Butcher

Chapter 5

5

Kaylee

Stepping into the elevator at Ford and Coop’s building, I pressed the button for their floor. They had spent the last two weeks in St. Bart’s for their honeymoon, and I was excited to hear about their trip.

Once the elevator doors slid open, I walked down the hall to their penthouse apartment. Ford had officially moved in with Coop a few weeks prior to them getting married, and this was the first time I was visiting Ford at his new place.

A second after I knocked on the door, it swung open, and Ford pulled me in for a hug. “Hey, glad you could come over.”

“Thanks for inviting me.” I stepped back and looked him over. “Damn, someone got a tan. How was the honeymoon?”

A huge smile spread across his face. “Amazing. Two weeks of nothing but sand, sun, and my man. Doesn’t get much better than that.”

“Speaking of your man. Where’s Coop?”

“In the shower. He lost track of time at the gym, trying to make up for the days he took off. Although, between you and me, he got plenty of cardio while we were gone.”

I laughed, knowing full well what Ford was hinting at. “I bet you both did.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled as I followed him to the living room. “I ordered Chinese, and it should be here soon.”

“Did you order orange chicken?” I took a seat on a chair across from the couch where he sat.

He gave me a look as though I’d asked a ridiculous question. “Of course. You act like I don’t even know you.”

I didn’t think anyone knew me better than Ford, even though we had only been friends for less than two years. We met when the marketing firm we work for transferred him to the London office where I was already based, and we started hooking up occasionally. At the time, we were both struggling emotionally. Coop and Ford had broken up because of some things he hadn’t shared with Coop when they were together, and I was lonely and missing my family in Massachusetts. We didn’t really have any romantic feelings for each other; rather, we were like two lost souls seeking comfort.

The sex part of our relationship ended around the same time we both transferred back to the Boston office, but we’d remained close friends ever since. Thankfully, when Ford and Coop got back together, Coop didn’t have an issue with me continuing to be a part of Ford’s life. Now, I considered Coop a friend as well.

“And that’s why you’re the best friend a girl could have.”

“Because I know what food you like or because I introduce you to hot hockey players?”

“You think hockey players are hot?” Coop chuckled as he walked into the living room, his hair still wet from his shower.

“I think you’re hot.” Ford winked. “But Kaylee here has been working hard at gaining puck bunny status.”

I snorted a laugh because that was true. “Hey, I’m just a girl looking for a good time.”

Coop leaned down to greet me with a hug before sitting next to his husband. “Is that what you were doing when we saw you dancing with Butcher before we left the club in Vegas?”

“You saw us dancing?” I assumed the two of them had been so wrapped up in each other during the one song they danced to that they hadn’t noticed anything else around them.

“Yeah, did you finally make a move?” Ford waggled his eyebrows.

Usually, I told Ford about my dates and hookups, but I didn’t want to say anything about what happened that night with Coop around since Austin and Levi were his teammates. However, I couldn’t ignore his direct question. “Austin was very nice, and I had a great time dancing with him.”

“Austin, huh?” Coop smirked. “You’re on a first-name basis now?”

I shrugged. “He was cool with me using it.”

Coop nodded, but didn’t say anything else.

“Are you still crushing on him and hoping to hang out again?” Ford asked.

That was the million-dollar question. Not only had the sex with Austin and Levi been the best sex of my life, I’d also had fun partying with them in the bar before we went up to Butcher’s room. But as soon as the sex was over, things suddenly became awkward. It was as though Levi couldn’t get out of the hotel room fast enough, and neither he nor Austin mentioned anything about meeting up again. In fact, when Levi walked me to my room, he simply kissed my cheek, muttered a quick goodbye and took off.

“I don’t think so. Like I said, he’s great, but we didn’t even exchange numbers or anything. It was just a fun night celebrating the Bruins’ win and your wedding.”

Before either of them could ask any more questions, the concierge called to let Coop know the delivery person was on their way up with our dinner. When the doorbell rang, he went to get our food while I followed Ford to the kitchen. He grabbed plates from the cabinet and snagged some water bottles from the fridge for us.

The three of us dished up our food and sat at the dining table next to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Charles River.

“Okay. You guys had your chance to interrogate me; now I want to hear about your honeymoon,” I said around a bit of chow mein. “Tell me everything.”

They smiled at each other and then spent the rest of dinner telling me all about their trip.

A few days later, I received a text from an unknown number while I was scrolling on my phone during my lunch break. Usually, I ate with Ford, but he was in a meeting for a project he was working on.

Hi. It’s Austin. I got your number from Coop. I hope that’s ok

Remembering I’d told Ford and Coop about how Austin and I hadn’t exchanged numbers, I couldn’t help but wonder if my friend and his husband had something to do with Austin reaching out.

I saved the number in my phone and typed out a reply:

Of course it’s okay. What’s up?

Not much. I just had lunch with Coop and we started talking about the ESPYs

The ESPY Awards was an awards show for athletes held every summer in LA. I only knew about it because the day before Ford mentioned needing to shop for a new outfit before they left Boston. That was another reason a text from Austin seemed suspicious.

