Tonight You're On My Mind
Chapter 11
The alarm on her phone woke her and Marie wasn’t quite sure where she was for a moment. The bed felt unfamiliar and there was something warm beneath her. Brooks, her brain reminded her. You’re in his guest room. And he was in his guest room too. In fact, he was lying on his back with his arm beneath her head. She was nestled comfortably in the crook of his good shoulder, one hand on his bare chest and her leg thrown over his rock-hard thigh.
Fuck me, she thought, trying to extract herself without waking him. The phone alarm was progressively getting louder. The last thing she remembered was both of them staring at the ceiling and listening to Frank Ocean. They must have fallen asleep and ended up tangled together.
She finally freed herself and grabbed the phone off the nightstand to silence the alarm. When she looked back over to him she saw the way his shorts were tented up. Jesus, she needed to get out of here. She was in bed with Brooks Laich and he had a boner. And she hadn’t had the pleasure of touching one in two years. His was probably especially nice. Perfect, just like the rest of him.
Why did she turn down that pity fuck, anyway? It’d be the best night of her life. And it would ruin her friendship with him.
He shifted in bed and opened his eyes. She saw the disorientation in his face and then he smiled warmly at her. “Hey, penguin.”
“Good morning,” she replied, scooting away. “How does your shoulder feel?”
He flexed it and winced. “Sore. What time is it?”
“Six-thirty. I need to get moving if I don’t want to be late for work.”
His face went unreadable. Blank. The warmth there had disappeared. “Okay,” he replied.
She changed back into the clothes she’d worn over to his house and cleaned up the mess they’d left in his kitchen while he sat at the island eating a bowl of Cheerios. She could feel his eyes on her as she moved around. It was unnerving, like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t or wouldn’t.
When she’d tossed the last container in the trash, she turned to him. “I should be going. I had a good time last night. At the game and... after. I guess I’ll see you around?”
He stood up and followed her to the door. “You’re leaving this evening or tomorrow morning.”
“Probably this evening after I wrap up things here. I should be back home by eight or nine o’clock.”
“Will you text me so I know you’re safe?”
Marie nodded. “Of course. Take care of this,” she said, placing a hand on his injured shoulder. He was still shirtless and his skin was radiating heat. She was reluctant to let go of him. He was gorgeous, standing there in all his glory, no shirt with his chest and stomach on display, his wide shoulders making him look intimidating and manly. And he looked sad that she was leaving. It made her feel like her heart had been scooped out of her chest and discarded.
************************************
She texted him when she got home. He asked her to listen to music with him. Despite feeling wiped out from a long day of work made even longer by the four hour drive, she agreed. Saying no to Brooks just wasn’t an ability she had anymore.
Marie rested in her bed in the dark and listened to Jeff Buckley with him. Lover You Should’ve Come Over brought tears to her eyes.
*Lonely is the room, the bed is made, the open window lets the rain in. Burning in the corner is the only one who dreams he had you with him. My body turns and yearns for a sleep that won’t ever come.*
Goddamn him, she thought. If only they were listening to this because he wanted to say these words to her. She’d drop everything. She’d move to D.C. She’d wear his jersey for every fucking hockey game. She’d cross her fingers and hope the Caps won the Cup just so he could be happy.
Marie cried herself to sleep, exhaustion finally taking over. She didn’t get his last text until the next morning.
Brooks: I miss you.
*************************************
Marie was sitting at her desk. She couldn’t concentrate on work. She kept looking at his message from the previous night. Giving up, she walked outside. Despite April being two days away, it was still cold. Her breath turned into a mist in front of her face. The phone rang three times.
“What’s up, sis?” Derrick answered.
“I need brotherly advice.”
“Are you calling me about Laich?”
She sighed. “Fuck you.”
“I knew it.” He seemed pleased with himself.
“I need you to tell me that I should move on with my life and get a grip.”
Derrick cleared his throat. “I can’t give advice until I know what the situation is.”
“Just repeat what I said.”
“Call him and tell him you’re in love with him.”
His words rocked her back on her heels. She sat down heavily on the wooden bench outside the office.
“Marie?” Derrick said when she didn’t respond. “I was joking, but it doesn’t sound like you are.”
“I’m not in love with him.” Her voice sounded far away, like it belonged to someone else.
