I awaken to sunlight in my face, strong arms wrapped around my waist. I turn my head to see Cole behind me. I check my phone, 8:45. Shit.
I quickly find my bra and underwear on the floor, putting them on and getting out of bed. Cole rustles in his spot on the bed. He groans, then looks up. "Hey" he says in his sexy, sleepy voice.
"We're going to be late. I promised Jonathan we wouldn't be late. We have fifteen minutes, I'm guessing both of us need a shower. I'm hopping in, I'll be out in a minute", I say, giving Cole a kiss on the cheek and rushing into the bathroom.
5 minutes later, I'm out. I wrap a towel around my body and go out into my room. I pull the covers off Cole's head. He groans again. "Let's go", I laugh. "I promised we wouldn't be late, which involves you getting out of bed".
Cole rolls out of bed, grabbing his clothes and putting them on. I finish putting on my clothes and brushing my hair. "Let's go up to my room. I can take a shower there, and you can see Noah".
I agree and finish drying my hair. We head to the elevators and head to the tenth floor. The ride takes seconds. Cole leads me to the right, then to the left. He stops in front of his room. Waving the key card in front of the lock, he turns the knob.
Inside, the shower is running in the bathroom.
"Noah, Mere's here. Please don't come out naked. Neither of us want to see it", I can kind of hear Noah laugh from the bathroom. "I need the shower. Let's go. We need to be downstairs in less than ten minutes".
The shower turns off, and less than a minute later, Noah comes out of the bathroom in a black shirt and a pair of jeans. His semi-long, dirty blonde hair sticks to the back of his neck.
"Princess", Noah yells, kind of quietly. He rushes over to me. Picking me up and spinning me around in a hug.
"Hey Noah", I say as he puts me down.
"Okay, I need a shower. As soon as I'm out, we'll go down", Cole grabs his bag and walks into the bathroom.
"So how's Chicago been, Mere?" Noah asks as the shower starts in the bathroom.
"Kind of dramatic. I have this friend, Addison, who is dating this guy, who's a total d!€k. But Addison's twin brother, Aiden, who is more of a friend than Addison is right now, is super fun".
5 minutes later, it's 8:58 and Cole walks out of the bathroom. He and Noah put on their shoes and we head to the elevators. The breakfast is in the conference room. The door is open. We walk in and the three of us are greeted by the team.
"Hey, Mere. We have some seats over here", Jonathan says from across the huge table.
The guys follow me around the table and I sit in the middle between the two of them. The guys are greeted by the hockey team. Jonathan winks at me, motioning to Cole. I blush. Noah notices, poking me in the side with his elbow. Cole is oblivious to what's actually going on around him. He and Corey Crawford are talking to each other from across the table.
A breakfast buffet is set up on the back wall. We all start eating, and an hour later, everyone is done. We all sit and talk. Noah seems to love talking to Brent Seabrook. They are talking about defense men strategies or something, and Cole is talking to Jonathan and Patrick Kane.
The guys in my life is happy, and I get to see them. This is exactly like old times, and those times were about 5 months ago.
The clock reads 11. The head coach dismisses the teams and we head back up to our hotel rooms. Everyone props their doors open . The elevators are blocked off from this floor without a special key card. Noah, Cole, Crawford, Kane, and I sit in Jonathan's room. Cole sits in the arm chair in the corner, he pulls me onto his lap, my arms draped over around his neck. We all talk for awhile.
"Hey, we have until three thirty. We should get out of here. Coach wants us back downstairs at four to head over to the Garden. Let's go prowl around the city. We have three hours", Crawford suggests. We all agree.
All of the guys change out of their fancy suits they were supposed to wear to breakfast this morning. I myself, go into my room and change. Noah and Cole stand outside my door.
5 minutes later, I'm ready to go. I grab my purse and open my door. The guys smile, but Noah rolls his eyes. "You girls and your outfits. How many did you pack?" He says sarcastically.
I count in my head and fingers for a moment. "Like eight". Noah rolls his eyes as I speak.
"Okay kiddies, let's go", we hear Jonathan say from his doorway just across from mine.
Cole grabs my hand as we walk out of the elevator. The lobby is practically empty. Our group of 6 walks out into the New England mid-September air. It's kind of warm, but I'm glad I wore my leather jacket out.
Our group talks about such random things, I didn't know you could have a conversation about them. We walk through town like we have nothing else in our lives. No stress of professional sports, no homework due at the end of the weekend, no stressful classes that we have to worry about. Nothing. Just a group of people who I consider my family.
Today has been perfect. My boyfriend, my best friend, and 3 NHL players who I consider my family. I couldn't ask for more. Except, maybe to ask if this would never end. Does it have to end?
YOU ARE READING
One More Day (Counting on Hockey #2)
Romance*book two of the Counting On Hockey series. Read Just Another Goal prior to this book* Meredith and Cole are going into their Senior year of high school. They are inseparable together. Now both playing hockey, and being together for now more than a...
