Page 14

fourteen

Wyatt

“Dude,” Henry says after the game.

I roll my eyes. “What?”

“She’s here.”

“Who?”

He pins me with a flat look. “Your girl.”

Heat fills my cheeks, and it has nothing to do with the vigorous game we played. “She’s not my girl.”

Except after our afternoon together, I went home and started thinking. Elsy asked me, during the phone call she initiated, if I was dating someone. Is that her angling for something? She willingly spent the whole day with me, and we sat on that park bench for two hours talking. And I don’t do that with just anyone. Hell, I can’t think of a time I’ve ever done that before.

That day… it was fun. I didn’t have to think too hard. I didn’t have to force myself to have fun. It happened without trying.

When she’s not throwing barbs at me, I enjoy hanging around with Elsy. Fuck, even when she’s eviscerating me, I like to be around her.

“She’s looking good out there,” Henry comments as he strips off his gear.

“Fuck off.”

I won’t let him needle me. He’s an expert at it, exactly like I am. He knows how to get under my skin. But I won’t let him.

“I’m just saying.” Henry shrugs. “If she’s not your girl, you won’t mind if I ask her out, then?”

My stomach twists at the idea of Elsy and Henry. She deserves better than a sleazy playboy with pucks for brains.

And what if she falls for him? And it’s all a game to him?

A throaty growl rumbles through me. We’ve had this conversation before. I thought I warned him off enough. Clearly, I need to make sure everyone in this goddamn arena knows she’s off-limits.

Henry punches my shoulder. “If she’s not your girl, you better fix that, and fast. Otherwise someone else will swoop in and snatch her up. I’m guessing that dude won’t give you a heads-up.”

“She can date whoever she wants,” I grind out.

“Yeah, but you want it to be you.”

I blink. Do I? She’s fucking gorgeous, but as much as I like her, am I ready for dating and everything that comes with it? Can I handle a real, grown-up relationship, the kind that lasts forever?

Clarity settles in the pit of my stomach, wafting over me like the smelling salts we use to get our head in the game. I want to date Elsy.

Fuck. I want to date Elsy .

She hates me—and rightfully so, considering what a dick I was. How can I prove to her I’m not that insecure kid anymore? How can I convince her to give me another chance?

Elsy is waiting in the friends and family hallway. As I approach with Henry and Puppy trailing behind me, she gives me a radiant smile, her eyes bright.

“Good game,” she says, her eyes flicking behind me as if she’s dismissing me already.

Am I invisible to her? Or is she more interested in my teammates than she is in me? Either way, it stings, and I rub my chest like it will make the ache go away.

“Congrats on the goal.”

Puppy puffs up his chest. “Thanks.”

He scored another tonight, bringing his tally to three in six games. Not a terrible start for a rookie on the fourth line with limited minutes. One of these days, he’s going to get bumped up to the third line with more playing time.

Then again, the three of us play fairly well together, so maybe they’ll keep us on the same line after all.

“There’s this new club downtown I’ve been meaning to check out,” Henry says casually. He gives me a pointed look. I can’t tell if he’s goading me or encouraging me. Maybe both. “You want to come?”

I hesitate. The last thing I want to do is be at a club until ass o’clock in the morning and nurse a hangover all through our early practice tomorrow.

“Can I come?” Riley asks.

“Sure, Pup,” Henry says, and he scowls.

“Fuck off,” he mutters, but he doesn’t sound angry at the nickname. In fact, he almost sounds pleased.

“How about it?” I turn to Elsy. “You in?”

She pauses. “I don’t know. Am I dressed okay?”

Well, if she’s asking… I trail my gaze over her thick curves, her tight jeans and sneakers, drinking in the sight of her. She’s wearing an Aces zip-up—not the kind with a guy’s number on the back, but a generic team jacket.

“Yeah, you look great,” I tell her honestly.

She bites her lip. “Most of these clubs have a dress code…”

And we’re all wearing our post-game suits.

“Don’t worry about it,” Henry says. “If you’re with us, you’ll get in.”

Elsy gives him a skeptical look.

Teasingly, I nudge her with my elbow. “You forget the draw of hockey players.”

But she doesn’t laugh. Instead, she almost looks sad. “I guess so.”

I slip my arm around her shoulders, and when she doesn’t shrug me off, I count it as a victory. “Come on, I’ll drive.”

Her brow furrows. “I’m not driving your car when you get stupid drunk. We should call an Uber.”

“I won’t get wasted,” I promise her.

I can’t look out for her if I’m drinking heavily. One, maybe two. That’s all I’ll have. I know my limits.

* * *

The bouncer lets us in with no problem. He didn’t even glance at Elsy, busy scrutinizing Puppy more closely before stamping his hand as under twenty-one. The rookie doesn’t seem to mind, too excited to be out with us. We left our suit jackets in the car and I took my time rolling up my shirtsleeves, noticing how Elsy kept sneaking peeks out of the corner of her eye. I don’t understand women’s obsession with forearms, but hey, I’ll do whatever I can to get her attention on me.

