“Darren,” I moan when he circles my clit.

“Why do we still have all of this if we’re never going to use it?”

I’m not sure why he wants to have this conversation right now. I expected him to walk in the door and get me naked on my reading chair, as has been typical recently.

“Does that mean you want to use it?” I ask.

I have to admit, as unnerving as it’s been to have Darren focused solely on me and not any of the stuff I usually bring into our sex games, I actually love sex without all the distractions. I thought maybe he did, too.

He withdraws his fingers, trailing them down the inside of my thigh, leaving a streak of wetness that makes me blush as he sinks to his knees front of me. “I’d like you to answer my question before you pose one of your own.”

I don’t know what’s happening here. Or how I’m supposed to answer that because the truth is at odds with my actions over the past two years.

“I thought maybe one day I’d change my mind.”

“Is that really true?” he asks.

I bite my lip and shake my head.

“So all of this serves what purpose?” He gestures to the array of toys. “Apart from being a distraction.”

“I thought maybe it was what you wanted.”

He skims the pearls at my throat. “And I thought I was showing you that you’re more than enough. I will give you almost anything you want, but I only need you. You are all I want, Charlene.”

I motion to the items surrounding me on the bed. “Do you want me to get rid of all this stuff?”

“That’s entirely up to you. I’m just telling you I can take it or leave it. Could it be fun? Maybe. But only if it’s what you want. Otherwise it’s unnecessary.” He runs his hands up my thighs. “Now, I’ve been without you for four days. I’d like spend some time enjoying all the things I missed.”

The night that follows could possibly end up being the championship game. I’m not as on edge as I was at the end of the last series, even though there’s more at stake with this game. As usual we’re all seated in close to the ice, behind the bench

Darren is as worried about winning as he is losing. The beginning of the game is rocky, with Tampa scoring twice in the first period, but Chicago evens it out by the end of the second. Alex scores a goal, which is good for his ego and team morale. Randy owns the second goal, with Darren as the assist for both, taking them into the final period tied. That doesn’t last long, though.

They’re less than five minutes into the third when Darren circles close to the net with the puck. He passes to Alex, who I’m sure is going to take the shot, but at the last second he fakes right and shifts the puck to Randy who scores another goal for Chicago.

They hold onto the lead through the third, and with less than three minutes left in the game, Darren gets hold of the puck and sprints down the ice on a breakaway, scoring again for Chicago.

Tampa is down two points with less than two minutes left in the game, and one of the players gets in Alex’s face. The ref calls a roughing penalty, giving Chicago a power play for the final minute of the game, and of course they take the opportunity to score again, ending the game, and the season, with a 5-2 win for Chicago.

Chicago took the Cup home when Darren and I first started seeing each other, but this is different. Back then Darren had a no-trade clause, and we weren’t as serious as we are now. So much is tied up in him, and our friends are interconnected, so this monumental win is both something to celebrate and fear.

Change is coming no matter what. Someone is going to Vegas at the end of the season, and hopefully it won’t be Darren, whose stats are the best they’ve ever been.

Sunny passes Logan to Miller so he can skate him around the ice while they celebrate the win. The sports journalists clamor for interviews. Darren is never comfortable in front of the camera, unlike Randy and Alex. His answers are always short and to the point, almost as if he’s annoyed. When one of the journalists asks him how he feels about the expansion draft, he mutters something about being at the end of his career and younger, better players being a safe bet. Then he turns around and stomps down the hall toward the locker room.

The journalist turns to Alex who defends Darren, saying they’ve been playing together for a long time, and any trade would be a big change.

Darren is quieter than usual at the bar, but he doesn’t shy away from the celebration, maybe because it’s possible this is the last time he’ll get to do this with his Chicago teammates. I hope that’s not the case.

The expansion draft won’t happen for a few more weeks, so there will be unease while we wait for the outcome. Plus, losing one team member could have a domino effect. I try not to worry, but it’s not easy.

We’re all sitting around a long table in the back of the bar, chatter making it hard to focus on any one conversation. Also, Darren’s hand is under the table, kneading my thigh and slowly moving higher.

“We need to have a party for your birthday this year, Char!” Violet shouts.

“Yes!” Lily agrees. “A real one since it’s your champagne birthday!”

I shoot them both a look. Birthday parties have never been my thing. I don’t like being the center of anyone’s attention, except maybe Darren’s.

“I’ve been thinking about your birthday,” Darren says so only I can hear, in a tone that sends a shiver down my spine.

I wave Violet and Lily off. “It doesn’t need to be a big deal.”

“So how about a BBQ at our place? We can celebrate all the things! Your champagne birthday, winning the Cup, and the end of the season,” Violet suggests.

Lily pulls up her calendar on her phone. “What about next weekend?”

“That’s perfect!” Violet turns her smile on me. “Plus it’s a holiday weekend, so a BBQ is essential anyway. We can eat burgers and lactose-free ice cream and cake and all the delicious things. And I need to wear a bikini and take pictures before this baby takes over my body!”

I don’t have the heart or the desire to argue. Besides, with the trades still looming, I have no idea if this is the last birthday I’ll get to celebrate with all of our friends. Will one of them will be somewhere else next year? I don’t want to miss out on making memories, even if they might hurt in the future.

“Okay,” I tell her. “Let’s do it.”

When your best friend is married to one of the top earners in the NHL, she can pull together a pretty damn sweet party in a very short span of time. Violet hires a caterer and buys all the decorations online.

Darren must ask me a million times, in a hundred different ways, what I want for my birthday. What I really want is for him to stay in Chicago and not be traded to Vegas, or anywhere else. But he doesn’t have control over that, so I tell him I don’t need anything and the party is enough.

My birthday begins with orgasms from Darren and a promise that he’ll see me later. He leaves my bed, much to my dismay, just after ten in the morning and is replaced by Violet.

“I brought breakfast!” She wrinkles her nose as she takes a few steps into my bedroom. “It smells like Darren and sex. I vote we eat downstairs.”

I roll out of bed, not caring about my messy hair or the discarded lingerie—I’m wearing one of my many shorts-and-tank sleep sets—as I follow her downstairs.

“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble, especially since the party is at your place.”

“Are you kidding? I wanted a couple of hours of you-and-me time before I have to go sharing you with all our friends. Remember when we used to eat pints of ice cream and have Hoarder marathons on your birthday?” She turns the bag over and two half-pints of Ben & Jerry’s roll onto the counter. Her smile is questioning. “We don’t have time for a marathon, but we could do an episode or two.”

I don’t know why I’m suddenly emotional, but I throw my arms around her.

When we finally release each other, Violet puts her hands on my shoulders. “I know a lot has changed recently, especially with me and Sunny both being pregnant, and then Lily and me finding out we’re half-sisters—which is, like, so daytime soap opera, by the way. But there’s only one you, Char. We’ve been best friends for almost a decade. We went through frosh week together and survived for Christ’s sake.”

I laugh at that. “You’d think we would’ve learned shots were bad back then.”

“Academic intelligence isn’t the same as social smarts. How the two of us made it through college without a criminal record is beyond me.” Violet snort-laughs and then grows serious. “No one is ever going to replace you, Char. When we’re old and saggy and we have to yell to hear each other, we’ll still be best friends.”