The hockey captain & the single mom

Chapter three

Ryan’s face when I told him what I said to Xander was priceless, but what I didn’t expect was Harv’s reaction to Xander, I don’t know if it was because of how close he is with Ryan or because of what Xander did, but I was thankful.

Harv was round this afternoon straight after practise, and it’s clear that he and my mom have taken a liking to each other, which of course I don’t mind, not only because she is old enough to make her own choices but because I’ve liked Harv from the moment I met him and he seems likes he really likes her.

I grabbed Ryans hand and pulled him back into the garden, he hasn’t said a word since I told him what I said to Xander, but his reaction was more than enough to satisfy me I literally had to close his mouth.

Nikki, mom, Carl and Harv are all talking amongst themselves, a few of the other players are talking while their dates are talking to each other

“Surely I haven’t shocked the big bad hockey player that much that he’s lost for words” I chuckle taking a seat next to him on the seat we were on before, his head snaps to me with that comment

“Trust me beautiful, you always shock me, but just for your information I'm trying to decide whether to grab you and kiss you until you can’t breathe or to take this slow and not give in to what my head is telling me to do” well I'll be damned, I know he seen the deep breath I took because he’s wearing his signature s**t eating grin

“If you don’t wipe that smug ass grin off your face, you won’t have to decide” I say back watching his eyebrows raise at my statement

“Don’t f*****g tease me Ems-”

“What you two talking about?” f*****g Carl, I swear he chose the wrong time to join us, but I can’t help but laugh when Ryan smacks the back of his head and leans back with a resigned sigh.

The night has gone by way to fast, as it’s just after midnight and everyone is leaving, I notice that Nikki and Carl snuck off so I know that I’ll be seeing them in the morning. Harv and mom are sitting in the lounge talking leaving Ryan and I in the kitchen, I've already cleaned up most of the kitchen with Ryans help, I told him to go and get some sleep but he refused.

I’m wiping the large kitchen island when two hands land either side of mine essentially trapping me and I don’t need to look to see who it is, not only is my skin on fire but the rings on his tattooed hands gives it away, I turn my head slightly to see him just staring at me

“You know, if you want to kiss me then all you have to do is ask” I smirk not thinking much about my statement, two strong hands grip my waist spinning me around to look into those now dark blue eyes, my hands automatically landed on his chest, and holy s**t even though I could tell he was muscular that is nothing to what he actually is, his eyes are searching mine for any sign of regret of my statement but there is none, his hand wraps around the nape of neck pulling me closer to him, his other hand keeps a strong grip on my wait and his lips are just inches from mine

“f**k it!” that’s all he says before his lips crash to mine, it’s not soft, it’s raw and passionate, he nips my lower lip making a low moan come from my throat and gives him full access to my mouth, his tongue hungrily sweeps at mine and my hands wrap around his neck pulling him impossibly closer while our tongues are fighting for dominance, his hands reach down gripping my bare thighs and he picks me up setting me on the kitchen island, his body between my legs and there’s not an inch of space between our bodies, I don’t want to stop but I can’t breathe.

Pulling back slightly we both breathe heavily while he rests his forehead on mine and we try to catch our breaths

“Whoops, my bad. Don’t mind me-” Carl walks in quickly covering his eyes with his hand while he walks towards the fridge and grabs a bottle of water “Just getting water, carry on” he laughs bumping into the doorframe making us all laugh loudly and now he’s rubbing his head, this guy is too funny.

After Carl’s incident mom and Harv both came to see what was going on, we didn’t have much time to move so Ryan just turned his body slightly I'm guessing it was to hide the hard bulge that had been pressed up against my core only moments ago.

“C’mon De Marco, let’s leave these ladies to get some sleep” Harv says throwing a wink at my mom which should gross me out but instead it made me laugh plus Ryans grunt of annoyance added to my laughter.

Jumping off the island, Ryan took my hand walking towards the door as Harv and mom stayed in the kitchen. He pulled me outside closing the door behind us, but he quickly pulled me straight into his body, his arms around my waist and my arms around my neck, just my green eyes staring into his blue eyes

“Come for breakfast with me tomorrow morning?” he asks, and the vulnerability on his face makes him look so innocent

“Can’t, mom will probably sleep in, and I'll have Blake” I say

“We can take him with us, please Ems?” f**k me how can I say no to that face

“Are you sure?” most men wouldn’t a little one trailing around with them, but he doesn’t seem to mind

“Never been more sure of anything in my life, please say yes” he’s going to be death of me

“Yes, we would love to join you” there was no way I was saying no to him, his lips crash to mine but this time it’s slow, our tongues move in sync as he pulls me even closer to him deepening the kiss before pulling away slightly, his forehead resting on mine again

“If I don’t go now, I won’t leave at all. I’ll pick you and little man up at nine if that’s okay?” I can’t help my reaction, I pull his head back down to mine and claim his mouth with mine, I don’t think I could ever get fed up kissing him.

