I tossed the souvenir hockey puck that I’d gotten when I was seven into the air. The apartment was loud, and my roommates were hyped on the promise of winning tomorrow’s game.
It was poker night—something I didn’t usually partake in because it was the one thing I wasn’t good at. Plus, it was the night before a game. If Coach knew that half the team was over at the apartment, playing poker until well after midnight, he’d lose his shit, and I would not get stuck in the crossfire of that one.
“Ford!” I glanced at my bedroom door, recognizing the high-pitched voice right away. Sutton. I listened harder, wondering if she’d happened to bring over her roommate who wholeheartedly hated my guts. I had news for her, because I hated hers too.
She bled ignorance when she stomped her foot at me the other night and said that no one had asked me to be her shadow. That was exactly what was asked of me. Was she so dense that she thought I wanted to spend the entire season focused on anything other than hockey? Her bratty remarks drove me wild, and a few times on our “jog” home, I had the inclination to kiss her just to shut her up. That would have been impulsive and a grave mistake, but I bet it would have worked.
Admittedly, when Coach asked me to watch out for her, I thought it would be easy. Riley had never shown up at a party before—or at the rink, for that matter. But now, suddenly, she was showing up in places I never expected and ruining my mood with one short glance.
I tossed the hockey puck onto my bed and strode to the living room. I didn’t expect Riley to be here, but I also didn’t expect to see her at the party either, wearing that short dress and attracting stares from every male in a twenty-yard vicinity.
“Aw, look. The boss came out to play.” Efrain slid his poker chips forward.
I took in the scene, and humor tugged at my lips. The only thing missing was a cloud of smoke and cigars hanging from my teammates’ mouths. They were smart enough not to cloud their lungs the night before a game, though.
“If Theo gets wind of this, he’s going to throw a fucking fit.” I grabbed some water out of the fridge and rested my elbows over the counter, silently thanking God that Sutton was the only girl in the living room. She was concentrating on the cards in her hand with her tongue held hostage between her lips.
“Daddy Theo will be fine,” Ford grinned. “Unless Daddy Number Two tells him.”
I chugged my water before cocking an eyebrow.
“If you ever call me daddy again, I will slap the smug look right off your face.”
Ford laughed. Sutton was still focusing on her cards, but she piped up beside him. “Aasher is too uptight for pet names in the bedroom.”
“And you know how?” I leaned my hip against the counter and shot her a flirty grin. Without Riley here, sucking up all my energy, I was actually able to have a little fun.
“Riley told me.”
I choked on my water and wheezed. Sutton failed at hiding her sneaky smile behind her cards. Each of my teammates’ mouths hung open in confusion. I popped off the counter after catching my breath.
“Don’t joke around about stuff like that. People will start rumors, and they’ll think I’ve fucked her.”
“You stare at her enough that people are probably already starting rumors.”
I glared at her, wondering what her roommate had told her.
“You practically forced her to leave the party last week. I know that Riley despises hockey players, but no one else at Bexley U knows that. They probably think you took her home.”
“I did.” I rolled my eyes. “But that’s all.”
Sutton smashed her lips. “I’m just saying, it’s pretty noticeable. If she’s anywhere near you, your eyes are on her.”
This is such bullshit.
My teammates kept their mouths shut because they knew why I was tied to Riley like her little ball and chain. I was about to march across the hall and admit that her father did ask me to be her shadow. I’d ruined one father/daughter relationship before. What was another?
“Where is she, anyway?” Ford questioned.
I was glad he asked, because God forbid I give Sutton any other ammunition to use against me.
“The rink.”
My water bottle crinkled beneath my grip and caught the attention of everyone. “The rink? This late?”
I glanced at the clock and instantly became enraged.
“With who?”
Fuck, stop worrying. Knowing Riley, she probably felt more at home in the rink than anywhere else because of her icy personality.
Sutton shrugged innocently. She didn’t pull her attention from the cards in her hand, and I couldn’t decide if she was fucking with me or if she truly didn’t know.
I snatched my keys off the table and headed for the door.
Efrain mumbled. “If we lose tomorrow because he plays like shit, it’s your fault. He’s usually asleep by now the night before a game.”
“Maybe he should stop stalking my roommate, and he wouldn’t be tired.”
My jaw ached.
“Just play your hand, evil girl.”
Well, Riley wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box.
I slammed my door after pulling up next to her parked Honda. I knew it was hers because it was the only other car in the parking lot, which was a relief—except that didn’t mean she was alone. The Honda wasn’t a pile of shit, but it wasn’t anything fancy either, which was surprising because, with how she acted most of the time, I assumed she was spoiled.
I put the code into the side door of the arena and tried to prepare myself for what I was about to walk in on.
I didn’t know a lot about Riley, and I didn’t care to get to know her either. She was already taking up too much of my time, and the last thing I needed was to befriend her. All I knew was that her father was awfully protective of her. She could be with anyone right now, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to see who.
I edged my head toward the locker room, and part of me hoped that I’d catch her in there with one of the hockey players who was participating in the ice bet so I didn’t have to worry about it anymore, but with that thought came a rush of something that I refused to acknowledge.
The door creaked, and I listened for the sounds that I’d heard many times before when some of my teammates thought everyone had left. It was a known thing on campus to christen the locker room at least once before you graduated and moved on to the pros.
It was dead silent.
I moved my way past the bench and sighed at the time. I should be sleeping. I was like Theo in a lot of ways. We both needed to be centered the night before a game and well rested, unlike my roommates, who played poker and used the distraction as a way to calm themselves before the storm.
