Page 59 of Grumpy Pucking Orc (Orcs on Ice #1)

Jordan

I was such a coward.

There were many good reasons for me to avoid discussing the future with Ozar.

He’d just gotten back from a hectic two weeks on the road, and diving right into a possibly relationship-ending discussion wasn’t the best way to welcome him home.

He was exhausted and needed to sleep. He had a game tonight.

I had to work this morning. All of them were good, sensible reasons to procrastinate.

But the main reason was fear.

Love sometimes wasn’t enough when there were fundamental differences in what each person wanted in their lives. It scared me that we wouldn’t come to a compromise, or that the compromise we agreed on would result in resentment and regret down the road.

Maybe we’d talk Saturday, when we both had time to truly explore the options. Or maybe next Saturday, or at the end of the hockey season.

It had to be this Saturday. Tomorrow. Because I wanted to move forward with our relationship. I wanted to talk about him moving in, and it would be insanity to take that step without knowing if we could have a long-term future together or not.

I pulled into my parking space and had time to grab a cup of coffee before my first appointment, thanks to having skipped the gym this morning.

Normally deviations from my routine threw my day off, but I took today’s changes in stride.

It was so good to have Ozar back, to have him in my bed all night, to wake him up and start our day with some glorious sex and breakfast together. Life seemed easy with him by my side.

And the expression on his face when he’d seen Coal and realized the cat was his…it had nearly made me cry. The joy, the gratitude, the love—not just for the little black cat, but for me.

My first appointment of the day was Stephanie.

Her implant was free of charge, as the tooth from DarRafi was not yet available outside clinical trials and this would be the first time I used the new equipment specially designed for shifter dentistry.

It took extra numbing injections and the time to drill was extended, but Stephanie left with the screw for her implant installed and a promise to let me know how everything held up when she shifted into her wolf form for this weekend’s pack hunt.

If all went well, I’d put her crown on next week, and we’d have a few more weeks of regular checkups to make sure the tooth remained undamaged after a few shifts.

My first restoration for a supernatural client.

I took a much-needed break to celebrate with an iced coffee before Mr. Gerwin’s denture fitting appointment.

Stephanie’s implant today. Ozar’s two implants on Monday, and next Wednesday I’d be doing X-rays and evaluating my vampire client to see what I could propose for her restoration work.

I felt giddy with excitement about the expansion of my business, and all the new clients I could help.

The rest of the day went smoothly, and I raced home to take care of Judy and change my clothes for tonight’s game.

Once more, Ozar had provided the girls and me VIP tickets, including an extra one for Stephanie, who had taken the evening off her remodeling project to come see “these orcs of mine” in person.

Abby presented us all with team jerseys, even though the orcs were still playing shirtless.

Of course I got one with Ozar’s name on the back.

The other three girls couldn’t agree on who was going to wear which orc’s name, so they left it up to chance.

Willa ended up with Ugwyll, Abby with Bwat, and Stephanie with Morag.

The Tusks lost, but they put up a good defense against the Ducks and I felt like the ending score of one to three was worth celebrating, along with the fact that I had downed three beers and shouted myself hoarse cheering for the orcs.

I wasn’t the only one cheering. The stands were packed.

Abby kept calling someone to get the attendee numbers and by the time the teams took the ice, she’d finally begun to relax.

Judging from the amount of Tusks jerseys, signs, and team merchandise in the stadium, I assumed she had a lot to celebrate besides the much-improved team performance.

More than the usual four orcs joined us at McHenry’s Tavern for a post-game revelry.

This time, the human customers didn’t line the edges as far away as possible from the giant green-skinned hockey players.

Ozar and his teammates were treated to jovial slaps on the shoulders, pint after pint of beer, and requests to sign shirts, menus, and even body parts.

I loved how enthusiastic everyone was, even though it meant Ozar and I didn’t have the chance for any private conversation.

Leaving him signing autographs for an older couple, I went up to the bar and squeezed in beside Bwat, hoping to get a refill on my beer.

“Yellow or brown?”

It took me a second to realize he was asking me what kind of beer I was drinking.

“IPA,” I replied, then thanked him as he waved down the bartender and ordered me a “PIA.”

The guy gave Bwat a thumbs-up, which made me realize he’d gotten used to the orcs and their language mistakes.

A minute later, Bwat was handing me a pint, informing me that he’d put it on Ozar’s tab because it wasn’t polite to purchase food and beverage for someone’s mate unless they were starving to death.

Even then, he would have needed to have Ozar pay him back for the purchase.

I laughed, adding the tidbit of knowledge to what I had learned so far about orc culture.

“Can I ask you something?” At Bwat's nod, I continued. “What does Grumem-esch-ach metanekan schlonakanap-tsknt mean?”

Bwat frowned. “Can you say that again?”

“ Grumem-esch-ach metanekan schlonakanap-tsknt .” My tongue tangled over the strange words, and I spoke slowly, trying to remember Ozar’s exact pronunciation.

