O Goalie Night (The Ottawa Otters #1)

Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

FOSTER

S oft light filters in through my curtains, casting a warm glow across the room. My eyes slowly adjust, and I turn to see Beth lying beside me, her hair splayed out across the pillow like a dark halo. She looks peaceful, serene, her lips slightly parted in sleep. The curve of her cheek catches the light just so, and I can't help but appreciate just how lovely she is.

Waking up next to her, my arm around her, with her body nestled against mine feels right.

It was after four o’clock before we finally detangled from one another and went to sleep. Still, when I look at my watch I’m shocked to see that it’s past ten.

Careful not to wake her, I creep out of the bed. It’s a challenge, but lucky for me, I’m pretty agile.

I pull on a pair of joggers and silently slip into the hall, then turn to look at her one more time. I don’t know what's going to happen next, but I do know if this is the only time Beth Michaels sleeps in my bed, I want to remember it forever.

Don’t think like that , I scold myself. Last night was incredible, and I refuse to believe it was just a one-time thing. I can't.

We’re going to have to talk about last night at some point. Part of me knows that she may not want more and if that’s the case, I’ll respect her decision. But after last night, there’s no question in my mind what I want and it’s Beth.

I step into the kitchen, the cool tile floor a sharp contrast to the warmth of the morning sun streaming through the large bay window. I reach for my favourite cast iron pan, placing it on the stove, and turn the burner to medium heat.

While the pan heats up, I grind the coffee beans and start the percolator. Before long, the scent of freshly brewing coffee fills the air. I grab the bacon from the fridge, laying the strips in the hot pan.

I’ve got a big day planned and a big day needs a big breakfast.

First, I’m taking Beth for another skating lesson. She made so much progress yesterday and I want to keep building on those gains. If we leave it too long, she may lose some of her confidence.

After that, I figure we’d get lunch at the market. There are lots of really cool food stands and shops I think she’ll like. Then I thought I’d take her shopping for her own pair of skates.

I flip the bacon and as I’m watching it sizzle in the cast iron pan, I realise I’m humming to myself. Just a warm-up song they play almost every game night, but still; I don’t hum. What is this girl doing to me? Next thing you know, I’ll be singing in the shower and dancing in the rain .

The coffee finishes brewing, and I’m pouring myself a steaming cup when there’s a knock at the door.

Confused, I walk to answer it as I try to remember if I’ve ordered anything recently that requires a signature.

“Morning,” a dishevelled Ben greets me when I open the door and he pushes past me.

Well, shit . My stomach drops like I just let in an overtime goal.

“Good morning.” I manage to keep my tone casual. It’s not uncommon for Ben to show up unannounced, but today it’s an unwelcome surprise.

He kicks his boots off while shrugging out of his coat, so I guess he plans on staying.

“Come on in,” I mutter, closing the door.

“Smells good in here.”

I trail him to the kitchen and watch as he takes a mug from the cupboard and helps himself to the coffee, offering no explanation for his presence.

“Where’s Beth?” he asks, sitting down at the island so he’s facing me as I tend to the bacon.

Naked in my bed.

“Not awake yet, I guess.”

“You have fun last night?”

Best night of my life, thanks for asking.

“It was fine. Kind of crowded.”

My best friend smirks. “I know. Sorry I forced you to be social. But it meant a lot to me and the guys that you came.”

You have no idea how hard I came. I nod, focusing on the food in front of me as I struggle to silence my inner monologue .

“Speaking of the boys, did anyone try anything with Beth?”

The piece of bacon I’m flipping drops into the pan, hot grease splashing up and hitting my stomach.

“Fuck.” I drop the tongs and step away from the stove.

“That’s what shirts are for, Fozzie Bear,” Ben laughs into his coffee. “Put some clothes on before my sister sees you.”

No sooner are the words out of his mouth than Beth appears behind him dressed in one of my t-shirts.

This is bad. Every muscle in my body tenses at her ill-timed arrival.

I know Ben well enough that I am absolutely certain if he turns around to see his sister scantily clad and looking freshly fucked, this is not going to end well for anyone involved.

She freezes, a look of sheer horror on her face, and I force myself to keep my focus on Ben in the hopes he won’t turn around.

“Fair point,” I say as Beth backs herself up around the corner and out of sight. “Do me a favour and make sure nothing catches on fire while I’m gone. I’ll be right back.”

I catch up to Beth just as she’s entering her bedroom. The one she definitely did not sleep in last night.

We very narrowly avoided a disaster just now. Hell, if Ben had walked in a minute later, I’d have been lucky to escape with my life.

