So This Is War

Wylie: I’m going to puke. Oh my God, I can feel it. I can feel the puke, Levi.

Levi: Take steady breaths, babe. It will be okay.

Wylie: But what if I have my hopes up, and she doesn’t want anything to do with my drawings?

Levi: She wouldn’t have contacted you and flown you to her office if she didn’t want anything to do with your drawings. Be strong, baby. You’ve got this. Then come back home to me, and we’ll celebrate in the best way possible.

Wylie: And what would this celebrating entail?

Levi: Your choice.

Wylie: Ooo, if that’s the case, I want a vibrator in your ass.

Levi: Surprised you haven’t done it yet. I’m all for it. Make me hard as stone, Wylie.

Wylie: God, I love how sexually open you are.

Levi: Whatever you want, I’m at your disposal.

Wylie: I can’t wait.

Levi: Got to get out on the ice. Remember, you’re mine. Don’t let Patty hit on you.

Wylie: LOL. Can’t make any promises. She’s so hot.

Levi: I know, but remember who you belong to.

Wylie: Looking at my bracelets now. Only you.

Levi: Fucking right. Love you, Wylie. Good luck.

Wylie: Love you too.

I stuff my phone in my purse and look up at the wall that’s covered in framed photos of Patty Ford. Some clothed . . . some not. All of them are extremely hot.

God, to be that comfortable with your body, to have your office lobby decorated in naked pictures of yourself. It does give me an idea, though. I know Levi mentioned it, but I think it would be fun to take some boudoir pictures for him, print them in a small, bounded book so when he travels, he can slip it in his bag. It would be a lot of fun, and I know he’d love it.

I’ll have to look into that when I get back home.

What is taking them so long? I feel like I’ve been sitting here for an hour. Is it an intimidation tactic? If so, it’s working. I’m shivering in my skirt.

Not to mention, I’m sweating.

My nerves are getting the best of me, and I continue to sweep my hand over the fabric of my skirt so that when Patty Ford finally meets me, she won’t be touching my clammy hand. No one likes a clam hand.

Not wanting to get myself worked up, I focus on the pictures in front of me, one in particular of her wearing nothing while she sits on the floor. Her hands are propped up behind her, her head is tilted back, and her breasts are pointed up at the ceiling.

It’s so sensual. I could envision myself doing a pose like that for Levi.

“Miss Wood,” the assistant, Deena, says, pulling me away from the picture. “Miss Ford is ready for you.”

“Oh, great,” I say as I stand.

I push down my skirt, grab my purse, and head toward the doors with Deena.

She leads me down a short hallway straight to a pink door she opens for me, revealing what I know as Patty’s home.

Her bed is right in the middle of the room positioned in front of several cameras and lighting. There’s a dining room table off to the side with an accompanying kitchen, and then to my shock, an open bathroom as well. It’s all here, but unlike what you see on camera, it’s just one giant studio. Holy shit, I had no idea.

And from the right, appearing in a lavender robe, comes Patty Ford.

“I’m so sorry about the wait,” she says as she approaches me. I catch the subtle sway of her breasts, so she’s clearly wearing nothing under the robe. And let me just say, she’s even more gorgeous in person. She holds her hand out to me. “I’m Patty, you must be Wylie.”

I take her hand in mine and say, “Yes, it’s so nice to meet you.”

Patty studies me for a second. “Have you ever considered going live on camera? You’re gorgeous. People would pay great money to watch you take your clothes off.”

My cheeks blush as I say, “Not sure my boyfriend would want to share me like that.”

Patty smirks. “They never do.” She gestures to a table off to the side that I hadn’t noticed.

I follow her and take a seat at the table and notice the portfolio awaiting me. Deena asks, “Can I get you a drink?”

“Water would be great,” I say as my mouth goes dry the moment Patty sits down and her robe wafts open. Good God, she really just doesn’t care.

“Not a problem,” Deena says and turns to Patty. She gestures to close her robe, and when Patty looks down, she smiles.

“Ooops, sorry about that. When you spend most of your day naked, you never really think about it.”

“It’s fine,” I say. “Not to be weird or anything, but it’s not like I haven’t seen it before.”

Patty laughs. “I guess you’re right about that.” She crosses one leg over the other and asks, “So you’ve watched my videos?”

