He might not be happy about it, but I am. Sorry to say, that’s all that matters to me.
“When can I move in? Tomorrow?”
His eyes flash to mine in surprise. “Uh, if you want.”
“That would be great. The sooner, the better.”
“But you’re not going to tell your dad, right? That I’m housing you?”
I tilt my head, studying him. “I told you I wouldn’t. Why are you so adamant about this?”
“Because,” he says, sitting taller. “I don’t want him thinking I’m, uh, taking advantage or anything.” Levi drums his fingers on his coffee cup, looking nervous and twitchy. After a few seconds of silence, he says, “Fuck, I’m just going to level with you, Wylie, okay?”
“That’s probably best since I’m going to be your assistant,” I reply.
He drags his hand over his face, looking pained. After a few seconds of mulling over his words, he starts with, “I just want to get this out in the open.”
“Probably best,” I say.
“I think the sooner we say it, the better.”
“Could not agree more.” I nod in approval.
“So I think if I just say it, then we can—”
“Oh my God, Levi, just say it.” I laugh.
His Adam’s apple bobs as he nods. “Yeah, so, uh . . . we had an almost night together.”
“We did.” I can’t hide the smirk that appears because he is clearly distraught over this.
“If you hadn’t ditched me that evening, I would have taken you back to my room.”
“Yup, that’s where it was leading.”
He slowly nods and then looks me in the eyes. “And, uh, I would have fucked you.”
“Yes, and I would have allowed that to happen multiple times.”
“Multiple?” he asks, almost looking wounded.
“Oh yes. Multiple.”
He presses his fingers to his eyebrow and takes a few seconds to gather himself. When he’s ready, he says, “That being said”—he clears his throat—“I’m insanely attracted to you, and I’m not saying that as a pickup line. I’m putting it out there because I’m massively uncomfortable with this setup.”
“Okay,” I say, not expecting him to be so forthright. But also, oh my God! Levi Posey is insanely attracted to me. The feeling is mutual. But has he really given me more thought since our “almost night?” Yes, I’ve thought about him, but he’s a player. He’s probably had several nights with other women since then.
“And I need you to know that nothing will happen between us. What was in the past is in the past. We need to start on a fresh slate as if we don’t know each other.”
“Technically, we don’t know each other,” I say.
“I mean . . . know how, you know, how our lips, uh . . . kiss.”
I chuckle. “Ah, that we do know about each other. But it’s been long enough, you must have forgotten.”
He looks away and once again mumbles something under his breath. It’s cute, like he’s conversing with the angel and devil on his shoulder.
Wanting to ease his tension, I say, “You don’t need to worry about that night. I plan on being the epitome of a professional. This job means something to me, so I don’t plan on screwing it up because we had one night where we were very attracted to each other and kissed. Let’s just forget about it and move forward. Okay?”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” he says.
“Perfect.” I yawn as the late night’s getting to me. “Well, you must be tired, given you just played a game, and your eye must be hurting, so I’ll let you go.” I hand him my phone. “Put your number in here so I have a way to get in touch with you and vice versa.”
He plugs his number in my phone and sends himself a text. His phone beeps in his pocket, letting me know he has my number. When he hands me back my phone, I stand and say, “What’s a good time for me to come over tomorrow to go over all of your needs?”
He stands as well, and I can’t help but notice just how much larger he is than me. How much larger he is in person. I’ve spent the better part of a year watching him skate around the ice and slam men into the boards as if they weigh nothing, but seeing him in person and standing next to him, I realize all those games I watched did not do him justice.
“How about nine in the morning?”
“Nine?” I nearly shout only to realize that’s a normal, appropriate time for people to do work things. “I mean, sure, nine sounds great. Can I bring you anything?”
“No, I’m good. I’ll text you the address and show you to the nanny hole.”
I smile. “Sounds like a sex club, The Nanny Hole.”
“It’s definitely not a sex club,” he scoffs.
“Ooo, seems like you have experience in that area. Have you ever been to one?”
His eyes widen for a second before he shakes his head. “Uh, no.”