Worth it. No one has ever looked better than Beth right now. She’s all legs and messy hair, my t-shirt barely covering her ass. Even though her brother is only a few walls away, all I want to do is throw her over my shoulder and put her back in my bed where she belongs .

Beth is visibly flustered as she silently motions to the kitchen. Her movements are over the top, like she’s in a silent comedy.

Fuck, she’s cute.

“Sleep well?” I whisper, unable to stop myself from grinning at her.

“What are we going to do?” she hisses. I understand why she’s on edge. Ben’s surprise appearance is inconvenient, but not a complete disaster. He already knows she’s staying here. We just need to act naturally and he’ll be none the wiser.

“Go get dressed and then come to the kitchen.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

She nods and turns to follow my instructions, but I catch her hand before she can disappear and pull her into my arms for a quick kiss.

Okay, maybe not that quick. Once my lips meet hers, it’s hard to let her go.

She giggles as I release her and I want nothing more than to follow her as she enters her room. She’s about to close the door, but just before she does, she pauses. With a wicked smile that hits me straight in my stomach, she pulls my t-shirt off and tosses it at my head.

I’m treated to a brief view of her naked body before she closes the door in my face.

Pulling the shirt on as I head back to the kitchen, I stifle a groan as I realise it smells like her. That’s not going to help me get rid of this hard on.

Ben’s removing the bacon from the pan as I return to the kitchen. I grab a carton of eggs from the fridge and a bowl from the cupboard, avoiding making eye contact with him as I join him at the counter.

“How’s Valentina?” I don’t know why I didn’t think of asking him sooner. There is nothing that distracts him like talking about his supermodel girlfriend.

“She’s fine, I guess.” He grabs forks from the drawer and walks back to the island.

I wait for him to continue as I start cracking eggs into the bowl, but he doesn’t. I study him as he sinks onto the chair looking exhausted.

“Everything okay?”

“It’s fine.” His tone is clipped. “She’s pissed at me. She wanted me to go to brunch with her and her friends this morning, but I feel like that’s all we fucking do.”

“Get brunch with her friends?”

“Or get cocktails with her friends, or go to art galleries with her friends.” He sighs and rakes his hands through his hair. “She never wants to do anything with my friends. I asked her to come to the club last night because I wanted her to meet Beth and she said she would, but then she called and said she needed me to meet her at some condo downtown instead. And when I got there, guess what? It was just the same boring people talking about the same boring shit. I care about her, but everything is always on her terms. I’m sick of it.”

“Sick of what?” A fully-clothed Beth walks into the kitchen looking bright and chipper causing my heart rate to increase.

“Morning, Bug.” Ben’s funk over his relationship woes seems to fade. He stands and ruffles her hair before grabbing his coffee mug and heading for a refill. “Late night? ”

She shoots me a nervous glance before shrugging. “Not especially.”

I have to turn away to hide my grin. I plate the food and say nothing.

“Really?” Ben asks. “You were always up at six a.m. on weekends.”

I catch her eye roll as I bring the plates to the table.

“When I was ten, dumbass.” She sits down at the table across from me. “I had to get up early to maximise watching Saturday morning cartoons.”

Ben sits down next to her, elbowing her in the side. “Well, in my head you’re still ten. And don’t call me a dumbass or I’ll tell Mom.” He takes his phone out of his pocket and when he glances at the screen he frowns before setting it down next to him, face down.

Beth seems to notice as well, but doesn’t dwell on it. “Alright. So, what do you want to do today, dumbass?”

He laughs and I smile watching the two of them bicker back and forth even though the sight stings. Cody and I used to give each other shit all the time.

He was always there to keep my ego in check when we were kids. People started raving about my skills in the net at an early age and Cody could always be counted on to remind me that he could still beat me in an arm wrestling match. As we got older, the good-natured teasing gradually morphed into resentment and we were never the same.

“We could go shopping,” Ben suggests. “Do you need anything for your new place? Or do you have any Christmas gifts to buy?” He pauses, a forkful of eggs hovering in front of his mouth before asking, “Speaking of which, what are we getting Mom and Dad? ”

“We’re getting them matching handcrafted rocking chairs made from the reclaimed wood of the two big oak trees they lost in Hurricane Fiona.”

“Nice.” He nods appreciatively. “That is incredibly thoughtful of us.”

“I agree.” She grins at him.

Ben’s phone buzzes and then buzzes again a few seconds later. I see his shoulders stiffen, but he doesn’t move to look at his phone.

“Shopping sounds fun.” Beth glances at his phone as it buzzes again. “I was also planning to test drive a car later.”

