Sid almost bailed on the hockey game.
She’d been in a weird melancholy mood since the day before and was pretty sure Beck Jacobs had something to do with it. Or maybe everything. She’d spent the afternoon working on some new ideas for her brand, and when Molly called her up and asked her come to the championship game with her, she’d initially refused. She’d given Molly a lame excuse, told her she was tired and was going to spend the night with a good book and a bottle of wine.
But an hour or so later, after staring at the same two pages of her book until her eyes blurred, she sat back and thought about the church Beck had taken her to and how amazing it would look with all the plans in her head. Then she thought about Beck and the sadness in his eyes. Which led to thoughts about his smile, that rare bit of ease that lit up his face and turned him from handsome to devastatingly hot.
She’d stared down at the book again, wondered about him and this hockey game and if he’d be celebrating with everyone afterward—according to Molly, it was tradition to go to the dance party. Then she tossed the damn book, called Molly, and told her she was in.
Now she stood a few feet behind him as he sidled up to the bar with his brother to get them drinks, and was trying not to stare at his butt. She lowered her eyes and couldn’t help herself, but in her defense, it was one hell of a fine-looking ass.
“Hockey butt.”
“What?” Startled, she looked up at Molly, who was grinning like a cat who’d just caught the proverbial mouse.
“Look around. They all have them. Hockey butts. It’s from years of skating.” Molly pointed to Beck and Nate. “Those tushies are pretty much the cream of the crop, but still…” She made a comical face. “They’re everywhere. It’s like butt heaven in Crystal Lake.” Her grin widened. “One of the many perks of living in a small hockey town in Michigan.”
Sid giggled. “You guys would be smart to include that in the town’s travel and tourist brochures.”
Molly winked. “Who says we don’t?”
“Don’t what?” Beck handed Sid a Bud Light and took a drink from his own, a questioning look on his face.
“Nothing,” Molly replied, slipping her arm into Nate’s as she leaned into him. “My back is killing me, babe. Can we sit?”
“Sure thing.” Nate dropped a kiss onto her nose. “Let me know when you’ve had enough. I’m good to go home anytime.”
Their love and attraction, the softness in his eyes when he looked at her, was enviable, and Sid glanced away as an ache bloomed inside her. What that ache was, exactly, was up for debate. Was she lonely? For sure. Was it more than that? Probably. Where did Beck figure into things?
The fact that he’d even entered her mind should have freaked her out, but instead, she turned to Beck and found him watching her intently. No longer were things light. No longer was their earlier, mild flirtation in play. This was different. There was something definitely going on here, and Sid actually played around with the idea of seeing where it went. Would it be so wrong to explore whatever this was? She was a grown-ass woman, after all. And sure she had baggage aplenty, but so did Beck.
“We’ll grab some seats, guys.” Molly tugged on Nate’s arm and dragged him toward the table.
“Can I get an introduction?” The newcomer who appeared at Beck’s side was a bear of a man. He had a couple inches on Beck (who had to be at least six foot three, so the man was huge), and his shoulders were as wide as a truck. His head was bald, with some kind of tattoo inked on the side of it, his jaw and chin shadowed with hair, and his eyes were so dark, they appeared black. He was dressed in red plaid flannel and jeans, and his boots were untied.
He looked at Beck and frowned. “You in la-la land or what?”
Before Beck had a chance to answer him, he turned to Sid and offered his hand. “I’m Ike McBride.”
Her small hand disappeared inside his, but she couldn’t help but smile up at him. She decided he was a gentle giant and immediately liked him.
“I’m Sidney, but everyone calls me Sid.”
“Well, Sid, since Beck seems to have forgotten how to speak, it sure is nice to meet you.”
“I haven’t forgotten how to speak, McBride. It’s just hard to get a word in with you sometimes.” Beck gave the man a quick hug, the kind that guys do, complete with the quick pat on the shoulder.
Ike grinned. “True.”
