The Puck Drop by Jaqueline Snowe

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Michael

If I had to pick my favorite scent, it had to be the way Naomi’s neck smelled after we had sex. It was a combination of sweat, lemon, and her. I nuzzled my nose along her skin, not wanting the night to end. Two weeks of getting her to myself and then she’d leave to head back to her place. I was a gentleman and always escorted her home but tonight, I didn’t want her to go.

I wanted to spend all night with her in my bed, but not just for pleasure. For comfort too. To have someone who got my pain and didn’t downplay it.

She giggled when I bit down on where her shoulder met her neck, and she pushed at my chest. “I should get dressed. I’m all about you do you, but I’m not going to be the girl walking back at night naked.”

“Stay with me,” I whispered against the shell of her ear, enjoying how her body shivered beneath mine. I’d kissed and tasted every single part of her, but she still reacted to me like it was the first time. That was an addicting feeling.

“But Michael,” she said, her muscles tensing. “Our rules.”

Yeah, I knew that. I thought about them over and over. I’d even talked to Ryann about it extensively who laughed at the irony. I gave her major shit for dating a teammate, and she hid it from me to prevent me from lashing out. This was different, but the situation was still similar.

I was a grown man, and it was getting harder to hide my feelings for Naomi. Should I be into her? No. Not at all. Her dad was my boss. But none of that mattered. When she laughed with me, listened to me, and moaned when I slid into her, all those thoughts went the fuck out of my head, and I kept hoping for more.

“What if I wanted to be together-together?” My chest felt too tight as I buried my face in her neck, smelling her lemon hair and avoiding her gaze. I already gave too much away, and she needed to take a step toward me. I thought maybe she was into it too after she mentioned the exclusivity thing, but I couldn’t be sure.

Plus, I’d take whatever Naomi would give me, so I wouldn’t push. I had shit to figure out—mainly, how to tell her dad about us before this was a real thing. They had issues, and I refused to cause even more strife between them.

Naomi didn’t answer nor did she move. She remained stiff for so long I pushed up on my elbow and stared down at her. Her eyes were wide, and her pillow lips slightly parted. God, I loved her mouth.

I kissed her softly as my heart flip-flopped. It’d been so long since I had real feelings for someone that I forgot what it was like to have a giddy, almost terrifying pull toward another human. All I knew was that life was better around her, and I was selfish enough to want more of it.

The flip-flop settled as another possibility took root. She could not want to be together, which would be fine, probably. Her silence grew, and unease itched down my spine.

“Fletcher, I asked you a question.”

She moved her fingers to the back of my head and ran them through my hair. It felt fucking good, and I closed my eyes, relaxing against her touch. It went on for a minute before I studied her.

She narrowed her eyes before saying, “Are you sure?”

“About being with you? Yes. There are a few things I need to do before we release a sex tape—”

“Shut up,” she said, swatting at me as her face turned pink. “We are not doing that.”

“It’s a joke, Naomi. Come on now.” I scoffed and kissed her forehead real quick. “I want this. To give this a genuine chance. These feelings are new and scary for me, but they’re unavoidable. I like you. I trust you. I want you here all the fucking time.”

She gulped and blinked a lot, her hands stilling on my head. “Are you always so honest about everything?”

“Yes. It makes no sense to lie or talk in circles. Makes my messy emotions easier to deal with. I want this with you if you’re interested.” I moved down her chest to kiss the center of her breastbone and flicked her pink nipple with my tongue. God, I loved her tits. “I’m confident that you’re into this.” I took one between my teeth and pulled.

She let out a strangled moan and grabbed my face, yanking me up to her. She kissed me hard and sloppy, and I loved it. I loved how she was so organized and neat in her professional life but not with me. I got all her different sides, and I cupped her head to kiss her back.

Making out was always a fun way to pass time until I fucked, but with Naomi, it was an art. A foreplay that sank into my skin. The strokes of her tongue started rough but smoothed out, like she kissed me without a plan or because she could. She tasted like mint and sex, and she hummed into my mouth when I matched her pace.

