Turning Tables

I woke up with a girl beside me. One who was still clothed and one who I hadn’t slept with the night before.

Weird, the word popped into my head again.

Everything about this was weird. I don’t know what it was about her, but I didn’t even try anything last night. I’d wanted to, but I was content to just fall asleep with her. Probably because I knew it was that or nothing at all.

At some point during the night, she’d turned and faced me, snuggled in the crook of my body. I took the chance to study her, while she was still asleep and couldn’t open her mouth to say something offensive to me.

She was breathing softly through perfect pink lips that I had kissed three times now. Her soft features were peaceful as she slept. It was too bad she wasn’t always this nice. I knew the second she was awake, I’d be verbally assaulted for something or other.

Her eyes fluttered opened then and met mine.

“What are you looking at, asshole?” She yawned and turned away from me.

“You should be a little nicer,” I frowned. “I housed you last night.” She sat up, stretching and reaching her arms high so a sliver of her back was exposed.

“I’ll make you breakfast,” she announced. “Then we’ll call it even.” And she was off and out of the bedroom. A minute later I heard the shower turn on.

Would it be appropriate to climb in there with her? Probably not, and with anyone else, I would have done it. I had a feeling Lucy Harper would cut my balls off if I tried something like that, though.

I went outside to get some coffee started. Something buzzed as I was putting the filter in the machine. It came from Lucy’s bag, which I’d left on the counter the night before. I didn’t want to snoop, but I glanced into the bag.

Someone named Matt was calling her. The buzzing stopped, and I saw that he’d called about fifty times already.

Couldn’t be a boyfriend. Not if she spent the night with me.

…..

I dressed in yesterday’s clothes and headed into the kitchen. Tyler hadn’t tried anything last night, which was surprising and a little disappointing. But I was no Playmate; he could control himself around me.

I checked my phone, and saw that Matt had called several times. I smiled smugly to myself. Served him right.

“Where’s my breakfast?” Tyler asked from the dining table, where he was sipping coffee and reading something on a MacBook.

“Calm down,” I said, rooting around the kitchen. “I’m on it.”

We sat across from each other, eating a strangely normal breakfast.

“What are you up to today?” He asked conversationally.

“Gym,” I said. “I don’t have Friday classes.”

“I bet,” he replied, “If you eat like that.” I glared at him for a full minute before spooning a huge mound of eggs into my mouth. I was actually starting to like him after last night, but I knew it was too good to be true.

I can’t believe I was ever attracted to him; he’s such a dick.

Well, I can believe it. It’s no wonder he was so fond of one-night stands. No one could stand him after a night together.

I finished my breakfast just as my phone chimed with a new text.

“Thanks for last night,” I said, putting my plate in the sink. “I’ll see you later.”

“Do you need a ride?” he called as I turned the doorknob.

“Nah,” I said over my shoulder. “My ride’s actually here today.”

Last night was so bizarre.

I’d fallen asleep in Tyler’s arms. And it was nice. It was weird, but it was a nice weird. But after exchanging words with him, I realized that I didn’t like the guy very much. He wasn’t the most pleasant person to talk to.

He was rude, and obnoxious, and a complete horn dog.

But I liked kissing him, and I liked falling asleep with him.

Was that wrong? Did that make me a slut?

“I’m really sorry,” Matt apologized again.

“Whatever.”

“Who’d you stay with last night?” he asked. He’d clearly been surprised at the size and state of the building he’d picked me up from.

“None of your business. You didn’t pick me up last night.” Matt didn’t respond, and I let him think I was mad at him, staring quietly out the window.

Really, I was using the silence to think about my night with Tyler and wondering what it all meant. Why was he tolerating me? He was probably still thinking about that one thing, and when he realized I wasn’t going to give it up, he’ll probably move on.

Till then? Well, that , I didn’t know.

…..

Practice was brutal, and I almost got into it with Horton. Lately, I’ve been feeling less than stellar about my performance on the ice. There was an annoying, nagging voice in the back of my head that wouldn’t shut up about the all the things I was doing wrong. And we had a game tomorrow against the Devils.

I tossed my bag into the trunk of my car and slammed it shut.

“Woah,” Tim said, unlocking his own car, parked next to mine. “What did the car do to you?”

