Page 30 of Desperate Pucker (Denver Bashers #6)

Ryker

“I’m sorry about my brother,” I mutter as I look ahead at the road. “He can be nosy. It’s annoying as hell.”

“It’s okay,” Maddy says, her voice soft. She’s quiet as she eases to a stop at a stop sign.

There’s been a knot in my stomach ever since my little brother made that comment about Maddy being my girlfriend.

Relationships take so much energy and work. And after the disastrous way things ended with Alina, I haven’t been interested in getting serious with anyone again.

All of my focus and energy have been on my career. That’s the way it has to be. I don’t know how many years I have left in the league. I can’t let something like a relationship distract me.

I think about all the arguments Alina and I had over her wanting me to quit playing so I could join her family business. Even though I never considered it, it was still a strain on me, which screwed up how I played sometimes.

I know Maddy would never ask me to stop playing…but just being in a relationship would take time and energy away from my focus on hockey. After breaking up with Alina, I promised myself I’d never, ever let anything come in the way of my career again.

I glance over at Maddy, who’s staring straight ahead. My chest aches at how much I like her and care about her. I can’t get serious with her though.

She clears her throat, then turns to me. “I can’t do a relationship, Ryker. Or anything serious.”

I blink at her, surprised and relieved all at once. “I can’t either.”

She lets out a breath and starts to smile. “Really?”

I nod. “My focus is hockey. I don’t have the energy or time for anything else right now.”

She nods like she understands. “I’m focused on my career too. This is my first job outside of competing as a figure skater. I want to throw myself into it one hundred percent. I can’t do that and date someone.”

“So we’re on the same page?”

She nods. “Yeah. We’re not dating.”

“But we’re definitely not just friends.”

She bites back a smile. “We’re fuck buddies.”

I shake my head. “I’ve never liked the sound of that.”

“Why not? It’s pretty straightforward.” She lightly shoves my shoulder. “You don’t wanna be my fuck buddy, Ryker?” she teases.

I grab the back of her neck and pull her mouth to mine. I kiss her hard. She moans into my mouth as I tease her tongue with mine.

When we break apart, I grip her chin in my hand and hold her gaze. “I’ll be whatever you want me to be, princess.”

Fire flashes in her stormy eyes. “Does friends with benefits sound better?” she asks.

“A little.”

She smiles and runs her tongue along her bottom lip, then pulls ahead onto the road.

A few minutes later, she drives into the parking garage of her building and turns off the car. She unbuckles her seatbelt, then turns to me.

“You’re really okay with this thing between us being casual? Just hooking up, nothing more?” she asks.

“I’m okay with it.”

She hesitates for a second. “Is it okay if we keep this between just us? I’m not ashamed to be with you, it’s just that…

I want to do well in this job. I want people to take me seriously.

” She blinks, and the look in her eyes turns embarrassed.

“I think people would say some pretty harsh things about me if they knew I was hooking up with one of the players I’m training. ”

I reach over and cup her face. “Who you hook up with is no one’s business. I’m good with keeping this between just us. And just for the record, anyone who would insult you for that is an asshole.”

She smiles. She leans forward and kisses me, slowly, softly.

When we break apart, she grabs my hand. “Let’s go inside.”

Maddy is in the middle of unlocking the door to her apartment when my phone buzzes with a text from Nick.

I showed my friends that pic of me with Madeline. They’re all losing their minds. They can’t believe I met her

I show her my phone. She smiles when she skims his text.

“You and your brother are cute,” she says. She scoops Bruce up and kisses the top of his head.

I slip off my jacket and hang it over the armchair in her living room while she grabs a treat for Bruce.

“He drives me nuts, but I love him.”

“What’s your little sister like?” Maddy asks.

“The opposite of him. Kind of insane that they’re twins when you think about how different they are. She’s really smart. She studies all the time. She has a perfect GPA and is involved in a ton of activities. She volunteers too.”

Maddy’s smile is warm. “I wonder what it’s like when the three of you hang out.”

“Lots of joking around and bickering. Usually over who gets the last slice of bacon.”

She chuckles. “You guys are competitive with each other?”

“Oh, yeah. Especially when it comes to any kind of sport or game. We’re not allowed to play board games anymore when we get together with our parents. It gets too heated.”

Her head falls back as she laughs.

“We get on each other’s nerves like all siblings do, but we’re solid,” I say. “We show up for each other when it counts.”

“That’s so sweet,” Maddy says. “Especially how you swoop in and save the day like a good big brother.”

“It’s the least I could do. They and my parents sacrificed a lot so I could play hockey.

They moved a bunch of times for me. They used to come to my practices a lot with my parents when they were little and I was a teenager.

They’ve come to tons of my games over the years. I wanna be there for them too.”

Maddy’s warm smile turns sad after a moment. “You guys have a really wonderful relationship.”

I think about how Maddy mentioned the other day that she has older siblings from her dad.

“Are you close with your siblings?” I ask.

She shakes her head and pulls out Bruce’s food dish. “Nope. They’re not fans of me.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“I’m a lot younger than they are.”

“My brother and sister are a lot younger than I am.”

She looks at me. “Yeah, but you weren’t born as a result of an affair.”

Realization hits me like a punch. That’s why her older siblings don’t like her. Because of something that wasn’t her fault. Something that was completely out of her control.

I walk over to her right as she refills Bruce’s food dish.

“Are you saying that your older siblings mistreat you because you’re their half-sibling?” I ask.

“They’re not abusive or anything like that.

They just don’t like being around me. And when we do spend time together, they’re not very warm.

They make small talk with me, but they’re not interested in getting to know me.

They mostly talk about working with my dad since they work for his company—stuff I don’t know about.

They don’t invite me to family events. And when I do go, they kind of ignore me. So I just don’t see them that much.”

“Maddy, that’s fucked up.”

She shrugs. “I’m the kid from their dad’s affair. I’m living, breathing proof of the demise of their parents’ relationship.”

Frustration bubbles up inside of me. “Maddy, that’s not your fault. That’s on your dad for cheating on their mom.”

“I know that,” she says softly. “They know that too.”

I shake my head. “How much older are they than you?”

“In their late thirties.”

“You guys are closer in age than I am to Anna and Nick.”

“My older half-brother has two daughters. So does my older half-sister. I wish I could see them more often, but my siblings clearly don’t want that.”

That frustration inside of me morphs into anger.

“You’re their little sister, Maddy. They should go out of their way to make you feel welcome and loved. That’s their job as older siblings.”

She starts to shake her head, but I step forward, closing the space between us. I cup her face in my hands and take in the sadness in her beautiful eyes.

“I’m sorry your siblings treat you like that. You don’t deserve it.”

She blinks, and the sadness in her gaze fades away.

“You’re amazing. So goddamn amazing,” I say softly.

I kiss her, slow and soft, relishing the way her body sinks into me as she relaxes.

“If you wanna adopt Nick as your little brother, he’s all yours.”

She chuckles. I kiss her again. A second later, Bruce falls on top of my feet.

We both look down. Maddy laughs. “He’s cranky because this is his bedtime. He’s usually curled at the foot of my bed by now.”

“Sorry for staying so late,” I say to Bruce. I look back up at Maddy. “I should go. I’ve got practice early in the morning.”

She flashes a teasing smile. The one that makes my heart skid in my chest. The one I can’t get enough of.

“You’ve got a skating lesson with me in the afternoon too.”

I kiss her. “Can’t wait.”

She walks me to the door, and I leave. As I head home, that smile is all I can think about.