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Hunter

Why the fuck is everything so hot?

Sweat clings to my skin. Why am I so warm? What—opening my eyes, confusion hits me faster than the night before does.

I shouldn’t have taken Sawyer to that party—the huge one we throw every year before the season—but he is my best friend, and while he doesn’t play on the hockey team, he does help with a lot of things off the ice. Like schedules, equipment, and making us all really fucking good protein snacks.

I knew it was dumb to let him come when he insisted, but Derrick wasn’t supposed to be there. He’d told us earlier in the day he wasn’t going to come, so I’d thought it was safe.

Then Derrick did show up and fixed his smart fucking mouth to talk about Jane.

Sawyer, like any good brother would do, beat the absolute shit out of him.

It honestly shocked us all. Well, maybe not me, I work out with him, and if there’s one thing Sawyer does not play about, it’s his sister and mother.

So Sawyer got arrested, but not before accidentally elbowing me in the eye when I’d tried to pull him off Derrick.

I shove all that aside and watch Mark sleeping next to me.

Okay, maybe last night wasn’t all bad.

When I’d seen him in the hallway, I couldn’t help checking him out a little. Freshly showered, his stomach had been very visible and mouth-watering.

He’s also the reason I’m currently sweating to death—his arm is thrown over my chest, hugging me like I’m a plushie. His ice-blond hair is spilled over his pillow, those plush red lips parted a little, and he’s snoring softly. His features are sharp and delicate.

He is very, very handsome.

My fingers itch to reach out and touch him .

. . that is until his eyes slowly open, reminding me this guy is a literal stranger and my thoughts are weird.

I lose his arm instantly, and sort of feel sad about it.

“Oh, shit.” Moving away, he sits up, rubbing his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t uh, realize I was um—”

“Cuddling me?”

“I was not cuddling you!” His face screws up into a scowl that’s cuter than it is menacing, and he combs his fingers through his long hair, somehow making it messier. Okay, stop thinking the stranger you’re in bed with is cute. Stop!

Pulling the blanket over my lap, I sit up, praying he doesn’t notice my morning wood, but now, looking down, I can definitely see his. His eyes graze over me before a hot blush hits his cheeks and he shifts a bit.

“Kind of felt like a cuddle,” I smirk.

“That was my sleepy time death grip. I was thinking about choking you.” I open my mouth.

“Don’t make a joke about how you wouldn’t mind that.

I literally can’t handle it right now.” I snap my mouth shut and can’t stop the grin that wants to spread wide on my face. He’s just funny, and a bit awkward.

“Well you have a gentle technique. Needs some work.”

His eyes narrow before softening as he begins to laugh. “I’m sorry.”

Yeah, I really should be too, and a lot less disappointed that he’s no longer touching me. I can’t even say this feels awkward. “Oh, shit. Your friend. Here.” As he gets up, my eyes trail the lines of his back, dipping down to his cute ass. Then he turns, displaying that gorgeous stomach.

If I were a better man, I wouldn’t be thinking about how my tongue wants to chase every line and dip of his stomach. How I want to pull those pink nipples between my teeth or bury my face in the blond hair leading down to a place I wouldn’t mind getting real personal with.

I need help. Sawyer must have knocked away my common sense with that elbow.

Shifting again, I try to squeeze my legs together. Time to stop having weird thoughts about the stranger who saved my ass last night. “Yeah, uh, I need to call his sister.” Mark hands me the phone and I call Jane, letting it ring and praying she picks up.

Finally, the ringing stops. “Who the fuck is this?”

“Janey—”

“Hunter? Texting exists for a reason. Why are you calling me at . . . Holy shit, it’s not even seven.”

“Your brother is down at Denton. He got arrested last night.”

“What?! Why is he there?”

“We were at a party, and you-know-who was there. I’m sure you can fill in the rest.” My eyes flick to Mark’s. I’m not going to spill Jane’s business in front of a stranger.

