Page 13 of On Thin Ice (Calgary Mounties #1)
Chapter Twelve
KISSING MY GIRLFRIEND
Lincoln
The first game of the season is only two hours away, and it feels strange to have Milo running around the locker room. While a few of my teammates have their children in tow, I’m the only one with a dog, and trying to keep him from getting overexcited is becoming difficult.
“Addie, can you take him away from everyone for a bit?” I ask, trying to get her attention from where she’s standing with Kylie.
It’s only the big games like this where management allows the families to join us before we warm up, and it’s the first time I’ve ever had someone here for me. It feels good, and I wonder briefly how much better it would feel if this weren’t all fake.
Adele nods and moves closer, taking Milo’s lead from my hand. Her fingers graze mine, and I catch her eye as she smiles.
I can’t quite pinpoint when the lines became so blurred for me, but I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to be fantasizing about finding a secluded place to ravish her right now. Every time she smiles at me, my stomach does a stupid little flip, something I’ve never experienced before.
“You okay?” she asks, peering up at me with a small frown .
I’ve obviously been staring for too long, and I give myself a little mental shake.
“Yeah. Just want to get my head in the game, but he’s getting a bit overstimulated.
” I nod towards where Milo is chasing his tail near Dean, who frowns down at him while trying to start his pregame routine, focusing on his reflexes ahead of a night in front of the net.
Hockey players are superstitious at the best of times, but goalies take it to a whole other level, and I doubt my friend appreciates having a giant ball of fur messing with his process.
“Good idea. I’ll take him for a walk to find Sarah and see what she wants to do with him. She mentioned wanting to get a video of Milo high fiving you all as you go on the ice for warm-ups.”
I shake my head. “This whole thing is so bizarre. I honestly don’t think people are going to be that interested in following him.”
Adele gasps dramatically and places a hand over her heart. “How dare you? He is the cutest dog there ever was, and everyone will love him.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever you say, Addie.”
She gives me a small smile before heading towards Milo.
She clips his lead onto his collar and guides him out of the room.
Kylie follows behind, and once they are gone, I let out a little breath.
The rest of my teammates’ families leave as well, and eventually, it’s just us and the support staff left in the room.
“It’s so weird seeing you two together,” Ollie says as I take a seat beside him to unlace my dress shoes.
“What are you talking about? I’ve been hanging out with Adele for years.” Toeing off my shoes, I get started on removing my suit, careful to keep the shirt from creasing as I hang it inside my hutch.
“Yeah, but that was different. She had a fiancé, and you guys were just friends. And barely even that, truth be told. I always thought you drove her nuts.”
I shrug, knowing he’s not far from the truth. “What can I say? Guess she finally came to her senses and realized how awesome I am.”
He snorts and shakes his head but doesn’t reply.
“I think it’s all for show. They haven’t even kissed,” Dean pipes up.
“What do you mean we haven’t even kissed? I wasn’t aware you knew every move I made these days, Thomas,” I say, glaring over at the goalie who is smirking at me.
Should have just let Milo annoy the shit out of him a little longer.
“I just don’t buy it. Adele has impeccable taste. There’s no way you’ve locked that down.”
I raise an eyebrow. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had a thing for my girlfriend.”
“She’s hot and super cool. Of course I’ve got a thing for her. I’ve been waiting for her to be single since the day I met her, and I seriously do not see things lasting between you two.”
I’m not entirely sure if he’s serious, but irritation starts to bubble inside my stomach as I glare at him. Dean has always had a very dry sense of humour, and it’s often difficult to tell when he’s joking, but this is the first time I’ve wanted to punch him.
“Dude, as if you’d be able to land a woman like Adele. She’s way too smart for you. You’d better stick with the bunnies,” Michael says, shaking his head at Dean.
Dean just shrugs. “I reckon I could keep her satisfied.”
“Alright, that’s enough. Adele is family, remember? Stop being a dick, Dean,” Seth says, finally joining the conversation from my other side.
“Took you long enough,” I mutter under my breath as I start pulling my gear on .
“Careful, Linc. Starting to think you’re actually serious about all this,” he murmurs back.
I don’t reply, too irritated by everyone.
I need to get my head out of my ass and focus on the game, not be thinking about how one of my close friends and teammates wants to sleep with my girlfriend.
Fake girlfriend, idiot.
Goddamn it.
Forty minutes before the puck drops, we head out into the players tunnel, moving towards the ice, ready to warmup. The crowd is loud already, and the excitement in the air is infectious.
“Hold up, guys! We need to get some content first,” Sarah calls from somewhere up ahead.
Milo barks, and I peer around the guys in front of me to see him sitting on a stool just to the side of the door leading out to the ice.
“What’s going on?” Coach Stevens comes up behind me.
I shake my head. “They’ve kidnapped my dog.”
“Ah, right. Someone mentioned that he’s our new mascot.” He looks around me. “Hurry this up, they need to get out on the ice.”
“Sure thing, boss!” Sarah yells before turning her attention back to the rest of us. “Now, everyone, high-five Milo as you’re walking past, and then we’ll be out of the way.”
The guys all nod while Adele steps into view and pats Milo on the head. “Come on buddy, it’s your time to shine. High Fives.”
Milo sticks his paw up in the air and the guys start filing past, tapping their gloves to it while he grins up at them all. He really is my dog - he’s a sucker for the limelight. Although he’s more comfortable there than I am these days .
The lights in the arena go out just as it’s my turn with Milo, and Sarah grumbles something under her breath as the announcer begins hyping the crowd for our entrance onto the ice.
“Good boy, buddy.” I give him a pat, which isn’t the easiest thing to do when you’re wearing hockey gloves.