“Don’t lie to me. What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me,” he insisted. “Tell me or I’ll call him and ask him why he’s driving my baby sister crazy.”
She sighed. “I saw him when I went to D.C. this week to process some new hires. We had dinner and I went to see him play.”
“Yeah, I heard he got hurt. Upper body. Supposedly he’s out for a while. Blogs are saying four weeks.”
“I know,” she said. “I spent the night at his house.”
“What?” Derrick exclaimed. He sounded genuinely surprised, despite his recent teasing.
“Don’t,” she said. “Nothing happened. I took him dinner since his shoulder is hurt. He’s in a sling. I slept in his guest room.”
“By yourself?”
She swallowed. “No. He stayed with me, but we did NOT have sex, so don’t be gross.”
“You slept in a bed with Brooks Laich, but nothing happened.” Derrick didn’t sound convinced.
“We listened to music and fell asleep. He was worn out after the game.”
“Did he try anything?”
“No.”
“Did he try anything the night you went to dinner?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. Marie had hoped this wouldn’t come up in conversation. “He insinuated something the night before.”
“What did he insinuate, Marie?”
“Uh, that if I needed a friends with benefits situation that he might be game.”
Derrick didn’t respond right away.
“Derrick?” she asked.
“What exactly did he say?”
She sighed. “I don’t know, Derrick. It was a blur. I told him that I didn’t want any kind of pity sex. He apologized and backed off.”
“I’m going to be really fucking grown up here, sis. I think you should probably sit down and lay it all on the table with him. Figure out what he wants and what you want.”
Marie rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t want what I want, trust me.”
“What do you want?”
She shook her head. “Forget it. I have to go. Bye.”
**********************************
It was nine o’clock and she had resisted calling him, resisted even texting him. It was dangerous because she was falling for him. But the truth was that she missed him too. No amount of fear was going to change that fact.
She pulled his number up on her screen and pressed the button to dial him. He answered on the second ring.
“Hey, penguin.”
She melted onto the couch. “Hey, twenty-one. I miss you, too.”
“Good.”
Marie chuckled. “How is your shoulder? Derrick says the blogs are abuzz. Something about four weeks.”
“Three to six. Depends on how quickly I heal. I’m on rest for now. No workouts or strenuous activity.”
“Are you going crazy?”
“So crazy,” he agreed. “You should come visit me this weekend and keep me company.
She smiled. “I just got back from D.C.”
“I’ll book you a ticket so you don’t have to drive.”
“You will not! Don’t waste your money on that.” Really, she wanted to tell him to please waste his money on flying her out to see him.
“I waste my money on worse things. You could come feed me since all I can do is pour cereal in a bowl and dial my phone to order a pizza.”
“Maybe I’ll come visit next weekend.”
“My guest room belongs to you, penguin.” He sounded genuinely happy at her offer and that made Marie grin. As much as she tortured herself over her feelings for Brooks, she always felt giddy when she was able to spend time with him, in person or over the phone.
“What are you up to tonight?”
“Nothing. What are you up to?”
“I’ve got a hot date,” she said.
He was silent before saying, “Oh.”
“With this hockey player on the phone,” she added.
She could hear him smiling when he responded. “Is he cute?”
“Oh boy, you don’t even know the half of it. I saw him with his shirt off once. I almost passed out.”
“What’s on the agenda?”
“Want to listen to a new album I just got?”
“Definitely,” Brooks said.
“O’Spada. Swedish band. Funkalicious eighties throwback.”
He chuckled and said, “Let me download it. Can we stay on the phone instead of texting?”
Marie felt her heart thump in her chest. This boy, this boy. He was going to make her fall in love from over two hundred miles away. Tonight she felt reckless, though. “Yes, I’d love that.”
Within five minutes he was back on the line and telling her when he was going to start the album. They were able to coordinate the start time better on the phone. She could hear the rich sounds of the production coming out of her nice speakers, but it was echoed through the tiny phone speaker.
Halfway through the second song Brooks said, “This is so you.” He sounded amused.
“Do you like it?”
“Of course I do, penguin. I love it.”
She smiled into her phone and laid herself back on the couch. “I love listening to music with you. It makes it so much... better.”
