Penalty Kill

Harper

I'm happily lost in a lust-fogged haze as I stand in line at the coffee shop that's a few blocks away from the hotel in downtown Philly. There's a pleasant murmur of life and conversation happening around me that's making it particularly easy to check out from reality as I patiently wait for the people ahead of me to order.

The constant, low thrum of music pumping through the speakers provides me with the perfect backdrop to keep my inner thoughts of Jake and what we did last night on a constant, steady loop. I'd slept comfortably against his chest until his alarm went off this morning for the team's morning skate—a necessary evil that inevitably would burst our little bubble of pure comfort and relaxation. 

There'd been a considerable amount of grumbling and swearing when the ever-annoying chirps of his phone rang out through the quiet hotel room. He'd clung to me hard after turning it off, burying his nose in my hair as his arms wrapped around me, pulling me to him in a tight hug. After a hearty string of curses into my hair, he gave me a quick deluge of kisses before giving my body one last squeeze against his and finally extricating himself from the bed.

I didn't do much to fight his absence, outside of my own grumbled noises of discontent before cozying myself back up in the covers. The sounds of his showering and getting ready vaguely registered through my sleep-laden brain as I drifted in and out of light sleep. The rich smell of coffee was nearly enough to drag me out of bed, but even as the aroma wrapped around me like a gentle caress, I stayed put in my cocoon of warmth.

It wasn't until I felt the mattress dip beside me that I forced myself to come into full consciousness, blinking up against the soft glow of the room to find Jake smiling down at me—beard neatly trimmed, hair slicked back to perfection. With an unbelievably deep stretch of stiff limbs that revealed pleasant soreness and a wide yawn to match, I give him a sleepy grin in return.

His hand finds my back, and I reach out to rest my own on the strong, corded muscle of his sweatpants-clad thigh.

"You're making it hard for me to find the will to leave this hotel room to go skate around with the bunch of goons I call teammates."

"Mmm, I could make it even harder for you." Just as my hand starts to slide up between his legs, he quickly stops it in its tracks and bends down to give me rough, sloppy kisses along my neck and ear, eliciting giggles and squirming from me as I try to escape the tickle of his beard.

"You're a damn troublemaker, Chirpy. As much as I'd love nothing more than to spend my morning in bed with you reenacting last night in every way imaginable, I've gotta get my ass outta here before all of my intruisve irresponsible thoughts win."

"Okay, okay, mister assistant captain. Go be with your boys."

I smile and lean into the hand he places on my cheek, his thumb caressing my skin as a content sigh leaves my lips.

"You've got the room for the rest of the day—I just settled things with the desk. I'll be flying out with the team tonight after the game, to which I may or may not have wrangled you a seat at the glass if you're interested."

Flipping onto my back so I can turn my head to get a better look at him, I take a deep breath to try and wake up fully as I mull over his very tempting, very sweet offer. The comforting aroma of his freshly showered scent mixed with his cologne nearly has me reaching up to tug him down onto the bed with me, but I somehow find it in myself to resist the urge and focus on his offer instead.

"A ticket to your game, huh? So I can either get on a train and head home today, or stay, watch you throw your body around like a lunatic and vicariously live through the high of your endless supply of masculine energy?"

He leans down to kiss my forehead, no doubt trying to influence my decision, which is truly unnecessary but welcomed nonetheless.