The Muse and the Fairy Tale (New Hampshire Bears #1) (6 page)

Chapter Nine

Meadow

“Sweet Mother of God, tell me everything.” Harlow dropped in the seat across from me at The Latte Bean. “And skip all the shitty parts; how big was his dick?”

“Ha. Ha. We didn’t have sex.” I sipped my coffee. “However, he’s a damn good kisser.”

“First, I’m hurt you didn’t get banged. Second, please tell me all about it.”

“All right, the truth is I’m dying to tell someone.” I felt giddy inside. I’d had the greatest date and time. The thought of his kiss still made my lips tingle. He was by far the best kisser who’d ever touched my mouth.

“And you didn’t sleep with him because…” she waved her hand for me to tell her.

“He’s twenty-five.”

“O.M.G. You’re like a broken, fucking record. If you would stop worrying about his age, then I’d know more about his dick.”

“You’re so crass.”

“But not wrong.” She toasted herself. “Now, I called this meeting for a reason.”

“Oh God.” I heard her tone lowered. She was getting ready to talk about my book.

“Your rewrites are amazing. The book is much better than the shit you first gave me.”

“Hey, you called it a rough draft.” I was a bit offended.

“It was a rough piece of shit, but I was trying to be polite.”

I sighed. “You? Polite? When have you ever been that?”

“See, you wound me with those words.” She wiped a fake tear from her cheek.

“Harlow.” I grated my teeth at her.

“Fine. I was trying to be nice because I know you’ve been working really hard. You need a break. A hot, hockey player break.”

“Even though I had so much fun with him, nothing will come of it.” No matter what I thought or wanted.

“Listen to me, Meadow.” She leaned in close and I did too, thinking she was going to whisper. “You’re an idiot!” she shouted and people turned to stare at us.

“I don’t think the people the next block overheard you,” I hissed.

“Maybe my yelling loudly will get through your thick, stubborn skull.”

“Har—”

“No.” She sat back and crossed her arms. “You’re not going to say anything or make any excuses. Plus, you’re going to get your ass to the game tonight. I mean it. Your story was better after your breaks.”

I hung my head. She was beyond right, and I knew it. When I thought, talked, or even spent time with Kyson, the words flowed so much easier.

“I’ll text Kyson and let him know I’m going.” I didn’t want to argue with her anymore.

“My work here is done.” She beamed.

Kyson texted me three times asking where my seats were.

Where’s Waldo?
Was my response.

It pissed him off, and I loved it. I happily took my regular seat and watched the team skate around. My eyes found number sixty-five with his bright green eyes.

“Well, I see you and my brother are hitting it off.”

I swiveled to see Kian taking a seat next to me.

“Hello to you too.”

“Hi.” He smiled. “I didn’t tell Kyson where your seats were, either.”

“Do you plan on sitting here with me? And how did you find me?”

“Yes, and it’s a secret.” He put his finger against his lips.

I giggled. “Fine, keep your secrets.”

“I know one thing: Kyson likes you. A lot. I’ve not seen him smile in close to a year.”

“What? Why?” He had piqued my interest.

“He was in a long term relationship, but she left him.”

“Oh, how sad. But I know how I was in my twenties. I bounced around a bit.”

Kian furrowed his brow. “Kyson was the one who wanted to settle down.”

“Sure, but I when I was in my twenties, I didn’t want to settle down.”

“Meadow, she was thirty-four when they broke up last year. Kyson has always been with older women.”

“What? He never told me.” Kyson? A cougar hunter?

“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you, considering how skeptical you were to the date.”

I wasn’t sure what to think about anything. “So, he just likes older women?”

“Ha, that’s an understatement. He was in kindergarten when he asked out a fourth grade girl. He was ten and asked out an eighteen year old. He was seventeen and took a twenty-three year old to his senior prom, and then there was Angela.” Kian shook his head, but said no more.

Her name was Angela, and she broke his heart. “How long were they together?” I was being nosy again, but I wanted to know.