“I’ll grab drinks,” I offer.

Henry raises an eyebrow. My eyes narrow, flicking to Elsy, who’s vibing to the beat. We have a silent conversation with our eyes, a jerk of my chin, and he shrugs, before he sighs and nods. He’ll look out for her.

He may be a sleazy playboy, but he’s a good dude. Most of the time. He certainly seems to care about her, though I’ve never seen him care about anyone else before.

“Els, you drinking?” Henry asks.

“Just one.” Her eyes dart between him and me. “Tito’s and?—”

“Tito’s and Sprite. I’ve got you.” I know all of her favorites. She’s a creature of habit, just like me. We like our structure, our routines.

And she’s sending mine all wonky.

Henry says something to her, something I can’t hear. Evidently, she can’t either, because he leans down and speaks into her ear. She nods, and then he’s grabbing her hand, pulling her into the throng of people on the dance floor.

“So, like,” Riley says. “Is this some kind of sharing thing? Because I’ve heard rumors in the locker room…”

“Fuck off. No, you haven’t.”

“Because I thought you two were together, but now they’re out on the dance floor, and?—”

“We’re not together,” I grit out. Spinning on my heels, I stalk off toward the bar, and he follows close behind me.

“So why is she always hanging around?” Riley is like a dog with a bone.

“Because she wants to.”

“She a puck bunny?”

Whirling around to face him, I glare at the rookie with all the ferocity of my nine years in the league as a brawler. “You keep your filthy hands off of her.”

But Puppy is grinning, raising his hands to profess his innocence. “Just trying to figure out what’s going on. I would never go after your girl.”

That’s what he said at the gala, too. I still wouldn’t put it past him.

“She’s not my girl,” I repeat.

The kid rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I figured, if you let Henry put his paws all over her.”

Unease runs through me. I don’t like the constant reminders that Henry gets to have her in a way I don’t. She’s nice to him. Even with the fragile friendship we have now, she’s still holding back.

“Fuck off.”

We make it to the front of the bar, and I order Elsy’s drink plus two beers, and Puppy gets a Coke. The bartender eyes us curiously, but I have no intention of giving an underage kid alcohol. Not when it could end his career. He has too much potential.

Drinks in hand, we push and shove our way to the dance floor. Henry has his hands on Elsy’s hips as they dance together. Her arms are around his neck, but there’s a good buffer of space between their torsos.

A growl rumbles through me, vibrating in my bones. She’s mine . I mean, she’s not mine , but she’s certainly not his .

I don’t care that he’s watching out for her, keeping the other lecherous dudes in the club away. If we hadn’t had the conversation in the locker room, I don’t know I’d even let him get this close.

Shaking the thought away, I focus on the happiness on her face. If I can’t trust my linemate, who else can I trust?

She’s lost herself to the music, her hips swaying to the beat, her head tossed back. Her blond ponytail shakes as she shimmies.

Henry’s eyes meet mine and he gives me a nod as I approach, handing him his beer.

I set my newly freed hand on her hip, and she whirls around like she’s about to punch me out.

But when she sees it’s me, she relaxes. I offer her the drink and she takes a sip, her eyes fluttering shut.

Fuck. I remember seeing that expression of bliss on her face when my fingers were deep within her pussy. And again when she came on my tongue. And then with my cock buried in her…

Slipping behind her, I press my front to her back, trying to find a rhythm. Elsy lets her head fall back against my shoulder, her arm still around Henry’s neck.

That won’t do. I draw her arm back, to hook it behind my neck, and he responds by moving closer, nudging his leg between her thick thighs.

Elsy’s eyes dart between us. “Okay, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” I duck my head to speak directly into her ear.

“Is this some kind of freaky threesome thing?”

My stomach lurches as my entire body shudders with revulsion.

No.

No, I don’t like the idea of sharing her. I don’t care who else is involved, I only want it to be me and her. Nobody else.

“We’re not going to have a threesome,” I growl.

“Because we’re not going to sleep together,” she says, equally resolute. “If you guys want to find someone else to be the meat in your sandwich, go ahead. It won’t be me.”

Through it all, Henry is right there, dancing against her. But there’s a considerable buffer between them, whereas she’s pressed right up against my chest. I’ve lost track of Puppy in the fray, but I’m confident he can handle himself.

“Do you want me to get him to leave?” I ask Elsy.

“I just want to know what this is.”

“We’re dancing.” I swivel my hips against her ass, my hand trailing up her flank to her ribs, then back to her hip. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“I—I?—”

Pinching her chin between two fingers, I meet her gaze. “What is it you want, Elsy?”