The orc laughed and shook his head. “Your accent is horrible. It sounds like you’re saying, ‘my best friend won’t stop pissing in my window.’”

“I don’t think Ozar is repeatedly telling me that his best friend is peeing in his window.” Especially because he tended to say this during romantic and intimate moments .

“It’s possible,” Bwat pointed out. “I can see Eng doing something like that, and not as a joke, either.”

“Ozar lives on the fifth floor of an apartment building. Eng does not seem like the kind of orc to climb up balcony railings when there are a million other, less physically taxing ways he could annoy Ozar. Besides…” I squirmed, my cheeks feeling hot. “Ozar says it when we’re…we’re….”

“In the furs together?” Bwat shot me a knowing look. “I think he’s probably saying, ‘ Grumem - esch-ach metanekan schlonakanap-tsknt. ’”

“That’s what I said,” I huffed in exasperation.

One of the orc’s eyebrows rose.

“Well, that’s what I was trying to say.”

He nodded. “That means, ‘my beloved crushes my heart in her hands.’”

My eyes widened. “I’m not crushing his heart! How could he think that? I love him!”

“You’re his mate,” Bwat replied. “His heart belongs to you.”

“Yes, but not to crush,” I argued.

Bwat shrugged. “There is a cultural meaning that the word translation doesn’t carry. You aren’t actually crushing his heart, you are…cradling it? You have the power to crush it or to keep safe.”

“Is that…is it something romantic to say to someone?” Because it didn’t seem romantic to me, but I was trying to be sensitive to orc culture.

“Oh, very romantic.” Bwat grinned at me. “But you must have known that. You’re Ozar’s mate. That means you’re an important part of him, like a leg or an arm.”

Or a heart.

“ Grumem-esch-ach metanekan schlonakanap-tsknt ,” I said again carefully. “Is that right? ”

He winced. “Close. I’m sure he’ll get the idea.”

I headed back to the table where Ozar was finally done signing autographs.

Abby had her nose in her phone, no doubt checking numbers from tonight’s game and monitoring social media posts.

Willa was arguing with Eng about something in a corner of the bar.

Stephanie was holding court with six orcs, telling them about this weekend’s pack hunt.

I plopped down beside Ozar, scooting the chair over so my leg was pressed against his.

“Spending the night at my place tonight?”

He slowly shook his head. “I want to, but it’s Coal’s first night in my apartment. I’d feel neglectful if I didn’t return tonight. Can you spend the night at my den instead?”

I grimaced. “I have an early morning breakfast meeting with a colleague, and I didn’t bring a change of clothing. I’d need to be out of your place by six.”

Which would completely throw off my schedule.

I’d significantly deviated from it today, and the thought of missing my morning routine and gym-time was almost giving me hives.

Still, I loved the idea of spending the night in his arms again after so long apart, and it was only fair that I slept over at his place occasionally, especially since he was trying to settle Coal in.

“When is your breakfast meeting? If we both get up at five, will we have time to go to your place, then to your gym before?” He smiled sheepishly. “I can take care of Judy while you get clothes together, and I want to join your gym.”

“When you have a perfectly good gym at the arena?” It seemed like a waste of money to me.

He shrugged. “I don’t need to go to your gym every day. I would like the option, though. Unless your gym is private time? For you to be alone or with your friends? ”

I laughed. “Alone with fifty other sweaty humans? I’d love for you to join and go sometimes; I just don’t want you to feel like you have to spend the money.”

“I don’t spend money on much else,” he pointed out. “I have no car. The team pays for my apartment-den. I pay for my milk delivery, food, and furs. I can afford to join your gym.”

“Okay.” I took a drink of my beer and eyed him over the rim, trying to figure out how to approach this next topic. “About the car thing…I think you should learn how to drive. I mean, I’d like to teach you, if that’s okay. If not, there are driving schools you can enroll in.”

“I would love for you to teach me to drive.”

Ozar practically bounced in his seat.

“We’ll start out in empty parking lots,” I warned him. “And you’ll need to get a learner’s permit. I’m not sure what the requirements are for adult orcs getting their license for the first time, so we’ll need to check into that.”

“I’ll get a car of my own.” His eyes gleamed, and I wasn’t sure he’d even heard what I’d said. “Or a truck. It will be blue.”

I laughed. “Okay. Blue truck it is. But license first, okay?”

He grinned. “Okay.”

There was so much more I wanted to say, so much more that we needed to talk about, but this was all I could manage tonight.

And maybe it was enough for now. There was still the subject of our future looming over us, but for now, these little discussions about how we could merge small parts of our lives together were progress.

“ Grumem-esch-ach metanekan schlonakanap-tsknt ,” I told him .

Ozar blinked at me. “Is this some human custom? Which of your friends is pissing in your window?”

I sighed and tried again.

“Ah.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. “ Grumem-esch-ach metanekan schlonakanap-tsknt , my beloved Jordan. Grumem-esch-ach metanekan schlonakanap-tsknt .”