Chapter Three

I woke up the next morning expecting to find that the previous night’s events had all been a vivid dream that my mind had conjured up. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find Ryan right where I left him last night, asleep next to me. I sighed as I stared up at the ceiling, replaying the night’s events in my mind. I smiled to myself as I thought of what we did, and how I thought that I would never do some of those things. That thought made me laugh a little, jarring Ryan from his sleep.

“Hey you,” I said as I looked over to him. He still had the look of sleep about him and it was a look he wore well. He was adorable for first thing in the morning.

“Good morning, babe,” he answered me, making an effort to smile through his tiredness. I got up, went over to the dresser, and pulled out a flannel shirt to put on and some shorts. I watched him smile as I walked back over to the bed. “Last night was amazing.” Those words sent shivers down my spine. I felt the exact same way.

“I know. It was unlike anything I could have ever imagined,” I replied, lying back down. He put his arm around me as I did so. We lay like that for a while before he stirred again.

“What time is it?” he asked me. I looked over at the clock.

“Eleven,” I replied.

“Ugh,” he groaned, “there’s fucking practice at two today.” He sighed dramatically and pulled the covers over his head “I don’t wanna go!” He sounded exactly as he had years ago after sleeping over my house, when my mom, his aunt, would come in my room and wake us up for school. This thought made me laugh so much that I knew there was no way I was going to be able to go back to sleep. I arose from the bed and made my way to the door.

“I’m making breakfast, get yourself decent and come downstairs.” Ryan nodded in agreement and I skipped down the stairs. The high from last night still going strong and I decided to make a big breakfast. As the water from the shower drummed over head, I prepared eggs, bacon, pancakes, and waffles. Most of which would be devoured by Ryan. Always the heavy eater. He got that from the other side of the family. No one on our side ate like he did. It was ridiculous. As I was plating the food, he came downstairs in yesterday’s outfit.

“Ah, the walk of shame,” I stated as he walked into the kitchen. He looked down at his outfit, then back at me.

“None of the guys saw what I was wearing when I left, I’ll be good,” he smiled a devious smile, “but I don’t know if I can say the same for you.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked him as I went to sit across from him at the table.

“You might wanna take a look in the mirror,” was his response. I got up and walked to the downstairs bathroom to peek in the mirror. He was absolutely right. I had a gigantic hickey on the left side of my neck. I sighed and made my way back to the table.

“Looks like today is going to be a scarf day,” I said as I picked over my food. After I was sure I was finished, I made my way upstairs to take a shower of my own. The water that came out of the spigot was like a hot liquid pleasure. Only then did I look down, and much to my dismay, found various parts of my being covered with hickeys. I heaved another sigh and got out of the shower. After dressing in dark jeans, boots, a fitted tee, and a scarf to match, I came downstairs.

“I hate you,” I said as I passed Ryan, who was sprawled on the couch watching a game. I glanced at the clock. “Uh, you might wanna get your ass in gear if you don’t wanna be late. I know the coach doesn’t stand for that.” With a great effort, he heaved himself off of the couch and grabbed his coat. “Let’s go.”

“You’re going?” he asked me, a puzzled look on his face.

“Hell yeah, do you think I’d miss an opportunity to check out all the fine pieces of ass on the Penguins?” I laughed on my way out the door.

This time it was his turn to say “I hate you”.