“Everyone’s looking,” she murmured against my lips.
“That’s the whole point, isn’t it?” I said back to her, just as quietly.
Her gaze fell downward, and she said, “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Hey,” I said, lifting her chin up with my glove. “I’ll come back after you guys practice and we’ll play for a bit?”
That brought out a big smile. “Okay,” she said, sounding much happier now.
“Moreau, move it along, boy,” I heard one of the assistant coaches yell.
“Gotta go. Later,” I said, then took off back where I came from.
“What’swith the lip-lock on the ice?” Luis asked me in the dressing room.
I peered up at him and answered, “We’re together now.” His eyebrows raised up nearly to his hairline.
“Are you kidding me? How can that be? I thought that was against the damn rules?”
“Beau Moreau is above the law, don’t you know that by now?” Trey said, a crappy little smile on his annoying as hell mouth. “And they’re more than just dating, he’s moved into her place.”
The dressing room quieted down to near silence. Damn, it was time. “Yeah, like I said, Gigi and I are together now.”
“So, I guess she’s not gay after all?” Edwards asked, garnering a few chuckles.
“We’re together. That’s all you guys need to know. None of this affects our team. Nothing changes here,” I told them, and that was the God’s honest truth.
I was really hoping they’d drop it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. “Does this mean the other chicks are back on the table?” Luis asked, and I had expected that question.
“No, this thing between me and G—just kind of happened. We didn’t plan for it. The house rules still stand.”
“Whatever,” Luis said as he took off toward the showers, sounding more than a little pissed.
“Congrats, man,” Isaac said, giving my shoulder a hard pat. “Happy for ya. You two look real cute together. Noticed you in the hot tub a couple times,” he said with a low voice. A big smile crossed his face. “Not a surprise a guy would lock down a lady like that. Don’t blame you a bit. In fact, I probably would have done the same thing.” He was completely bullshitting me right now. Isaac was in love with his much younger, Brazilian, model wife. “Just don’t tell Francisca,” he said, then slapped me on the back as he laughed and walked away.
A few of the guys sent dirty looks in my direction. I let out a deep breath, hoping but not optimistic this would be the end of it.
“What happened between you two?”Gigi asked as she chased me down the ice. She had no hope of catching me, but hell it was fun having her try.
“Concentrate on the flat, black thing on the ice, Martin,” I said with a smile, huffing a bit to go faster because she’d almost caught up.
Before I knew it, her stick was around my waist, hooking me in the world’s worst attempt at a penalty. I reached down and grabbed a hold of her stick. “Pretty sure that’s not allowed, Martin. Last time I checked, anyway. I mean, I’m certainly no expert, so you go ahead and check the rule book for me.”
I didn’t let go of her stick, instead I turned around, skating backward as she pushed. “My rule book says it’s perfectly fine if someone won’t tell you the truth.”
“Damn, is that in the fine print?” I asked, still going backward.
“Why won’t you tell me?” she asked, her tone firm.
“Stop whining, Geneviève. You sound like the puppies.” I smiled and teased her.
All of a sudden, her expression and voice changed. “Oh, I miss those smooshy babies. We should go home.”
Whenever G talked about the puppies, she turned into a completely different person. She was soft and gushy, and her entire demeanor changed.
The way she was with the dogs was ridiculous. She treated them as though they were her actual babies. When Gigi had kids, she was going to be a fantastic, loving mom.
A flash played in my mind’s eye. Me, Gigi, and two dark-headed children—actual humans, not dogs—playing in a field of daisies.