Page 21 of One Good Puck (Denver Bashers #5)

Abby

“ W ant another glass of wine?” Dakota asks.

I shake my head. “No, thanks. I’m sticking to one drink for the night.”

“Oh, come on. We’re in celebration mode. It’s Blomdahl and Bella’s engagement party! Look at all the champagne they’re serving!”

I chuckle at her cheery tone and glance at the champagne table at the center of Bella’s coffee shop, which is the setting for their champagne-themed engagement party tonight.

It’s an impressive setup for sure. There are dozens of beautiful glass flutes sitting on the table at the other end of the restaurant, along with tons of champagne bottles on ice.

The dessert table is dotted with trays of pink champagne cupcakes and pink macarons.

And there are clusters of white and gold balloons hanging throughout the space that look like champagne bubbles.

“After all the wine I had when you and Sophie came over last week, I’m limiting myself,” I say to Dakota .

“Oh no, were you hungover?” Dakota asks. “You didn’t seem that drunk.”

“I wasn’t drunk drunk,” I say, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. “But I was tipsy. And, um, I almost kissed Gavin.”

And I was so turned on that I grabbed my favorite vibrator and got myself off in the shower to the thought of kissing him…and doing a million other filthy things with him.

My cheeks heat just thinking about what I did. It was so naughty. The naughtiest, dirtiest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

I’ve never, ever fantasized about a guy friend in that way. The thought never even crossed my mind.

But just being that close to Gavin, feeling his hot breath on my mouth, feeling his hands on my body as he hauled me onto the kitchen counter and touched my skin…it all set me off. My whole body was on fire with the need. And lust. I wanted to kiss him so bad.

But then Emma woke up, and I had to focus on soothing her. I thought that would be the distraction I needed to quell the fire inside of me. It wasn’t. I was still so turned on. And I needed to do something about it.

So I got in the shower and under that stream of hot water, I used my vibrator and imagined kissing Gavin. I imagined sinking to my knees and taking him in my mouth. I imagined him in the shower with me, fucking my mouth, telling me how sexy I was, how much he wanted me…

That led to the most intense orgasm I’ve ever had while masturbating. And then I went to bed feeling like a filthy sex freak. What kind of person dreams up an X-rated fantasy over a kiss that didn’t even happen? I bet Gavin didn’t do that .

“You almost kissed Gavin?” Dakota asks, her eyes wide with disbelief as she looks at me.

Sophie, who I just now noticed is standing next to us, grabbing a mini-baked brie tart from the appetizer table, spins around to face us. “Wait, what?”

I cover my face with my free hand. “Oh, god. I’m so embarrassed.”

“What happened?” Sophie asks.

I drop my hand and wince at her. “Is this gonna be weird? Me telling you how I almost kissed your dad?”

She just smiles. “Probably. But I’m nosy, so I wanna know. And I’m also your friend. I want to support you by being a good listener.”

I let out a breath and tell them both how I was so tipsy that I tripped and cut my knee and how, while Gavin was fixing me up, I told him how hot it was that he hauled me up on the counter.

I skip the part about being so turned on that I pleasured myself.

I’ll never, ever tell anyone about that, ever.

“Okay, yeah, that’s a hot move for sure when a guy picks you up,” Dakota says, then looks at her best friend. “Sorry, Soph.”

Sophie sighs. “It’s okay. I grew up my whole life hearing my friends and women around me commenting about how hot my dad is. I should be used to it by now.”

“Hang on, we’re talking about hot dads?” Bella says as she walks up to us.

“Yup,” Dakota says. “Specifically, Coach Porter.”

“Oh god, yeah,” Bella says, sipping her champagne. She smooths her hand along the front of the white, off-the-shoulder, satin midi dress she’s wearing.

“Oh god yeah, what?” Ingrid says as she and Maya walk up to join us .

“Oh god yeah, Coach Porter’s hot,” Bella says.

Ingrid and Maya nod along.

“Who’s hot?” Blomdahl asks as he walks up and kisses Bella.

“Coach Porter,” Bella says, reaching up to smooth his thick blond hair.

He makes a grossed-out face. “Okay, I’m outta here.” All of us laugh.

He turns to walk off right as Camden walks over. “Hey. What’re you guys talking about?”

“Apparently how hot Coach Porter is,” Blomdahl mutters.

Camden jolts back, his expression horrified. “Wait, Coach Porter is hot?”

“So hot.”

“Very, very hot.”

“Ridiculously handsome.”

“Hands-down, the sexiest older guy I’ve seen in my life.”

All the ladies speak at once, except Sophie and me. I hold back a laugh at the bewildered look on Camden’s face.

“I can’t listen to this,” he says.

“Let’s get a drink,” Blomdahl says.

They walk off, and it’s just us girls.

Dakota turns to Bella, Maya, and Ingrid. “Abby almost kissed Coach Porter,” she says.

All three of them look at me with wide eyes. “Wait, are you serious?” Ingrid says.

“He hauled her up on his kitchen counter to fix her up after she hurt her knee,” Dakota says.

The three of them swoon in unison.

“So how did you go from that to almost kissing him?” Bella asks .

“I was tipsy from the wine,” I say. “He bumped his forehead on my chin, and I was touching his face to make sure he was okay. We were really close at that point. I was staring at him and kept looking at his mouth. I mean, here’s this handsome guy taking care of me.

I was about to kiss him, but then Emma walked in after she had a bad dream. And that was it. The moment passed.”

“Have you guys seen each other since then?” Dakota asks.

I shake my head. “I usually leave early in the mornings with Emma for school, and he gets back after we’ve gone to bed.”

They’re quiet for a second. “Do you still want to kiss him?” Maya asks.

I bite my lip and nod.

“You totally should. I would if I were single,” Bella says. She looks over at Sophie and flashes an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Sophie. I know he’s your dad, but he’s really attractive.”

Sophie chuckles and shrugs. “It’s okay.”

“I want to kiss him, but there’s no way that can ever happen,” I say. “We live together. What if things are awkward after we kiss? What if it’s so awkward that we can’t be in the same room, and I have to move out?”

Dread swoops through me. Things are already so weird, and we didn’t even kiss.

“I don’t want to jeopardize my living situation because I couldn’t keep my feelings in check,” I say. “Emma loves living there. And I’ve been able to save a lot of money this past month, not having to pay rent.”

“Hey,” Sophie says as she gently pats my arm. “Just talk to him. Clear the air. My dad’s direct and no-nonsense, but he’s also a reasonable guy. He’ll appreciate it if you’re honest and straight with him, I promise.”

I nod. “You’re right. Thanks, Sophie. I just need to talk to him,” I say, repeating her advice. “And maybe not drink three glasses of wine in an hour again.”

They all chuckle. Ingrid pats my shoulder. “We’ve all been there.”

I look at all of them. “Thanks for letting me vent about this. And not thinking I’m a terrible person for almost kissing Gavin.”

“You’re not terrible, Abby,” Dakota says.

“Not even close,” Ingrid says.

“If you knew all the stupid things we’ve all done after a little too much alcohol, your head would explode,” Maya says. “What you did was very, very mild.”

They all burst out laughing. I chuckle. “Thanks, you guys. I know we haven’t known each other long, but you’ve always been so kind and welcoming to me.”

“You’re our friend, Abby,” Ingrid says with a bright smile. “We’re here for you.”

Bella pulls me in a hug. So does Maya.

Despite the nerves I have at the thought of having a very awkward conversation with Gavin, comfort wooshes through me. These ladies are amazing.

We’re visiting and snacking on appetizers when I look up and see Gavin walk into the party.