Fuck me, she thought, trying to extract herself without waking him. The phone alarm was progressively getting louder. The last thing she remembered was both of them staring at the ceiling and listening to Frank Ocean. They must have fallen asleep and ended up tangled together.
She finally freed herself and grabbed the phone off the nightstand to silence the alarm. When she looked back over to him she saw the way his shorts were tented up. Jesus, she needed to get out of here. She was in bed with Brooks Laich and he had a boner. And she hadn’t had the pleasure of touching one in two years. His was probably especially nice. Perfect, just like the rest of him.
Why did she turn down that pity fuck, anyway? It’d be the best night of her life. And it would ruin her friendship with him.
He shifted in bed and opened his eyes. She saw the disorientation in his face and then he smiled warmly at her. “Hey, penguin.”
“Good morning,” she replied, scooting away. “How does your shoulder feel?”
He flexed it and winced. “Sore. What time is it?”
“Six-thirty. I need to get moving if I don’t want to be late for work.”
His face went unreadable. Blank. The warmth there had disappeared. “Okay,” he replied.
She changed back into the clothes she’d worn over to his house and cleaned up the mess they’d left in his kitchen while he sat at the island eating a bowl of Cheerios. She could feel his eyes on her as she moved around. It was unnerving, like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t or wouldn’t.
When she’d tossed the last container in the trash, she turned to him. “I should be going. I had a good time last night. At the game and... after. I guess I’ll see you around?”
He stood up and followed her to the door. “You’re leaving this evening or tomorrow morning.”
“Probably this evening after I wrap up things here. I should be back home by eight or nine o’clock.”
“Will you text me so I know you’re safe?”
Marie nodded. “Of course. Take care of this,” she said, placing a hand on his injured shoulder. He was still shirtless and his skin was radiating heat. She was reluctant to let go of him. He was gorgeous, standing there in all his glory, no shirt with his chest and stomach on display, his wide shoulders making him look intimidating and manly. And he looked sad that she was leaving. It made her feel like her heart had been scooped out of her chest and discarded.
************************************
She texted him when she got home. He asked her to listen to music with him. Despite feeling wiped out from a long day of work made even longer by the four hour drive, she agreed. Saying no to Brooks just wasn’t an ability she had anymore.
Marie rested in her bed in the dark and listened to Jeff Buckley with him. Lover You Should’ve Come Over brought tears to her eyes.
*Lonely is the room, the bed is made, the open window lets the rain in. Burning in the corner is the only one who dreams he had you with him. My body turns and yearns for a sleep that won’t ever come.*
Goddamn him, she thought. If only they were listening to this because he wanted to say these words to her. She’d drop everything. She’d move to D.C. She’d wear his jersey for every fucking hockey game. She’d cross her fingers and hope the Caps won the Cup just so he could be happy.
Marie cried herself to sleep, exhaustion finally taking over. She didn’t get his last text until the next morning.
Brooks: I miss you.
*************************************
Marie was sitting at her desk. She couldn’t concentrate on work. She kept looking at his message from the previous night. Giving up, she walked outside. Despite April being two days away, it was still cold. Her breath turned into a mist in front of her face. The phone rang three times.
“What’s up, sis?” Derrick answered.
“I need brotherly advice.”
“Are you calling me about Laich?”
She sighed. “Fuck you.”
“I knew it.” He seemed pleased with himself.
“I need you to tell me that I should move on with my life and get a grip.”
Derrick cleared his throat. “I can’t give advice until I know what the situation is.”
“Just repeat what I said.”
“Call him and tell him you’re in love with him.”
His words rocked her back on her heels. She sat down heavily on the wooden bench outside the office.
“Marie?” Derrick said when she didn’t respond. “I was joking, but it doesn’t sound like you are.”
“I’m not in love with him.” Her voice sounded far away, like it belonged to someone else.
“Don’t lie to me. What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me,” he insisted. “Tell me or I’ll call him and ask him why he’s driving my baby sister crazy.”
She sighed. “I saw him when I went to D.C. this week to process some new hires. We had dinner and I went to see him play.”
“Yeah, I heard he got hurt. Upper body. Supposedly he’s out for a while. Blogs are saying four weeks.”
“I know,” she said. “I spent the night at his house.”
“What?” Derrick exclaimed. He sounded genuinely surprised, despite his recent teasing.