“I have,” I say. “Introduced my boyfriend to them. They’re really good.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that and love that you’re a woman who watches them. My clientele is mostly men, so I love knowing a female is enjoying them as well.”

“Well, my best friend enjoys them with her boyfriend too.”

“I love that.” She glances at the time on Deena’s phone and sighs as Deena places water in front of us. “I hate to rush, but I’m between private sessions right now. I’m sorry the last one ran late, but I offer my patrons the opportunity to buy bonus time, and well, the man I was with last was stacking up bonus time. So I apologize.”

“Not a problem at all.”

“Well, let’s get down to business. I loved the pictures. You are incredibly talented, and I thought your proposal, offering these prints to patrons who buy into a subscription every month, was genius. Deena and I were talking, and we both agree that this would be a very lucrative opportunity. But she came up with the idea where patrons, for an extra price, can send in a picture of themselves to have you draw an erotic scene of me with that person. Is that something you could do?”

“Oh my goodness, that’s such an innovative idea.” I wonder if they’d be willing to send pictures of them on their hands and knees. “And yes, I’d possibly need to have a fairly specific photo of the person to get their body accurate. Positioning. Proportions, that sort of thing.”

“Totally agree, and we could provide specifics to patrons once they sign and pay perhaps?”

“Definitely,” Deena adds.

“We’re thinking that there’d only be a certain amount of those available every month. So there would be tiered packages. The top tier would be offered all the prints for that month, plus the personalized one. This would be an extravagant price, and we’d only have five available.”

“Ooo, you could have them outbid each other,” I say, and Patty’s eyes light up.

“That’s brilliant.”

“They’d bid high,” Deena says.

“Yes, they would.” Keeping her eyes on me, Patty says, “We can work out the details, but I’d love to get you on board . . . exclusively. Meaning, I wouldn’t want you doing this for anyone else, especially since some people have already copied the model I’ve developed.”

“Wait, you want to hire me?”

“Yes,” Patty says. “And offer you forty percent of any purchases of your prints on my website, including all tiers.”

“F-forty?” I ask, utterly shocked.

“Yes, Deena and I, which, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce you, but Deena is my wife. We both believe that women should support women, and with your talent, we want to make sure you’re compensated properly, especially since this was your idea.”

Uh, my mind is racing.

First of all . . . wife?

I had no idea.

Second of all . . . forty percent?

Holy shit.

If Patty even sold two prints for five thousand each per month, that’s four thousand dollars. That’s three grand after tax. And I know she’d sell more than that. Possibly double. I can live on that. And if my name is associated with Patty’s in the art world . . . this is incredible. “Thank you, Patty. I’m speechless. That’s such a generous offer. I feel so affirmed . . . in my art . . . as a potential businesswoman. It’s amazing.”

“We want to thank you, Wylie. We’re thrilled.” She looks at her wife, who looks at her watch. “Deena can walk you through all of the details because I have to jump on this call, but I hope you accept. I’d love to work with you on this idea.” She reaches out and clasps my hand for a second before she turns to Deena, kisses her, then heads over to the bed where she sets up her camera and removes her robe.

Dear God.

I look away as Deena says, “Why don’t we leave her to it so we can discuss details?”

“Sounds great,” I say as Deena leads me out of the room.

How is this actually happening? This is not only insane but also so unbelievably lucrative.

And the one thing that comes to mind is Levi.

This is happening because he believed in me.

He’s the reason, and I can’t wait to thank him.

LEVI

LEVI: At the arena, got an extra leg workout in. Can’t wait to hear from you. Love you.

I set my phone down and lean against the bench, nervous as fuck to hear from Wylie. We kept missing each other yesterday so I haven’t talked to her. I tried texting her a few times, but she’s been quiet, which makes me feel ill. Her distance leads me to believe that things didn’t go the way she wanted them to.

And if that’s the case, I need to be ready. Thankfully, we’re on a long home stretch, so I’ll have time to be with her, and I’ll even fly her out to our next away trip if need be.

“What are you doing?” Halsey asks as he comes into the locker room, straight from the showers. When I sent a text to the boys saying I was going in for another leg workout, Halsey offered to join me.

“Just thinking,” I say.

“Thinking about what?” He sits down and runs another towel through his hair, drying off the short strands.

“Nothing I think I can share right now.”