I groaned. “I’m just fucking up all over the place.” I ran a hand through my already messed up hair.

“Hey, woah,” Tim said, coming to stand next to me. “You were great today, you had some great shots.”

“You blocked every single one of my shots,” I replied dryly.

Tim shrugged. “What can I say, I’m awesome.”

I grinned, punching him lightly on the arm. Only Tim Thomas could take my foul mood and make it worse, but in the best possible way.

It’s gonna be okay, I thought. Tomorrow’s gonna be fine.

We lost 5 to 2. I had a minus 1 game for the first time in I don’t know how long. Things were definitely not fine, and I was currently taking my anger out on the locker room wall.

“Hey,” a voice said. I looked up to find Lucy standing by the door. “Are you done assaulting girls and moving on to poor, defenseless, inanimate objects?”

I growled. I was not in the mood for her smartass mouth. “Leave me alone.”

She pouted dramatically, coming into the room. “Aw, cheer up buttercup. You’re prettier when you’re smiling.”

She didn’t get it, and she was making fun of me. “Luce,” I snarled. “I am not in the mood for this. I just had a shit game and you’re not really helping.”

“What WILL help?” She sauntered over to me, looking mischievous. My bad mood turned into angry frustration. Now was not the time to flirt with me and then walk away. If she tried something like that, I wasn’t sure I’d let her leave scotch free.

“Luce,” I warned.

“What?” she asked innocently. She leaned in, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do to her. But I backed up, moving away. She wasn’t going to be the one to end things tonight. I wanted answers, and I wanted results. Blue balls weren’t going to help me my bad mood.

“Why do you keep kissing me?” I asked, putting a hand gently on her shoulder. I didn’t want to lose myself in her just to have her leave me again. My ego didn’t need any more hits right now. If she was fazed by my rejection, she didn’t show it. She backed up, and smiled.

“Because I like kissing you,” she shrugged. She began to remove my gear, which I’d left on in my haste to find something to punch. I’d spent an hour on the ice by myself after everyone left, shooting repeatedly at the goal.

She was gentle, and her skilled fingers disassembled my gear as I stood still. One by one, she removed all the pads, and I silently let her.

“I sucked tonight,” I sighed as she removed the shoulder pads.

“You’re Tyler Sequin,” she said confidently, “You don’t suck, you score. On and off the ice” – she smirks – “Well, I guess you do some sucking OFF the ice.”

A smile tugs at the corners of my lips as she compliments me. At least, I’m taking it as a compliment.

“It’s one game,” she continued soothingly. “So it was a shit game. That just means the next one has to be super awesome. And it will be.” She removed the last pad from my right leg, and placed in on the bench behind me. She looked up at me.

She’s tall, but I’m taller, and I liked having some semblance of control over her, just because I always felt so OUT of control around her.

Her greys eyes were wide and innocent as they looked into mine, and I felt it again. That uncontrollable urge. And not the just the kind that I feel in my pants around a hot girl, but another kind.

I could feel this urge in my entire body, and it takes over everything. It’s not something that just sex can satisfy. It’s a different kind of hunger.

As soon as I was released from the bounds of all my padding, I reached out for her. She slowly stepped into my arms and our lips met.

……

Tyler kissed me like we had all the time in the world. It was a kiss unlike any we’ve shared. It was slow and soft, like we wanted to savor every single moment.

His tongue slowly found its way into my mouth, gently running over mine. The wind was knocked out of me as if I’ve just been hit with a train traveling at a billion miles an hour.

He was tentative, not forceful, and I melted in his arms. His hands fell down to grab my butt and in one smooth motion, he lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around him. My hands twisted through his hair, pulling softly.

He turned and I was pressed against the wall. His hips ground down over mine, and I moaned softly.

He pulled away, his breathing ragged. “Spend the night with me.”

It wasn’t a question, just a statement. But unlike the statement about lunch, this one was full of longing and desire, and I could hear the question in his voice.

He was unsure.

I should say no. This couldn’t lead anywhere good. But I didn’t have control of my body, not when I was around him. I could feel that same confidence from the first night start to ooze out of my pores.

“Okay.”

.....

