After a long exhausting workout with Gregory, Benoit really enjoyed the shower. They’d stayed half an hour longer than they’d intended to, but it was worth it. He had to get Kara off his mind for some time and working out was the best way to do that. Feeling your muscles burn, the adrenaline rushing through your body, made him think of other things.
Now that he was standing beneath the cool water in the shower, he had to think of Kara again. He wanted to know more about her, get to know every part of her body as well. Bust most of all he wanted to know what made her tick, the things she liked and the ones she hated. The only problem was, that, whenever they were alone somewhere, he had to kiss her. When the others were around it was hard for him to keep his hands to himself and not touch her wonderful body with curves in all the right places for him.
“Putain de merde!” he said rather loudly, turned off the water and got out of the shower. He quickly dried off and put on boxer briefs, a pair of jeans and a white shirt. As soon as he was out of the bathroom, he heard a knock on the door. When he opened the door, he found Tyler, Greg and Brad.
“Hey, a couple of the guys wanted to go out.” Tyler looked up at him with a huge grin on his face. That could only mean one thing. “Grab something to eat and then, you know…”
“You gonna join us?” Brad crossed his arms, the same dopey smile on his face as Tyler had. They behaved like they’d never seen a naked woman before.
“Sounds tempting,” Benoit said with a slight smile on his lips. “But I’ll pass. I wanted to get some more sleep before tomorrow’s game and maybe finish the book I’m reading.”
“Boo, you’re lame.” Tyler turned around and left the three of them standing there. Clearly he couldn’t wait to get going.
“Don’t mind him,” Greg said and shook his head. “We’ll see you in the morning then.”
“Have fun.” Benoit closed the door behind them and took a deep breath. He really didn’t want to go out with the guys tonight. Not that he didn’t like spending time with them, but he had something else in mind.
His hair was nearly completely dried when he was finished with putting on socks and shoes. One last look in the mirror showed him that he should probably shave the next morning, but except for that he was good to go. From Coach Claude he knew where Kara’s room was. He knew where everybody was located.
He took the stairs to the floor below his, searched for the number and knocked.
“Who is it?” he heard Kara’s voice from inside.
“It’s me, Kara.” He put one of his hands on the doorframe. “Open up.” Utter silence. She didn’t open the door or say a word to him, which got him a little worried. “Kara, are you alright?”
“What?” She finally reacted again. Pouliot breathed a sigh of relief, but the door didn’t open just yet. “What do you want?” She didn’t sound defiant, just curios.
“Open up and I’ll tell you.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he rested his weight on his right foot.
Finally she cracked the door open. The makeup from the interview was still on her face, her cheeks were a little flushed, her hair a bit disheveled. She’d only changed out of the blouse and into a grey t-shirt. Her feet were bare, revealing red-painted toenails.
“Are you alright?” Benoit asked again, looking her in the eyes again.
“Yes.” She stood up a little straighter. “I thought you were out with the other guys.”
“No. I didn’t want to go tonight.” He uncrossed his arms again, smiling a little at her. “But I thought you might want to join me for dinner. Better than eating alone.”
She pondered over this offer for a few seconds but smiled in the end and nodded: “Sounds good to me. Just give me a second.”
She left the door open as she turned around. She put the keycard in her pocket, her mobile phone stayed on the table. High heels were not necessary, so she put on her converse, grabbed a cardigan and went back to Benoit. They rode the elevator down and went to the hotel restaurant.
They both ordered water and steak without even hesitating, then there was this awkward silence. Luckily Kara knew how to break this: “What did you even do all day? I knew you wanted to work out, but apart from that?”
“Nothing really.” Benoit leaned back and tried to concentrate on her face and not let his gaze travel over her body. But, to be honest, her face, her lips, were enough to make him think of all the things he wanted to do to and with her right now. “I worked out with the guys, took a long shower and then I came to you. Now we’re here.” He shrugged his shoulders. “That was basically it.”
“What?” Kara looked at her watch, then back at Benoit again. “Are you crazy?” The laugh that erupted from deep within him sent shivers down Kara’s spine.
“You could call it that.” He thanked the waiter for their glasses and took a sip from his water. “I’m a hockey player, I need to work out. And I quite enjoy it.”
“I couldn’t do that.” Kara shook her head. “I mean, I go for runs sometimes or on the cross trainer and I do boxing every now and then, but that’s about it.”
“Well, it certainly serves you well, Kara.”
“I could do with working out a bit more. Losing a few pounds here and there wouldn’t be so bad.” She shrugged her shoulders and didn’t even think about what she was saying anymore, which meant that she felt comfortable with Benoit. “I could do with a smaller ass, but it’s my own fault, because I love food so much.”
Was she serious? This couldn’t be right. Her ass was perfect. Should he tell her or would that be considered inappropriate. Well fuck inappropriate, he was a hockey player, she wrote erotic fiction, so he could very well say this out loud.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your ass.” The waiter chose that moment to appear with their food. This time Benny ignored him. “It fits perfectly in my hands and even Greg likes it.”
“What?” That seemed to be her favorite word of the evening. Her cheeks turned slightly pink and she tried to hide her face behind her glass.
“It’s true.” Benoit grinned at her. The woman of so many words blushed at one little compliment. If you could consider this a compliment. “The first day we met you. He watched your butt as you walked away.”
“Oh God,” Kara mumbled running a hand over her face. “Why are you talking about my butt?”
“Because we’re guys. You should know how guys act and what they think. You’re writing about it.”
“Yeah, but talking to someone about this is something different than writing about it and creating something in my mind.” She sighed and brushed her hair back. One strand always fell back in front of her eyes. “What I write is fiction. Hearing that someone talked about my butt is reality and it has never happened before.”
“I’m pretty sure a lot of guys have talked about your butt or your body in general before, they just haven’t told you about this.” Kara blushed even more and tried to concentrate on her food. This conversation was definitely something new. She should be used to talks like this from her writing, but she wasn’t. Fiction and reality.
“Could you please stop making me blush?” She looked up again.
“How about we just change the topic?” Even though he’d love to see her like this for a little bit longer, he stopped. He wanted this to be a nice evening for both of them.