Page 13 of Breaking the Pucking Rules (LA Vipers #1)

CASEY

I wake Saturday morning to my cell ringing on my nightstand.

With a groan, I reach over and crack an eye open to see who it is.

Swiping the screen, I bring it to my ear.

“Yeah?” I croak.

Laughter hits my ears, and I cringe.

“Jesus, someone had a good night,” Parker teases. “Why wasn’t I invited?”

“I—I—” I clear my throat in the hope of making my voice work.“I didn’t go out,” I tell her honestly.

I didn’t do anything last night other than toss and turn in bed, reliving the moment yesterday when he looked into my eyes and discovered the truth.

I can’t decide if I’m mortified or thrilled that he recognized me.

That excitable teenage girl inside me is doing backflips over the fact he clearly didn’t forget about me the second he walked out of the room. But the sensible side of me knows that I fucked up.

I underestimated him. And now…now I don’t know how he’s reacting to the whole thing.

I want to say he doesn’t care, that he can put that night into a neat little box and focus on the upcoming season.

But I’m fucking terrified that he can’t, and that it’ll be my fault if he’s not fully focused.

A laugh erupts. Who the hell do I think I am?

That night might have blown my mind and set the bar for any future man I may sleep with, but it doesn’t mean I had the same impact on him.

He might be going through a dry spell—if the gossip is to be believed—but that doesn’t mean I was anything memorable.

He’s previously been linked to numerous actresses and models.

I will have been nothing compared to those.

He didn’t even know who I was at the time, so there was no thrill of doing something he shouldn’t be for him.

Not that I think he’s the kind of man to break the rules for the fun of it.

Lincoln would, but not Kodie.

“What’s so funny?” Parker asks, wanting in on my private joke.

I can’t help but laugh again.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks, sounding a little more concerned.

“Yeah,” I say, trying to believe my own words. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sound it,” she deadpans. “I was calling to see if you fancied breakfast and a trip to the mall, but I’m making it compulsory now.”

“What if I have plans?” I tease, rolling onto my back and staring up at the ceiling.

I don’t. I have no plans this weekend. But that’s not the point.

“Then cancel them. Unless, of course, it’s with your mystery man from last weekend…”

“Parker.”

I may have confessed that I was at the masquerade ball—I couldn’t exactly do anything else, after her detective stint—and I may have admitted that I hooked up with someone, but despite her pleading, I didn’t give a name.

I hate lying to her. Parker and I tell each other everything.

But this…telling her about Kodie...I don’t want to break his trust. But at the same time, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to keep it in.

Especially now that he knows.

I need advice. I need to talk it out. And I can’t do that with anyone else. I certainly can’t go to Dad with this little issue.

“Okay, I’ll pick you up in thirty. If he’s there, kick his ass to the curb. I’m coming for you, girl.”

“No kicking needed. I’m alone,” I tell her as I throw the covers off and swing my legs over the edge of the bed.

“Boring,” Parker complains.

“I’m getting ready. See you in thirty.”

We hang up and I throw myself in the shower to get ready for a day of retail therapy with my best friend.

I step out the front door of my apartment exactly thirty minutes later, just as Parker pulls into the parking lot.

The top of her car is down, and her red hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail.

As usual, she wears a tank and leggings.

You can take the girl out of the gym, but you can’t take the gym out of the girl.

“Hey,” I say, dropping into her passenger seat.

“Hey,” she says, glancing over at me before taking off again. “You look tired.”

“Thanks,” I mutter as I put my sunglasses on and enjoy the warm fresh air rushing over my face.

“Long week at work?”

“Something like that,” I mutter cryptically.

“You know what you need, a nice massage.” I groan when she shoots me an evil grin.

I know the kind of massages she gives and that’s the last thing I need in my life right now .

“You’ve seen him, haven’t you?”

I groan. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“Casey, you had a night with a masked stranger. I swear, that’s the hottest thing I’ve heard in…a very long time. I need more information. Hell, I need a mystery man of my own.”

I can’t help but laugh, but something in it makes her look my way with her brow pinched.

“What?” I ask, not liking the way she’s looking at me.

“You’re stressed. Your shoulders are tight as hell. Something is going on.”

The sigh I let out only confirms what she already knows.

“Fill me with caffeine and I might just spill,” I mutter.

A smirk covers Parker’s face as she presses her foot harder to the gas. “Consider it done.”

Twenty minutes later, I’m sitting in the back corner of Starbucks, waiting for Parker to collect our orders.

As I wait, I pick at my croissant, but I don’t enjoy it. I may as well be eating sand.

My stomach rolls with nerves and guilt. I haven’t spoken a word yet, but it’s already hitting me.

“Here you go, a venti caramel latte with a double shot,” Parker says, placing the large mug in front of me.