“Don’t,” she said. “Nothing happened. I took him dinner since his shoulder is hurt. He’s in a sling. I slept in his guest room.”
“By yourself?”
She swallowed. “No. He stayed with me, but we did NOT have sex, so don’t be gross.”
“You slept in a bed with Brooks Laich, but nothing happened.” Derrick didn’t sound convinced.
“We listened to music and fell asleep. He was worn out after the game.”
“Did he try anything?”
“No.”
“Did he try anything the night you went to dinner?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. Marie had hoped this wouldn’t come up in conversation. “He insinuated something the night before.”
“What did he insinuate, Marie?”
“Uh, that if I needed a friends with benefits situation that he might be game.”
Derrick didn’t respond right away.
“Derrick?” she asked.
“What exactly did he say?”
She sighed. “I don’t know, Derrick. It was a blur. I told him that I didn’t want any kind of pity sex. He apologized and backed off.”
“I’m going to be really fucking grown up here, sis. I think you should probably sit down and lay it all on the table with him. Figure out what he wants and what you want.”
Marie rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t want what I want, trust me.”
“What do you want?”
She shook her head. “Forget it. I have to go. Bye.”
**********************************
It was nine o’clock and she had resisted calling him, resisted even texting him. It was dangerous because she was falling for him. But the truth was that she missed him too. No amount of fear was going to change that fact.
She pulled his number up on her screen and pressed the button to dial him. He answered on the second ring.
“Hey, penguin.”
She melted onto the couch. “Hey, twenty-one. I miss you, too.”
“Good.”
Marie chuckled. “How is your shoulder? Derrick says the blogs are abuzz. Something about four weeks.”
“Three to six. Depends on how quickly I heal. I’m on rest for now. No workouts or strenuous activity.”
“Are you going crazy?”
“So crazy,” he agreed. “You should come visit me this weekend and keep me company.
She smiled. “I just got back from D.C.”
“I’ll book you a ticket so you don’t have to drive.”
“You will not! Don’t waste your money on that.” Really, she wanted to tell him to please waste his money on flying her out to see him.
“I waste my money on worse things. You could come feed me since all I can do is pour cereal in a bowl and dial my phone to order a pizza.”
“Maybe I’ll come visit next weekend.”
“My guest room belongs to you, penguin.” He sounded genuinely happy at her offer and that made Marie grin. As much as she tortured herself over her feelings for Brooks, she always felt giddy when she was able to spend time with him, in person or over the phone.
“What are you up to tonight?”
“Nothing. What are you up to?”
“I’ve got a hot date,” she said.
He was silent before saying, “Oh.”
“With this hockey player on the phone,” she added.
She could hear him smiling when he responded. “Is he cute?”
“Oh boy, you don’t even know the half of it. I saw him with his shirt off once. I almost passed out.”
“What’s on the agenda?”
“Want to listen to a new album I just got?”
“Definitely,” Brooks said.
“O’Spada. Swedish band. Funkalicious eighties throwback.”
He chuckled and said, “Let me download it. Can we stay on the phone instead of texting?”
Marie felt her heart thump in her chest. This boy, this boy. He was going to make her fall in love from over two hundred miles away. Tonight she felt reckless, though. “Yes, I’d love that.”
Within five minutes he was back on the line and telling her when he was going to start the album. They were able to coordinate the start time better on the phone. She could hear the rich sounds of the production coming out of her nice speakers, but it was echoed through the tiny phone speaker.
Halfway through the second song Brooks said, “This is so you.” He sounded amused.
“Do you like it?”
“Of course I do, penguin. I love it.”
She smiled into her phone and laid herself back on the couch. “I love listening to music with you. It makes it so much... better.”
Notes
I've got the itch to write again, but I can't drum up inspiration to my two WIPs. Nor do I know who/what I want to write about. If you love or are intrigued by an NHL player whom you feel doesn't get enough love, drop me a message with their name. After I investigate, I may do a one-shot (or more) on them to cleanse my palate and get back into the groove of my WIPs. No worries on this story, though; it's finished and I will continue posting a chapter a day.If you'd like to hear the Jeff Buckley song from the beginning of the chapter, you may do so here:
Lover, You Should've Come Over
And if you'd like to hear the first two songs off the O'Spada album mentioned at the end of the chapter, you may do so here:
Time
Ten Strikes
8/2/13