Page 1 of Just my Puck (Love & Laughter #1)
LUCY
“S torm, Storm, Storm…”
The nickname of the Coe Bay Titans star hockey player echoes around the arena, and I shiver.
Pulling the sides of my black jacket closer together, I wonder why I’m even here.
Hockey isn’t really my game, but my friends insisted I join them.
Mae has the hots for, well, everyone on the team and tries her luck at every game.
Me? I’m not interested in the game or the players.
My eyes wander, glazing over slightly when my gaze lands on the player in the penalty box. He is hunched over, but when he senses me staring at him, he looks up with a fierce frown.
Steele, I think his name is. Not sure if that’s his first name or last name or if he’s a one-namer like Cher or Madonna.
He’s hot in that rugged looking way but not my type.
Preferring the more preppy, blonde type, Steele is the exact opposite of that.
He’s also about six-five, which kinda just scares the crap out of me.
Usually content with the comfort of my four walls and the safety of my books at home, I was determined to be brave tonight and stepped out of my shell to attend the Coe Bay Titans ice hockey game.
A roar goes up around me as ‘Storm’ is fouled, and apparently, according to everyone who isn’t me, the referee has ignored it and let the game progress.
The arena is alive with the energy of the crowd, and I can feel the tension in the air as I shift in my seat, trying to get comfortable.
As my friends cheer around me, I attempt to get in on it, feeling awkward as fuck just sitting here.
Even in my ignorance, I can tell that the game is thrilling, and the players are getting increasingly rowdy as the minutes tick on.
The crowd is whipped into a frenzy, and I find myself being swept up in their excitement.
“Now, you’re getting it,” Mae whispers as I stand up with everyone else and clap my hands triumphantly as the puck ends up in the back of the net. “You’ll be a puck bunny before you know it.”
“What the hell is a puck bunny?” I ask bewildered, as we take our seats again.
She gives me a knowing smile and makes a rude gesture with her hands, where she inserts the finger of one hand into a hole made with the other.
“Oh,” I murmur, my cheeks heating up.
Mae giggles, knowing she’s embarrassed me, and gives me an elbow bump to show she’s sorry.
I’m not a prude, but I’m not a puck bunny, either.
Or any kind of bunny, for that matter. At twenty-three, I’ve had three sexual partners, and to me, that’s plenty.
I don’t give it up to just anyone, and if I did decide to throw caution to the wind, it wouldn’t be with a hockey player who thinks he's God’s gift.
Everyone knows the reputation of Jason ‘the Storm’ Edwards. He plays center, so I’m led to believe, and he scores most of the goals. But that’s not all he scores. I’ve seen him out and about on occasion, and every time, he has a new girl on his arm—usually, some blonde bimbo with her tits on show.
Wincing as I think that mean thought, I correct it in my mind. They might not be bimbos. Maybe they’re really intelligent and have intellectual conversations before they hit the sack to get down and dirty.
Who knows?
I shrug, even though this conversation is going on in my head.
I do that a lot. I’m rational and conservative, and I think things through intensely, maybe too much, sometimes.
It’s something I’ve had to learn because I’m not the most graceful person ever to exist. In fact, I’m probably one of the unluckiest people on the planet, so anything I can control, including my thoughts and the words that spill from my lips, I try my hardest, so I don’t make more of a fool of myself as the universe will on a daily basis.
This makes me relatively subdued and quiet, and more often than not, I actively disengage from conversations going on around me.
“NO!” Mae roars, followed by the booing of the crowd around me.
Having no clue what just happened or didn’t, I purse my lips and sigh.
This was a bad idea. Next time Mae invites me to watch hockey, I’ll be sure to have an excuse ready.
That applies to our two other friends, Holly and June as well.
Although June usually gets me and doesn’t offer unless it’s something introspective or quiet.
When the final whistle blows, the Titans have been defeated.
I think.
Judging from the anger of the players, the crowd, and Mae, who is cursing like a sailor, I slump in my plastic seat, deflated.
“You coming to say hi?” Mae asks as she, Holly, and June rise and gather up their belongings.
Giving her an incredulous stare, I shake my head emphatically, my dark waves fluffing around my face and causing my glasses to slip slightly down my nose. “I’ll wait.”
“Suit yourself,” she says with a shrug, and the three of them go off to wait for the players to make an appearance.
Settling in for a long wait, I pull my book out of my bag and lean back, lifting my feet onto the back of the chair in front of me. Opening it, I get lost in the angsty world of a woman with amnesia who doesn’t remember her boyfriend or their poor dog.
Time ticks on, and eventually, I look up to see that the players are finally out and mingling with the crowds who have stuck around for the backstage show, mainly of the female variety but the odd guy trying to make best buds with the jocks, laughing too loudly at their jokes and asking if they want to go for a beer.
Looking around for my friends, they are nowhere to be seen. About to rise from my seat and head for the exit, irritation flaring up that they left me without a word, I see them by the doors waving frantically to get my attention.
“You coming?” Holly shouts.
Shaking my head, I’m so done with this night. My bed is calling to me, and I have a fairly early morning to get up for at the Coe Bay library.
Shoving my book back into my bag, I stand and shuffle along the row where we were seated in the middle and then hurry down the steps toward the exit.
Unfortunately, I have to pass the lingering players, still seated and surrounded by their chosen ones.
Without warning, I take a clumsy step, turning over on my ankle, and plunge right into the lap of Jason ‘the Storm' Edwards, the Titans' star player. I should’ve known, without fail, that something would happen, and the universe would screw me over.
“Oww!” he yelps as my handbag smacks his head on my way down.
“Ahh!” Simultaneously, I gasp for air as I land knees-first, my face mere inches away from his crotch encased in rough black denim, the scent of leather from his jacket filling my nostrils.
What did you just do, Lucy?
I could ask myself that a million times and wouldn’t have an answer.
Licking my lips, I slowly lift my head, hearing the snickers from the witnesses to my humiliation, and accidentally meet his gaze.
I definitely wasn’t trying to, but like fate wanted to kick me harder than it already has, here I am, falling into the blue depths of a pair of eyes, noticing his face gorgeous and chiseled, with a hint of stubble around his jaw.
He stares down at me, and time stops for just a moment as that gaze of mixed surprise and amusement practically pierces my soul.
More embarrassed than I’ve ever been in my life, and that’s saying something, I scramble to my feet, using his muscular thighs as leverage.
“Sorry,” I murmur, my cheeks flushing hotly as I snatch my hands back as if his legs were made from lava.
Trying to make my escape as quickly as possible for a human imbued with clumsy as ninety-nine percent of their makeup, I’m not quick enough.
Jason catches my hand, a slow, sexy smirk playing on his lips, and to my dismay, everything else fades away.
“Steady on there, princess. I don’t do blowies on the first date.”
The roar of laughter around me fuels my humiliation and leaves me completely mute.
Yanking my hand back, I dash for the exit, dragging my bag behind me, one book lighter, but no way in hell am I going back for it.
It is lost to the fates who decided to fuck me over in the worst way imaginable.
I'm sure I will never live this down, and I’m thankful my friends weren’t here to see it.
My heart pounding in my chest; I can’t believe what had just happened. How had I managed to fall face-first into the lap of the most famous hockey player in the Coe Bay area, my mouth millimeters from his cock?
How?
Only you, Luce. Only you.