Chapter Three
Zaan wanted to kiss her but wasn’t sure if he should. He’d been with his share of women this season, but they’d been older, experienced hockey groupies who hadn’t been interested in anything emotional. It had been all about notches in their figurative bed posts, hooking up with a player in the NHL, and though he’d enjoyed the physical acts, it left him feeling overwhelmed. He loved sex—what guy didn’t?—but he was secure enough in his masculinity to admit he needed more than a revolving door of one-night stands.
By the same token, getting serious with someone was the last thing on his mind. Zakk had suggested a friend or two with benefits, women he liked and trusted he could have sex with too. It sounded good in theory, but in practice it wasn’t something he could go looking for. It would have to happen gradually, and even then, it would take someone special, so he wasn’t counting on it falling into his lap.
Instead, Lexi Rousseau had fallen into his lap and she was leaving in a week. The coolest girl he’d met in the whirlwind year since he’d been signed to the NHL, and he only had a week with her. It seemed unfair. And he still wasn’t sure whether or not he could kiss her. She seemed open to it, but she was his much older teammate’s daughter, so he had to be extra cautious. He considered himself a respectful guy, and women tended to make the first move these days, so he wasn’t used to taking the lead.
“I was thinking about kissing you,” he said finally, “but I don’t know what’s in your head. You know, if it’s cool.”
She looked away. “I know this is a pity date, so you don’t have to go that far. It’s okay—I’m happy just hanging out.”
“Pity date?” Zaan stared at her. “Are you serious right now?”
“Come on, you have your choice of girls… why would you want me?”
“Cause those girls don’t care about me, all they care about is saying they hooked up with a pro athlete or possibly making me and my million-dollar salary their baby daddy. You’re not like that.”
“How do you know?”
He chuckled. “Well, your dad has a lot more money than I do and you didn’t even talk to me today—I had to approach you.”
“Maybe I was playing hard to get,” she teased, a smile curving her pink lips.
“By taking off your top in front of your dad’s friends?” He started laughing and she did too, leaning into his side.
They sat like that for a while, somehow comfortable together, even when they weren’t talking. It was hot out, but the trees provided shade and the small creek running just a few feet away was soothing. Zaan kept her hand wrapped in his, thinking how natural it was to spend time with her.
“You must date a lot,” she said after a bit, as though she’d read his mind.
“Not really. I had a girlfriend in high school and while I was in the Juniors, but she knew we weren’t going to last once I came to Vegas, so we ended as friends over a year ago. I kept to myself some when the season started, making sure I focused on hockey, but around the holidays I cut loose a little, went out with some…girls.”
“And?” She cocked her head.
He shrugged. “Not comfortable with the abundance of meaningless sex. I guess I’m not enough of an asshole or something, because when I’m done, I can’t just get up, get dressed and walk out. If she spends the night, I hate the morning-after crap, where you can’t believe you slept with a stranger you aren’t that into.”
Lexi wrinkled her nose. “That sounds yucky.”
“You?” His eyes met hers.
She shook her head. “I was dating a guy before I got sick and we…” She flushed. “We had very, very bad first-time sex because I wanted to do it before my mastectomy.”
“First time for both of you?”
She nodded.
“That bad, huh?”
“Not bad like he hurt me, but bad as in awkward, uncomfortable and super quick on his part, which embarrassed him…” She snickered. “Honestly, he’s a nice guy—we still text once in a while—but it was a disaster and I had no interest in trying again in the middle of chemo and radiation.”
“Can’t say I blame you. Sex probably wasn’t what you needed while that was going on.”
“Not then, no.” She looked away again, though he could see a pinkish tinge creep across her cheeks.
He was dying to ask if that meant sex was what she needed now, but it didn’t seem very gentlemanly and he was beginning to feel totally out of his element. Who was this seductive siren that had him so confused he was acting like a 13-year-old virgin instead of a 19-year-old who played professional sports?
“Wanna cool off?” he asked, abruptly getting to his feet and holding out his hands.
She eyed the creek warily but took his hands so he could help her up. “Um, sure.”