Another man appeared beside the giant. “I gotta steal this one for a group photo before half the team gets too liquored.” The guy winced. “Armstrong is already there.”
“Go on,” Ike said. “I’ll look after your friend.”
“I’m sure you will,” Beck replied dryly before turning to Sid. “I’ve got to do this thing.”
“Go. I’ll be fine.”
She watched Beck walk over to a bunch of guys, including Nate. A couple of them clowned around, but when the man who’d fetched Beck got out his camera, all joking disappeared. Someone set the trophy in the center, up front, and they lined up like pros.
“We take our hockey seriously in these parts.” Ike grinned. “Even beer league.” He lifted his chin toward the group of men. “Those bastards have made it to the finals for the last four years. And that was before Nate joined up last fall. They’ll probably be winners until Nate quits.”
“I see that,” she murmured, eyes on Beck as he put his arm around his brother. The two of them chatted about something, and when he smiled at Nate, it damn near took her breath away.
“So, Sid, where you from?”
Ike’s voice drew her away from Beck, and she took another sip from her can. “San Diego.”
“And you’re in Crystal Lake because…”
“I’m renting a stone cottage on the lake. Nate is a friend and hooked me up. I was looking to get away from things for a bit.” She grimaced. That was simplifying things. She’d been drowning for weeks.
“This is certainly more laid-back than the city, that’s for sure.”
“Right?” She flashed a smile. “I was born in Los Angeles, and we moved to San Diego when I was four, so the city has always been my home. This here? This cute small-town life, it’s different.”
“I hope in a good way.”
She nodded and was surprised at how much she liked it here. “For sure. There aren’t too many people I still talk to that I knew when I was a kid. It’s strange to me that the majority of all these people have known each other all their lives. Take Nate and Molly. They grew up together. And Beck, I mean, do you guys go back as well?”
Ike slowly nodded, but his smile dimmed a bit. “I’ve got a few years on those boys, but I’ve known Beck since he was a skinny teenager, with shoulders too wide and legs too long for his hundred-and-fifty-pound frame.” He paused. “He used to date my sister, Cate.”
“Cate,” she repeated softly. “I’m so sorry. I…I’ve heard about your sister.”
“Thanks.” Ike finished his beer and crushed the can. “She was good stuff.” He glanced up. “They were good stuff together.”
Sidney didn’t know what to say to that, so she nodded and said nothing. She wondered about Cate. About a woman who could inspire such love and devotion so long after she’d passed. Was there ever a woman as fierce as that alive?
Ike tossed his beer into a large trash can to his left. “I should go. It was nice meeting you, Sid.” He gazed past her. “It’s good to see Jacobs out socializing. The guy works too much.” He winked. “I hope to run into you again.”
Sidney said goodbye and made her way over to the table. She was restless and didn’t feel like sitting, and when the band started up, she and Beck watched from the shadows, sipping their Bud Lights, enjoying the music and, surprisingly, each other.
Nate and Molly stayed about an hour and offered them a lift home, but Beck had just bought another round of beer, and Sid decided to stay.
“Right,” Molly said. “You guys can share a cab.”
“You should call now and schedule it for later because Pete the cab guy will be busy.” Nate shook his head. “Last week, I waited nearly forty-five minutes after our game for a ride home.”
“You only have one cab guy in Crystal Lake?” Sidney couldn’t keep the shock from her face.
Beck nodded. “On this side of the lake, anyway.”
Nate pulled Molly away, and they disappeared while Beck sent a text to Pete the cab guy. “He’ll be here at midnight.”
“Okay,” she replied, voice a little too soft and a tad too husky.
The air was thick between them. Thick with something that had her skin buzzing as if an electric field covered her whole. As if her skin was alive, infused with something, some spark she’d forgotten existed.
Desire.