Abandoning my croissant, I wrap my hands around it in the hope that the warmth will settle everything inside me.

It doesn’t.

“Go on then,” she encourages before lifting her own croissant and taking a massive bite.

“The guy I hooked up with. He?—”

“He’s a Viper, and you’re panicking that your dad will find out?” Parker blurts, as if she’s been holding herself back all week.

I glare at her.

“What?” she asks innocently. “It was obvious. You wouldn’t be so tight-lipped about any other guy.”

I shake my head. Parker knows me better than anyone, I shouldn’t be surprised that she can read me like a book. “He found out who I am,” I confess.

Silence follows my admission.

“What?” Parker asks when I widen my eyes and gesture for her to react in some way.

“Parker, this is bad. Like, really fucking bad.”

“Why? You had a hot night with a player, and now he knows who you are. So what? It’s not like you want to marry him and have his babies.”

I school my features.

I have never in my entire life written “Mrs. Casey Rivers” on any single piece of paper just to test it out and see how it would look…how it would feel.

Nope, not once.

“Or...maybe you do?” Parker teases, a smirk playing on her lips.

I lift my hands to my cheeks. “Is it hot in here or is it?—”

“You and your wild fantasies?”

“Look,” I state, holding her eyes. “I’m not under any illusion that this is the beginning of anything. It was a one-night thing,” I say, slumping in my chair. “I just…I just wanted to see what it was like, and I knew I’d never get another chance.”

The second Parker’s eyes widen, I know she’s figured it out.

I mean, I was going to tell her anyway but…I guess I don’t need to now.

“Oh. My. God,” she breathes, unable to keep the delighted smile off her face. “You didn’t.”

I shrug one shoulder, trying to look nonchalant.

“You slept with Kodie Rivers.”

I squeeze my eyes closed; as she whispers the words, I’m back in that hotel room with his dark brown eyes staring down into mine.

“Keep it down,” I hiss. “I promised him that?—”

Parker looks at me flatly. “Who the hell am I going to tell?”

“I know you’re not going to tell anyone. I just…I promised him that it would never get out, and in turn, he wasn’t meant to know who I was.”

“But he figured it out. How?”

“Well, it wasn’t from the mole on the side of my neck like you,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“If you had as good a night as you’ve made out, I bet he’d recognize it too.”

I groan in frustration.

“No, seriously. How did he figure it out?”

“I met Dad at the rink last night after work and he was on the ice. He turned around, looked at me, and…he just knew.”

A wide smile spreads across my best friend’s face, and I inhale in preparation for what’s to come.

“You rocked his fucking world.”

I laugh, all the air puffs from my lips.

“I’m not sure that’s true.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t even pretend you haven’t read every single word that’s been written about him in the press. He hasn’t been connected with a woman since he moved here.”

“I know,” I muse.

“Many have tried, it seems.”

“Parker,” I breathe. I really, really don’t need to hear what she’s going to say next.

“And yet you, Casey Watson, managed to seduce him in one night—even with half of your beautiful face covered.”

I groan and drop my head into my hands.

“That isn’t helping,” I mutter.

“I’m so fucking proud of you, Case.”

I shake my head, refusing to look up at her.

“Don’t be weird.”

“I’m not. You set a goal and you fucking smashed it. Did you ever think you’d be able to sit in front of me and say, I, Casey Jessica Watson, have screwed my childhood crush, the man I’ve been obsessing over for at least a decade, and that it was the best night of my life?”

“I never said it was the best night of my life,” I muse, peeking at her through my fingers.

“Babe, you didn’t need to. I can read it in your eyes.”

“Fuck,” I breathe.

“Say it,” she taunts, her eyes glittering with excitement.

“Fine. It was the best night of my life, and he’s…he’s just as much of a god in the bedroom as he is on the ice. ”

She bursts out laughing, causing a few people to look over.

“Well, there you go then. I guess it is true what they say about hockey players.”

I shake my head, but I can’t deny that she’s right. Hockey players have a reputation for a reason.

“You already knew it was true. That’s why you refuse to sleep with one. You know no other man will satisfy you after.”

She scoffs, refuting my statement.

We both know it’s not the reason why she stays as far away from hockey players as possible, but I still like to tease her about it.

“So, now what?” she asks, dragging the conversation back to my issue.

“Exactly. Now what?”

She studies me for a moment, considering my options.

“I guess it all depends on how much you want to tease him.”

“I can’t. If Dad finds out?—”

“But what if he doesn’t? You want a do-over, right?”

“It was one night. One night that I’ll never forget. I don’t need another.”

“Bullshit,” she coughs.

“I can’t. It’s not fair to him.”

“Okay, fine,” she concedes. Or at least I think she does. “So, you don’t want to hear my ideas then?”