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TASHA

" Y ou sure you girls want to keep playing? It's okay if you want to quit." Wyatt said, leaning on his hockey stick.

"We’re fine if you want to stop. No shame." Trevor added.

Josie and I shared an eye roll.

"We want to keep playing," I answered.

"Lydia and Mila aren't playing?" Landon looked at the two who were sitting on the bench next to us, happily munching on some snacks. Snacks I had no clue where they got.

"They’re gonna sit this round out." Josie shrugged like it was no big deal. All four guys stared at us with surprised looks.

“Um, are you sure about that?" Bryton looked skeptical.

"Yep." Jo and I were stalling, waiting for our reinforcement to get here.

"Maybe we should—" Wyatt was cut off by a new voice.

"The help is here!” yelled our backup.

Mateo.

Mateo came up and wrapped his arms around Josie and I's shoulders. The two of us smirked up at the guys, enjoying the surprised looks on their faces .

"What are you doing here?" Wyatt asked his younger brother.

"My girls called, so I came."

It worked in our favor that Mateo was just around the corner and seemed more than happy to assist us.

"You can't have five players," Landon pointed out.

"We aren't. Mateo is taking Mila and Lydia's spots." He was better than them both combined. He was set to follow in his brother’s footsteps of playing hockey before settling on football instead, so he was exactly what we needed.

"Is that a problem?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. The four guys in front of us looked at one another, having a silent conversation but shrugging.

"That's fine with us. We’re still going to win." Wyatt looked at his brother with a confident grin.

"Skates are over by the counter." Landon gestured. When Mateo walked off to change into his skates, the guys turned to us.

"This is cheating." Trevor crossed his arms over his chest.

"You guys never said it had to only be us girls," Josie shot back, crossing her arms as well.

"Mateo practically is one of the girls." My lips twitched at my words. And he was… He just happened to grow a beard and have a dick. "Plus, it's three against four, so it's an advantage for you guys."

They shrugged. Professional hockey players and their egos. Trevor shot me a grin before they all turned and headed back to the ice. At least with Mateo we actually stood a chance.

Mateo came up behind us. "Okay, what's the plan, babes?"

"So, it's eleven to three." Josie said.

"Okay, not horrible."

"Lydia and Mila were no help,” I supplied.

"Hey!" the two called out, having heard us .

"It's true," Josie shot back. "So, we need you to help us come back."

"We aren't horrible," I added. Josie and I weren't the worst, but not the best.

"Don't worry, I'll defend your honor." Mateo flexed his arms.

"Good. We need to win." Josie patted his chest. "Then we can hold it over their heads until the end of time."

"I like the sound of that." Mateo nodded. "Let’s kick some ass, then afterward, we can go on that date." With a wink at Josie and me, he went for the ice. We shared a head shake. Mateo was never going to stop asking for a date. But hey, if he helped us win, I would consider it.

Grabbing our sticks, the two of us stepped onto the ice. With our little 'break,' I was ready to play again. Although, my legs were going to be so sore tomorrow.

As I passed by Trevor, I felt something hit my ass, making me whirl to face him. He held his hockey stick with a smug look. Don't fall for it, Tasha. Don't do it. My boyfriend might’ve been sexy as hell, but we were currently enemies.

Without saying a word, I skated over to Mateo and Josie. Exchanging determined looks, we lined up with the puck in front of us. I was more than happy to wipe the smug looks off the guys’ faces.

As soon as Wyatt counted down to one, we were off.

Mateo was good. Like really good. He easily slid up to Bryton and Landon, skating between them with grace. I was curious as to why he chose football over hockey when he clearly was great at it.

"Tash." I barely had time to look over in his direction before he passed me the puck. He sent it with such speed all I could do was put my stick out and hope it didn't slide right by into Trevor's.

Somehow, the puck hit my stick and came to a stop in front of me. My body reacted automatically by bringing my arm back and hitting it. The puck flew into the net.

"Hell yes!" Mateo yelled, pumping his fist in the air.

I finally understood why the guys celebrated when they scored a goal. I wasn't even playing in a real game or with tons of people watching, but damn, I felt like I was on top of the world.

Smacking hands with Mateo, I grinned widely, turning to face my boyfriend once again. He was trying to hide his smile, but I saw the way his lips twitched. I sent him a wink before the guys were in motion again.

We really weren't playing hockey the right way. After each goal, we'd get repositioned, but if we let the guys immediately take the puck, we'd get annihilated.