“You were?” Ben and I ask at the exact same time making her shift in her seat. This is the first time she's mentioned it. I assumed she’d continue driving my Lexus while she was staying here.

“Yes.” She sips from her mug before continuing. “I need to find something in the next few weeks so I can drive home for Christmas.”

“You think you’re driving home?” Ben almost spits his coffee out.

I watch her stiffen at his tone. “I am driving home.”

“Beth, that’s a fourteen-hour drive.”

“I’m aware of that, Ben.”

“Well then, you should know that you can’t make that drive on your own. Book a flight.”

As much as I hate the idea of her travelling that far by herself, I don’t appreciate the way Ben’s speaking to her and from the way Beth is glaring at him, I can tell I’m not alone.

“Flight prices are insane this time of year.” She says with a surprisingly calm voice .

“So?”

“So, we’re not all professional athletes, Benjamin. I can’t afford to spend two thousand dollars right now.”

I picture her using this voice on particularly exasperating students and Ben, the dumb bastard, is not reading the room at all.

“I’ll buy you the plane ticket, Bug. You’re not getting a used car and driving it across the country in December.” He says it in a way that suggests the discussion is over. “Are you still driving Foster’s Lexus?”

Beth’s lips are pressed so tightly together they’ve turned white and I’m genuinely concerned if she opens them that fire might stream out.

“Yes,” I answer for her.

Ben raises an eyebrow, then slowly looks from me to his sister who is barely controlling her rage.

“I’ve got three cars,” I add with a shrug. “It’s not like I could drive them all at the same time.”

He still looks suspicious, but luckily, his phone starts to ring, distracting him from whatever he’s thinking.

He picks up the phone and sighs before pushing himself away from the table. “Hey,” he says into it as he walks into the other room.

Beth is staring at her mostly untouched plate of food and my brain scrambles to form a sentence that isn’t going to piss her off.

I can’t lie; I fucking hate the idea of her driving that far in the winter by herself. But she’s a grown woman who can make her own decisions and the last thing she needs right now is another person telling her what to do.

“Are you okay?” Is all I come up with .

She doesn’t look up from her plate. “I hate being spoken to like I’m a child.”

“I know.”

“What do you think I should do?”

I let out a long breath as I sit back in my chair feeling like I’m walking into a trap. “Do you really want my opinion?”

Her lips twitch. “Probably not, but tell me anyway?”

I chuckle. “Alright. Let him buy you the plane ticket. Road conditions are unpredictable this time of year; it will be one less thing to worry about. Plus, flying will save you a day of travel meaning you get more time with your family.”

She takes a bite of her bacon, appearing to consider my argument as she chews.

“Fine.” Ben’s voice carries from the other room.

“What’s up his ass?” Beth asks.

Before I can answer, her brother’s heavy footsteps draw closer.

“Yes,” Ben says into the phone as he reenters the kitchen. “I said ‘fine’. I’m on my way.” He ends the call looking utterly defeated. “I’m sorry Beth. I gotta go.”

“Is everything okay?” At least she doesn’t look like she’s about to stab him with a fork again.

“Yeah,” he says as he shoves the rest of his bacon into his mouth. “Everything’s fine. Look, about the flight–”

“I’ll think about it,” she says, cutting him off.

“Thank you. Maybe we can do something later in the week?” He looks so downtrodden that I actually feel bad for the big idiot.

“Of course.” She gives him a small smile. “I’ll text you. ”

“Great.” He turns to me, offering me his fist, which I bump with my own. “Thanks for breakfast, Fozz. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Anytime. Take care, man.”

We don’t say anything until we hear the front door close.

“Do you think he’s okay?”

I frown. “He’s been better. I think he and Valentina aren’t getting along at the moment.”

She nods. “I still find it hard to believe he’s in a relationship. After he and Maddy broke up, I’ve never seen him with a girl more than once.”

I don’t recognize that name, but I’m sure Ben’s never mentioned a girlfriend to me before. Whatever he and Valentina are going through, I hope they work through it soon.

“So,” I say, glancing at my watch and seeing we still have time to make it to the rink. “Feeling up for another skating lesson? Unless, that is, you’re too tired?”

Her ponytail falls across her shoulder as she tilts her head to the side and gives me an innocent smile. “Why would I be tired?”

I grin, eager to play along. “I worked you pretty hard yesterday.” I bite my lip as her cheeks turn pink. “On the ice, that is. I wasn’t sure if you’d be up for another round.”

“Absolutely,” she answers without hesitation. “I can take more.”

I’m so fucked.