The door opens and I try to jump back but Ryans arms stay tight around my waist keeping me close as my mom and Harv join us outside

“C’mon captain, let the girl breathe” coach laughs causing mom to laugh

“Nine?” Ryan asks and I give him a nod before he let’s go and starts to walk away but he turns around walking backwards with Harv

“Thanks for having us, Penny. It was a great night” Ryan says while winking at me and I can’t contain the blush or the stupid grin that won’t leave my face, mom and I watch as they get into their cars, and we wave them off before heading inside, as soon as the door closes my mom turns to me with a big ass grin on her face, I shake my head still unable to get the smile off my face and run upstairs.

It took me until half past three to get to sleep but I didn’t bother setting an alarm as I know that Blake will be up about seven. As if on cue at seven exactly, Blake crawled into my bed and snuggled into me, we lay there for ten minutes before I decide to get up.

I sat with a latte while Blake has a slice of toast to keep going until we go out, I decided not to tell him that we are going out with Ryan. I took him back upstairs and he sat on my bed playing with a few toys while I had a quick shower, I didn’t need to wash my hair, so I was no more than ten minutes.

I exited my bathroom to see Nikki sat on my bed playing with Blake and his cars, I walked over to my closet pulling out a pair of light fitted jeans, my black off the shoulder knitted top and my black heeled over the knee boots.

“Oh, looks like momma has a hot date” Nikki chuckles as I shoot her a glare before heading back into bathroom to change. When I exit, I notice that they are both missing but I follow the laughter to Nikki’s bedroom and Carl covers his eyes as soon as I walk in

“Ha Ha very funny” I shoot him a glare, but he laughs and quickly holds his head “Aww poor baby still got a sore head?” I laugh and now it’s his turn to glare at me and I can’t help but laugh at his face

“Well, if you and- cover his ears” Carl points to Blake and Nikki covers his ears “De Marco weren’t getting hot and heavy on the kitchen island then I wouldn’t have had to cover my eyes” now Nikki is in full on giggling fit while still covering my sons' ears

“We weren’t getting it on you moron, you just assumed” now we are all laughing and Nikki’s hands have left Blakes ears, and my little boy is looking between all three of us trying to work out why we are all laughing.

I got Blake dressed in some jeans, his spiderman tshirt and put his Nike trainers on, Nikki took him downstairs while I straightened my hair and put some make up on. I walked into the kitchen where Nikki was making coffee, and I could hear Carl playing with Blake,

We took our coffees into the lounge, it’s only half eight so we sat down and watched the boys playing with the toys

“Momma, where we going?” Blake asks as I finish the last of my latte

“Out for breakfast baby” I say as he sits on my knee

“Okay momma” he says giving me cuddle, god I love this boy.

The doorbell rings and I look at Nikki who goes to answer it, I told her Blake doesn’t know that we are going with Ryan. I stand up and put Blake down and he runs to where he can hear voices

“one,two,three” Carl says and right on cue

“MOMMA! GUESS WHO’S HERE!” my little boy shouts excitedly and Carl and I laugh as we walk through to foyer to see Blake already in Ryans arms, how does he always look so hot, he’s dressed in jeans, a black tshirt and timberland boots and not forgetting the rings that sit on his fingers, the few black and silver bracelets on his wrist and the silver chain around his neck, along with the black baseball cap on his head

“I’m officially losing my baby” I sigh making them all laugh.

“You look beautiful” Ryan says as I walk over towards them and I wish he would stop making me blush

“Aunt Nik Nik, De Marco just called momma beautiful” my son squeals, and everyone is laughing again, jeez my son should be a comedian

“Let’s go before I die of embarrassment” I chuckle, as Ryan who is still holding Blake opens the door for me before following behind, I open my car to get the car seat out

“I’ve got it” Ryan says passing Blake over to me as he easily takes the seat out and places it in his car before strapping it in like pro. I place Blake in his seat strapping him in and close his door and make my way over to the passenger side where Ryan is holding the door open for me, I thank him as he closes the door.

After a short ten-minute drive, Ryan pulls up in front of a little cafe that I’ve never noticed even though I pass this road regularly, I don’t get a chance to open my door before Ryan opens it and takes my hand leading me out before he quickly gets Blake out.

