Astrid
By the time we arrived in St. Paul, the bus was lively and filled with chatter. Apparently, the guys all needed their little power naps before their bodies were willing to function.
My guys were all chattering amongst themselves whereas I had turned in to myself. I didn't really contribute to their conversations, but when I did it was just nods or a few words of acknowledgment, then I would go back to my thoughts.
Ryder held my hand and occasionally gave it a light squeeze as a nice reminder that he was there.
I wasn't mad or anything, just contemplating and reflecting. My life had changed so much this year and it was nice to just think it all over.
When I graduated in May, which was two months away, I had planned to move back in with my father. In Seattle, I would start picking up coaching jobs and hopefully make my way up the chain. But I was unsure of that plan now that I had six guys to think about.
Would they move with me? Would they want to move back in with their families? Would they take any of the offers from the teams that wanted them? So many unanswered questions. It was good that I was able to think about all this stuff so I could bring it up with them all later.
Beside me, Ryder shifted so he could lean down to my level, which was currently scooted way low in my seat, and he whispered in my ear. "Everything alright?"
I looked up and traced the perfect lines of his face with my eyes before answering. "Yes, everything is," I said with a smile.
He deemed my answer satisfactory with a nod of his head before turning back towards the others and joining in on their conversations.
Thanks to the traffic of the big city, it was another thirty minutes before we pulled into the massive hotel in which we would be staying.
Everyone stood up and waited patiently for their turn to get off the bus. I risked a glance towards the back of the bus and rolled my eyes at the rookies who were throwing things back and forth, wrestling, and playing a very heated game of rock-paper-scissors.
When it was our turn to get off, my guys led the way, with Ryder behind me, and we all stood together as we waited for our traveling bags to be tossed out from under the bus.
"You have the hard thinking look on your face," Luka pointed out as he collected his bag from the ground and stood next to me. "So what is it that your pretty little head is thinking about?"
"The usual." I shrugged. "Life after college," I said simply.
Luka smiled. "Don't stress about that too much. It will all work out and I know I'll be there for you no matter what," Luka comforted me.
"Thanks, Blondie," I sighed while I tucked myself into his side. His hand grabbed my waist and pulled me tighter against him.
Coach was handing out keys to everybody, most of them in his right hand while a few stranglers sat in his left hand. When his right hand was empty and most of my teammates had left, Coach turned to me and Luka.
"Here's your key, Daniels," He told Luka as he gave him his key. "And as for you, Schwartz, you get your own room this time," He reassured me with a comforting smile as he handed me my key.
"Thank you, Coach," I told him as I pocketed the key and left Luka's side to go grab my bag.
Though I couldn't complain about the last room arrangement I had when we stayed at a hotel, it was nice to see that Coach kept me in mind when reserving rooms.
I shouldered my bag and it wasn't long before one of my guys came over and offered to take it.
I gave Henrik a playful smirk. "What would the team think if they saw that I couldn't even carry my own bag?" I teased.
"Frankly, I don't give a shit. If they have a problem they can bring it up to me," Henrik deadpanned. "Why, did someone already say something?" He rose an eyebrow with concern.
I chuckled before turning and walking into the hotel. "Protective bastard," I glared at him lightly as he kept pace next to me. "Besides, what if I don't want you to know where my room is?"
The answering deadly glare I got in response was enough to make me second-guess teasing him.
"Then I would do all in my power to ensure that you ended up sharing a room with Ryder and I, and you might reconsider trying to keep us... out." The mischievous glint in his eyes sent a shiver through my spine and dirty thoughts through my mind.
Ryder stepped up to my other side. "We are very good at getting what we want," he mumbled in my ear as we reached the elevator.
Luckily the fancy hotel had big elevators, as the seven of us all fit into one. Surrounded by their masculine scents, I could feel the testosterone buzzing around me.
Suddenly an idea struck me.
"How about we play a game?" All attention snapped to me. It's easy to forget how much my guys enjoy challenges and games.
"Go on," Ryder prompted from my right.
"The first two to figure out which room I'm staying in, get to stay the night in there with me tonight. Then it resets the next day so the next two get to stay that night, and so forth." I explained.
Smirks grew across all their faces and a zap of excitement zinged through me.
"Rules?" Bentley asked.
"Two rules," I said while holding up two fingers, "you can't ask, bribe, or trick any hotel employees into giving you information. Once you know, you aren't allowed to tell each other - no exceptions," I said with an extra-long glance at the twins. "Everything else is allowed," I declared.
They didn't have to even think about it as they all immediately agreed to the rules.
The elevator rolled to a stop on floor 4. The twins and Bentley got off on the floor. The next stop was floor 6, where Henrik and Ryder got off. The next floor was mine and also Lukas it appeared. He got off and turned around before the doors shut.
"See you later, Ash" he smirked before the doors shut.
Deciding to ensure that nobody saw what floor I would get off on, I pressed the number 1 button and got off on the ground level. I then opted to take the stairs.
I took the stairs to level 7 and peaked out into the hallway. When I was sure the coast was clear, I silently crept down the hallway. Luckily, I saw Luka turn right into the hallway so I knew his room was on the other side. Which meant he wouldn't be able to spy on me through his peephole.
When I located my room - 724 - I quickly unlocked it and went in. Just like I figured, my room had a massive King size bed and lots of space.
I glanced at my phone and saw I had an hour before I had to go back downstairs and board the bus.
So for the next hour, I laid on the massive bed while on my phone, smiling to myself every time my phone buzzed as it meant one of my guys were messaging in hopes of getting a hint or just flat out asking what room I was in.
I thoroughly was enjoying this game and look forwarded to seeing who would win tonight. But first, we had a different game to play. An important one that I was very much looking forward to.
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Thank you for reading Chapter 44. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope y'all have a great rest of the weekend.
~Until Next Chapter