He sets the towel on the bench next to him and slides a pair of briefs under his towel. Not sure why he’s being shy. The man has a fucking monster of a cock. He should be flapping that thing around every chance he gets.

“You’re in a relationship, aren’t you?”

“Why do you think that?” I ask.

“Because,” he says, his voice even, no joking or teasing anywhere in sight. “You’ve been happy. Genuinely happy. You’ve looked smooth on the ice. And you haven’t been around a lot, which I completely understand. The only reason I’m here is because Blakely is having a girls’ night with her roommate from college.” He stands and straightens out his briefs. “Seriously, dude, just tell me. I swear I won’t say anything.”

I need to talk to someone about this. And if I’m honest, I know I can trust Halsey with this. Sighing, I stare up at the ceiling and say, “In all seriousness, I’m in love, dude. And she’s in love with me. We’ve been seeing each other for a while now and well . . .”

“It’s Coach Wood’s daughter, isn’t it?” he asks, keeping his voice low.

I look over at him and nod.

He takes a seat on the bench and whispers, “Christ.”

“Tell me about it. I’m in way over my goddamn head, and even though on paper, I made a huge mistake, I don’t feel bad, not one goddamn second because she’s . . . fuck, Halsey, she’s everything I want. She’s⁠—”

“Are you the only two left?” Coach Wood says, popping his head in the locker room and making my entire body seize. Christ, how long has he been here? Did he hear anything?

“We are,” Halsey says, acting normal, thank God. I feel like I would squeak out a response if I was left to it.

Coach Wood looks at us, then knocks on and pats the doorjamb. “Good work getting extra reps in. See you tomorrow.” Then he takes off.

After a few seconds, I turn to Halsey and whisper, “He terrifies me.”

“He terrifies everyone,” Halsey says and puts on his sweatpants, then his sweatshirt. “What are you going to do about it?”

“No fucking clue,” I say. “But I sure as shit don’t want to talk about it here.”

“Understandable.” He slides his shoes on and picks up his phone, wallet, and keys. “Let’s have breakfast tomorrow or meet up somewhere else so we can talk about it.”

“Yeah, I’d like that. Thanks, man.”

“Hey, you helped me with Blakely. I might as well return the favor.”

I press my hand to my heart and say, “Jesus, fuck, I think that’s the first time you’ve ever admitted that.”

“And it will be the last.” He offers me a fist bump and takes off, leaving me alone in the locker room.

At least one of my friends can admit to my hard work. I knew I always liked Halsey the most.

I glance at my phone and check to see if Wylie’s responded. When there are still no messages, I groan and strip down to my briefs before heading into the shower room with the idea that this will be the quickest shower of my lifetime. Maybe I can stop by the store on the way home and pick up a cake or a cookie or a cookie cake. Either way, I’ll get something that could double as a celebration and a way to fight off the depression.

I switch on the showerhead and suffer through the water warming up so I can be fast. As I work shampoo through my hair, I consider how it could be possible that they’d fly her there but then not offer her a job. That seems insane to me. Unless they did and the terms weren’t right. If that were the case, I might have to write Patty Ford an email and tell her to change her tune.

I rinse out my hair and start soaping my body.

Then again, she wouldn’t want me to do that. I know for a fact if I stepped in and tried to help her, Wylie would be pissed, and rightfully so. She should do this on her own. It doesn’t stop me from having protective instincts, though.

I rinse my body and turn off the water then grab a towel from the shelf across from the shower stalls and dry off. Then I wrap my towel around my waist and turn toward the locker room just to come face to face with another human.

I scream bloody murder.

A pitch so high only dogs can hear as I shrivel backward, hand to heart.

“Levi, oh my God, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

My eyes adjust, and I see that it’s Wylie in a towel.

“Jesus fuck, babe.” I take a few heavy breaths, then pull her into a hug. “Fuck, you startled me.”

“I’m sorry.” She chuckles. “I said your name.”

“Did you?” I say. “Christ, I must have been in my own head.” I lift her chin and place a kiss on her lips . . . her wobbly lips.

Confused, I pull away, and that’s when I see the tears in her eyes.

Oh fuck.

I take her hand and lead her into the empty locker room and sit down on the bench. That’s where I see her clothes next to mine. Wait, she’s in a towel . . . naked. What the hell is going on?