As we enter the young woman wraps her arms around Ryan and my brows lift in confusion, Blake instantly puts his arms out to me, and I take him while watching Ryan hug this woman back

“Ems this is Rhi my sister, Rhi this is Ems my uh-” I can’t help but laugh because how the hell is he going to introduce me, she laughs too pulling me in for hug

“Nice to meet you, Ems, and who is precious little boy?” she coos, and Blake laughs

“This is Blake” Ryan says, “Blake this is my little sister Rhi, do you want to meet someone else?” he asks my son who immediately puts his arms back out for Ryan, f**k my life!

“Take a seat over here” Rhi says leading me to a large booth “don’t worry he will back in a second” she laughs noticing my eyes watching as Ryan disappears with my son, within a minute Ryan walks out of the back room with Blake in one arm and a little girl in his other who looks around the same age as Blake

“Mya, this is Ems, Ems this is my niece Mya” he says and the little girl giggles holding out her book to Blake, the sight makes me happy, he’s in daycare three days a week but to watch him so happy is like winning the lottery.

Ryan sits down in the booth placing Blake beside him after promising Mya that she and Blake can play another day. I now know that Rhi owns this cafe, and her daughter attends the same daycare as Blake.

Rhi took our order not being able to hide her smile which I couldn’t help but mirror, she looks just like Ryan, her dark hair, her eyes, her personality everything matches him.

“You looking forward to game tomorrow?” he asks from opposite me with a smirk

“Yeah, but you’ve got to promise me something”

“Anything” he responds seriously, and it makes my breathe hitch

“You promise to score a goal for him” I say nodding towards Blake who is busying colouring with the book and pens that Rhi gave him

“Absolutely, what do I get if I score more than once?” he says, his eyebrow lifting which makes me laugh, I lean over and motion for him to come closer

“Anything you want” I whisper in his ear, the shock on his face has me laughing and what makes it funnier is that Rhi comes over to the table with the drinks and looks at her brother like he’s crazy

“What’s with him?” she asks me causing me to laugh even harder

“No idea” I say which makes her laugh as she walks away to get the food.

Ryan ordered pancakes, bacon, eggs and topped it with syrup and of course Blake ordered the same thing, I opted for just the pancakes. Conversation flowed easily while earing. I found out that Ryan obviously has his sister and his niece and his parents are still together, and it sounds like they are a close family.

I told him about my dad abandoning my mom when she found out she was pregnant with me, and that I was an only child, I told him about how Nikki and I have been best friends since we were three years old, I told him that I would tell him about Blakes dad when we were alone as Blake doesn’t need to hear any of that.

We finished up and when we were getting ready to leave, we argued back and forth about who was going to pay he said that I wasn’t allowed to pay and I was telling him that I like to pay my way, we compromised he was paying for the meal and I was tipping although he still wasn’t happy with that especially when I left a tip that was the exact amount as the meal.

After hugging Rhi and Mya we all left and of course Blake was in Ryans arms, and he sat Blake in his car seat. The drive back home was filled with laughter as Blake kept talking about the game tomorrow, as Ryan pulled the car up, he got out and immediately got Blake out of his seat when my mom appeared in the doorway with a knowing smirk on her face

“I’ll take him inside” mom chuckled taking Blake from Ryan

“Bye De Marco. I’ll be watching you tomorrow” he giggles giving Ryan a kiss on the cheek from mom's arms, uuggghhh my ovaries can’t cope!

“See ya little man, you make sure you and momma come see me after the game, okay?” and of course my son starts squealing again while nodding as my mom took him inside

I opened my car door as Ryan got the car seat out and attached it firmly back into my car. He took my hand leading me to the front door but before I had a chance to say anything he had his arms wrapped around me and we were inches apart

“f**k, I've been waiting to do this” his hand grabbed the back of my head pulling me closer to his body, his other hand pulled my chin up and his lips collided with mine instantly making me melt, s**t this is too much.

We both pulled away when Ryan’s head shot up “I still haven’t got your number” he stated making us both laugh, he took his phone out of his pocket and handed me it, I entered my number and saved it before handing him his phone back and he instantly called my phone

“Better, now we have each other's numbers-” I pulled him to me this time, not being able to get enough of him, his tongue instantly tried to fight mine for dominance, but I fought back just as hard earning a moan from him which went straight to my core

“f**k, if I don’t go now, I'm never going to leave for practise” he breathed out heavily

“We will see you at the game tomorrow” I almost whisper but it’s because I'm still trying to regulate my breathing

“I don’t think I can wait until then, can you get someone to watch Blake tonight? Then I can take you out somewhere?” I mentally think about Nikki and mom's schedules, I'm sure I can make it work

“I’ll see what I can do, but it would have to be after Blake is in bed” I say

“That’s fine, beautiful. I really should go” he says still with his forehead pressed against mine

“Okay, I'll let you know once I've spoken to mom and Nikki”

“Okay” he says pressing a soft and gentle kiss to my lips, I wait until he’s in the car before I head inside, as soon as I turn from closing the door I'm met by four sets of eyes all staring me

“Well, well, well... so are you two together then?” Nikki asks with her arms crossed over her chest everyone copies her stance including Blake who is trying his best to copy but looking between us all trying to work out why adults are so weird, I can’t help but laugh as I walk into the kitchen but everyone follows, f*****g great!