Deciding to use another tactic to make sure Trevor didn’t get the puck, I came up to his side. Using my shoulder, I rammed into him, hoping he'd stumble to the side. Of course, that backfired. The guy was built like a freight train. It was like hitting a brick wall.

"Did you just shoulder check me?" He skated to a stop and looked down at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. And?" I crossed my arms, trying my hardest to look threatening. From the amused look on his face, it wasn't working.

"I thought we said no physical contact."

"What are you gonna do about it?" I should have known better than to provoke him. I never learned. One second, I was standing there, and the next, I was hauled over Trevor's shoulder. It dug into my stomach as my hockey stick fell to the ice.

"Trevor!" I gripped the back of his shirt as he started skating. How the hell he could skate with me over his shoulder, I’d never know. He acted like I weighed nothing.

"Bry!" he called out. I lifted up slightly to see Bryton glance over and hit the puck to Trevor, who easily grabbed it and skated toward the net.

"You can't score!"

"What are you gonna do about it?" he shot my words back at me. All I could do was glare. I couldn't exactly stop him while he carried me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Reaching down, I grabbed his ass as he shot the puck into the net.

"Grab all you want, Sunshine. It's not going to help."

Grunting, I rolled my eyes. Yeah, yeah, whatever.

"Tasha!" Josie yelled my name.

"He started it!" I yelled back.

"Trevor put her down!"

"Damn, there's her mom voice," Trevor muttered but did as she asked, carefully setting me back on my feet.

"Never mess with Josie's mom voice." Trust me, I'd been on the receiving end of it multiple times.

"She's scary," he whispered, moving past me. I one hundred percent agreed.

"We're only down by a couple. We got this, guys," Mateo cheered us on.

"Where's my trophy?"

"I want a medal."

"Oh, yes, I like that idea."

I smirked from where I was sitting at our table as my friends listed off things they wanted. Somehow, I wasn’t sure how the girls—and Mateo—won. We beat Wyatt, Trevor, Bryton, and Landon by three.

The said four were currently glaring at the rest of us with their arms crossed. They really didn't think we'd win, yet we did. What made it all the more hilarious was Lydia and Mila including themselves in the win even though they did nothing to help. They were our sideline cheerleaders so it counted.

The fact that me, Josie, and Mateo managed to beat three professional hockey players and Landon was mind blowing. I came into today thinking we had no chance. Before Mateo we didn't. But now here we were.

I was going to love bringing this up every other day. From the way Josie grinned at her fiancé, I knew she was never going to let him live it down. I mean, who could say they beat NHL players? They did this for a living .

To celebrate, we all went out to eat and to brag about our win.

"I'll be cashing in my prize later," I spoke softly so only Trevor could hear me. His hand on my thigh tightened as he leaned in, his breath tickling the shell of my ear.

"Love the thought of me on my knees, don't you?"

"Maybe." I smirked. The others down the table were too busy talking to care what Trevor and I were whispering about.

"You cheated so I don't think it counts." Trevor trailed his lips against my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

"We won fair and square." My breath hitched in my throat. "But if you ask nicely."

"Ask nicely for what?" His hand inched slowly upward. The tablecloth hid what he was doing, but I couldn't help but glance over at our friends to make sure they weren't looking at us.

"I..." I trailed off when his fingers grazed the sensitive skin at the top of my thigh. "I'll get on my knees," I finished.

"Hmm," he hummed. "You know, if losing means I get to have your legs on my shoulders, I don't think I mind. "

Fuck.

I was more than tempted to call it a night and head home but our food hadn't even arrived yet. Trevor and his damn teasing. Of all places to whisper dirty things in my ear.

"I'll take my loss if..." He trailed off, those damn fingertips grazing the seam of my leggings.

"If?" My hips shifted down to try and get more pressure between my thighs.

"If you wear my jersey while I fuck you."

I couldn't stop the gasp from escaping my lips. Thank God it was loud in here and no one seemed to hear it. I nodded eagerly.

"Good girl."

Before he could say more, the waitress came by with everyone's food. A soft whine left my mouth when he pulled his hand away, which just made him chuckle.

"But know," Trevor whispered one last time, "you'll pay for cheating."

With that, he turned to his plate, casually striking up a conversation with Wyatt. My lips curled slightly as I picked up my fork, my fingers lingering on the cool metal a moment longer than necessary. A sense of warmth and contentment filled me as I thought about the future, the promise of what was to come igniting a quiet excitement within me. I couldn’t wait to see what was in store.