“Wylie, what’s⁠—”

She undoes my towel, then stands in front of me and drops hers, leaving her completely bare. I immediately go hard because how could I not? She’s the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.

She straddles my lap and grips my shoulders, her pussy rubbing against my cock. “I got the job, Levi. She wants me to work for her.”

“Wait.” I grip her waist. “Holy fuck, are you serious?”

Her eyes well up again, and she nods. “Yes. She loved the idea, and I was able to come up with a few more ideas as well. I start tomorrow.”

“Holy shit, Wylie. Fuck, I’m so happy for you.” I wrap my arms around her and give her a hug. When I pull away, she grips my cheeks and starts kissing me . . . passionately.

Her tongue is immediately in my mouth, and her hips start rocking over me.

“Whoa, slow down, hold on,” I say, pulling away. “Babe, we shouldn’t do this here.”

“No one’s in the arena,” she says. “The parking lot was empty when Sandie dropped me off. It was just your car.”

“Are you sure?” I ask.

She nods. “Let me fulfill this fantasy for you, Levi. I know you want it. And I want to celebrate.”

Well . . . when she puts it like that . . .

I grip her face and bring her mouth to mine again before lowering my palms down her body to her breasts, where I massage them in my palm, squeezing and playing with them as she rocks over my erection.

“I’m so proud of you,” I say between kisses.

“It’s because of you,” she says as she kisses down my neck. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” I say as she lifts and grips my cock. She angles it at her entrance, then sits down on me.

“Mother . . . fucker,” I breathe. “Christ, I’ve missed you.”

I help her hips rock over me while our mouths meld again.

And it’s the best feeling ever.

This right here, being inside my girl, knowing that her future is bright from her hard work. Nothing could ruin this.

Absolutely nothing.

She moans into my ear, and I roar up inside her, just about ready to lay her on the floor.

Yup, this is perfect. All of this is so fucking⁠—

“What the fuck are you doing?” Coach Wood’s voice booms from the door of the locker room.

Everything in my body seizes as a tidal wave of dread nearly drowns me. I clench my arms around Wylie as I look over her shoulder at her steaming father.

Hands are clenched at his sides.

Eyebrows are slanted.

His neck veins look ready to pop right off his body.

And the only thing that comes to mind?

I’m absolutely fucked.

WYLIE

“WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?” my dad roars as he paces the small space of his office. “You weren’t, and that’s the problem. You weren’t thinking. You never think. You just do whatever is good for you at the moment.” He looks me in the eyes. “That’s my player, Wylie. My goddamn player, and you were fucking him in my locker room.”

I shrink into my chair. He does have a valid point about the locker room. Everything else, not so much.

“That was reckless. Careless. Stupid. And all the more reason you are clearly not mature enough to handle your own decisions.”

“Dad—”

“No, don’t even start with me. I let you have your little vacation from reality, but it’s over. You’re going back to school, and that’s final. I’ll set up an internship in the meantime with one of my friends, and you are by no means allowed to see him anymore.” He points toward the door, where I know Levi is waiting outside. “And you’re moving back in . . .” He turns on me. “Wait, where have you been living? With him?”

I wince, and that’s all the indication he needs.

“Jesus Christ, how long has this been going on? This whole fucking time? Have you just been having some sort of sex vacation away from school?”

“No, Dad,” I say. “It isn’t like that.”

“It isn’t?” he yells. “Then explain to me what it is because right now, it seems like you’ve been ignoring your responsibilities to fuck one of my players.”

“I haven’t been ignoring them,” I say, angry at his assumptions. “I’ve been working my ass off⁠—”

“Doing what? Fucking my player?”

“No,” I yell as I stand from my chair. “I wasn’t just fucking him, Dad. I love him.”

His brows shoot up before he starts shaking his head. “There is no way you love him. You’re too young to understand what love is.”

“Too young? Dad, I’m twenty-two. I’m old enough to make my own decisions, date whoever I want, and live with whoever I want.”

He shakes his head and laughs, which in return dials up my anger. “You have no idea what real life is, kid. You’ve been blessed to have a successful father who has provided for you your entire life. You are clueless as to what the real world really is.”

