A Hockey Player's Proposal (Oh Captain, My Captain #2) (10 page)

“You need to let Bonkers in,” she says.

I get back up and open the door. Bonkers runs in and jumps on the bed. I laugh at the dog and lay next to Selene. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her neck. There's no place I rather be than with my girl.

Selene

Brody must've had a busy day because he’s already fallen asleep. My mind can’t begin to focus on any one thing right now. Where do I start? He bought me a car, admitted feelings for me, and then fucked me senseless. I don’t really know what to think. I want to talk this over, but it’s late and I rather not call Allison. Brody said we’re friends, and I need a friend. Rolling over to face him, I take a moment to cherish how adorable he looks sleeping. His lips are parted as he slightly snores and with his eyes closed, you can see how long his eyelashes are.

“Brody?” I whisper.

He squeezes his arms tighter, not opening his eyes as he sleepily says, “Yeah, babe?”

First baby and now babe? I would giggle if the purpose of me waking him up in the first place wasn’t looming over me. When I don’t say anything right away, he opens his eyes.

“Everything okay?” He squints, worried.

“I need to talk to my friend.”

That wakes him up. He tugs me closer, kisses the tip of my nose, and asks, “What’s up?”

I don’t know if it’s because of the sweet innocence of his kiss or because he didn’t ask what was wrong, but instead, ‘What’s up?’, but I get the urge to call Allison and gush over this man. Pushing that to the side, I focus on what I want to talk about.

“Can you be Brody, my friend, and not the Brody who’s spending the night and buying me a car? Just for right now.”

“Of course. Talk, Selene. I’ll listen.”

To make it less weird than it already is, I talk about him like he’s someone else. “Okay, so there’s this guy I know and like,” his lips quirk into a smile, “and he would like to date me.”

“But?” he questions goodnaturedly as if I’m not talking about us.

“I’m scared,” I whisper. “You see, he has a stalker who seems to have it out for me and it’s worrying me more than I would like to admit to him. It’s a disturbance between us that’s making everything even more complicated. But that’s not my biggest worry.”

“And what is that?” Brody is doing a really good job at looking like the concerned friend.

With a deep breath, I keep going. “He’s been hurt before and while I know I wouldn’t hurt him in that way, I don’t want to hurt him at all. Ever.” During my pause to evaluate his reaction, Brody speaks.

“I’m sure he trusts you better than anyone not to hurt him. So maybe you should let him worry about that.”

I close my eyes for this next part. “And what about me?”

“You should let him worry about that too.”

Ignoring him and the urge to smile, I continue, “There’s something else. He’s this big shot hockey player and that ties him to the one thing in my life that means the most to me. When we started sleeping together, I was worried that he was going to affect that, but he didn’t. And now, he wants to take it a step further and I...I…” My voice trails into silence.

“You’re scared that he might take that away from you somehow,” he finishes.

I bury my face into his chest and nod. “It’s silly-”

“Selene, stop,” he says softly. Brody hooks a finger under my chin and makes me look at him. “I promise you that won’t change. There is nothing I won’t do to ensure that. I know how much hockey means to you and I don’t want to take it away. You have to believe me.”

“I do, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t scare me any less.”

His lips brush mine as he tells me, “That’s how you know it’s worth the risk. If you’re scared to lose it all, then you know it’s something that’s worthy of all that fear. I need you to trust me when I say that how I feel about you merits the leap you need to take to give us a chance. All I need is one.”

Brody’s eyes are confident, trustworthy, and they make me feel safe. I finish pressing our lips together for a slow kiss. “Thank you,” I mumble.

He grins. “You’re welcome. Let’s get some sleep. Some of us need beauty sleep.” Brody holds me even tighter, and I have no problem falling asleep quickly in his arms.

~ ~ ~

“He
bought
you a
car
?” Allison says for the fifth time.

“Let it go already. I have.” Honestly, I rather think about how amazing Brody was when I woke him up last night. He gave me one of the best kisses this morning before he left and told me to call if I needed him, a friend, or if I just wanted to talk. I smile thinking about it.

“Fine. Has anything else happened?”

“He slept over last night.” I shrug like it’s no big deal. All the nerves aside, I’m really excited about us. How can I not be when Brody’s so, well, Brody?

Before Allison can ask her question, our receptionist peeks into my office.

“I’m really sorry to bother you, Selene, but there’s a woman here insisting on seeing you. She doesn’t have an appointment and I told her that would be the only way, but she won’t leave. She’s very adamant on seeing you right now.”

My stomach immediately knots. Surely Jessica isn’t here. Allison gives me a worried look, and I know she’s thinking the same thing. With a gulp, I say, “Bring her on back then.” Our receptionist leaves, appearing moments later with Jessica herself. Oh, no.

