Page 90 of Hockey Halloween

Lilith

I can’t take it anymore. I might not have known him for very long, but I’ve known him long enough to know that he has a special scowl just for me.

It’s worse than his resting scowly face. It’s somehow more… scowly.

I don’t know why. Do I offend him that much?

My ex, Johnny, told me I wasn’t anything special, that I was plain, just like everyone else, so how Mason is having such a visceral reaction to my existence is anyone’s guess.

Maybe he really just doesn’t like clowns. He’ll need to get over himself because I’ll be dressing up as Pennywise again tonight for the maze event.

The more I get glowered at by Mason McGuffin, the more my blood boils. Who does he think he is?

If he’s trying to make me feel more out of place because I’m new, then it’s working. It’s like his gaze is penetrating my clothes and singeing my skin.

Didn’t his mother teach him it’s rude to stare?

Well, I’m not going to let him get away with whatever power play he thinks this is .

I stride over to where he’s standing, with four de la Penas not too far away. I plant my hand on my hip, pop my knee, and arch a brow. “I’d like to talk to you.”

“No can do, ghost.” He hooks a thumb over his very naked, very muscly shoulder. “I have a job to do or my boss will kick my ass.”

I smirk. “Pretty sure Apollo said I was your boss, and I’m requesting a word.”

He smirks back, his nostrils flaring just enough for me to know he’s going to tell me to go fuck myself. But he does something worse. He turns away from me.

I think the fuck not. I grab him just above his elbow and guide him to a nearby shipping container.

At least, that’s what it looks like. It’s a small, Cedar Rapids Raccoon green rectangle made out of metal.

It could be a burger bar or a merch stand, I have no fucking clue, but I guide him behind it, spin him to face me and back him up till his body hits the corrugated metal side of the container.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

His eyes focus on someone behind me, and a look I don’t recognize crosses his face. “Do you trust me?”

“What? No. Of course I don’t. You look at me like you want me to st?—”

His finger covers my lips, and I blink at him. What the fuck? Did I turn the corner and cross a portal into bizarro world?

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

Is this man on drugs? How can he look at me with such disdain yet at the same time say he’s going to kiss me?

His thumb strokes my face as he looks down at me with a fondness in his eyes that takes my breath away. He’s smiling, it’s warm, it’s kind, and it lights up his whole face. Man. This guy could charm the pants off… well, me.

“Your ex just got out of the car with his cousins.” He’s still stroking my cheek as he talks. “I guess Apollo asked their team to lend a hand since they’re in town for the game tomorrow.”

My ex. Here. I blink. I left home, moved here, to get away from him, from the gossip, the whispers, and the looks filled with pity as I walked through town .

That’s what this kiss is, a pity kiss. “I don’t want a pity kiss.” My voice is breathy, like I’ve run up a few flights of stairs and need to bend over and catch my breath.

“What if it’s just a kiss?”

“But you hate me?”

He sighs, like I’m trying his patience. “Can you consent please? He’s only going to stare over here for so long.”

I don’t know why he’s doing this. I don’t know what he’s got against Johnny White, or what he thinks he’s going to accomplish by kissing me, but he’s a gorgeous man, staring at me like he wants to consume me from the inside out.

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt that tug of desire inside myself, and I really don’t remember the last time I felt wanted.

So, I nod. “Yes.”