Opening the door to the arena, I let my eyes adjust to the dark. I knew my way around the rink like the back of my hand, but the stands? I wasn’t familiar with them. I was fifteen the last time I sat behind the glass and watched a college hockey game.
It was the last time my dad did too.
“Just do it.”
I almost tripped down the stairs.
Riley’s voice was full of courage. Do what? I lifted up on the balls of my shoes and tried to make out where she was. There was a faint glow from her phone playing soft music. It illuminated her frame, and I ran my eyes down her curves as she stood and stared through the glass separating her from the ice.
She was alone and fully dressed.
There weren’t any hockey players touching her in places they shouldn’t have been.
But what the hell was she doing here by herself?
I could have been anyone, standing here in the shadows, watching her without her having any idea. Imagine if it were Sully—or worse, one of the many hockey players from Westin who openly fantasized about sleeping with her.
“Damn it.” Riley reached up quickly and pulled on her hair tie, undoing her bun. Her dark hair tumbled down her back effortlessly, and I swore I smelled her shampoo all the way across the stands. Her little growl was angry sounding. I panicked when she reached down, grabbed her phone, and turned to leave.
Fuck.
I stepped into the aisleway and accepted my fate for what it was. I pulled out my imaginary weapon and prepared myself for another tiff with the coach’s daughter.
“Rink is closed, Duster.”
Her scream echoed throughout the vast space.
“Chill, it’s just me.”
Her huff made me smile.
“As if I should feel safe with you.” She took her wrath of fury with her when she dipped down to swipe one of the ice skates that had fallen out of her arms. When she popped back up, I definitely smelled her shampoo. She smelled like a fucking winter fairy, and my dick twitched.
“Why wouldn’t you feel safe with me?” I asked. “I walked you home from a party last week for that very reason.”
“You walked me home from a party to keep me safe?” She brushed past me, and if I didn’t move out of her way, I likely would have been cut by the blade of her skate. “You mean to say that you chased me home so I wouldn’t sleep with any of your teammates.”
“You should put a cover on those.” I pointed to her ice skates as she hurried past me to leave.
“Why are you here?” Riley stopped walking, and she placed a hand on her hip. Her blue eyes were wild with anger, and I kind of loved it. I couldn’t help smiling at the way her little nose scrunched with irritation.
“Well, when I heard you were at the rink this late, I worried that one of my teammates might have talked you into a longtime tradition of theirs.”
She had no idea what I was talking about.
I leaned back on the wall and put distance between us because I knew, without a doubt, I was about to piss her off.
“You know the tradition. Fucking a girl in the locker room the night before a game for good luck?” Riley’s mouth dropped open at my bluntness, and I shrugged innocently. “Don’t look at me. I’m not one to partake in such acts.”
“Yet you think I am?”
Not necessarily, but I knew my teammates, and I knew they were manifesting that particular act with her. If she wasn’t off-limits, I might have found myself doing the same.
“I don’t know. I don’t really know you.”
I expected her to stomp away like the brat that she was, but she surprised me by sticking around. Her nose unwrinkled, and the angry lines on her forehead softened. There was a devilish glint in her eye that twinkled with mischief. I stood in shock as she absentmindedly gained the upper hand.
“Stop following me around, Aasher. Desperation isn’t a good look on you.”
I raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help the curving of my lip. Desperation?
She walked over to me, and the toe of her skate dug into my chest. If I breathed too heavily, I was certain the sharp blade of steel would cut right through my shirt and slice my skin. “Was it your idea?”
I dropped my gaze to her mouth. She had whispered, and I was a fool because I was waiting eagerly to watch her soft lips move again. “Was what my idea?”
“I know about the ice bet.”
Her confession was as sharp as the blade of her skate pressing into me. Fucking stellar.
“I’m beginning to think you’re following me everywhere so you can be the one to get to me first.”
I lowered my voice. “That is not true.”
I grabbed on to her hips and flung her around so her back was resting against the wall. The pads of my thumbs had accidentally crept under her shirt and pressed against her warm skin. Her pupils dilated, and I refused to embrace it. I kept joking that she had an icy, cold heart, but she wasn’t cold at all. She was warm, and soft, and…shit.
“You haven’t told your dad,” I said, not bothering to ask. We would know if she had. “Why?”
Riley’s body brushed against mine as I crowded her space. I saw the lack of self-assurance as I stole her confidence. But she had it all wrong. I was the nervous one here because she had the power to ruin me.
“Maybe I will,” she whispered.
Her sweet breath hit me square in the face, and I felt drunk. I swallowed the words on my tongue and took a step back, releasing her. Her shoulders straightened, and her chin lifted with feigned confidence as she edged toward the door. Before she made her way through with her ice skates pressed firmly against her body, I followed after her and grabbed her by the arm.
My palm wrapped around the entire width of her bicep. The dark, shiny strands of her hair brushed over my skin like a feather. “Stay away from the team, Duster. They’re planning to eat you alive.” I tried to clean up their mess. “Don’t tell your dad and ruin our chances at the Frozen Four because your feelings are hurt. Take it as a compliment. They think you’re the whole package.”
Take it as a compliment. Jesus.
The shovel was heavy as I continued to dig myself into a deeper hole.
Her clipped laugh distracted me enough for her to rip her arm out of my grasp. “They think I’m a toy they can play with once and then discard a moment later. That’s not a compliment. That’s an insult.”
It was an insult. She wasn’t the type of girl you fucked around with to win some stupid bet.
I stood back and watched Riley move across the parking lot like she was walking on water, and suddenly, I was feeling extremely thirsty.
