Chasing Charli - Kat Mizera Page 0,44

tells me Miikka wouldn’t take out a bad mood on you, but I don’t know for sure.”

“No.” Charli shook her head. “In fact, he mostly works through his frustrations by getting me naked. Once we’ve had sex four or five times, he’s totally relaxed.”

“Four or five times…in one night?” Whitney asked.

Charli bit her lip to hide her smile. “Um, yes. Miikka is…special in that department. Like three minutes and he’s ready to go again.”

“Three…” Tara held her hands over her ears. “No, please, I can’t hear this about my brother. La la la la la…”

The others all started laughing.

“For real?” Hailey whispered to Charli. “Four or five times a night? All the time?”

“Not every time, but lately, yes.” Charli eyed all of them, suddenly suspicious. “That’s not the norm, is it? I only have two guys to compare him to and we didn’t do sleepovers so I don’t know.”

“Early on, when it’s super new and you can’t get enough of each other,” Sara said slowly, “absolutely. But beyond that? No.”

“And three minutes to get it up again? I have no complaints, but that’s sixteen-year-old boy level stuff.” Whitney was smirking at Charli.

“I’m dead,” Tara moaned.

“And so is our season.” Whitney sighed. The Seattle team had just scored again.

18

Even after a heartbreaking game, the guys wanted to go out, and Miikka figured it was better than sitting at home moping. Besides, he wanted to spend a little time with Tara because even though he loved his sister, he wasn’t going to spend the night at his house instead of Charli’s. He figured Logan could drive her home after they’d had a few drinks and something to eat. He’d just make sure to get up at a reasonable time to either go pick her up or have Logan drop her off at Charli’s house.

Henley’s Pub was a medium-sized sports bar not far from where Charli lived, and the guys liked going there because it wasn’t near the arena and probably didn’t have as many fans that would hound them for autographs while they tried to relax. The food was good and the drinks were reasonably priced, so it was rapidly becoming the team’s hangout of choice.

Tonight it seemed like half the team was here, even many of the married guys. Sergei and Dani had gone home because Niko had been at the game, but Kane and Hailey, Jake and Whitney, and Aaron and Sara had come out, along with Logan, Ryder, Donovan and Coach Riser.

“When are you heading home, Coach?” Donovan asked him as they all settled around two high-top tables.

“Day after the final game, so I’ve got just under a week. I’ll have some paperwork to take care of, but I’ll be on a plane the next day.”

“Bet your wife will be happy to see you,” Sara said with a smile.

Coach Riser nodded. “And my son, Shay. He’s playing hockey now and every night on the phone I get the play-by-play of practice, whether it’s with the team or on his own. He’s taking skating lessons this summer and apparently I’m going to be at all of them.”

Everyone chuckled.

“I am excited to teach my child to skate someday,” Miikka said. “Girl or boy, doesn’t matter, but they will skate.”

“And play hockey.” Tara nudged him. “You made me learn.”

He grinned at her. “And you love it.”

“True.”

“You played hockey?” Sara asked her.

Tara nodded. “When I was a teenager. Obviously, I’m not my brother.”

“We have a women’s game that we play once a month,” Sara said. “You should play with us.”

“If I’m still here, I’d love to. I’ll need equipment, though.”

“I’ll find you some,” Miikka told her.

Conversation continued about hockey and tonight’s game but Miikka noticed Charli was quieter than usual.

“You okay?” he whispered in her ear as their food was delivered by the waitress.

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Why are you so quiet?”

“I’m fine, really. I’m just tired and I have to get up early tomorrow.”

“We’ll eat and go, okay?”

“You should spend time with your sister. It’s silly for you to come home with me when I have to be up and out of the house so early. Go home and get Tara settled, and I’ll see you tomorrow after work, okay?”

“You sure?” He wasn’t sure what to make of this since he had every intention of being with her as much as possible.

“Yes.” She plucked a fry from his plate and kissed his cheek. “I’m going to go get some sleep, though, okay?”

“I’ll walk you out.”

She said her goodbyes to everyone and Miikka walked her