“We’re really not?” Tyler asked as he kissed my collarbone. I was lying in his bed in nothing but my panties as he lay on top of me.

“We can’t,” I said softly. I let out a soft moan as he took a nipple into his mouth, running his tongue around it.

“Really?” He moved onto the other nipple.

“Tyler,” I groaned. “You have to stop.” I grabbed fistfuls of his hair, but I just hugged his head tighter to my chest.

“But why can’t we?” He placed a hand between my thighs, inching it up slowly.

“Because,” I said. It was hard to think with him all over me, kissing places that sent bolts of electricity coursing through the deepest, darkest parts of me.

He sighed, pulling away. He dropped down next to me, laying on his side so he could look at me. “Are you, like, super religious or something? Like, abstinence is key and all that?”

I rolled my eyes. “No.”

“Then what is it?” He traces little circles around my belly button.

“I don’t want to be a one night stand.” The words surprised me as much as they surprised him. I felt his entire body stiffen. I hadn’t meant to be so honest.

We’re not ready for this. I can’t do this and he’s not emotionally available. This is too serious for us to handle. The mood in the room shifted from playful to tense faster than a speeding bullet.

He fell silent, and the tension grew bigger and bigger, threatening to burst.

“How bout if I do you twice? That’d be a two night stand.”

Pop.

Just like that, it’s gone. We’re back to the playfulness.

“You sure know how to make a girl feel special,” I said dryly, going along with him. All tension from five seconds ago was forgotten.

“What can I say,” he shrugged, his shoulders moving up and down. “I’m a people person.”
“Can we just--” I struggled for words to make this sound less cheesy. “Can we just be friends? I hate you less than I did when you first opened your mouth.”

He grinned. His finger started to trace circles around my belly button again. “Friends with benefits?”

I scoffed. “Yeah, cause that works out so well for everybody.”

“It does. We fuck, we fight, then we make up and fuck some more,” he said matter of factly. “Duh.”

“You’re so crass, Sequin. Go to sleep.”
……

Shit.

That was scary. We almost had a talk. Girls always tried to have the talk with me. Especially after a couple of nights together. They always thought we were joined at the hips after a few times in the sack.

Lucy almost started to have the talk, but pulled back at the last second.

Was I disappointed?

No. I didn’t think so.

I didn’t want a relationship. Things had been going so well. We’d gotten almost completely naked. I liked her. A lot. But not enough to want to pursue a relationship. I wished we’d gone all the way. Then maybe we could have the talk after.

Maybe I could still get her to change her mind. I hadn’t seen her for a week since the second night we’d spent together, and I kind of missed her stupid comments.

She talked too much, but she was funny. And she was really sweet that night that I was feeling like shit.

After practice, I drove over to her place. Before I could chicken out, I raised a fist and banged loudly.

Lucy answered the door, wearing shorts and a tank and large framed glasses. Her hair was up in a messy bun on her head. She looked like she was ready for bed. With me, if things went according to plan.

“Hey,” I greeted cheerfully. I knew how this looked, but I was just glad to see her.

She didn’t share my excitement and narrowed her eyes at me. “How the hell do you know where I lived?”

“Company directory,” I shrugged, pushing the door wider and stepping inside. She lived in a tiny studio apartment. On my left was a kitchen; separated from the small hallway we were standing in by a counter. There was a miniscule dining table as well. A small door on my right was most likely the closet and another, bigger one led to a bathroom.

“We have a company directory?”

I ignored her and walked on down the small hallway. Two steps led down to a living room on my left and queen sized bed on the right.

Cozy.

“Tyler,” she said, her tone uneasy as she followed me. “Now’s not a good time.”

“Now’s a perfect time,” I said, moving in and grabbing her waist. I was about to kiss her when a loud knock interrupted me.

“Shit,” Lucy hissed. “You have to hide! Now!”

“What?” I frowned. What the hell was going on? “Why?”

“Matt’s here!” she hissed again, shoving me towards the bigger of the two doors. She unceremoniously deposited me in the bathroom before shutting the door in my face. This wasn’t part of the plan at all.

“Who the fuck’s Matt?” I called through the door.

Her voice was muffled as she answered me, but I could hear her clear as day.

“My boyfriend.”