“We can kick water at each other,” he laughed, pulling her in and doing just that, since the water barely hit his ankles.
She kicked back, laughing at the miniscule drops that splashed his calves. A splash fest of epic proportions commenced, until their lower halves were both soaked and they were laughing so hard they could barely stand up.
“You win!” Zaan laughed, collapsing on the blanket and laying back, holding his stomach.
“That’s right,” Lexi giggled, following him down. “You know when you’re beat!”
“I sure do.” Their faces were close together, her lips just inches from his, and he didn’t hesitate this time. He leaned forward until their mouths came together, but then waited for her response. Her eyes were closed and her lips parted slightly, so he pressed forward, gently sliding his tongue into her sweet opening. She was delicious, her mouth meeting his in perfect harmony, their bodies pressing closer. He wrapped one arm around her, holding her, deepening the kiss but not rushing. Their time together would be limited, so he wanted to savor every second.
One hand glided into her hair before he remembered it was a wig and he mentally winced when it slid out of place.
“Crap, sorry.” He looked into her eyes and saw the embarrassment there. “Why don’t you just take it off?” he asked softly.
She shook her head. “I look terrible with short hair.”
“Bet you don’t.” He didn’t pull it off, but tugged gently, enough to encourage her to let him keep going.
“Zaan…”
“I’ve seen your chest—short hair can’t be a big deal compared to that.”
She closed her eyes and nodded, giving unspoken permission for him to take off the wig. He pulled it off slowly and set it down before running his fingers through short, silky, dirty blond locks. They were matted against her head now after wearing the wig all day, but still soft against his hand.
“I hate it,” she whispered. “It’s taking so long to grow out and it’s uneven. It used to be full and healthy, and now it’s just lifeless and limp.”
“It’s soft, pretty, on the verge of blooming… just like you.”
Her eyes met his and she reached out to run her fingers along his face. “Who are you? Where do you get the beautiful words that constantly come out of your mouth?”
“Just a guy who believes in romance…” He paused, frowning. “Does that make me dorky?”
“No. It makes you awesome.” She leaned forward and this time she kissed him.
Zaan wanted to lick her from head to toe and bury himself between her shapely thighs, but forced himself to slow down. She wasn’t some random puck bunny and even if her father hadn’t been one of his teammates, he definitely wasn’t going to make love to a girl like her on a dirty blanket. Especially since he knew her one and only sexual experience had been spectacularly underwhelming.
When he was positive his cock was going to break right through the zipper of his khaki shorts, he pulled away. They were both breathing heavily and he cupped one side of her face with his hand, running his thumb along her cheek.
“We should get back. We’re an hour from home.”
“What if I don’t want to?” she sighed.
“We can go home, get cleaned up and go out to dinner,” he suggested, hoping the erection tenting his shorts wasn’t too obvious. “The party at Cody’s is probably still going strong.”
“Or we could go back to my house and order in,” she said quietly.
“Lexi… we just met and—”
“I lost two years of my life and I’m leaving in a week. We only have a week to do… everything we can think of. I’ll be 19 later this year, so there aren’t any legal issues and my father never has to know anything that happens.”
“Two people can get really invested in a week,” he said thoughtfully.
“Two people can get really invested in an afternoon,” she pointed out. “I already like you more than I should.”
“I definitely like you more than I should,” he responded softly, “which is what worries me.”
“If you have other things to do, it’s okay, but you told me to start doing things to make myself feel better—and right here, right now, being with you makes me feel better than I’ve felt in ages.”
“You’ve never really been with anyone,” he reminded her, still holding her against him. “Your disastrous first time shouldn’t even count.”
“Then shouldn’t I get an epic do-over?” Her eyes found his intently.
“That’s a lot of pressure,” he admitted. “If I let you down again…”
“Not possible.”
He didn’t know how he’d found this girl, but wanted to thank his lucky stars that he had. “Let’s get back to Vegas and figure out the rest of the night. There’s plenty of time for us to decide how we want to spend the little bit of time we have.”
“Okay.”