“Yeah. I did that this morning.” Holly replied, tilting her head at him. “Are you going? You don’t have to as the owner, right?”
“I don’t, but I plan to for the closer games at the very least. I figure the hotel room is a good tax write off and I enjoy them.” Aaron told her, setting his wrapper behind them on the table he had behind the couch. “It’s a block away from the team one. Want to stay with me?”
“Aaron…we’d be so busted.” Holly murmured as she pulled him down for a kiss.
“How? You have your own room.” He argued against her lips, kissing her harder.
“Did you arrange that?” Holly accused him, making him laugh as he pulled away from her.
“It’s the rule for female staff unless they room together. It works out pretty well here, I think.”
“So we’re secret still?” Holly whispered, feeling his eyes lock with hers as he felt her pain in the room.
“I’m going to find ways for us to be together, Holly. I can’t come right out with it, not for a while but it won’t be no contact. We’ll spend time together and work on this and make a decision later.” Aaron promised her, pulling her close. “We work together and I am going to take advantage of that as much as I can.”
She stayed the night in his bed with him, dragging herself out on the morning to get showered and to the bus with the team. Aaron was leaving a couple of hours later, packing as he gazed at the sheets that were torn off the bed absently. He was just driving himself and planned to be there in time for the afternoon practice and some media.
Aaron had reserved a nice room for this trip with the idea of her staying with him in mind. It had a huge garden tub and big shower and would offer them some privacy from the team and staff. There was always the chance he’d see fans there but Aaron had a plan for them to exit separately, and they could be together in the same place for the sake of the team. He’d thought of everything the night he’d been drinking, missing her too much not to see her anymore. He wasn’t accustomed to these kind of gestures but she was worth every bit of it.
On the way there, Aaron imagined her driving with him, holding hands as they talked about the game. Of course, in his daydream she’d given up her job as opposed to him sacrificing his. He was willing to support her so she’d never have to work again but Holly wasn’t that kind of girl. She loved her job and he knew that she was stubborn enough to choose her independence over him. He came back to reality as his phone rang, answering using his blue tooth to speak to Pat about some issue. They’d arrived an hour ago and everyone was getting set up in their rooms and some food before they had a practice, with one of the rookies complaining about leg pain. Aaron told him to have Holly take a look at it and see what she thought, ending the call with a sigh as he pressed on the gas pedal a little harder.
He needed to be there.
Tanner glanced at Holly as they set up the room in the home team arena, raising his eyebrow. “What’s that on your neck, Holly?” She was wearing her hair in a loose bun on her head and flushed pink at the question as her mouth dried up in anticipation.
She sipped some water and shrugged as she checked her bag. “I started seeing someone. No biggie.”
“I hope he’s not a part of this world, or hell…maybe he should be. Your schedule is going to be tough to keep up with.” Tanner whistled as she stared at the towels in front of her.
“It is.” He seemed to drop it as one of the players came in to tell her about some pain, and she had him hop on the table in his shorts as she pressed against his calf with a frown. “Feels like a muscle. Let me work it out for you.” She continued the work and looked at the young guy. “Are you stretching with your workouts?”
“Not as much as I should be,” Randy admitted and she shook her head at him with a small smile.
“Start. Do some yoga here and there to break things up and really get a good stretch in. You guys kill yourself in that gym.” Holly reprimanded him as she watched him nod and scratch his minimum of a beard. “Tell me how it feels after the skate.” She watched as he left the room and glanced over at Tanner. “These guys are my age or older than me and I feel like their mother sometimes.” They both looked up as voices filled the walkway outside of the door, her picking up on the fact that Aaron was here. “Want to watch the practice and see how Randy does?”
“Sure.” Tanner responded, following her out and to the rink where they were gathered and listening to Pat. Holly took a seat in the first row and leaned forward, sipping her water as she glanced at Aaron. He nodded at her, greeting both of them as Tanner leaned back against the glass behind the player’s bench.