“Five years, I think. Well, close to it.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

Shocked. I was absolutely shocked to learn this. “Why did they break up?”
Oh, please tell me
.

“Kyson proposed marriage; she claimed she wasn’t ready. She walked away from him without much more of an explanation than that. He was utterly broken for a good two months. His hockey suffered, a lot, and I was worried he would be cut. But, in Kyson style, he woke up and re-focused on hockey. I was thankful when he was traded. It was a good change for him.”

I was trying to process everything Kian told me. I wondered why Kyson didn’t just tell me himself. Well, how would I’ve taken the information? He liked older women. Could it be a mommy issue? Some sick fantasy he was living out? No, I didn’t get that vibe from Kyson. Sure, he was blunt and enjoyed sexual innuendos, but there wasn’t anything wrong with that.

“Meadow,” Kian gained my attention. “Kyson says what he thinks, and he is a great guy. If he didn’t want to be with you, he wouldn’t be. I know some women find it a bit strange for a guy his age to be with someone older, but Kyson is Kyson and he likes what he likes. You should really give him a chance. A true chance. You’d be surprise.”

I looked back out on the ice. I would definitely be surprised by anything Kyson did.

Chapter
Ten

Kyson

The game was incredible. I didn’t have any assists this time; I had a goal. I’ve scored before, but this was my first as a Bear. Hamilton handed me the puck, and I knew just who to give it too.

I quickly changed and headed to my truck, but I stopped when I saw Meadow and Kian. Her blonde hair was high up in a bun-like design. She was in a brown Bears hoodie, and tonight she had on skinny jeans. Her legs were swinging back and forth as she sat on my tailgate.

“Good game, Kyson.” Kian bumped my fist as I stood next to him.

“Thanks.”

“You did great tonight,” Meadow added as my eyes studied her body again.

I smiled. “Thank you.”

“Well, I’m off. Congrats, again, bro. Meadow, it’s been fun.” Kian nodded as he headed off.

“I have something for you.” I pulled out the puck from my pocket.

“Is this from tonight?” She inspected it.

“Yep. My first goal as a Bear.”

“Kyson, I can’t take this.” She tried to hand it back to me.

“It’s yours. Please.” I stood between her legs and put my hands on her thighs. God, I wanted to touch more of her, but I stopped myself.

“I will treasure it. Thank you.” Her tone was sincere.

“I’m hungry. Let’s go grab a bite.” I stepped back and helped her off the tailgate.

“Um…Kyson, would you mind if we got something to go and went back to my place?”

I felt my eyes widen. She wanted to go back to her place.

Meadow slapped my shoulder. “Get your mind out of the gutter. I thought we could talk and have some privacy.”

I chuckled. “Why did you assume I’m having dirty thoughts? Maybe you have a guilty conscience?”

“Or maybe I have a black corset under this hoodie?” She winked.

My knees almost gave way. “Wha…what?”

Meadow laughed loudly and snorted. “I don’t, but the look on your face is priceless.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “It’s not nice to tease me.”

She continued laughing. I noticed tears in the corner of her eyes.

“Come on.” I lightly tugged her elbow and helped her into the truck. I drove her over to her car and followed her home. After I parked her car, she hopped back into mine.

We ended up going through a drive-thru, ordering a huge bucket of chicken, and some side items. On the way to her house, we mostly discussed the game. I was still surprised at how much she loved the game. Then again, it was refreshing not to have to explain every detail to her, and she actually listened to me. Angela would just nod now and then, but I knew she wasn’t paying attention to a word I was saying.

Meadow helped me carry the food into her house. “Where should I set up?”

“Okay. We have two options. One, we can go and use my kitchen table and pretend I actually use it for its purpose and ignore the fact I generally have clean laundry stacked on it. Or two, we eat buffet style right here by the TV and watch a movie. You pick?”

I grinned sitting the bag on the small coffee table. “This is perfect.”

Meadow put her bag next to mine. “I’ll grab plates and forks.” She headed off toward the kitchen. I took off my coat and tie, rolled up my sleeves, and sat down on the floor. I began opening everything as she came back with paper plates, plastic silverware, and two bottles of water.

