62: The Difference Part 1
Easton
“Suddenly, a lot of questions Cole has asked lately make sense.” I muse as our real waiter
brings our dinner. She’s smiling with serious amusement the entire time.
“Yes they do.” Luci looks thoughtful.
“I need to find out exactly what he asked Santa for now.” I frown over that. It could be me dating Luci or he wants Luci as his mom like Barrett’s wish.
She nods almost sadly. We’re both concerned about his perception of this. “You’re afraid of
what he asked for?” I suggest.
“Yes. Santa encourages big, impossible dreams by a set date and I don’t want him to have his
heart broken.” She sounds almost broken over it herself.
“We’ll make sure it isn’t somehow. I promise. I don’t want him hurting. Maybe he just wished
for us to go on a date since Baker helped him.” I already know I’m wrong, but I hate seeing her
like that.
She nods slowly. “I hope so.”
“Start on that tomorrow. This is a date and I believe I was left with expectations.”
Luci makes a very serious face. “Yes and you have to report back to your romance rascal in
the morning.”
I shake my head, playfully grimacing. “The words of Coconut book is getting an update
tonight. Might need a few blank pages.”
We move on from Cole for a minute, talking about final exams. Luci tilts her head before her next question. Her tell this is something she’s wondered hard about. “You all want to play hockey professionally, but you’re all business majors. How is that going to work with your dad’s company?”
“Dad wants us to play for as long as we can. Always has. He’s the ‘live your dreams‘ parent. Mother was the practical one. And now he wants us to play for his team. We can play and during the off–season, work for him to learn more about taking over. Each of us have our own… .gifts I guess you’d call them. Strengths, but they also come naturally. Jackson has a way with words when he decides to talk. Legal clauses, smoothing things over, that’s his forte. I call him our poet. Becker is the goofball but he’s incredibly good with seeing the future potential in
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things. He’s our grounded dreamer. Kingston is numbers and analysis. He’s always quietly
assessing something. I call him our grounding tether.”
She waits patiently for a few minutes. “You left yourself off.”
“That’s easy. I’m the muscle.” I joke. She doesn’t laugh. Instead, those eyes size me up, never leaving mine.
“You are the enforcer, the gatekeeper, the encouragement, the protector and the one who
rounds them all up. The control or for lack of a better word, the ringmaster in your four–ring
operation. You see the tiniest details all the way up to the bigger picture.” She says calmly.”
You dream too, but you hide it. Nudge Becker so he can express the dreams you share. You
worry about them as much as you worry over Cole. There is a reason you are the captain of
the hockey team.”
I stare at her silently shaken.
“My brain will hold onto little pieces and observations and then it stacks them together over
time. I’ve watched you four at dinner so many nights. I won’t reveal your secrets.” She smiles.
“You see a lot, Luci.” That’s all I can manage.
“I told you I loved all of you.” She states simply.
“And I keep finding more of you to love.” I express the thought before I can second guess it.
“There’s not much more to me.” She deflects. But Luci doesn’t play games. She believes that. I
don’t. I’m betting there are layers to her, she doesn’t realize she has.
We share our cake obediently as I learn that Baker has been revealing all our childhood
mischief to her and Cole. “Yes, we decided to put a slip and slide in the downstairs hallway.
Thankfully, and I use that word as a parent now, we only had it on for like five minutes. Kid me
says that with total disappointment and regret.”
“Perspective is important.” She adds with a laugh before we decide to leave.
After I help her into her coat, I wrap my arm around her waist for us to leave. On our way through the restaurant, I recognize several people including Dad’s secretary, Lorna. She waves to me with a curious look on her face. From Dad’s apology to Luci, he’s well aware something is going on between us. I’ll tell him we’re dating tomorrow to head him off.
Distracted by that, I miss the laughing couple who run right into Luci. “Sorry, we weren’t paying attention.” Her eyes widen and she smiles. “Easton! Oh my gosh, haven’t seen you since graduation. How are you? Look, Ben, it’s Easton Reed.”
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She tries to hug me, but I refuse to let Luci go. I have no reason to touch Nicole, with or without Luci here.
“Hi Nicole, Ben.” He holds his hand out and I reluctantly unwind from her to shake it. “Hope you have a good night. We have to go.”
“Come have a drink with us. I’ll buy. Catch up on your hockey playing.” Ben offers, grinning.
