Page 14

Chapter fourteen

Mandy

" I s that your actual outfit, or did you steal it from a Victoria’s Secret runway?"

Nate’s voice hits me the second I open the door to my apartment, and my cheeks flush.

I smooth my navy satin dress and smile. "You don’t like it?"

He opens his mouth, then closes it. "I didn’t say that. Just didn’t realize I’d need backup to survive the night."

I grin. "Guess you should’ve worn armor."

He offers his arm. "Good thing I brought a weapon."

I chuckle. "Most guys call it their Johnson, their joystick, or their certified love handle. You call it a weapon?"

"He smirks. "A weapon in the best sense of the word, like a finely tuned instrument with devastating aim."

I shoot him a look. "That thing better be registered. Sounds like a public safety issue."

He winks. "Only dangerous if you’re lucky."

With a laugh, I follow him toward the elevator, already excited from the banter.

We ride down to the garage, the air thick with anticipation and a touch of cologne, though thankfully, not enough to cause injuries. When we reach his black Camaro, he opens the door for me with a playful bow.

"So, think we’ll survive this party?" he asks as we pull out of the garage.

I laugh. "Depends. Are there going to be strippers? Or just James and Dillon thinking they’re God’s gift to women again?"

"Honestly, that’s worse," he mutters. "But hey, at least there’s booze. And you. I think we'll survive."

***

Inside, Connor’s house is already packed, loud, and in action. The living room's been cleared for dancing, with a DJ spinning throwback tracks and uplighting bouncing off the walls. A tray of tiny gourmet tacos zooms past on a server's arm.

James and Dillon are already in the thick of it, surrounded by a pair of bottle-blonde twins that look like they arrived straight from an NHL calendar shoot.

"Oh great," I murmur. "Puck bunnies in their natural habitat."

"Be careful," Nate warns, lips twitching. "James bites when threatened."

We weave into the crowd. I spot Priya and Lexi near the bar, all with drinks in hand. Ethan and Mikey asked them to go, along with Kira. Connor wanted more women there for the single guys. Priya squeals when she sees me.

"Mandy! You look like a goddess."

Lexi whistles. "Is that silk or sin?"

Nate answers, deadpan: "Definitely sin."

The girls cackle as we join them, and a round of introductions kicks off with some of the players standing nearby. Parker and Grace wave from across the room, already mid-laugh with Stacy and Tanner. Kira struts over, wearing a minidress and a smirk.

"Where’s your blind date?" I ask, nudging her.

She rolls her eyes. "I faked a stomach flu after he ordered a Bud Light and tried to explain cryptocurrency to me."

Nate snorts. "Sounds like a keeper."

James saunters up with his arm around one twin and his eyes on Nate. "So. The bad boy brought a plus-one. Hell might be freezing."

"I brought a real date," Nate shoots back. "Being your date tonight, James, qualifies her for hazard pay."

The twin gasps, but James just cackles. "Mandy, how are you still breathing? Jones here just proved he’s got some depth, calling you a real date."

Lexi grins. "It’s fine. Mandy’s got her inhaler."

"You all suck," Nate mutters, though he's fighting a smile.

The music shifts and someone yells, "Oh hell yes!" as a ridiculous old-school rap song blasts through the speakers. Before I know it, James, Ethan, Alex, Connor and Mikey are on the dance floor.

James slides across the hardwood on his knees. Ethan moonwalks into a chair and nearly wipes out. Mikey breakdances...badly.

"This is a crime," Lexi declares. "Where's a cop when you need one?"

"You mean besides the fashion police?" Priya adds.

The girls are dying laughing, and before we know it, Ethan and Connor pull Nate onto the dance floor. All hell breaks loose. The guys start shouting the lyrics at the top of their lungs, jumping up and down like frat bros at a tailgate.

James spins in a circle, pumping his fists like he's headlining Coachella, while Ethan tries to do the worm and ends up face-planting into a throw pillow. Mikey leapfrogs over Connor, who’s air-guitaring with a breadstick from the appetizer tray.

Kira and I whip out our phones, crying with laughter as we record the chaos. "This is going on the Acers group chat," Kira yells. "With zero context."

Connor yells the chorus like he's headlining a rock concert, fists pumping as he jumps in time with the beat. Dillon throws himself backward and shouts, "Catch me!" as two confused puck bunnies try to hold him up while laughing hysterically.

Alex, calm no more, goes full Michael Jackson, moonwalking like he’s got glitter socks and a fedora.

Ethan and Mikey do synchronized air-saxophone solos with baguettes, while James adds dramatic body rolls like he's auditioning for Magic Mike: Acers Edition.

The room erupts, Kira and I nearly dropping our phones from laughing as we capture every rowdy second.

Haley joins our group, grinning as she slides between me and Kira.

She glances toward the dance floor where the guys are still goofing off.

"Okay, that was either the best or worst boy band reunion ever," she laughs.

Then she nudges me with her elbow, lowering her voice.

"You and Nate are giving off serious ‘something’s up’ energy tonight. Should we be worried?"

"Who, us?" I say, flashing an innocent grin and batting my lashes. "No, nothing. Just here for the tacos."

"Just making sure you're enjoying yourselves. But, I don’t think we have tacos," she adds, raising her glass.

Before I can respond, the DJ's voice cuts through the music. "Alright, Acers family, this one goes out to the happy couple. Grab your person and slow it down."