“Well, looks like you have a cozy job.” She smirks.

“What are you doing here? You’re not allowed near me, you know that, right?”

“You’re wrong. I’m not allowed around my Brody. You’re brainwashing my boyfriend. He loves me. He belongs with me,” she says fiercely. She wholeheartedly believes everything she’s saying. “I suggest that you stay away from him before something happens to you,” she adds with a grin, reminding me of her note.

My heart freezes mid-beat, but I ignore it. “I have no control over Brody. If he’s not with you, it’s because he doesn’t want to be. I don’t think threatening me is smart either. You should go.” I just want her gone.

“I’m not going anywhere. You’re not listening to me.” She puts her hands on my desk and leans towards me. “Stay away from my boyfriend.” Jessica changes tactics with her next words, “You know, I like your dog. He seems like such a good dog, running around your backyard this morning after Brody left. I would hate for something to happen to him.”

“You’ve been watching me?” I manage to ask. She’s taken away my privacy and innocent moments. My entire body is tense, waiting for her to speak.

“I guess you could say that I was simply checking up on you. You know, to make sure you get the point. Leave. Brody. Alone.”

Her orders, her demeanor, everything about her is pissing me off. “Get. Out. If you ever come around my dog, me, or even Brody, again, I will kick your ass, you crazy bitch. Now leave.”

“Well, just remember that I warned you.” She smiles before turning and leaving.

I’m numb. This isn’t a one time crazy incident. Jessica has officially taken things to another, more dangerous level. Allison seems at a momentary loss for words as well. But I quickly snap out of it, wanting nothing more than to be at home, where I’m supposed to feel safe and comfortable. I stand and grab my things.

“What are you doing?” Allison asks.

“I’m going home. Cancel my appointments for the rest of the day or find a way to fit them into your schedule. I don’t care. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Selene,” she starts.

“Don’t say anything. Come over once you get off and we’ll talk then. For now, I’m going home to Bonkers.”

I don’t give her a chance to object because I’m walking out of my office and outside to my car. My hands are trembling, but I try to focus on driving so I don’t ruin my new car. All I want right now is Bonkers, a lot of alcohol, and Brody. Except Brody is gone for two more days. Jessica’s threats replay in my mind over and over. When I pull into my driveway, I can’t help the look over my shoulder as I rush inside.

Bonkers barks with excitement that I’m home early. I pick him up and crush him to my chest. Oh, thank God. He licks my cheek causing me to laugh, which relieves a bit of stress.

“I’m happy to see you too, Bonkers,” I tell him as I lock my door. As much as I hate it, he probably needs to go out, and I have no choice but to let him go into my backyard. I stand at the door, watching, as I pull out my cell and call Brody. The first time, it goes to voicemail. C’mon, please answer. I redial, starting to panic when I get his voicemail again. The third time, he finally answers.

“Hey, Selene,” he says, and I know he’s smiling. I hate that I’m about to take that away from him. Hearing his voice breaks me into tears. “Selene? What’s wrong? What happened?” he asks, the worry evident.

“She came to my work and threatened me again. She’s been watching us, Brody.” Bonkers runs back inside, so I lock the door and sit at my kitchen table.

Brody is quiet for a heartbeat and then he furiously says, “She did
what
? What did she say?” But then his voice softens. “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. I can catch the next flight and-”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be fine.” I sniff, wipe my eyes, and talk over his objections. “She said that if I didn’t stay away from you, she would hurt Bonkers and me. She was here this morning,” my voice breaks again. “She watched you leave and then watched me let Bonkers out. Once I got her to leave, I came straight home to check on him.”

“Selene, I can come home. I-”

“Allison is coming over and I’m sure she’ll let me stay with her or vice versa. You’re supposed to be working.”

“I don’t give a fuck about work, Selene,” he bursts in frustration. “This is way more important than that. I can miss a game or two. I’m coming one way or another.”

Relief washes through me, but I find myself saying, “That’s not going to make it better. Jessica is going to flip if you come home and we don’t have a clue what she’ll do.”

“And it’s better for me to be there than here. Do not argue with me, Selene. Keep your doors locked, don’t let anyone in except Allison, and I’ll be there soon. I’ll figure something out about Jessica.”

“Okay,” I finally give in. Softly, I add, “Please hurry.”

“I will,” he promises.

We hang up, and I set my phone on the table. I’m suddenly aware of all the open blinds and the glass doors leading to my backyard. What if she’s watching me right now? I stand up so fast, my chair falls backwards, scaring Bonkers. I go around, make sure all the windows are locked and close the view so no one can see inside. Thank goodness I have curtains for the glass doors as well. When I finish, I have no clue what to do with my time until Allison and Brody get here, so I sit in the middle of my couch, call Bonkers, and allow him to soothe me.