Ha. I’m going to take that as a yes.
My goodness. Levi Posey enjoying a sex club. That’s very interesting.
Intriguing.
And definitely not something I should be thinking about.
Or asking about for that matter.
“Well, if you did, I wouldn’t judge you. I’ve been to a few. They’re fun.”
He pulls on the back of his neck, the muscles in his forearm straining. “Things I shouldn’t know,” he says, moving toward the door. “Okay, see you tomorrow at nine. I’ll text you my address.”
“Sounds good,” I say as he disappears out of the room.
Well, I think that went well. As well as it could have gone.
I have a job.
A place to live.
And what seems to be a pretty easygoing boss.
Dad thought this would be a challenge, but it’s seeming like anything but that.
Except for the glaringly obvious fact that my new boss is the sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on.
“You’re up early,”Dad says as he walks into the kitchen. I’m suckling at a cup of coffee, attempting to wake myself up. My class schedule had been fixed to have lectures later in the day along with some night classes for my graphic art, so this morning’s wake up is making me rethink this entire challenge from my dad.
“Just gearing up for my day of work,” I say. “Very excited to hit the ground running.”
“Should be,” Dad says as he moves over to the coffee and pours himself a cup. I made that all for me, but whatever. “Posey has been known to be hard to work with. Hence why he needed an assistant.”
I find that hard to believe, but then again, I guess I don’t know him the way my dad knows him.
“Well, I’m up for the challenge.”
“I hope so.” Dad leans against the counter. “I would hate to see you fail.”
Ha. I’m calling bullshit on that. I know my dad loves me, but this challenge, this one he’s hoping I don’t complete? He’s hoping more than anything for me to come crawling back to him, but to hell if I’ll let that happen.
“Well, no need to worry about that, big guy.” I elbow him. “I already have a place to stay, actually. I’m moving in today.”
He whips his head around to look at me. “Where?”
“Uptown. It’s a sublet,” I answer, not wanting to give him all the details, not that he needs them. “Lucked out, actually. I was asking around yesterday, and a friend had this sublet option, and I snatched it up. It’s an old nanny housing unit, so it’s not much, but hey, it’s something, right?”
“Yeah, that’s something,” he says while running his hand over his jaw.
“Anyway, I should probably head into the shower. I’m meeting Levi at nine to go over my responsibilities and expectations, and I don’t want to be late.”
“No, you don’t. Not sure he would appreciate you being late.”
“Which means I need to get going.” I set my coffee mug on the counter and stand on my toes to kiss my dad’s cheek. “Great game last night.”
And then I take off to my bedroom, where I plop down on my comfortable mattress, soaking in the last minutes of a Tempur-Pedic because I doubt the nanny hole will be anything luxurious. I grab my phone and text Sandie.
Wylie:Are you frothing at the mouth, wondering who my new boss is?
I texted her yesterday after my conversation with my dad, sharing everything that was going on, and she, for one, couldn’t believe my dad was being such a dick. And two, she was dying to know who the player would be.
Sandie:YES! I thought you were going to text me last night.
Wylie:I thought about it, but I didn’t want to wake you.
Sandie:For that kind of information, I would have risen from the dead.
Wylie:LOL. Good to know. So are you ready?
Sandie:Yes! Tell me. Stop prolonging it.
Wylie:Levi Posey.
Sandie:I knew it! I freaking knew it. It had to be him. OMG, did you meet with him yet? Did he recognize you?
Wylie:I did meet with him last night, and he recognized me immediately. You should have seen the ghostly pallor of his skin when I walked into the room. And then when we went to one of the media rooms to talk, he brought up that night. Had no problem telling me how attracted he is to me.
Sandie:Wow, now that’s refreshing. Did you climb on his lap and say thank you, let’s have a redo of that night?
Wylie:If only. He’s very adamant about keeping this professional, which I understand. And I want to do the same. Given my dad’s doubt in me, I truly want to show him that I can do this, no matter what obstacles he throws in front of me.
Sandie:What a shame. That kind of chemistry should be explored, not suppressed.
