Stroke It - Brooke Page Page 0,10

I’ll be able to work around your schedule once you’re placed on a team.”

He fisted the back of my dress in his giant palm. Scowling, he muttered, “I better get placed this year. I’m sick of being in the minors.”

“You will,” I encouraged, touching his cheek.

My comfort didn’t turn his frown into a smile like it had before. He struggled with my career taking off, while although he was putting the work in, he was still in the same place, on the same IHL team. I didn’t blame him for being frustrated. I would have thrown the towel in if I were still doing warm up acts.

But now, I was my own headliner, and making time to see him wasn’t easy. “Let’s take a vacation,” I smiled. “We can go somewhere warm and private, with no paparazzi or distractions.”

He glared at me, keeping me in his hold. “What distractions?”

“I don’t know, our phones? Agents?” I circled my thumb along the back of his neck. “Whatever has been taking over your attention.”

His eyes were hooded, but he nodded. I knew he’d been frustrated by not being picked for a professional hockey team, but something else had been bothering him, and I couldn’t figure out what.

Calvin approached us, carrying a drink in each hand. “Here you are, sweetheart.”

“Thanks.”

Kyle blew air out of his nostrils after Calvin kissed my cheek. I immediately got irked. He couldn’t stand my best friend. He had no reason besides his own homophobia. Calvin was very comfortable with his sexual orientation, and Kyle didn’t need to be jealous.

He dropped his arms from around my waist, then headed for the bar. “I’m going to grab another beer.”

“Nice to see you, too,” Calvin muttered, taking a sip of his drink.

“He’s been off lately,” I defended. “Don’t take it personally.”

“You know my feelings about him,” Calvin sighed.

I took a sip of my own drink. I knew exactly what Calvin thought of him. It wasn’t easy when your best friend and boyfriend didn’t exactly get along.

“He always looks like he needs to get laid,” Calvin hushed into his drink.

I flushed. It had been a while since Kyle and I had been intimate, but our schedules were to blame for that. Kyle would choose a hockey event or game over a weekend away with me. I didn’t mind, I would do the same for music.

“Maybe he’s finally realizing the world only puts up with him because he’s your arm candy,” Calvin suggested.

“That’s not true.”

He laughed. “Honey, the only reason everyone knows who he is, is because he’s with you. It’s not because he’s some big shot hockey player. When’s the last time he’s done something nice for you? Or even put you first?”

“We’re busy people.”

“And that’s always your excuse. When you love someone, it doesn’t matter how busy you are, you make time for them.”

I twirled the straw in my drink, thinking over what he said.

It was always me calling Kyle, me texting him, initiating conversations or trying to work around my schedule to make time for him. And yes, Kyle has been always quick to introduce me or to name drop me, but that didn’t mean he was using me, it meant he was proud to call me his girlfriend, regardless of how popular my music was.

Maybe I would bring it up tonight once we were alone. My frown deepened. It had been months since we’d shared a night together. Did I really want to bring something up that could ruin what little time we had together tonight? I’d bought new lingerie, the same colors as the Los Angeles Kings, the team he’d been eager to play for.

“Shall we mingle?” Calvin asked, looping his arm with mine.

My frown flipped into a smile. “I suppose. Scooter said I should.”

“Mmm…where is the delicious Scooter, anyway?” Calvin hummed about my manager.

“Schmoozing I’m sure. He’s good at that.”

“I bet he’s good at a lot of things,” Calvin flirted, eyeing a man on the end of the bar.

“You know, you make him uncomfortable when you hit on him,” I reminded while searching for Kyle. He wasn’t at the bar anymore, in fact, he wasn’t even in the contemporary styled room filled with the industries movers and shakers.

“One of these days, he just might flirt back. I have to take my chances,” Calvin sighed, stopping to chat with one of the creative directors for the label.

I tried to invest and participate in the conversation, but Kyle was still out of my sight.

“Excuse me, but I need to use