, please. Call me Ryanne. The whole team does, and you’re part of the team,” she explains and sips her red wine. “A permanent part, Elijah. The contract offer is being drawn up by the lawyers as we speak.”

Is she serious? She looks serious, even with the smile on her lips. She leans a little closer and drops a hand on my forearm. It’s a flirtatious move, and the level of uncomfortable it makes me is hard to contain, but I have to. She literally owns me.

I look at Dixie. She hasn’t noticed the flirty gesture. She’s just staring back at me with pure joy on her face. “You did it!” she mouths silently.

“Coach Schneider didn’t want me to say anything yet, but the way you played tonight was so impressive and has me so riled up I just couldn’t help but let it slip.” Ryanne laughs, airy and carefree. It’s a pleasant sound but doesn’t make my heart swell like Dixie’s maniacal laugh. “So get your own permanent place, Elijah honey. I’d offer you this place, since I’m only here a couple weekends a year, but I have security cameras everywhere, even the bathrooms, and I check them all the time. I would end up watching you twenty-four seven and my companies would tank.”

“You have cameras in your bathrooms?” Dixie blurts the question out and immediately looks horrified she did.

Ryanne doesn’t seem bothered at all. She just shrugs. “Not pointed at the toilet or anything. Just on the door so if need be my security team knows when someone enters and exits.” She pauses and swirls her wine around and then looks up with devious eyes. “But if he lived here I’d reposition them to face the shower.”

She laughs and doesn’t realize that although we’re all laughing with her, it’s forced. My eyes lock with Dixie’s again, and I hope she can see discomfort in my eyes. Over her shoulder I see Levi standing with Tessa by the massive onyx marble fireplace on the other side of the room. I touch Ryanne’s hand, which is still clinging to my forearm, and smile. “I’m going to go tell your captain, and my brother, about the contract.”

“Of course!” Ryanne smiles and takes her hand off me, thankfully. “He’s going to be so proud, I’m sure.”

“I don’t know about that, but he should be relieved he won’t have to face me on another team. He knows he’d lose.” I smile again and then turn to make my way through the crowd. I can only hope Dixie follows. I want her near me even if I can’t wrap an arm around her like Levi is doing to Tessa right now.

But Ryanne puts a hand on my shoulder again, stopping me from fleeing. “Seriously, stick around after the party and I can give you some real estate advice. I own half this town, not just the hockey team. I know where the best up-and-coming neighborhoods are. I’d love to share my skills with you.”

She did it. She propositioned me. The rumors are true.

I turn around to face her. It’s so hard not to look past her to Dixie. All I want to do is make sure Dixie isn’t freaking out about this. I smile at Ryanne, the biggest, friendliest and most easygoing smile I can muster, but before I can figure out how to turn down sex with the owner of my team, Dixie speaks again.

“Ms. Bateman, I’ve been meaning to speak to you, if you have a moment.”

“Ryanne, Dixie, honey, please.” She sips her drink again and smiles. “And since I have loose lips tonight I might as well tell you how incredibly impressed I am with you, Dixie Braddock.”

“Thank you. I’ve worked very hard for the Thunder,” Dixie says, but there’s something in her voice that says she’s not overjoyed with the compliment.

“I have to tell you, even though I shouldn’t,” Ryanne says, her eyes still on Dixie. “You’re my vote for replacing Ann. So you might as well consider it a done deal.”

Ryanne finishes her drink and places it on the bar before turning back to me. “Elijah, how would you like a tour of the house? Although I have to warn you, it’s so big we might get lost in one of the bedrooms.”

“Ms. Bateman, “ Dixie interrupts again, and I can see a quick sharp flicker of annoyance dance across Ryanne’s features. The tone of Dixie’s voice—firm and cold—sends a shiver down my spine. Even Jasper is riveted to the conversation. “I want to thank you for the years of experience and the truly wonderful team I had a chance to be a part of with the Thunder. However, I’m resigning effective immediately.”

“Holy shit.” The words escape my mouth in an awed whisper. Dixie looks over at me and smiles.

“I’m sorry…did you just quit?”

“Yep,” Dixie says, her voice strong and resolute. “I have a boyfriend who is going to need help finding a place to live. And then after that I think I’m going to find a job where there’s not so many rules and goddamn double standards.”