I’d kissed a lot of women, but I couldn’t remember a single one right now. Not with Naomi’s tight body and perfect creamy tits in front of me. Not with her soulful eyes and beautiful heart. My chest felt heavier as we kissed and kissed. My lips got swollen, and I was unsure if minutes or an hour had passed, but I pushed up onto my elbows and glanced down at her. “Stay over.”

“Okay,” she said, panting with a wild expression in her eyes.

“Want to try being together-together?” I asked again, my lips curving up before she answered. She looked so damn good with red lips and flushed skin.

She giggled and nodded. “Yeah.”

“Thank Christ,” I said, every cell in my body coming alive.

She reached down to my dick, already hard again from our make out session, and she pumped it a few times.

“Woman, I want to lick every inch of you right now.”

“I want to lick you too, Michael.” She moved from under me and put a hand on my chest to shove me onto my back. “Your body is a temple, I swear. Just looking at your muscles makes my knees weak.”

Shit. I gasped when she dragged her nails down my chest with a wicked expression in her eyes. Not an evil look, but an I’m going to sex you up one that had my cock twitching. She licked her lips before taking my dick in her hands and sliding her tongue around it.

“Oh hell,” I said, groaning at how hot her mouth was. She sucked and took me all the way back to the point my hips bucked off the bed. “Naomi, god.”

She winked at me, my dick in her mouth, and I might’ve fallen in love. She was a playful sex goddess who was also smart as hell. I should propose. Especially when she deep throated me and used her hands on my balls.

I’d been inside her an hour ago, yet the familiar tingling sensation started at my spine. I put a hand on her head and stilled her. “Baby, slow down, I want this to last.”

“If I’m spending the night here, we’re not getting a lot of sleep. You’re a walking fantasy, Reiner, and I want to enjoy you,” she said, her voice deep and husky.

“Well, fuck me,“ I said, laughing. “That might be the hottest thing ever.”

She grinned before she took me in her mouth again, humming against my cock. My eyes almost rolled in the back of my head at the way she sucked me. I tried to fight it, but it was no use. “Naomi, I’m—”

She went faster, sucking me deeper as pleasure pulsed through my cock. She swallowed as I came, staring into her eyes. She grinned wide and looked mighty proud of herself, but I couldn’t move. I was spent. A noodle.

“Holy balls,” I said, breathless and half-way in love with her. “Get your ass over here right now.”

“Why?” she asked, scrunching her nose and being cute as fuck.

“Because I need to kiss you again.”

She climbed up my body and did just that. We kissed and fooled around all night until we fell asleep, her back to my chest. There were no more excuses or bullshit reasons why we couldn’t be us. To give this a real shot. I wrapped my arms around her tight and held her close, finally fucking happy that I wasn’t lying to myself anymore.

After keeping people at a distance for years, letting her in felt right. She was the one.

It was the best night’s sleep I’d had in a long time.

* * * *

The last thing I expected to wake up to was a text from Coach saying we needed to talk ASAP. My stomach sank because here I was lying naked next to one of his daughters. Fuck. Did he find out about us somehow? We were careful, but sure, we flirted at the games. It was impossible not to.

I stirred in my bed, trying not to wake Naomi. She slept with her body pressed against my side, her head on my shoulders and her leg thrown over me like she couldn’t get close enough. I knew the feeling. I ran my nose along her hairline and pressed a kiss on her forehead, hating how the text weighed me down.

ASAP. What would warrant talking ASAP? We won big last night. Cal played less like a dick. Yeah, Coach cornered me after the game asking why I got along with Cal, and I almost told him the whole truth.

Fear clutched at my throat as my mind spiraled. Could there have been an accident? Memories of getting the call four years ago came in full force, and I closed my eyes, letting the anxiety fade away. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and Naomi ran her hand over my chest.

“Morning,” she said, her voice sleepy and perfect. I tightened my grip on her and pulled her even closer to me.

“Why haven’t we been doing this the whole time?” I asked, hoping to tease her to forget about my worries. It didn’t work. My voice came out gruff and scratchy.

