Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
I glance over my shoulder as somebody snaps a photo of me. The thought of people thinking Noelle and I are an item doesn’t upset me. In fact, it makes me want to wrap an arm around her, pull her close, and smack a big fat kiss on her luscious mouth.
However, I don’t. Instead I peek down at her, nodding at her drink.
“You done?” I ask her.
She nods. “Yeah.”
I grab some cash out of my wallet, and toss it on the bar. “Let’s get out of here,” I say, grabbing her tiny hand in mine.
She tosses her carry-on over her shoulders and laughs as I rush her out of the bar area.
I make my way toward my own gate, wondering if she and I are on the same flight. “What’s your gate?”
“B-4,” she whispers as soon as I’ve stopped her in the middle of the terminal.
Our eyes crash into each other, and I swear I get this urge to kiss the fuck out of her, but of course, I don’t. “Before what?” I ask her, knowing full well she didn’t say before, but indeed said her gate number, because my flight’s out of the same one.
Her eyes twinkle as she smiles. “No, B-4,” she says, emphasizing the b and the number.
I smile wide. “I was kissing. I mean, kidding,” I say, stumbling over my words.
Her eyes widen as her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink. God, she’s so fucking adorable it hurts to look at her.
“York Steele, over here,” a woman, with her phone out, pointed at me, says.
I can tell she’s filming, and I step a bit behind Noelle, hoping she can shield me from the woman. “Hi, there,” I say, not really feeling friendly. I don’t mind snapping a few photos here and there, but come on, let a man have some privacy.
“Who’s with you? Is that your girlfriend?” Now there’s a small crowd, all with their phones out pointed at me.
“Is it a holiday fling?” another woman asks. “You know how hockey players are. They’re never into anything serious.”
Photos snap of Noelle and I from all angles while everyone asks us of our relationship status. I’d like to just announce that she’s the coach’s daughter, but before I can, somebody else recognizes her.
“That’s Noelle Pearl. Coach Pearl’s daughter. Oh, are you having a secret affair with the coach’s daughter?” some man with a camera asks.
A taller lady smiles at us. “How romantic.”
Click.
Click.
Click.
“Follow me,” Noelle says, grabbing my hand. She marches up to the help desk at our gate and smiles at the lady behind the counter. “Hi, I was wondering if we could wait in the loading bridge until the flight. As you can see this is the York Steele I have with me, and he’s got quite the little fandom growing out there,” Noelle says, pointing at the growing crowd.
The woman behind the desk smiles at me, and then taps away at her computer.
“Please,” I say, hoping it’ll help.
She smiles up at me. “I think we can do that. Let me just check you both in.”
“Thank you,” Noelle says, reaching for her phone to pull up her ticket info.
I do the same, and after a few minutes, the lady, Deanna, opens the door and lets us into the loading bridge.
The door shuts behind us, and I’m grateful to be away from the crowd back at the gate. Noelle lets out a deep breath and slinks against the wall.
“Thank you for that,” I tell her. “Sometimes things get a little crazy.”
“How often does that happen to you?” Her big blue eyes search mine.
“Not too often.” Mainly because I never really go anywhere. To games and that’s about it, but it’s seriously not too often. “It’s mainly places like this. Airports. Anywhere really crowded. Doesn’t help it's only a few days before Christmas.”
Noelle smiles, and damn she’s so pretty. Her long brown hair falls around her shoulders, almost creating this cocoon around her, and I desperately want to be tucked away in there too. It’s crazy how much this woman is affecting me, but she is.
Bad.
We’ve got a little over thirty minutes until our flight, and I’m wondering how we can pass the time. Okay, you’ve guessed correctly, my mind has hit the gutter, and now it’s filled with sexy images that flash through my brain.
My body hardens, and I cough to try to unscramble my thoughts. It’s been a long time since I’ve been intimate with a woman, and honestly, I’m wondering why not.
It’s not like I actively go out looking for women. Lenna and I broke up over two years ago, and since then I haven’t really dated much. There’s been a few hookups here and there, but nothing permanent.
Honestly, with my schedule it’s hard to keep a relationship going strong. It’s why Lenna and I broke up.