Beck smiled down at her, and her heart leapt. Her lady parts sang. Her breath hitched. She knew he felt the same way because she’d caught the long looks and hooded gaze. They didn’t acknowledge it, but instead, settled into an intimate corner to watch the band. Maybe they were invisible, or maybe they gave off some kind of aura, because no one bothered them. They were able to just be, to exist beside each other on a night she’d not seen coming.
It had been ages since Sid felt anything like what was happening inside her. She wasn’t dead inside after all. And she supposed that was a good thing. That after all this time, after Nick’s betrayal and the trauma afterward, she was alive. Sure, it was a damaged version of the person she used to be, but heck, life damaged everyone, so what was wrong with that?
When the band slowed things down and pulled out a moody Eagles song from their repertoire, the dance floor filled with couples. She stood beside Beck and watched, heart still beating faster than it should, breath still falling in short, quick spurts.
Beck swayed a bit, and she realized he’d probably had a lot to drink. A lot more than she had, anyway. According to Molly, the guys had been playing since noon, and most of the men were well on their way to hangover Sunday.
“You like the Eagles.” He tossed his empty beer into the bin.
She eyed him warily. “I do.”
“This song in particular is one of your favorites.” A slow grin curved his mouth, and her knees went to jelly. She’d like to say it was from the booze, but that would be a lie.
“It is.” God, he was good.
“You want to do something about it?” His eyes were a bit glassy, and she knew he was definitely on the drunk side. But did she care? His grin deepened. Hell no.
“I didn’t take you for the kind of guy who likes to dance in public.”
Beck reached for her, and she literally stopped breathing. He leaned close and angled his head so his mouth was near her ear. His breath was warm on her skin, and she shivered. “Seems like you don’t know me as well as I know you.”
He led her to the dance floor and slipped his arms around her, though he held her lightly and didn’t pull too close, even though she wouldn’t have minded that one bit.
They swayed together slowly, while the band’s rendition of Love Will Keep Us Alive washed over the entire room. He didn’t say a word, and neither did she. Instead, her fingers splayed across his chest, and what they touched was hard and warm. An image of him that first day they’d met, when the only thing he’d worn was a plaid shirt he’d not bothered to button up, flashed in her mind’s eye, and she rested her cheek against his shoulder, letting him take control and lead.
He smelled damn good, a mixture of male and something fresh, most likely from the shower. She closed her eyes as that ache came back with a ferocity that left her weak-kneed and out of breath. When was the last time a man had held her like this?
It was Nick, of course, but even before the end of Sid and Nick, they hadn’t had whatever it was she felt right now. Intimacy in the middle of a crowd was a heady thing, and when the song finally ended, she was left stunned at the depth of need inside her.
I want him. Which should have surprised her, but kinda didn’t.
But does he want me?
Beck’s cell pinged, and he let her go so he could search through his pockets for his phone. He took a look and stared at it for a few seconds.
“Pete’s here.”
“Who?” she managed to say through lips suddenly so dry, she could taste sawdust.
“Pete the cab guy.”
“Oh.” Sidney took a step back. This was it. The night was over. “Yes, we should go, then.”
Beck nodded and, with his hand at the small of her back, lightly guided her out of the community center. He said goodbye to a few of the guys, but most of them were still caught up in the celebrating thing and didn’t notice him leaving.
It was brisk outside, and the snow that had begun the day before continued leaving several inches in its wake. By the time she slid inside the cab, she was glad for the heat. Beck climbed in beside her and sat back, hidden by the shadows. Sid settled in the seat, shivering a bit from the cold, or maybe from all the zigs and zags shooting off inside her.
He made small talk with Pete on the drive out to the lake. The cab driver asked about the bungalow he was working on, said that his sister was looking for a house to buy, and Beck told him to give her his information and he’d make sure his sister got a look before it hit the market if she was interested.
“I’ll do that,” Pete replied, taking a left onto River Road.
The rest of the trip was silent, but that was okay. She needed some time to get her shit together, because right now, she felt like her fifteen-year-old self, and that wasn’t a good thing. Fifteen-year-old Sid had been all over the place.