My nerves are all over the place. I’m antsy and restless, but I don’t move from my spot. I watch the minutes pass on the clock on the wall. Jessica could be sitting outside, waiting for me to move or leave or who knows what. She’s fucking crazy and obviously unpredictable. A rapid knocking on the door causes me to jump.

“It’s me,” Allison’s voice carries into the house.

I get up to let her in. She hugs me like she hasn’t seen me in days. I can’t help but laugh a little. It quickly dies as I say, “Come inside already.” She does and I lock the door behind her. I go ahead and give her the only update I have. “Brody’s on his way. I’ve just been hanging out with Bonkers.”

We sit on my couch. Allison faces me and asks, “What are y’all going to do about her? Something has to be done.”

“I don’t know. This isn’t something I deal with on a regular basis,” I snap. With a deep breath, I apologize. “Sorry. I have no clue what we’re going to do and it’s stressing me out.”

Allison pats my hand. “It’s okay. I’m stressed too,” she smiles a little in hopes of relaxing me. “You know what you need? Beer and a movie.”

“I don’t really want to,” I object as she gets up and heads to the fridge.

“Find a movie,” she orders. “We’re doing this.”

So I search for a comedy on the TV. We settle into the couch, start the movie, and begin drinking.

Brody

Anger is actually rolling off of me when I get off the phone with my lawyer. How could he have been so stupid as to think I didn’t want that restraining order for Selene too? Coach and the GM aren’t happy that I’m missing another game, but I don’t care. I need to see that Selene is okay. I need to hold her.

As I get off the plane, I hail a taxi. I'll have to come back and get my car later. I don’t want to deal with hassle of getting it from the team parking lot. On the way home, I come up with the perfect idea and quickly call Bradley.

“I need a huge favor from you.” I don’t even let him get ‘hello’ out.

“Why do you sound so panicked?”

I take a deep breath and tell him everything that is going on with Jessica and Selene. The more I talk about it, the angrier I become about everything. I tell Bradley about my plan and hope that he will be able to do it without any problems arising.

“Yeah, I can come early. I don’t have any big projects due right now. If I do have work, it can be done over the internet and email, so that should be fine. Let me talk to my boss, and I can be there tomorrow night.”

“Bradley, I owe you one.”

“Nah, if you’re missing hockey games for this girl, then she must be ‘the one’. I love ya, bro. See ya tomorrow.”

I hang up feeling a little bit of relief. I just need to make sure that Selene is on board. I’m sure that she will be. She sounded so scared on the phone earlier. I don’t want her to be scared.

I think about our conversation before I left. My heart raced at her words. I loved that she talked to me as her friend. It meant a lot to me. I’m not going to lose her because of some crazy ass ex-hookup either. I will do everything in my power to protect her and Bonkers. I pay the cabbie and go straight to Selene’s house. I knock on the door, and Allison opens it. I’m confused for a moment.

“She okay?” I ask, walking into the house. Bonkers jumps all around me, and I feel a small hint of relief for that dog. I pick him up, and he licks my face.

“She’s as well as can be expected. But Brody,” I turn to Allison and she has a worried expression on her face, “that Jessica chick is fucking crazy. You need to nip this quick before someone gets hurt.”

I nod to her. “I have it taken care of. It won’t happen again.”

“Brody?” I turn to see Selene’s beautiful face. I sit Bonkers down and wrap her up in my arms. The smell of fresh flowers hits me, and I know she’s okay.

“Well, now that Mr. Captain is here, I’m going to take off,” Allison announces.

“Thank you for staying with me.” Selene leaves my arms and hugs her friend.

“I’ll walk you out,” I tell her.

I don’t want anything to happen to her either. At this point, I don’t know what Jessica is capable of. I make sure Allison is in her car and out of the driveway before I go back into the house. Selene is wrapped up on the couch in a blanket with Bonkers on her lap. I sit next to her and put my arms around her. On the TV is the game. Selene looks sad, staring at the screen.

“Are you okay?” I whisper in her ear.

She looks at me, and I see the sadness in her eyes. It pains me to see her like this. “I’m better now that you're here, but I’m still a little scared. I hate to admit that,” her voice cracks a little bit.

“You have every right to be scared, but I’ve taken care of everything. I even have a plan.”

“Brody,” she starts, but I cut her off.

“No, I’m not going to miss any more games. Everyone is mad because I missed this one.” I point to the TV as the Mustangs are getting ready for another face off. “My brother is coming here to stay with you. He should be here tomorrow night.”

“Your brother?”