Oh yeah? I’m assuming you’re going as well?

I am and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?

I smiled as I texted back:

Like a date?

As soon as I hit send, I regretted it. There was no reason for me to pressure him into calling it a date. Maybe he didn’t want to go alone, and since we had friends in common, I was a convenient choice.

It only took seconds for him to respond:

Yes. Exactly like a date

Okay, so maybe he didn’t feel any pressure.

A date in LA?

Yeah. I’ll take care of all the travel arrangements. I was already planning on flying out there with Coop and Ford

Traveling across the country for a first date seemed a little over the top, but I was also excited to see him again.

Sure. I’d love to go, but you don’t have to take care of my travel

You’re my guest. I’m not going to make you pay for your ticket or hotel. I got you

Fine. I won’t argue with you

Good girl

Fuck. Why were those two simple words so panty-melting?

I’ll send you all the details in a little bit

Ok. I’ll talk to you soon

Later

I finished eating my salad and headed back to work. As soon as I got to our floor, I made my way over to Ford’s cubicle.

“Hey,” he said when he saw me.

“Are you playing matchmaker now?” I huffed, although there was no anger behind my words.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He smirked, and I knew he was full of shit.

“Really? So, you didn’t know Austin was going to ask me to go with him to the ESPYs?”

He continued to grin. “I may have heard something about that when I chatted with Coop a few minutes ago.”

“Did Coop tell him to invite me?” I asked, suddenly worried I was only a pity date.

Ford shook his head. “Nah. It sounds like Butcher was talking to Coop about the awards show and made a joke about going alone. Coop suggested he take a date, and your name happened to come up.”

“Are you sure Austin wasn’t pressured into asking me?”

Ford held up his hands in front of him. “I don’t know exactly what was said, but Coop did mention Butcher seemed happy. Stop stressing.”

“Fine, but since your man was somehow involved, you need to tell him you’ll be home late tonight because you’re going shopping with me. I need your help picking out a dress.”

“Okay. I’ll go with you, but you have to buy me dinner first.”

“Deal.”

After work and burgers, Ford and I checked out some high-end stores, looking for the perfect dress for the ESPYs. We came to a boutique I’d passed numerous times before but never had a reason to shop at.

“Let’s go see what they have,” I suggested and walked inside.

“Welcome, is there something I can help you find?” a saleswoman asked when we entered.

“We’re just browsing right now,” I replied because I had no idea what I was looking for yet.

“That’s fine. My name is Lia, and I’ll be right over there if you need anything.” She pointed at the counter.

“Thank you.”

Ford and I checked out the various displays, and he held up a long black gown. “You should try this one on.”

It was hard to make out the style with the dress on the hanger, but I took it from him anyway. We found a couple more options, and Lia set me up in a dressing room so I could try them on.

“Stay close so you can give me your honest opinion on each one.”

Ford nodded. “Okay.”

I decided to try the black one first. It was form-fitting, strapless with a sweetheart neckline and cutouts on each side that exposed a small patch of my waist.

Holding it up with one arm across my chest, I cracked the door open and motioned for Ford to come over. “Can you help me with the zipper?”

I turned around so he could. When he was done, we both looked in the mirror.

“I love it. I don’t think I even need to try on the others.” I turned to check out the backside.

“It’s perfect,” Ford agreed. “Once he sees you in this, Butcher’s definitely going to want to do more than just dance with you.”

The thought of Austin stripping me out of the dress at the end of the night made me think about Vegas.

“You’re blushing,” Ford baited.

“No, I’m not.” I totally was.

My friend crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a playful glare. “Are you sure you two only danced at the club that night? You’re clearly into him.”

Despite my attempt to brush him off, I felt my lips turn up in a grin.

He titled his head slightly. “Something did happen, didn’t it?”

“Huh?” I tugged at the dress and pretended not to hear him.

“I knew it!”

“What do you mean, you knew it?”

“The other night, I had a feeling you weren’t telling me the whole story, but I assumed you didn’t want to say anything in front of Emmett.”

It appeared he knew me better than I’d realized.

“If I tell you, you have to swear not to say anything to anyone. Even your husband.”

Ford drew an X over his heart. “I promise.”

I looked around to ensure no one was nearby. “We did hook up in Vegas ...”

He looked at me when I didn’t continue. “That’s it?”

I bit my lip and gave a little nonchalant shrug. “And it wasn’t just the two of us.”

His eyes widened. “You had a threesome?”

I nodded. “With one of his teammates.”

“Girl, you’re killing me. Just spit it out already.”

I looked around again, making sure Lia wasn’t coming over to check on us. “Levi was with us.”

“Holy shit. You fucked Sexton too?” Ford grinned. “How was it?”

I snorted. “Technically, only Austin fucked me, but yeah, it was amazing.”

“Wait, are they together?”

I shook my head. “Not from what I can tell. Their focus seemed only to be on me.”

“Lucky bitch,” he teased. “Sounds like Butcher might not be the only one who can’t keep his hands off you in this dress.”

I smiled wide at the thought. “I hope you’re right.”