The madness is interrupted by a slow song, and without warning, Nate grabs my hand.

"Come on."

"What…where?"

But he’s already leading me onto the dance floor, sliding an arm around my waist.

It takes a second, but I fall into step with him.

His hand rests on my lower back, warm and possessive. "You clean up nice, Fields."

"You’re not so bad yourself."

He chuckles. "That’s it? I ditched James's striptease and I get 'not bad'?"

"Would you prefer 'devastatingly handsome with a side of cocky'?"

"That’ll do."

We sway in silence to the music. The party continues around us, but here, it’s just us.

"You didn’t have to bring me tonight," I say softly.

"Yeah, I did, or I would've been stuck with one of the twin puck bunnies James dragged in. Not exactly my idea of a good time. Plus, I wanted to bring you."

His voice is low. Serious. I glance up at him.

"Because we’re friends and I am so fun to be with?”

His jaw flexes. "Yeah, that. And maybe something else."

Before I can respond, my phone vibrates in my clutch. I glance down.

Allison.

I show him the screen. "She's FaceTiming. Should I answer?"

He smirks. "Nah. It's like she knows. Watching from the clouds."

I laugh. "She’d kill you if she knew you brought me."

He leans in. "Then let’s give her something to roll her eyes at."

And then he kisses me.

Right there. Middle of the dance floor. Not soft. Not polite.

It’s hungry. It’s heat.

His lips claim mine like he’s wanted this all night. And I kiss him back like I’ve forgotten every reason not to.

We break apart just as the song ends. Our friends are cheering or pretending not to watch.

He grabs my hand. "Come with me."

He pulls me down the hallway, past the noise, into a guest room. Door barely clicks before his hands are on my waist, tugging me in.

"Nate—"

"Say you haven’t been thinking about that kiss since the last one. Say it."

I swallow. "I can’t."

He grins. "Didn’t think so."

Our mouths crash again. His hands slide up my sides, teasing the bare skin beneath my dress.

"You taste like champagne and trouble," he murmurs.

I grin against his mouth. "You are trouble."

"You like trouble."

I gasp as he backs me into the wall, lips trailing down my neck.

His mouth trails heat along my collarbone as his hands roam over the satin of my dress, pulling me closer until there’s no space left between us.

I wrap my arms around his neck, my fingers tangling in his hair as his mouth finds mine again.

This kiss is dirtier. His body pins me to the wall, and I can feel every hard line of muscle, every bit of tension he’s been holding back.

He palms my breast through the thin fabric, thumb brushing over my nipple until I gasp against his lips. My body arches into him on instinct, even though my brain screams caution. He’s a player. I’m his ex’s sister. And I’m… not exactly experienced.

Still, I let him. Because the way he touches me is not just skilled, it's hot. And it lights something inside me I didn’t know was waiting.

"You have no idea what I want to do to you," he growls in my ear. "Things that'll have you moaning my name, squeezing your thighs together, and begging me not to stop."

I shiver, breath catching.

He grins. "You like that idea?"

"Maybe," I murmur, pulling him back to my lips.

Footsteps echo outside the door. We both freeze, holding our breath. Just someone walking past. Then a toilet flushes.

We break out in laughter, the kind you can’t hold back. Nate takes my face in his hands again and kisses me, deeper, rougher, like he’s claiming every unsaid word between us.

I’m flustered, my heart is pounding, and my lips are tingling.

"Do all you hockey players kiss like that?" I murmur, breathless.

He smirks, cocky as hell. "Only the ones who know what the hell they're doing."

I laugh, the sound low and stunned. "No wonder there's a whole damn fan club drooling over you guys."

He grins. "Good. Let 'em drool. Right now, I'm only interested in the girl in this hot blue dress."

"Good answer." I flash him a sly smile. "Might even earn you another round, if you play your cards right."

We return to the party flushed and pretending like we weren’t just mauling each other like horny teenagers.

James raises a brow. "So, where’d you two disappear to?"

Nate grabs a drink. "Bathroom. Very complicated plumbing discussion."

"Must’ve been riveting," Kira says, smirking.

She nudges me. "Mandy, seriously, you’re glowing. Did I see a little hallway disappearing act earlier?"

"Nothing happened," I say, too quickly.

Her smirk grows. "Uh-huh. Sure."

Grace swoops in just in time, passing out champagne. "Connor’s about to give a toast. Everyone’s gathering by the bar."

The DJ dims the lights and a spotlight hits Connor, already raising his glass.

"To the love of my life, the woman who somehow tolerates my locker room stench and still agreed to marry me. Haley, you’re my forever line mate."

Everyone cheers. Haley covers her face, laughing through happy tears.

Glasses clink. James whistles and shouts, "To the guy who somehow landed the girl way out of his league. Connor, what’s your secret, man?"

“Skill, Henderson, pure skill.”

He grins, lifting his glass higher.

James adds. "To our captain, who leads by example on and off the ice, and to Haley, who somehow keeps him humble, sane, and looking like he has his life together. We should all be so lucky!"

Everyone applauds as Connor and Haley give James a hug and a high five.

Then the DJ cues up a slow song.

Nate leans into me again. "Round two?"

I smile, slipping into his arms. "I thought you’d never ask."

And as we sway under soft lights, his hands steady on my hips, I feel it again, that shift.

Something’s changing.

And I’m not sure I’m ready for what it means...