She looked up and frowned. “Hey,” she said, that soft word breaking whatever shield I had around my heart. “What’s wrong?”

I could lie or deflect, but that’d make me a hypocrite. I took a deep breath and rubbed my forehead. “Your dad said to call him ASAP, and my mind went from zero to fucking sixty imagining all the things it could be about.”

Her brows lowered in understanding, and she pressed a kiss against my chest. “I imagine texts like that remind you of your parents.”

“Exactly.” My throat was on fire at this point. I hadn’t talked about this, ever. “I was at practice when it happened. I fucked around with some guys, laughing, not having any idea that Ryann was going through hell. I had fifteen missed calls and texts from her to get a hold of her ASAP. That something had happened. Even now, seeing those letters together sends a chill through me.”

She didn’t say anything, but she rubbed her hands up and down my chest and held me tighter. It was the best response, and after a minute of her soothing me, my heartbeat went back to normal.

“I won’t tell you that your worry is silly because it’s not. But with the way my dad operates, hockey is everything, so my guess is that it’s related to the team.”

She’s probably right.

“I’m going to call him in the other room.” I pushed myself up and tossed on some shorts. She ogled my thighs, and seeing her blush made me smile. “You stay there.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, stretching her arms over her head and thrusting her tits out into the air. Goddamn, she was a sight.

With one last glance, I marched into the living room and called him. It rang three times before he answered. “This is Simpson.”

“Coach, it’s Michael.”

“Can you meet me at the cafe next to the rink in fifteen minutes?”

“Um,” I said, thinking about Naomi in my bed. This was all sorts of weird. “Yeah. What’s going on?”

“Rather talk to you in person. Be there in fifteen.” He hung up, and I stared at my phone, my stomach twisting in knots. What the fuck was going on?

I went back into my room and shut the door. Naomi sat up in bed with a line between her brows.

“He wants me to meet him in fifteen minutes.”

“Did he say why?”

“No, just that it’d be better in person.” I scrubbed a hand over my face and got dressed. Jeans, long-sleeved shirt, hoodie. Hat. “I need you to know that I planned on spending all morning with you in bed. Please tell me you understand this.”

“I do,” she said, her voice soft. She gave me a half smile, and I cupped her face, dragging my thumb over her bottom lip.

“I’m glad we’re doing this. You and me.”

She blushed, and I kissed her. It was a sweet, comforting kiss that didn’t last nearly long enough. She broke apart and put on her clothes, the silence cutting through the air. “Let me get dressed so we can head out together.”

“Shit.” I made her jump. “I don’t have time to walk you to your door.”

“Michael, that’s okay. You have every single time before. This is different. Just let me know what’s going on, alright?” She slipped on her clothes, and soon enough, we were outside and into the cold morning air.

The chill did nothing to tamp the worry growing in my gut. Things were just right in my life. School was going well, Ryann and I had weekly calls, and Cal and I were even… friendly. Naomi and I were together. So, this meeting had me on edge. Like it would shift everything after it had just gotten good. We came to the intersection where she headed north toward her place and I went south. She wrapped her arms around my waist in a hug, and my god, I adored this woman.

“It’ll be okay, Reiner, I know it.” She squeezed me hard, like she was giving me her strength, and I fell for her even more.  I kissed the top of her head before we parted ways, and I went toward the cafe.

Puck Pastries smelled like coffee and sweetness, and the warmth flooded my face once I walked in. Coach was easy to find with his large frame and dark hair. He sat in a corner with a steaming cup of coffee and his laptop. He didn’t look distressed, like something horrible happened, so that was a decent sign.

“Coach,” I said, my voice scratchy as I sat in the chair across from him. He lifted his chin in greeting and whistled for the waitress.

“Get what you want. It’s on me.”

“Uh, just a coffee for now, thanks.” I leaned forward so my elbows were on the table. “Gotta be honest, Coach, I’m on pins and needles about this. What’s going on?”

Coach leveled his gaze as he took a deep breath. “To put it frankly, I need you to be my new assistant coach.”

“Like next year?”

“No. Starting today.”