“Have a good game,” Adele says, smiling up at me.
“Thanks,” I reply, smiling back.
Behind me, I hear someone snort, and I turn to see Dean watching us, an annoying smirk playing across his lips.
I turn back to Adele and pull her close.
“What are you doing?” she whispers, her eyes wide as I bend my head to hers, which isn’t the easiest when I’m in my skates, towering over her even more than usual.
“Kissing my girlfriend.” I brush my lips against hers, intending to keep it quick.
But she surprises me by wrapping her arms around my neck as she lifts on to her tiptoes and presses her body against mine, deepening the kiss as a little moan escapes her lips.
The sound of my teammates cat calling pulls me out of the moment, and she steps back, her cheeks flushed as she bites her lower lip, a little smile forming as she holds my gaze.
“See you after the game,” she says, and I nod, clearing my throat.
“Yep.”
It’s my turn to hit the ice, and I give her a quick nod before stepping out as the announcer hollers my name, doing my best to switch my mind into game mode.
Which takes considerably more effort than normal while my brain is wondering how much of that was just for show… Because the way her body responded to mine felt pretty fucking real. And has me wondering just how far we can take this fake dating thing before we cross a line we can’t come back from .
We’re halfway through the third period, and even though we’ve scored four goals, we can’t get complacent now, as Boston just scored the goal that tied the game. Which isn’t ideal for our first one of the season, especially in front of our home crowd.
“Come on, get your heads in the game, boys!” I call from the bench as Mark, Karl and Timo hop over the boards to start their next shift, replacing Anders, Mitchell and Maxim.
“Everything hurts,” Anders groans beside me, holding his side.
One of Boston’s defencemen just slammed him against the boards, which is probably going to leave a mark.
“Only a few more minutes and then Bethany can kiss it all better,” I reply, not taking my eyes off the ice.
“Doubt it. She just complains that my bruises make filming content difficult,” he grumbles.
That grabs my attention, and I turn to look at him with one eyebrow raised. “What the hell is she filming that bruises on your ribs are a problem? Are you starring in some adult videos we don’t know about?”
“She makes me workout with her with my shirt off at least once a week. Says it gets her more views or some shit.”
I have never pretended to understand what the hell he sees in the woman he married after only two months of dating.
She definitely falls into the puck bunny category and had apparently been buzzing around the team for years before Anders fell into her web.
My best guess is she must be fantastic at keeping him happy in the bedroom, because he seems to be miserable with her in every other way.
“Sounds fun,” I reply, keeping my opinion to myself as I turn my attention back to the game.
“Not even slightly. ”
I’m saved from responding when Coach Stevens shoves one of the team iPads in front of Seth and me. “Study this.”
Riley, the third player in our line, sticks his head over Seth’s other shoulder to study the diagram on the screen along with us. They’ve put together a suggested play that should, if all goes as planned, guarantee us another goal.
The three of us nod, and Seth hands the iPad back to one of the assistant coaches behind us.
When the fourth line finishes their shift, we hop over the boards for a neutral zone face off.
Seth immediately takes possession of the puck, and Pieter barrels between him and the Boston winger who tries to intercept our captain as he streaks towards the net.
Riley and I flank Seth, and when their centre tries to steal the puck from him, he flicks it towards Riley.
Riley takes a shot, but it hits the post, and the crowd groans when the sound rings out around the arena.
Daniel, one of Boston’s defencemen, smirks while he claims the puck, attempting to duck around Riley, but he hadn’t noticed how close I am, and I casually reach out with my stick and steal it back with a grin.
I can be a bit of a shit-disturber when I want, and the way Daniel’s jaw tenses tells me that I’ve pissed him off with the little grin. Never mind that he’d been smirking like a fucking asshole two seconds beforehand.
I don’t give Daniel a second chance, turning back towards the net to flick the puck towards it. It skims the top of their goalie’s glove, and the red light turns on as the puck bounces off the back of the net.
Seth and Riley plow into me as I throw my hands up, closely followed by Pieter and Michael.
“Fuck yeah!” Riley hollers in my ear.
Once we untangle ourselves, I look up towards the family box and grin when I see Adele and Kylie jumping up and down, cheering. Pointing towards them, I wink before skating off to bump fists with the rest of the team on the bench.
All we need to do now is run down the clock and keep Boston from scoring again in the next three minutes, and then we can celebrate with our loved ones.
As Boston pulls their goalie one minute later, Ollie steals the puck from the centre on their first line, Murray Sinclair, and streaks off towards the empty net.
The crowd starts screaming when he dodges the attempts of one of their new defencemen to claim it back before sending it straight into the empty net from centre ice.
All of us on the bench leap up, smacking our hands against the boards to make as much noise as possible while they celebrate on the ice.
The Boston players have lost their confidence now, and the last sixty seconds pass with no more goals scored. The arena erupts while the fans scream their approval once the final buzzer sounds.
“Well done, boys. This is the energy we need for the rest of the season,” Seth says before hopping over the boards and shaking hands with the Boston captain.
Their team files off the ice with their heads bowed low while we skate around and hype up the crowd.
There’s no better feeling than winning in front of a home crowd, and I flick my gaze back up to the family box once more. Adele grins at me before blowing a kiss, and I pretend to catch it before placing my hand to my chest.
“Ugh, you two are just too much,” Dean says, having just skated out of the net to join us.
“Careful man, someone might think you’re jealous.”
“Shut up, you big goofball. Just make sure you don’t fuck it up, because women like that don’t come along every day.” He skates off to join in with the rest of the team’s celebrations, leaving me standing on my own to ponder his rather ominous warning.