Page 23 of For Pucking Real (The Seattle Vipers #4)

SEVENTEEN

INTERLUDE

SOUND THE ALARMS PUCKANEERS!!!

You ever watch two men beat the absolute shit out of each other on the ice, only to see them out for a midnight stroll like it never happened? Because SAME. I'm literally hyperventilating into a paper bag as I type this.

Yep. You read that right, puck bunnies and hockey hotties.

Devan ‘Dev-a-licious’ Scott and Tobias ‘Trade Bait?’ Groves were spotted in downtown Dallas last night together.

Team hoodies up. . . looking suspicious type vibes, you feel me.

These two weren't just casually strolling—they were full-on DEFCON 1 stealth mode.

My sources say they were sneaking around like ‘we have COMPLICATED FEELINGS that require midnight resolution sessions’ type cloak and dagger suspicious.

Like, we're talking pulled-down caps, shoulders hunched, checking over their shoulders every thirty seconds suspicious.

The kind of suspicious that screams WE HAVE HISTORY and NOBODY CAN KNOW WE'RE DOING THIS all at once. #MidnightRendezvous #SneakyPuckBros

Get this, my hotel insider says they disappeared into the elevator together for a solid TWENTY MINUTES before reappearing in the lobby looking all disheveled and breathless. Were they fighting? Talking? Something else entirely? #WhatHappensInElevatorStaysInElevator #UnlessHattieFindsOut

This is less ‘we're just teammates’ and more ‘enemies to lovers realness’ with a side of ‘we definitely have a history that nobody knew about until now’. I'm deceased. Literally deceased. #Screaming

Photos show the pair walking side by side, but it's the hands for me. FINGERTIPS. brUSHING. Nearly interlocked. Like a Netflix slow burn that just hit its episode 7 turning point. The kind where you're screaming ‘JUST KISS ALREADY’ at your TV at 3 A.M. while demolishing a pint of Ben & Jerry's.

Let's not forget, these two went full-on Blades of Glory in L.A.—fists flying mid-game like they were trying to solve YEARS of sexual tension with uppercuts. Scott literally looked like he wanted to murder Groves with his bare hands. And now. . .THIS?!

Fans who caught the moment said the air between them was ‘thick’, and not with tension.

(Okay maybe a little tension. The hot kind.) One fan who was staying at the same hotel told me they were practically breathing each other's air and had the kind of eye contact that makes you feel like you're intruding just by witnessing it. I. AM. LIVING.

So the question is:

Was it makeup sex?

A PR stunt orchestrated by some frantic Vipers management?

Or are we entering the age of #Tobevan?? (Yes, I'm coining this ship name right now. You're welcome internet.)

No comments from the Vipers yet, but Coach Lennox allegedly said something about ‘team cohesion’ and ‘retraining focus’. Translation? The boys need to play nice and apparently they are. VERY nice. Like, suspiciously nice. Like, ‘we've-resolved-our-differences-horizontally’ nice.

All I know is, if this is a redemption arc. . .I am HERE FOR IT. Front row seats. Popcorn in hand. Ready to document every lingering glance.

But stay alert, sweet slutsicles. Because if this is Chapter Two of their love story, you know someone else is about to appear like the plot twist that will rival a Jaz Starr novel. . .(Looking at you, Miss Masters. We see you lurking in the background of this NHL soap opera.)

#TobevanRising #VipersAfterDark #EnemiesToLoversButMakeItNHL #IsThatALoveTapOrNah #MidnightRendezvousRealness

And what about Scott's whole ‘romance podcast, soft boy who reads smut’ persona? Was it all a cover for the torch he's been carrying? Or is this man genuinely so in touch with his emotions that he can process complex feelings through literature while still throwing punches on ice?

Or—hold the fuck up—are we looking at Seattle's first hockey throuple?

Lest not forget the baby momma! Baby C is absolutely to DIE for.

Okay, back on task. Inquiring minds want to know.

. .because THAT would break the internet faster than a few A-listers weddings.

I would literally need to be hospitalized if that happened.

My poor little gossip heart couldn't take it.

All I'm saying is, watch this space. Because whatever's going on between these two is definitely NOT staying on the ice. It's spilling into hotel bars, midnight walks, and possibly into their bedrooms.

#HockeyHistoryUnveiled #ExesToEnemiesBackToLovers #VipersAfterDarkSeason2 #GlovesOffHeartsOut #WhatHappensInDallasStaysOnMyFeed #ButIWillStillTellYouEverything

WAIT!! THIS JUST IN: An attendant at the airport slid into my DMs with TEA, hunties. When I tell you I SCREAMED, I mean my neighbors called to check if I was being murdered.

Apparently, on the flight to back to Seattle, these two were seated six rows apart (Coach's orders, I'm HOWLING imagining Lennox separating them like kindergarteners), but by landing, Scott had mysteriously relocated beside Groves. Like, straight-up defied coach to be next to this man.

Again, get this, they SHARED HEADPHONES.

One earbud each. What were they listening to?

My source says Scott's romance audiobook.

STOP IT RIGHT NOW! They were literally listening to discussions about love and happy endings while sharing personal space at 30,000 feet.

If that's not romantic, I don't know what is.

Whatever beef they had in L.A. is clearly marinating in a whole different sauce now. A sauce that's spicy, sweet, and making everyone around them uncomfortable with how delicious it smells.

Coach Lennox was reportedly seen taking Advil like they're Tic Tacs. Poor man's probably contemplating early retirement at this point. Managing hockey players is hard enough without whatever emotional soap opera is playing out in his locker room.

#TeamDadIsTired #HeadphoneSharingIsIntimacy #CoachNeedsAVacation #TobevanTakesOff #EarbudBondingIsTrueLove #AdvilSponsorshipForLennox

Anyway, my little gossip gremlins, keep those DMs flowing with any Scott-Groves sightings. I'm particularly interested in dinner dates, meaningful glances across the locker room, or any instance of them arriving to practice in the same vehicle. The smallest detail could crack this case WIDE open.

Until next time, stay thirsty and keep your eyes peeled! Remember, what happens on the ice is only half the story. The real game is played in the heart.

Hattie out! #HockeyGossipNeverSleeps #TobevanForever #AirportStalkerMVP #NeedASponsoredNapASAP