“Shut up,” I chided.
“Bro, you know I’m right,” he sighed.
Yeah, I knew he was right, but I wasn’t about to admit it.
“I’m coming over,” he said.
I hissed. “Give me ten. I need to take a shower.”
“I’ll give you five. We both know it won’t take that long for you to come,” he replied.
I groaned. Again, he was probably right. It had been about six months since I had gotten laid. Meaningless sex on the road wasn’t as intriguing as it had once been for me.
“Bye, Max.” I ended the call. He probably wasn’t joking about being here in five minutes, and I was hard as fuck after envisioning licking Catherine’s tits.
I went to the shower and shampooed my hair. Then I soaped up my hands and massaged my cock. Immediately, a vision of Catherine in that sports bra came to mind. Her full breasts. The way they pressed together, giving her some serious cleavage. I grabbed onto the wall as my head tipped back. I stroked harder, thinking what it would feel like to fill her, and that was all it took for me to come. My body jerked from the sensation. The vision of her wet, naked body in the shower. Her fast breathing. Hell, I even pictured her screaming my name as she came. It took me a few moments to get my bearings. Then I quickly started soaping up my body.
“You ready, asshole?” Max’s voice drifted through the condo. He used his key. He was only supposed to use it for emergencies, like if I needed him to run to the pharmacy to get fever medicine for Isla. That had only happened about three times in the last few years. Which made me remember that Max was a good friend. He was the kind of guy who had my back on and off the ice. Isla liked him too.
I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. “I’ll be right out.”
I dried off and got dressed in a T-shirt, boxers, and shorts. Summers were stifling in Dallas, but at least it was cold in the arena. I much preferred a colder climate, but the city had been good for Isla and me, so I couldn’t complain. I put on a pair ofsocks and running shoes and went out to the main room to greet him.
“I need coffee,” he said, making his way to the kitchen. I followed him. He stepped around me like he owned the place. “You’re cranky.”
“I miss my daughter.”
“I get that. How is Isla liking camp?” he asked.
“It’s been three days. I haven’t gotten a letter yet. Holland said it may arrive by day twelve or thirteen, and she’ll be home at the two-week mark.”
“I don’t think it’s Isla that has you extra cranky. You’re like old-man-with-a-bad-hip cranky.” He grinned.
“I’m thirty-three. What the hell are you talking about?”
“Dude, I don’t know. Something is up with you. Do you need to talk? Because I’m told I’m a good listener.” He leaned against the counter and took a sip of his coffee. “This is good stuff.”
“I have nothing to share, doctor,” I said to him, and that got me thinking of Catherine again.
I grabbed my keys from the bowl. “Let’s go before you drink all my coffee.”
He took one more sip just to annoy me, then followed me out. We took the elevator down to the garage. I kept my eyes on the doors and tried not to think about Catherine stepping into this same elevator, maybe in scrubs, maybe in those black shorts from the gym, maybe saying my name in that voice that made my common sense leave the room. Max watched me for half a second too long.
“What?” I asked.
“You seem, I don’t know… distracted?”
He wasn’t wrong, and I hated how transparent I was to him.
“I need food, but first we go check in with Leo. My aunt Sierra called me this morning to ask me to take care of him. I said I would.”
Max started laughing so hard his shoulders shook. “From what I’ve seen on the ice Leo can definitely take care of himself.”
“You aren’t wrong, but he’s still family,” I reminded him.
We got into my SUV, and I pulled out toward the arena. Max immediately started messing with the stereo because, apparently, he had a death wish.
“Hands off,” I said.