The beautiful, elegant owner looks completely and utterly baffled. Dixie puts down her glass and walks right up to me. She kisses me on the lips. Nothing obscene, but she’s definitely claiming me, and I have never been so happy in my entire life. “Congratulations on your contract, boyfriend.”

“We have bigger things to celebrate,” I tell her and take her hand in mine. Lacing our fingers together, I look up at Ryanne. “Excuse us.”

I lead us through the house and out the back door into the lush backyard. When I find a private corner I turn to face her. Dixie looks like she just did the ice bucket challenge. She’s shocked by her own behavior, and I get it. She just changed her whole life. I cup her face in my hands. “Are you okay?”

“I think so.” She looks up at me. “She sleeps with the players. It’s fucking true.”

“Yeah. I knew that. I tried to tell you a while ago when you were putting her up on a pedestal,” I explain. “I’m sorry. I know that’s disappointing.”

She sighs and puts her hands on my waist. “I’m disappointed in myself for wasting so much time trying to emulate her. But whatever. It’s done. And I’m yours if you still want me.”

“I’ll always want you,” I promise her.

She smiles. “Even though I might end up a hobo if I can’t get a new job.”

I grin. “I can be your sugar daddy if you need one.”

She laughs. Suddenly Jude is standing beside us with a very pregnant Zoey. “Did you just kiss him? In front of Ryanne? Like directly in front? Like less than two feet away?”

“Hell yeah, I did,” Dixie says confidently. “But don’t worry, it was after I quit.”

“Oh Mylanta!” Zoey exclaims, which is the weirdest expression ever and it makes me laugh.

“Now if you’ll excuse us, I’m going to take my boyfriend home and have some really great sex to celebrate his new contract and my unemployment,” Dixie announces and starts to pull me away.

Behind us I hear another “Oh Mylanta!” and Jude’s groan. We stop only for a second to tell Levi I’m getting a full-time contract. He’s so happy it makes my chest feel tight. We grab a Lyft, make out in the back the entire way, and barely make it into her apartment before undressing. But once we’re naked on her bed, everything seems to slow down. I gently lay her down on top of me, and let my fingertips glide through her hair and down her delicate neck. I kiss her gently, as the weight of everything seems to settle around us. “Are you really okay with everything?”

“Yes,” she replies firmly. “I mean, I’m panicked and terrified, but I can’t keep working there. It’s not what I want in my life. And she’s a fraud, making people like Nadine stick to rules and then turning a blind eye with Eddie and using her own team like a sexual supermarket. I don’t want any part of that.”

I try not to smile at the sexual supermarket comment, but I can’t help it. She smiles back but it wobbles. “But I need a job. Fast. I can’t lose this apartment, and I don’t have much savings.”

“You could move in with your parents for a while. You’d get to spend a lot more time with your dad.”

“I can’t.” Her expression turns stricken. I suddenly feel bad for even suggesting it. “I see my dad almost every day, but I can’t live there. I can’t be like Sadie, who is trained to watch people die. I’m not like Winnie, who seems to be able to absorb pain like a sponge. I can only handle helplessly watching him die in fits and starts. I need a job, because it’s something I can win at. It gives me purpose and sanity.”

“Dixie, you’re incredible at what you do. You’ll find a job. And if you don’t, you can borrow money from me until you do. I promise I won’t let this decision backfire on you,” I tell her.

She bites her lip, like she’s contemplating telling me something. Before I can ask her what she’s thinking she confesses. “When I was at the ALS Foundation last week, they mentioned they had an opening in their PR department.”

I feel a spark of excitement for her. “That sounds like a match made in heaven.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” She smiles softly. “I’ll apply tomorrow.”

She kisses me softly, with tender lips and a gentle tongue. It’s different for us, and I like it. Actually I fucking love it. So I match her tender touches with my own. The sex is like that too—soft, and gentle and slow. It’s longing as much as sensation. It’s promises as much as pleasure. We climax one after the other, and it’s the most intense orgasm I’ve ever had.

We don’t say anything afterward. We just lie there tangled up in each other, her back to my chest, my arm across her hip, our legs intertwined, and I lay a kiss on her shoulder. “You should probably know I love you.”

When I don’t get a response I worry, but as I look down I realize she’s asleep. I laugh to myself. This is why I stick to cheesy pickup lines. It’s too easy to screw up the stuff that comes from your heart. Luckily, I’ll get another chance with her because this isn’t a secret hookup anymore. It’s real life.