Pittsburgh

Cavo was absolutely packed by the time Geno and I arrived. Loud music pumped through the club, bodies all around us gyrating against each other. Geno put his hand on the small of my back, leaning down to talk in my ear.
“We have lounge near the back,” he told me, motioning over to the other end of the club, his breath hot on my neck.
I breathed in sharply, trying to keep composed with Geno leaning in so close to me. I could smell his musky cologne, and – combined with the warmth of his body – it was taking all the self-control I could muster to not just kiss him right there and then. With hand still on my back, he guided me through the sea of people to where his teammates had gathered in the private lounges. Now that we were at the club – together – just about to meet the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins, I was getting nervous. Would they think I’m just Geno’s latest catch? A groupie? I thought back to the woman who called me a slut back at the game… Was I just Geno’s latest conquest? I looked up at him; at the way he was waving to some of he teammates, trying to chirp at them over the pumping music. I thought back to all the doors he’s opened for me, the dinner her took me to, the soft, sweet kisses on my cheek. I pushed the thoughts from my head, smiling as we approached the group; Geno just wasn’t like that. I didn’t exactly know what this was, but I knew I wasn’t just another potential notch on his belt.

After having been introduced to Kris Letang, Brandon Sutter, Chris Kunitz, Beau Bennett, Paul Martin, and their respective partners, I took a seat on a lounge next to Patric’s wife Malin as the guys went to order another round of drinks.
“You want drink?” he asked me, leaning in close once again so I could hear him over the music.
I nodded in response. “A Tom Collins,” I replied, this time being the one to lean in close.
As he, Patric and Kunitz left, I fell into conversation with Malin.
“So how do you know Geno?” she asked me, finishing off her cocktail.
“We met at a few games a few weeks ago. It was raining hard by the time I left so Geno gave me a ride home to save me from hailing a cab.” I replied, deciding to leave out the fact that I had been fairly close to hammered. “I saw him again after that at another home game; he asked me out for drinks after the game, which turned into dinner, and now I’m here.”
“Sounds like quite the gentleman,” Malin replied, smiling.
“He’s been pretty wonderful,” I replied, smiling back. “The perfect gentleman, really.”
I asked Malin how she and Patric were enjoying Pittsburgh, knowing that they had to move when he was traded. As we were discussing how welcoming the team had been, and the lovely house they were able to buy, the guys returned with the drinks.
“Thank you,” I said to Geno as he placed it on the table in front of me.
He sat down on the lounge next to me, stretching his arm out behind me across the back of the lounge. It was low enough so that his arm was level with my mid-back; I had to take a long sip of my drink to steady my fluttering stomach. Whenever he said something to Patric, who was on Malin’s other side, Geno leant close enough to me that I could almost brush my lips against his neck. It was enough to make the self-control I was holding tightly to slip a little further from my grip. I took another long sip of my Tom Collins to settle myself, wondering how I’d ever be able to get through the night at this rate.

By the time I was on my third Tom Collins of the night, the gin had gone to my head, making me feel giddy and uninhibited: a dangerous combination. I’d been introduced to more of the players: Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Robert Bortuzzo Pascal Dupuis and Craig Adams, and was laughing at the way Beau and Robert were grinding on each other to Turn Down For What. As some of the players’ partners were getting up to dance, I turned to Geno, downing the rest of my drink and boldly grabbing his hand.
“C’mon, let’s dance!” I said, smiling mischievously. There was no way on Earth I’d be doing this if I wasn’t as buzzed as I currently was.
“Alright, alright,” Geno replied, laughing as I tugged him out of the lounge and down to the dance floor.
Beau and Robert had found themselves new, female dance partners and, nodded with huge grins to Geno and I as we moved near them. A fast paced song that I didn’t recognise was pumping; usually I wasn’t that into dancing, but as the gin really started to hit me, I moved my hips along in time with the beat, moving my arms up above my head. Geno moved close to me, mimicking my moves to the beat, and I dropped my arms to his shoulders, tipping my head back and smiling as my buzz hit a high. Geno’s arms snaked down to my hips, pulling me closer as my hip movements became more pronounced. Deciding to let go of the little self-control I had left, I turned so that my back was pressed tight up against his chest, his hands finding their place back on my hips once more. As grinded my ass into him, just enough to tease, he pushed my hair off of one shoulder, letting his lips momentarily trace the curve of my neck: it was enough to send me over the edge. I grinded my ass into him a little harder, smirking with satisfaction as moaned against my neck. Up until now, thinks between us had been charming and sweet; now, as we grinded up against each other in the throng of bodies around us, things were heating up fast.
“You want to leave?” Geno asked me, leaning down so that his breath was hot on my neck, keeping his hands firmly on my hips.
“Are you sure?” I replied, looking up to him. I didn’t exactly answer his question, as I wasn’t sure what the protocol was with these post-game celebrations.
Geno nodded, and I noticed for the first time that there was something new in his eyes. Was it… Longing? He grabbed my hand, leading me over to the lounges where the teammates and partners who weren’t dancing were still hanging out.
“We going to go now,” he shouted to anyone whose attention he could grab.
Everyone who heard waved and smiled goodbye, a few slapping Geno on the back and giving me a brief hug.
“It was so lovely to meet you,” I gushed to Malin, who was close enough for me to hug.
She laughed – probably realising that I was definitely buzzed – and game me a little squeeze. “Hopefully I’ll be seeing you again soon.”
“Me too,” I replied as Geno and Patric joined us. “Nice to see you again,” I told Patric, smiling.
“Same here,” he said, thumping Geno on the back. “You two get home safe,” he added with a wink.

