Page 17 of Pucking Tangled
SEVENTEEN
Mia
The moment they got out of Brooke’s car, Mia found herself caught up in all of the playoff energy buzzing around her. Fans in Lancaster Barn Raisers jerseys were tailgating, and from somewhere inside, she could hear the pulse of warm-up music reverberating through the walls.
Brooke looped her arm in Mia’s as they walked toward the entrance. “You okay?”
She sighed. “Yeah. I’d just rather not get iced out by a bunch of girls who think I’m sleeping my way through the team.”
“Would it help at all if you were?” Brooke teased with a smirk. “Because honestly? With three out of those four, I’d have a hard time blaming you.”
Mia blinked at her. “Wait—what?”
Did everyone know about what the guys enjoyed off the ice?
Everyone except me.
“I’m just saying. Your situation has got Why Choose, Hockey Romance written all over it.”
She snorted. “Oh my God. Brooke. No. Nothing’s happening.” She stretched the truth.
“Yet.” Brooke wiggled her eyebrows as they approached the box office.
“You read too many romance novels.”
The ticket attendant handed her an envelope with her name on it. Two tickets and a tiny handwritten note from Luca were inside.
Thank you for showing up. Proud of you for being here. Be loud for me. - L
Her heart warmed. He could have just left tickets and nothing else, but he took the time to write her a note. One that meant something to her, even if it was just a few simple words. Mia folded the note back up and tried to stuff it into her pocket before Brooke could see it.
“Shew. If you don’t lock it down with at least one of them soon, I might have to.”
Her eyes widened. “You wouldn’t.”
Brooke laughed. “Relax. I’m kidding. Mostly. Now let’s go cheer on your men and hope they don’t start fighting on the ice for your attention.”
Mia looked around. “Would you keep it down? They’re not mine, ” she whispered, even though a piece of her sincerely wished they were.
“Relax. I’ve got my ‘don’t fuck with her’ face on. No one is going to mess with you tonight.”
They made their way to their seats—center ice, a few rows behind the bench and close enough to see the guys warming up. Doing those TikTok worthy stretches that had all the girls drooling over “the hot boy aquarium”. The ones Mia missed out on when she watched the games at home.
Brooke already had her phone out. No doubt recording snippets for social media.
“Hey. Are you up for a selfie? If you want, I’ll hold off on posting it until after the game,” she asked.
Mia stiffened. “You swear you’ll wait until after the game to post it?”
“Swear.” Brooke drew an ‘x’ over her heart with her finger.
“Okay.”
She scooted closer to Brooke and smiled.
“We are so fucking cute,” Brooke giggled. “I’m so glad you invited me tonight.”
“I’m really glad you’re here,” Mia confessed and went back to watching the guys who were now skating laps around the ice.
Casey was the first one to spot her in the crowd. He almost stumbled over his own feet, but caught himself and played it off before throwing her a quick wave.
“I saw that,” Brooke leaned in and whispered. “Cuzzo is not as subtle as he thinks.”
Mia snickered. If she only knew the half of it.
Luca skated by, caught her gaze and hopped the half-wall to grab a water bottle. He kept his eyes on her while he squirted water in his mouth then winked before jumping back onto the ice. The silent exchange conveyed more than words ever could.
Casey skated over to Waylon and gave him a nudge. Waylon looked her way and gave her a tight smile and nod, not bothering to stop or slow down as lapped around.
Owen circled past last, eyes sweeping over both girls, giving Mia the faintest smirk like he knew everything she was trying to hide.
Her stomach flipped.
Brooke leaned close again. “You’re so screwed.”
“Yeah,” Mia whispered back. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“You were pretty tight-lipped at dinner. Are you going to tell me about it?”
“I’m not sure there’s much to tell.”
“If you say so. But, if you do ever need someone to talk it over with, I’m here.”
“Thanks,” Mia said with a small smile.
“So, when’s your last day of classes this semester?”
“I’ve got about two more weeks left. Then I’ve got a two week break before the summer term starts.”
Brooke’s eyes widened. “Ooo. You’re going to take summer classes?”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “Provided I ace all my classes, I’ll be able to graduate in the fall.”
“I’m sure you will. How about that internship Casey said you applied for?”
“It was really cut throat. I haven’t heard anything back. I follow up every few weeks though.” Mia shrugged.
“That sucks. I might know a few guys that could use a new agent, though,” she winked.
The buzzer sounded in the background signaling the end of warm-ups.
Mia’s focus shifted back to the guys skating toward the tunnel on her left.