Wylie:Tell me about it, but I’m not about to risk anything, not when this could be a pathway to get my dad to understand where I’m coming from. That I can do this.
Sandie:Understandable. At least tell me he offered up his place to stay.
Wylie:He didn’t. I asked, and he was very hesitant at first, but then he told me about this nanny bedroom with a separate entry that he never uses. He said I could stay there, but I couldn’t tell my dad.
Sandie:That’s odd. Why wouldn’t you be able to tell your dad?
Wylie:I don’t know, but I took it. I don’t care where I live. I just want a place to sleep that’s not my dad’s place. And it can’t be any worse than the dorm we shared our first year.
Sandie:True! Nothing is worse than that cockroach-infested nightmare.
Wylie:Remember when we spent three hours on my bed, huddled together because there was a cockroach the size of a mouse under your bed, and we were afraid it would attack our feet if we got off the bed?
Sandie:That will forever be engrained in my memory. I still shiver just thinking about it. Hopefully, that won’t be the case with the nanny room.
Wylie:I’m referring to it as the Nanny Hole.
Sandie:Sounds like that one club we went to.
Wylie:That’s what I said to him, and you should have seen the sweat on his temple. I asked him if he’s ever been to a club like that, and he said no, but there was guilt written all over his face.
Sandie:Did you tell him you love a sex club?
Wylie:I told him I had been to a few, and that’s when he bolted.
Sandie:LOL. I’m guessing that’s not something he wanted to know about you.
Wylie:That much is obvious. Ugh . . . if only circumstances were different because I’d show that man such a good time.
Sandie:Instead, you get to fetch him coffee.
Wylie:Maybe I can do it topless.
Sandie:I’ll give you twenty bucks to do it topless.
Wylie:I would do it for five.
Chapter Four
LEVI
To: Levi Posey
From: Will Wood
Subject: Your List
Don’t fuck this up, Posey.
Aside from regular tasks like social media, retrieving your food, arranging your calendar, and being at your beck and call, here are a few tasks you need to give her this week:
Hand her a copy of a book. I don’t care what book, but give her a copy of it. Tell her you don’t like the font it’s written in, and have her type it out in a different font. Yes, have her type up the entire book, word for word. Tell her you want it in a week for your away trip to the Northeast.
Spill something on your floor. Don’t care what it is. But make it disgusting. Tell her she needs to clean it up and make it seem like it was never there.
Ask her to get you ten pounds of Skittles. The Skittles must be divided into colors and placed in separate jars. But you want more reds than any other color. At least half a jar more.
Have her purchase you fifty number two pencils. Have her sharpen them just enough so they’re pointed but not too much where they’re splintering. Use them as a decoration for a day and then have her donate them to a local school, but she must receive a receipt for the donation.
Text her in the middle of the night that you need something, anything. Make her get it for you.
After each task, I expect you to take a picture and inform me that it’s been completed. Do not let her off the hook. Don’t let her skate by. I want you to make her life a living hell, got it?
And don’t forget the rules. Don’t forget why you’re doing this. And mainly, don’t forget that she’s completely off limits.
Your worst nightmare if you mess this up,
Coach Wood
I siton the edge of my couch, fully showered, dressed, and ready for the day as I count down the minutes until Wylie arrives.
Sleep was nonexistent last night, and not because the gash above my eye was throbbing, but because I couldn’t fucking believe that Coach Wood’s daughter is the woman I’ve been searching for. She fucking knew who I was and didn’t say anything. She played it off like she didn’t even know the sport of hockey existed.
And then just ditched me. Why?
I have so many questions and annoyed emotions over the situation that I’m trying to calm myself before she shows up so I don’t explode on her. I feel like I’ll pace the room angrily at any moment, demanding why she didn’t come looking for me when she knew who I was. I know she enjoyed that kiss.
So why did she bolt?
I push my hand through my hair and stand from the couch.
Get it together, man.
Forget about that night. It’s in the past.
Because now my coach has me by the balls, and one slip-up could cost me. I wouldn’t put it past Coach Wood to fuck with me if I screw this up.