Things between Geno and I had cooled a little when we were saying our goodbyes, but once we were out of the club and back in Geno’s car, I could sense the heat between us building back up. His hand rested on my thigh as we headed back to my place, winding through the near-empty streets of Pittsburgh. I usually didn’t permit the hand-on-thigh move until date three, but I definitely was making a special exception for Geno. I leant my head back on the leather seat, sighing with tipsy content. Geno looked over at me, grinning.
“You happy?” he asked me.
“I’m drunk!” I replied, giggling. I held back mentioning that I was also pretty turned on by the warmth of his hand on my thigh, but I bit that comment back.
He laughed. “Just like first time we met.”
“Hey!” I said, playfully punching his arm. “I was so not drunk then!”
“Were so!” he replied with a smirk. “Drunk and beautiful.”
I smiled over at him, placing my hand on top of his as we drove in a comfortable – albeit tinged with sexual tension – silence for the rest of the way. As we pulled up outside my apartment block, Geno killed the engine, turning to me with that look in his eyes once more. My heart quickened as he squeezed his grip on my thigh slightly, and a mixture of nerves and excitement flooded through me. Instead of leaning over to crash his lips against mine, he instead got out of the car, walking around to open the door for me. As he helped me out, our hands lingered, and Geno took a step towards me, closing the space between us. He trailed his fingers slowly up my arms, leaning in close so that I was backed up against his car. His gaze was steady as he moved his hands over my shoulders and up my neck, coming to a rest when he tangled his fingers in my hair. It felt as though hours passed with us standing there like that, though in reality, it would have barely been five seconds. And then, his lips were on mine. The kiss was slow and hot as our lips met again and again, deepening as he ran his tongue along my bottom lip, and then along mine. I couldn’t help but moan, which seemed to goad Geno on, his fingers tugging at my hair as our bodies pressed ever closer against each other. I pressed my hands against his cheeks, kissing him back hungrily, like I could never get enough of him. After what felt like an eternity of our lips crashing against each other, he slowly pulled away, looking at me with a smile.
“I been waiting to kiss you,” he told me, brushing his lips against my cheek. “I want to make sure you want to kiss me too.”
“Oh, I want to,” I replied, smiling up at him as I traced his jawline with my thumb.
He chuckled softly, leaning down to kiss me softly once more. I felt lightheaded – more so from the kisses than the alcohol – each time our lips met.
“I walk you back to apartment,” he told me when we were finally able to tear our lips away from each other. Lacing his fingers through mine, led me to the door of my apartment building, helping me retrieve the keys from my clutch as I fumbled with them. We held hands through the elevator ride up to my floor, only letting go once I reached my front door.
“Thank you so much for tonight,” I said to him, wondering whether he’d want to come inside.
“I glad you had fun time,” he replied, rubbing his hands softly over my arms.
As we kissed once more, I wondered if he was expecting me to ask him inside. Before I got the chance to, however, he told me that he better get going, but would ring me soon. With one last kiss, we bid each other good night. I opened my apartment door, kicking off my heels as I stumbled into my bedroom and flopped down on the bed, still fully clothed. I smiled, touching my lips and relishing the raw feeling that came from kissing someone the way Geno and I had. Within minutes I fall asleep, hazy thoughts of geno whirling through my mind.