“I need to change out of this hoodie.”

“And into the corset,” I added for her. She rolled her eyes, stepped around me, and through the door on my right. Her bedroom. Oh, how I wanted to see that room more than any other.

She came out a moment later in a t-shirt. It was a light blue and almost matched her eyes. She took the place next to me and was close enough our thighs were touching. I could feel her body heat.

Together, we both filled our plates with yummy, greasy chicken. Meadow took a large spoonful of coleslaw and a biscuit. I watched her movements and thought about kissing her again. I would soon enough, but I was too hungry right now.

Meadow turned on her TV, with Netflix already loaded. She had a lot of classic TV shows, and a ton of romantic movies, and
cartoons
. The TV and movies made sense, but not the cartoons.

“What do you want to watch?” she asked.

“I don’t care,” I said between bites.

Meadow turned to me. “How about we just talk, then?”

I swallowed a mouthful of mashed potatoes and mimicked her pose. “Okay. What about?”

“About the fact the woman you were previously involved with was nine years older than you.”

Well, I guess she wasn’t going to beat around the bush. “I take it you and Kian had a lovely chat at the game.”

“We did. He told me a lot, but now I have some questions.”

“Shoot.”

“Why didn’t you tell me the age of the last woman you were with? Or the fact you
only
date older women?”

I could tell this was going to be a long interrogation. “What does it matter if they’re older or younger? Age is a number, and you’re the only one hung up on this.”

“How many women have you been with?”

“Sexually?”

She nodded.

“Three.”

“That’s it?” she gasped.

“I’m not some man whore. I lost my virginity to my high school girlfriend,
who was older
. I dated Angela,
who was older
, for five years. About seven months ago I had a one night stand with an
older
woman, which I’m not proud of.”

“Why older women? You’re hot enough to find someone your age.”

“
Hot enough
? Should I be offended by that statement? I feel as if I should be,” I joked with her.

“Stop and just answer.” I could tell she was getting frustrated.

“Look.” I took her hand in mine. “I don’t know. I just like being with women who are smart, fun, attractive, have goals, and can hold a conversation without referring to a celebrity or taking a selfie.”

“Not all girls are like that, and now if I ever want a selfie with you, I’ll be self-conscious.”

I laughed. “You can take a selfie with me any time.” I leaned in and softly kissed her plump, pink lips. “Do you feel better knowing I’m not a cougar hunter?” Even though I never thought of myself as one.

“May I ask one more question? You can be offended by this one.”

I sighed. “All right, what is it?”

“This isn’t like some type of Freudian issue, is it?”

I was baffled by her question and what she meant, until it hit me like a puck to the face. “Ew, no Meadow, this isn’t a
Mommy
fetish. That’s gross.”

“Hey, I was just asking,” she huffed. “I wanted to be sure.”

“Meadow,” I said her name firmly. “I like older women, because it’s what I’m attracted to, not because I want to have sex with my mother. Now, why are you so hung up on this?” It was my turn to throw out the questions.

“I don’t know.” Her tone turned sad. “I’ve never been the type of person to judge someone by age, race, or anything. But with you…I’m…I’m…”

“Say it,” I pushed her.

“It’s an issue.”

Okay, not what I was expecting. “Is it a big enough issue that I should leave right now or something you have to get use to?”
Please, don’t make me leave
.

She opened her mouth, closed it, and then said,” I’ll need to get used to it.”

Yes!
My whole body screamed on the inside. She didn’t want me to leave. “Okay.” I did my best to stay calm and not stick my tongue down her throat. Even though I wanted to so badly.

“It’s different for me.”

“Why? Explain to me why the fact I’m twenty-five and you’re not would make this an unsuccessful relationship.”

Meadow let go of my hand and rested her elbow on the couch. I could see she was thinking hard.

“Am I too immature for you?”

“No.” She smirked.

“Am I uncouth or ill-mannered toward you?”

“No.” She giggled.

“Am I too blunt or abrupt for you? Do I kiss badly?”

