Taking Shots (Assassins, #1)(152)
“Shea, come on, I gotta cook,” she said trying to get away.
“I’m only hungry for one thing baby,” he said against her collarbone as he nip and nibbled.
“Well that one thing ain’t gonna happen until you have clearance, mister.”
He pulled back grinning hard at her, “I have clearance. Today was my appointment, I play tomorrow night.”
Her eyes lit up, “It hasn’t been six weeks yet!”
“I’m ready to play,” he said shrugging his shoulders, “On the ice, and with you, so hush, come here.” Of course, she went willingly. It was easy to assume that there would be no cooking that night.
Elli had missed the arena so much. Sitting beside Harper, a beer and hot dog in hand, being decked out in her Adler gear, it was hard to contain her excitement. She was ready for some hockey.
“It’s so great for both guys to be back,” Harper gushed as she took a hearty drink of her beer. Jakob had came back two weeks earlier and apparently missed Shea something crazy, which Elli thought was so cute.
“I know, I have missed watching the games live so much,” Elli gushed as she took a bite of her hot dog, looking around the arena. She tried not to think about the last time she sat in her seats, since every time she did her heart hurt. Shea was healthy; he had proved that the night before. Everything was fine.
“So we are completely moved in and the home decorator is coming tomorrow so Jakob can look over everything and approve everything I’ve picked out.”
Elli smiled over her, “You think he will?”
Harper giggled, “Oh course, he wants to continue getting laid, Elli. Be realistic here.”
“Duh,” Elli laughed, Harper joined in, a big grin on her face. Every time Elli saw her, she was always smile or giggling. It was weird, but hey Harper was happy, what more could Elli ask for? “We still haven’t found anything, nothing is appealing to me.”
“It takes time El, I mean I looked at a thousand houses it seemed, until I found the one, and it still didn’t feel like the one until y’all came to look at it,” Harper said, sounding all older and wiser. Elli didn’t let it bother her, she just nodded.
“I know, but Shea is getting impatient. He said I’m subliminally not picking a house.”
“Is he right?”
“Really, Harper?”
“I’m just asking, y’all have looked at a lot of house, your damn list of requirements is a mile long!”
“Its four things I want!”
“Still, lower your standards. Shea was hoping to be in something before he had to leave again for the road. He’s leaving for three weeks next week, and y’all don’t have any prospects. I don’t blame him for being angry for you.”
“Whatever, whose side are you on anyway?” Elli glared at Harper before looking out at the ice. Was she being too picky? Was she subliminally not picking something because she truly didn’t want to commit to Shea?
No.
She loved him, wanted to be with him, but like she said, she just wanted the perfect house for them, and damn it, she would find it!
Shea sat on the bench in front of his locker, lacing up his skates. It had been a long five weeks, a good five weeks but long. He was ready to get out of the ice, even though he knew coach wouldn’t play him like he had before. It was gonna be at least two weeks before he was staying on the ice for his normal forty minutes, but hey just being able to play was enough. Knowing Elli was in the stands made it even better for him.
Jakob sat beside Shea a grin on his face as he strapped his elbow pads on.
“Ready?”
“More than ready,” Shea said, making sure his skates were extra tight.
“Good, let’s do this.”
“Hell, yeah.”
After they were done, they headed for the ice, ready for the warm up. Shea was ready to hear the roar of the crowd. After all the blog sites announced his return a week early, fans went nuts, posting encouraging comments for him. It was great, and he was ready to show his fans that he was ready to win for them.
Shea’s heart raced when he heard the roar of the crowd. The JumboTron must have been showing them walking down the hall. Shea closed his eyes, thanking the Lord above for all the blessing he had been receiving, he then asked for Him to protect him on the ice. Shea took a deep breath before walking through the opening that led to the bench, onto the ice. When he hit the ice, the crowd went nuts. Fans held their signs up, wishing him luck and welcoming him back. Shea was convinced Nashville had the best set of fans. He skated around the rink once, even along the visitor’s side, holding his stick up as a thank you to his fans before he saw the most important sign.
I’m so proud of you.
I love you so much.
It was Elli’s and as she held it, she had the brightest smile on her face. He smiled back at her since he couldn’t kiss her like he wanted. Just knowing that she loved him and she was proud of him made him feel like it was going to be the best damn game of his life.
After being on the road for three weeks with only a day break, Shea was glad to be home for a week. Elli and Shea had been blissfully in love ever since Christmas and Shea couldn’t ask for more. Well, a house would be nice, but he was just happy he had Elli. They were coming up on six months of being together and Shea couldn’t believe that he had been in with one woman for that long. Never had he thought he would be living with a woman, looking for a house, and telling her he loved her every chance he got. It still blew his mind.