“Really? How would you know?” I ask. “You rarely talk to me anymore. You’re so busy with your own job that you’ve failed to realize that I’ve been trying to have a relationship with you, but you refuse to acknowledge it. I’ve called, texted, and attempted to show you that despite the dictator role you’ve taken up rather than a fatherly one, I still love you, and I still want to have a bond with you. But you can’t see that. You’re so blinded by your own hurt that you’ve switched off your ability to show affection to your own daughter. God, you won’t even accept it from your daughter.” I move toward the door. “And you know what? I’m done trying. I’m done with all of this. Send me the bill for my tuition. I’ll pay it off with my own money that I’m earning from an art job I just secured. Every month, send me a bill, and I’ll pay it immediately. Other than that, don’t bother communicating with me. Your chance at having a relationship with me is done.”

And with that, I walk out of his office where I find Levi leaning against the opposite wall. I walk up to him and place my hand on his chest. Whispering, I say, “I love you. Nothing is changing that. It’s you and me, okay?”

He nods, but I can feel his nerves rattle him.

“Say it, say you love me,” I plead.

“I love you, baby.” He cups my cheek.

“And nothing is splitting us up . . .”

He wets his lips. “Nothing is splitting us up. I promise.”

And then he lowers his mouth to mine and presses a very soft kiss. As he pulls away, I hear a throat clear. When I look to the side, I see Andie, the GM, looking at us.

Oh no, that can’t be good.

“Posey,” she says. “I think we should have a conversation with Will.”

Levi nods, offers me one more kiss, and moves toward the office. He glances over his shoulder and says, “Have Sandie pick you up. I’ll see you at home.”

“I want to wait.”

He shakes his head. “Please, Wylie, meet me at home.”

From the sincerity and pleading in his expression, I know he’s serious, so I nod and move away from the office. I then text Sandie and ask her to come pick me up.

I wait outside, my anger and my nerves coming to a crashing point, making me feel all kinds of nauseous. What’s going to happen to Levi? Is he going to get in trouble? Will he be traded?

The thought of him being traded really makes me want to throw up. But could they trade him over this? Andie didn’t look too pleased, but then again, she was called into the office late at night, probably not wanting to deal with this. Either way, I don’t think it will be good for him, and he’s going to take the fall. I know he will. That’s the kind of man he is.

If he wasn’t one of my dad’s players, I’d be in there with him, standing up to my father with him, but I know this situation runs deeper than that. This very well could be a conflict of interest. I have no idea.

Ugh, what was I thinking?

My dad was right about one thing. I wasn’t thinking. I was just so happy, so excited. I wanted to celebrate. I wanted to be with Levi and show him how much I appreciate his support. And I was positive there was no one else here. Looks like my dad parked somewhere else.

Thankfully, Sandie doesn’t take too long to pick me up since she was already out and about from dropping me off.

I meet her outside the players’ parking lot since she doesn’t have access like I do, and when she pulls up, I hop into her car, turn to her, and burst into tears.

“Come here,” she says as she pulls me into a hug. “What’s going on? Did he break up with you? Because if he did, I will make sure he feels the brunt of my wrath.”

“No.” I shake my head as I pull away. I didn’t tell her anything, just asked her to pick me up as soon as possible. “My dad caught us,” I say. “It was stupid, and I shouldn’t have done it, but when I saw him, I just needed him so⁠—”

“Oh God.” Sandie winces. “He saw you guys doing it?”

I nod, tears falling down my face. “In the locker room. He lost it completely and said some really awful things to me.”

“Who? Levi?”

“No, my dad. Levi has been . . . God, he’s been amazing. I know he’s taking the fall for all of this right now, and I can’t stomach it. He told me to meet him at home.”

“Do you think this is going to hurt you guys?”

“I really hope not,” I say. “He told me he loved me before I took off.” But then worry races up my spine. “Do you think he’s going to break up with me?”

“I don’t know,” Sandie says. “What kind of trouble is he in?”

“I have no idea. He just said he’d meet me back at home, but God, what if he’s kicked off the team and resents me? After everything he’s done for me, I couldn’t forgive myself.”

“How about this,” Sandie says, placing her hand on my hand. “Let’s not put unrealistic thoughts and ideas in our heads. Let’s just go back to your place and wait for him to return. No use making yourself sick over the what ifs.”

My lip wobbles as I nod. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“It will be okay,” Sandie says reassuringly. “Everything will be okay.”