sat in the backyard between Erik’s house and the guesthouse. There was a plastic covering on top, but I wanted to try it out. The temperatures had dropped to the 50s now that the sun had set, and it would definitely feel good to sink into the hot water and let my body relax for a while.
“Wondering where Erik is?” Molly asked, coming up to stand beside me.
The windows of his house were dark. His car was gone, and yes, I’d originally peeked through the window to try to figure out if he was home or not. Generally, it was easy to guess where he was—running, working out, or coaching at Seattle Flyers—but it was late and the chances that he was still up at his gym were slim to none. There were other options of course. Maybe he’d gone to dinner with friends or maybe he’d gone to a bar for a drink. Just the image of him sitting alone nursing a beer made my stomach churn. How many women approached him in one night? A handful? How many would he smile at? How many would he ensnare with his good looks and smooth words?
And of course, there was the last option, the worst one of all. Maybe he wasn’t just out at a bar, trying to find a random fuck. Maybe he already had his sights set on a woman, someone as beautiful and smart as the blonde he’d brought home the week we’d arrived. That thought didn’t just make my stomach churn, it made my blood boil.
“Brie?”
I shrugged, realizing I’d never answered Molly. “I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth the risk to try out that hot tub.”
She perked up. “I’d go with you.”
I grinned; Erik tempered his anger around Molly since she was a longtime pupil. It was settled.
We gathered Rosie and Lexi and brought them up to speed on our plan. Rosie protested, of course, but we insisted Erik wouldn’t care. He’d specifically given us rules to follow, and not using the hot tub wasn’t part of that list, ergo, it was free rein.
“I don’t speak Latin!” Rosie said as we dragged her out of the house after us. “What does ‘ergo’ mean?”
“Hot tubs are meant to be used!” Lexi insisted, whipping off the heavy plastic top that protected the water when it wasn’t in use. She tossed it aside, propped her hands on her hips, and looked my way. “Now what?”
I was already shivering in my bikini and I had no clue how to operate a hot tub. “Look for an on/off switch?”
Molly snapped and offered up a sarcastic, “Stand back everyone, we’ve got a genius here!”
I flipped her off.
After a few more minutes of searching, we were no closer to turning on the hot tub. I reached in to test the water, just to see how cold it would be if we hopped in before it was heated.
“Oh hell no,” I said, jumping back. “It’s freezing.”
Rosie shook her head. “Someone should call Erik. We should ask for his permission to use it and he could help us turn it on.”
Three sets of eyes swung in my direction, but I shook my head adamantly. “No.”
“Yes,” they replied.
“He hates me.”
Lexi reached for where I’d stashed my phone on the ground beside our towels. “Here.”
His number had been included in the information packet, and before arriving in Seattle, I’d plugged it into my phone as Coach Winter. I smiled at how naive I’d been then.
“Do it,” Lexi said, pressing dial for me.
“No!” I protested, but it was too late.
He answered on the first ring and I let his deep voice glide over my skin for a beat too long.
“Hello?”
I blushed.
“Who is this?”
I’d forgotten he didn’t have my number.
I cleared my throat. “Uh…it’s Brie.”
His subtle groan proved he was less than enthusiastic to hear from me.
“This number is for emergencies.”
His voice faded at the end, like he was pulling the phone away from his ear to hang up.
“Wait! This is an emergency.”
He paused, giving me time to continue.
“We’re trying to figure out how to use the hot tub.”
I could hear the slight amusement in his voice when he spoke again. “And that’s an emergency because…”
“Our muscles are really sore from practice,” I insisted, trying to make it sound clinical, therapeutic. “The heat and bubbles will help loosen us up.”
“Brie—”
“Oh! I figured it out!” Molly exclaimed just before bubbles started erupting from the jets.
I smirked, though he couldn’t see it. “Never mind. Molly figured it out.”
There were