“Yes, he is going to be with you day and night until we can get this figured out. Plus, I chewed my lawyer out that you weren’t part of that restraining order too. Trust me, he won’t forget your name ever again.”

She looks deeply into my eyes. “Thank you, Brody.” She gives me a sad smile. It’s then that I realize that I would do anything for her. I don’t want her to give me a sad smile. I want her to be happy, and I want her happy with me.

“I’ll do anything to keep you safe. Anything.” I kiss her softly on her lips. Of course, Bonkers gets jealous and jumps up in between us. When we look at him, he is staring at us, wagging his tail like a mad man. We both laugh at him. Leave it to the dog to make us laugh. Selene snuggles closer to me, and we watch the game.

Of course, at the end of the game, we lose. I try to keep my emotions in check because all I want to do is scream at the TV. Not like the guys could hear me or anything.

“Hey, I’m going to take a shower, and then go to bed. I’m so tired,” Selene says to me before getting up.

“I’m going to run over to my house real quick and grab a couple of things.” I stand up with her.

“Take my key. It’s hanging up by the door. That way you can lock the door.” She kisses my cheek before heading up the stairs. I grab her key, make sure the door is locked, and head across the yard.

At my place, I grab a few things and throw them into an overnight bag. I double check all the rooms to ensure that no one is in the house. Then I make sure all the doors are locked. As I’m heading back across the yard, I think I see something in Selene’s backyard. It might just be a shadow from the trees. I continue to Selene’s house, go inside, and lock the door behind me.

I go into her bedroom and drop my bag off. She is already out of the shower. Her long, dark hair cascades down her back. She’s wearing a very long red shirt that stops mid-thigh. I want nothing more than to throw her on the bed and fuck her until she forgets everything. However, I know that isn’t what she wants.

When she walks out of the bathroom, she’s about to say something to me, but Bonkers begins to growl. A mean growl that I’ve never heard from him before. I didn’t even think the dog knew how to make such a sound. I watch Bonkers as he stands at the top of the stairs, looking down towards the front door.

I look at Selene and her eyes are wide with fear. Her face is as white as a sheet. She’s thinking the same thing that I am. Just then, Bonkers begins to bark loudly and takes off for the door. Next, there’s loud banging on the door.

“Are you expecting anyone?” I ask. She shakes her head. “Stay here.”

“The hell I am.”

We both head down the stairs as the banging continues. Bonkers is barking and growling at the door. I never seen him act this way before. Selene scoops him up, trying to calm him down. I open the door, only to see the one person that isn’t supposed to be here.

“Oh, my sweet Brody.” Jessica smiles at me.

“Are you fucking serious? Get away from here now. You’re not allowed to be around me or Selene.”

“Sweetie, we are meant to be together. I want to talk to you for a moment. I know that bitch has been filling your head with lies about me. It’s not true, any of it.” Jessica goes to reach for me, but I brush her hand away.

“We are not meant to be together. I’m going to call the police if you don’t leave.”

Jessica’s face grows angry. “Brody, you are mine. I love you. You can’t possibly love her, she’s nothing to you.”

“Let me explain this one time before I call the police. I don’t love you. I don’t want to be around you. I love Selene. I’m with Selene. She’s who I’m meant to be with, not you. Get your crazy ass off this porch and out of our lives.” My jaw is clenched, and I can feel my teeth grinding. I’m so mad. Not even on the ice have I been this mad.

Jessica stares at me for a moment, and I almost think I got through to her. “This isn’t over, Brody. You’re going to be with me.” She shoots a dirty look around me at Selene and walks away. I make sure that she gets in her car and leaves before I shut and lock the door. This seriously can’t be happening to me.

“Brody,” Selene says softly. “Are you okay?”

I turn around and face her. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“No, because it’s the first time I’ve seen that look in your eyes.”

“What look?”

“Rage.”

I look at her as I try to calm myself down. If anything, I don’t want her scared of me. “I just can’t believe she came here and had the gall to say those things.”

“I can,” she pauses and looks down at Bonkers. “I can’t believe you told her you love me though,” she says softly.

“What?” Did I say that to Jessica? I can’t believe I would blurt that out.

“You, uh, said you didn’t want to be around her and that you love me and you’re with me. Or something like that.”

I run my hands through my hair. Shit. I didn’t mean to do that to her. I don’t want to scare her away. Nonetheless, I do love her, and I need to fix this. “I did say that, didn’t I?” I nervously chuckle. “Well, I meant it. That doesn’t mean you have to say anything back. I really didn’t want the first time I said that to be in that way, but next time I say it, it’ll be more special.”

She thoughtfully looks at me for a moment. “Can we go to bed now?”

I don’t say anything else. I just nod.