They pulled into Beck’s driveway, and for a moment, she froze, unsure where things were headed. Mixed signals had a way of screwing with one’s head.
“Do you want to come in?” he asked after a few moments, his voice warm and husky.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she managed to reply.
“I wasn’t asking if it was a good idea or not. I was asking if you’d like to come inside.”
Heart pounding so loud, she was pretty sure Pete the cab driver could hear, she licked her lips and melted at the look in Beck’s eyes when they fell to her mouth. “Since you know me so well, what’s my answer?”
Praise Mary and hallelujah. She could still speak.
He stared at her for a heartbeat or two—actually, it was more likely three and felt like ten—and then that slow smile she was getting way too use to crept over his face.
“I think your answer is, damn right I do.” He handed Pete some cash and hopped out of the car and waited for her.
She couldn’t move, and he peered inside.
“Unless, for the first time tonight, I’m wrong.”
Do it.
She gave Pete a quick, awkward wave and followed Beck, her feet crunching over the cold, hard snow. When he unlocked the door to let them inside, she resisted the urge turn her butt around and run for the hills. Or the lake. Or the forest. Or whatever was out there. Instead, she got her shit together and followed him in.
Almost immediately, a meowing bundle of fur hurled itself at Beck. He scooped up the little kitten while shucking his boots. A lamp was on, but the place was pretty dark.
“Can I use the bathroom?” she squeaked in a voice that would make her fifteen-year-old-self cringe.
Beck pointed toward a hallway. “First door on your left.” He held up the kitten. “I’ll just look after this little girl, and then…” He grinned, and she all but ran to the bathroom.
Once inside, she whipped out her cell and called her sister. It was just about six in the evening on the West Coast, and Kylie picked up on the first ring.
“I met someone,” she whispered hoarsely, watching the door as if it were alive and eavesdropping.
“What?”
“I met someone.” She spoke a little louder and winced at the sound of her voice in the quiet.
“Oh my God. Details.”
“I’m in his bathroom.”
Silence. Big loud silence.
“You met someone, and you’re calling me from his bathroom?”
“Yes.”
“Are you drunk?’
“Kind of.”
“Is he hot?”
“Like lava.”
Her sister chuckled. “Then why are you in his bathroom?”
She felt silly. And scared. And anxious. And…
“I don’t know if I should be here. I don’t know if I’m ready, and he’s, you know, he has stuff like I do.” Sid swore and played with the end of her hair, twirling it into a tight string.
“Everyone has stuff, trust me. You should do this. Now get your butt out of the bathroom and get naked with this mystery man, and then call me tomorrow, because I want to know everything. And Sid?”
“Yes?”
“This is a good thing. If you made it as far as his bathroom, then you can get the rest of the way to his bedroom and have some hot, mind-blowing sex. You’ll thank me tomorrow.”
Kylie hung up on her, and Sid pocketed her cell before pinching her cheeks and applying a touch of gloss to her lips. She washed her hands, tousled her hair, and marched her butt out of the bathroom, only to find Beck nowhere.
She stood in the dark for a bit and then tiptoed back down the hall. Since there was only one door open, she peeked inside. On the bed, stretched out in a pair of jeans and nothing else, was Beck, with the little kitten curled up on his chest. The kitten was purring up a storm while Beck was sound asleep.
They looked adorable. She let out a long breath and scooped the blanket from the end of the bed. She pulled it over him, taking a swipe from the kitten’s paw as the little minx asserted her ownership.
“You can have him for now,” she whispered softly. She eyed the other side of the bed, but Beck was sprawled out on his back, smack dab in the middle. She knew he’d had an intense workweek, then all the hockey today, and with the booze added in, it must have taken its toll.
She headed back out to the living room, found another old knitted throw on the edge of an ancient-looking sofa, and curled up on her side. Not exactly the night she’d envisioned, but for some reason, she was okay with it.
At least for now.