Nicole bobs her head excitedly. “Elena’s joining us. You could catch up with her. Scott and Wallace too.”
I stiffen at that. My last ex, f**k to the no on that one. I won’t expose Luci to that kind of crazy twice. “We have to leave. Sorry. Enjoy.” I wind Luci’s arm through mine and we leave. She squeezes my arm. “You got very tense. Did you not like some of those people?”
“Let’s get you inside the truck first. Too cold for you.” As we drive away, I glance over at her. “I didn’t introduce you for a reason. Nicole was the high school gossip. Friends with every girl in school, so she could always have the drama at her fingertips. She’s nice enough otherwise. Ben’s fine. So is Scott. Wallace was a pompous prick and Elena is my other ex.”
“Hence the tense Easton Reed.” She says quietly.
“Exactly. I don’t want to catch up with them.”
“Understandable.” That’s all she says. I’m curious about that. I’m desperate to know about every f*****g guy she ever dated even for a high school dance. Does she not wonder about
Elena? I drop it for now.
I follow her to her door, glancing around us as she takes her keys out of her purse.
“So was there enough romance to warrant a kiss?” I tease.
“Lots of candles and the flowers are pretty. I suppose so.” She unlocks her door and steps
inside.
“Oh enough romance for me to come in?” I’m thoroughly enjoying spinning this out.
She rolls her eyes and grabs my tie to pull me over the threshold and shut the door. “You know
I picked this tie. He said you needed a tie for a restaurant. All your others have hockey stuff on
them. Tried to buy you cologne too. Sneaky little rascal.” She laughs.
“You have good taste.” I add.
“Are you fishing for compliments…Captain hottie?” She tugs on my tie and I groan at the
nickname as she giggles. But then she kisses me and I really don’t give a damn what she
wants to call me. Luci’s kisses can be sweet and make you feel soft and loved. Or like this,
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where I have no doubt she wants me. Where she claims me. She backs away and I grip her hair tugging firmly, but not enough to hurt her. I kiss her again, letting my tongue dominate hers this time as her fingers grip my coat. I move down to her throat and she calls my name. I lift my
head to stare down at her.
“I want you, Luci, but it seems wrong to take you to bed knowing I have to go home after. That I can’t stay with you like I want to.” I tell her honestly.
“You have Cole to take care of Easton. I expect you to leave me.” There’s no lie in her eyes at
that.
I unbutton her coat and then mine to hang them on the wall behind us. “I would apologize for not having more willpower where you are concerned, but I’m not sorry.” I lift her up and carry her back to her bedroom. After, I set her gently on her feet. I start shedding my suit jacket when I remember something. I undress down to my underwear and reach into the pocket,
grabbing the little green bundle to hide it inside my hand. She’s taking off her shoes. I reach
for the little tie on the side of her dress. “Hmm let me see what I’ll have in my pocket this week for the game.”
“I’m going to have to start buying new panties if you keep stealing them.” She counters.
“I’ll buy you lots. But then I get to pick what they look like.” Her dress falls open and I bite my
lip. She’s wearing some kind of corset top above some sinful black lace panties. “Where have
you been hiding this?” I shove the dress off her shoulders and circle my finger at her. “Spin
sweetness. Slowly.” I order her.
“It’s not exactly something you wear under sweatshirts and leggings.” She teases me.
“F**k me. Now the next time you dress up, I’m going to go out of my mind wondering if
something like that is underneath. Matter of fact, I’ll take you out to another fancy dinner to
encourage it.” I lift her to stand her on the bed. “We played twenty questions last time. This
time, I have a different idea.” I hold up the green bundle of leaves.
“Mistletoe again?” She says with a laugh.
“Who am I to mess with tradition? Tis the season to use it.” I grin wickedly at her.
“You want a kiss?” She narrows her eyes.
“I want specific kisses.” I hold it over my mouth and she laughs, but steps forward and grips
my shoulders before kissing me. I move it down and let the tips drag lazily over her breasts
spilling out of that corset. She watches me as I stick my tongue out and drag it along the
same path. She steps back and crooks her finger at me. I kneel on the bed, but she shakes her
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head.
“Sit back against the pillows. Please.” I do, gripping her waist as she moves closer. She
straddles my thighs and I brush the mistletoe along her throat, before following it with my lips. and teeth. Her whole body trembles on mine.