“No, we are not together” I say looking at them all “I don’t know what’s going on okay” I say, and carl c***s a brow at me again

“Do I have to give him the big brother, the brother-in-law, the whatever I am fudging talk?” Carl says making everyone burst out laughing

“You know Nikki’s not my sister, right?” I laugh

“Oh ssshhh, I was trying to be cute or nice or whatever, oh bugger you all” he says throwing his arms around making us laugh even more

“Thank you, Carl, but no you don’t” I try to say with a straight face while mom and Nikki have tears streaming down their faces.

“Uh, so, are any of you free tonight?” I mumble now they all burst out laughing and Blake starts doing his hilarious little belly laugh

“And you’re not together, yeah right!” Nikki laughs

“We’ll all be here. You go out and enjoy yourself baby” mom says wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

I messaged Ryan and told him I had childcare covered and he told me to dress comfy/casual which piqued my interest. He said he would pick me up at eight as Blake will be in bed at seven as he has daycare tomorrow.

I spent the rest of the day playing with Blake and while he played quietly, I got the profiles ready for tomorrow, so I won’t have to be in the office for as long. Some of the video recordings shocked me, there was a clip where Ryan and I were just staring at each other on ice, and there was a clip of me on the ice by myself, skating around.

I bathed Blake and while he had a cup of milk before bed I changed into an above the knee flowy black skirt, a black lace top that sat nicely in the waist of my skirt. I got Blake tucked into bed, he was asleep before I even left his room and I finished getting ready, curling my hair and applying some make up before sliding into my heeled black over the knee boots, I know he said comfy casual and that is exactly what this outfit is.

Slipping my black leather coat on, I headed downstairs prepared for the comments that were to come from the three grown children

“Holy s**t, he’s going to lose his mind” Nikki says giving me a whistle

“I was going to say he’s going to blow his load but your moms here so I better not, s**t I’ve already said it” he laughs getting a slap on either bicep from mom and Nikki

“You look beautiful baby” mom says giving me a hug just as the doorbell rings, and butterflies erupt in my stomach.

I open the door and if looks could make your panties drop well mine wouldn’t just on the floor, they would be deep in the underworld, his blue eyes scan me from head to toe and his gaze feels like it’s burning through my skin

“Holy fu- uh hi” he says his eyes going behind me to the three pairs of eyes

“Good evening” they all say in sync

“Should we go before you get the whole speech?” I say with a laugh, and he nods before taking my hand and laughs waving goodbye closing the door behind us.

The car ride only takes fifteen minutes and it’s quiet besides the soft hum of music, he pulls onto a dirt road and continues to drive, I can see a building in the distance. As we get closer, I see it's beautiful three storey house, it’s stunning and looks modern. There are no other properties around

“Have you taken me here to kill me?” I ask with amusement, his eyes meet mine and his hand finds my thigh as we come to a stop in front of the property

“Trust me, the last thing I would bring you here for is to kill you” he smirks before exiting his Audi R8 and coming round to open the passenger door for me, taking my hand, he leads me up the three steps and unlocks the door, it’s f*****g beautiful.

The floor to ceiling windows brightens the rooms even though darkness is approaching, he leads us through into a huge open plan kitchen and dining room

“Want a tour?” he asks still gripping my hand and I nod, we walk back the foyer and into the large lounge that looks more like movie room “this is my favourite room” he says as I take in the grey walls and the huge screen that takes up the full wall, the black leather movie looking chairs are lined up with seating for easily thirty plus people.

He leads us up the grand staircase that ends with two family bathrooms and three bedrooms and he leads us up the final set of stairs where there is one family bathroom, a guest bedroom that looks like it’s set up for Mya, with a small double bed, storage units with boxes of toys then we reach the master bedroom, the white walls are contrasted by the black furniture, a huge tv hangs on the wall in front of the large queen sized bed, the floor to wall window gives the perfect view of the large area of land that contains a pool, a hot tub, a large seating area and some children's toys

“It’s beautiful”