Page 59 of Hockey Halloween

Archer

Postgame Party

Archer sat in a back corner of Club Ego, nursing a beer so slow he wasn’t actually drinking it and trying to blend into the dark wall.

While the venue was low-lit, the neon blue and pink lights made it hard to hide, but he was trying his best. His late arrival aside, the game went okay.

Not his best, but not his worst. The problem with that was the depth of talent on the Sinners.

If you didn’t stand out, you were shipped out. He’d do better next time.

Meanwhile, laying low at the mandatory Halloween party was all he could manage.

For one thing, no one had told him to bring a costume.

But he couldn’t exactly beg off because showing face was one way to earn a spot here.

If people liked you, they fought for you.

And he liked them. From what he knew so far.

His social battery was just at zero for the night.

So there he sat in his postgame suit looking corporate while his teammates partied in guises of everything from vampires to super heroes.

“Hey, Lone Ranger. What are you supposed to be? Let me guess. Broody hockey player.”

Archer glanced up to meet the gaze of his taunter and froze for a second.

It was Teddy, but with the black lights hitting her iridescent costume, she glowed like a real angel.

Even her makeup gave her face an ethereal shine, and her long, blonde hair flowed around her shoulders in loose curls.

All he could do was stare, the capability for language abandoning him.

She curtseyed. “I’m Angel Princess Barbie.”

She sure was. “Hi.” Brilliant .

“Hi.” She dazzled him with a genuine smile, dropped into the seat beside him, and crossed long, tan legs he had to look away from to stay polite.

So much for his efforts to fade into the background.

“I have an enormous favor to ask.”

Here it comes . In preparation for Hurricane Teddy, he’d watched a handful of her videos on Cole’s phone in the locker room after the game.

Her content was upbeat, full of energy, a little ridiculous just like the woman herself.

This would be when she begged him to get on social media.

He dared a glance at her, got snared by her big, blue eyes and guileless little girl smile.

It was too late. He was stuck in her tractor beam.

“I’m guessing you heard from your teammates I’m the new social media manager. Well, on a trial basis. They’re thinking of hiring me because I know how to get follows and likes and work an algorithm like a stripper pole, but I need some help.”

His brain stuck on stripper pole , immediately followed by images of Teddy that made him blush, shift uncomfortably, and direct his gaze to the glowing purple floor. And she’d said it all in that sweet, innocent voice without skipping a beat. He was in trouble.

“I need an in with the guys to make them more receptive to some ideas I have for team videos. It’s never easy being the new kid, and since we’re both new kids, I thought we could help each other out.”

Resistance was reflex, and Archer was about to ask how she could possibly help him when three of his teammates strolled over and stopped in front of them.

Dylan Cole, Shane Reese, and Dashel Knight, dressed as Captain America, Batman, and Superman respectively, grinned at him like he’d been holding back on them.

All three were happily taken. They were more interested in teasing him.

Reese clicked his tongue. “Reid. Here we thought you didn’t have a costume, but you were just waiting for your other half. I get it now. Ken and Barbie.”

Shock kept Archer silent. Shock and the knowledge that his new teammates thought he looked like a Ken doll.

Nothing could keep Teddy silent. She stood up and held out a hand. “Teddy Walker. The Sinners are thinking about hiring me as the new social media manager.”

“Right. My sister Saralynn mentioned you.” Reese nodded as he shook her hand. “Welcome aboard this crazy ship.”

Knight hummed. “And lucky that you and Reid would get to work together. We can all attest to how great that is. You guys will fit right in.”

A protest stuck in Archer’s throat struggling to get out when Teddy’s fingers slid through his hair and sent a wicked shiver down his spine, severing the connection between his brain and his tongue. She smiled at the guys. “One of the perks for sure. Can’t get enough of this one.”

Only Dylan Cole knew they weren’t really dating, but he kept his mouth shut with a curious smile like he was interested to see how this spun out.

He wasn’t the only one.

Archer could feel Teddy’s gaze on him, warm and adoring. The weird thing was it didn’t feel fake.

“All right, well we’ll catch you later at the bar, Reid?” Reese asked over his shoulder.

He could only nod numbly, and the trio drifted off into the rest of the crowd.

Teddy reclaimed her seat beside him and leaned over so her voice was soft in his ear. “I help you assimilate with the bizarrely connected and interwoven team family, and you help me convince twenty-two guys to learn the CitiRokk dance.”

She’d actually need to convince twenty- three guys, because he had no intention of doing…

whatever that was. And then her hand found his knee like it had in her car.

It was casual, flirty but friendly like you’d expect from a girlfriend.

Which his team now thought she wa s. That was the underlying offer.

She’d pretend to be his girlfriend to give him street cred and a way into the tight-knit Sinners family.

Would it be worth occasionally making an ass out of himself on the internet if he could stay in Vegas?

It wasn’t like pretending to be her boyfriend would exactly be a hardship.

And his introverted tendencies were already getting in the way of making a place for himself here.

He released a hard sigh. “Fine.”

Anyone else might have taken offense to that response. Teddy looked amused and leaned in to kiss his cheek, lingering. “I promise this’ll be painless,” she purred against his skin.

He shifted in his chair, her promise already broken as he tried to adjust himself without drawing attention to it. “Just don’t go overboard, okay?” It came out almost a growl because of his…situation.

“Me? Never.” Her fingernails trailed whisper soft down the back of his neck, and his eyes closed in reflex. This woman would be the death of him.

Before he could say anything else, she was up and tugging him toward the dance floor.

He couldn’t even dig in his heels and slow the momentum because it happened so fast. Under the neon lights, she danced with grace and skill like in her videos, flashing those blue eyes at him.

He just stood there at first, no idea what to do.

As if sensing he needed some help, Teddy took his hands and guided him side to side then in a circle around her, leading him through steps he didn’t have to think about.

And once he stopped thinking, it was fun.

He couldn’t remember a single time in his life when dancing had been fun, just something to be avoided like the inevitable embarrassment that would follow it.

But he wasn’t embarrassed. In fact, he wasn’t thinking about anyone else in the room except the silly, slightly crazy, beautiful woman laughing with him, not at him.

It opened up something in him he wasn’t expecting. Not a door yet. A window maybe.

The next thing he knew, an hour had passed, and Teddy took his hand again, leading him to the bar with the other guys.

She angled him in next to Dylan Cole, where he was welcomed into the conversation about the game.

And then she…disappeared? Archer gl anced around discreetly while the guys talked penalty kills and saw her off to the side, sipping a glowing pink drink.

She gave him a smile, a finger wave, and a thumbs up, her halo bobbing over her head.

He bit the inside of his lip to hold in a grin.

Didn’t quite succeed and shook his head.

She was something else. And now she was his. Sort of. What is happening?