“Yes. Yes. No.” She bit down on her lip.

“Am I that bad?”

“No,” she hopped up on her knees and cupped my face. “You’re nice, funny, and not too hard on the eyes, but I’ll have to work out my own insecurities to figure this out, okay?”

“Okay.”

Meadow kissed me. I held onto her hips as I twisted around to get better access to her mouth. She moaned, and I wanted to feel more of her. I rotated my hips and stretched out my legs to pull her on top of me. Her body was so soft and luscious as I dragged my hands up and down her back. I pushed my hips up to let her know how much I wanted her.

“Oh.” She pulled away from my lips and started giggling.

“Um…what’s so funny?”

“Puckhead is on my back.”

I glanced over her shoulder and sure enough, there was the tabby.

“Puckhead, get off.” She wiggled around, making the cat jump on the couch and me moan as she grinded against me.

“Meadow,” I groaned her name. “Please, stop doing that.”

She smiled. “I’d say I’m sorry, but I’ve enjoyed torturing you a bit.” She pecked my lips before rising back up to her seated position.

I followed her up and I caught her glancing at my crotch. “Do you want to see it? Or perhaps we wait till after we eat?”

“Shut up.” Her cheeks reddened, and she went back to her plate. She used her remote and turned on
Friends
.

We watched TV, ate, laughed, and I couldn’t remember having this great a time just sitting on the floor. Meadow was great company, and I didn’t want it to end.

I helped her clean everything up. When I noticed her office, I peeked in. Her walls were decorated with her covers and art. Maybe fan art? She had a huge desk with a desktop computer on one corner and a laptop on the other. Puckhead was relaxing on a small bed behind the desk.

“Are you done with my book?” I asked as she came up next to me.

“Yep. I sent it to the betas this afternoon.”

I could hear the apprehension in her voice. “May I read it?”

“Really?”

“Yes.” She seemed shocked I wanted to.

“Okay. What’s your Kindle address?”

“Huh?” What the hell was that?

Meadow giggled. “Do you have a Kindle app on your phone?”

“Yes.”

She held out her hand. “May I see it? I can get your address from there.”

Without hesitation, I handed it to her. Flabbergasted because I had without an argument, Meadow’s eyes were wide. “I don’t have anything on there you can’t see.”

Angela had always hidden her cell phone from me. She had it locked too. I never locked mine. I walked farther into the room and inspected her walls.

“Will my cover be on the wall too?”

“Yep. I’m going to start this side now.” She pointed at the wall in front of her, which was bare.

“So, you’ll see me with every moment.”

“I guess.” She brushed off the comment and began clicking on her desktop computer. “There you go.” She handed my phone back.

“Thank you.”

“May I ask you a favor?”

“Sure.” I wondered what favor she would be asking of me.

“Can we take a selfie together? Tease the readers a bit about you being on the cover.”

“I like the idea. Teasing can be so much fun.” I bent down and kissed her cheek.

“It won’t be
that
kind of picture.” She slapped my shoulder.

“Yet,” I corrected her, making her smile.

“Here.” Meadow pulled her phone from her back pocket. “You have longer arms.” She handed it to me.

I slid my fingers across the screen and touched the camera icon. Our faces appeared on the screen and I snapped the picture. It turned out great and I enjoyed Meadow’s arm around me. “Thank you.”

I handed her phone back. “Send it to me.” She did. “Now, the only room I’ve not seen is your bedroom.”

“Ha!” she scoffed. “You think it’s that easy.”

I kissed her lips hard. “Nothing with you has been easy, but it has been fun.”

Meadow smirked. “When are you back in town again? I have a signing coming up this week.”

“Friday and I’m off Saturday.” I thought throwing the small bit of information might help with whatever she was thinking. “When and where’s your signing?”

“Oh, it’s a small book convention over in Concord on Friday. I can be back here by nine, after I pack up everything. Or, you know what, never mind. We can do something on Saturday or not.” She tried to duck around me.

I blocked her path. “Stop. I’m fine seeing you on Friday, okay?”

“Okay.”