“Holy shit, is Sawyer okay? Derrick didn’t hurt my brother, right?” My heart breaks at the helplessness in her tone. I know she’s done all she can.

I laugh at this, although nothing about the last twenty-four hours has been funny.

I look up at Mark watching me. Well, maybe some things .

“No, he’s fine. I don’t think he expected Sawyer to fight back so hard.

He wasn’t even supposed to be at the party last night or I wouldn’t even have taken Sawyer. ”

She laughs. “My badass baker brother.” She’s not wrong. My friend looks sweet and innocent, but fuck with me, Jane, or his mother and you’re in for a world of pain.

“He elbowed me in the eye by accident,” I laugh.

“Oh my god,” she laughs. “Where are you? Whose phone is this? Are you okay?”

“I uh, crashed with a friend. It’s his phone.

Mine broke in the fight. It’s fine.” It’s not fine at all.

I don’t have the money right now to get a new one, but that’s a problem for later—though I really need one in case Jamie needs me.

I really hate to have to do it, but I can always ask Lia for one then pay her back, though even as I think it, I know she won’t accept my money.

Still, after all these years, I feel like I take advantage of Lia’s kindness, even if I am currently doing her a favor.

A favor.

I almost snort. I would have done it for her even without the free room and board.

When she asked me to stay with her son and watch out for him while he recovered from a devastating accident it was a no-brainer.

Bonus . . . Jamie, her son, is also one of my closest friends.

Even if lately my friend is a shell of the person he used to be.

I wish I was there to tell Jane all of this in person.

She’s been through hell this year all thanks to the dickbag her brother fought.

I also wish there was more to be done about her situation, but Jane feels helpless, and I can’t imagine being in her position.

She wants to drop it, stop pursuing charges against Derrick, and Sawyer and I both have to respect that even if we want to go to war for her.

We aren’t Derrick’s victim though, she is, and we have to respect her wishes. “I’ll go get him. Do you know whether Mom knows?”

“No, I don’t think so. Sawyer just asked me to call you in the morning to go get him. The last thing I think he wants is your mom knowing.”

She lets out a sigh. “Thank you, Hunter. Seriously.”

“Anything, Janey.” I mean that shit too. While Sawyer and I have only been friends for a couple of years, I consider them all family. She hangs up and I hand the phone back to Mark.

“Bad then?”

“That’s his sister. Just a bunch of bullshit went down last night. It’s fine.” It isn’t, not even close, but Jane wants us to let it go.

Right now, I plan to go see Coach. Jane wants me to back off, but like hell will I allow someone like Derrick to stay on my team. “Thanks for last night. Really. I wish there was something I could—” His door bangs open and a man with dark-brown curly hair and glasses glares between us.

“What the fuck!” Fire builds in those glassy green eyes. “Don’t do sleepovers, huh?”

“Noah, Christ, what are you doing? This is my fucking room.”

Ignoring Mark, he scans the floor, then goes over to the bed and drops to his knees, looking under it and grabbing something.

“I was texting you for my wallet.” He stands with the wallet in hand.

“It must have fallen out of my pocket when you were tearing my clothes off before you fucked me.” He glares at me.

“Congratulations. His tiny dick is yours.”

Turning, he leaves the room, slamming the door. “Fucking hell.” Mark scrubs his face.

Okay, wow. I um, I didn’t consider he might have a boyfriend. Shit. This looks bad. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. I’m sorry.”

“That is not my boyfriend. That is a demon I summoned from the pits of hell, here to ruin my fucking life.” He groans which does nothing to ease the feeling in my stomach. If anything, it makes it worse.

“But you fucked him?” Last night apparently. Shit. Mark came back from the shower after he’d slept with him, didn’t he? Okay, I did not appreciate the little twist in my stomach. I’m not jealous. I’m not. That would be stupid. Insane even.

“We’re friends.”

Friends who fuck. Great. Not that it matters. It doesn’t. Why do I feel like this? It feels gross and so dumb. I don’t know Mark. I have too much going on in my life right now to deal with someone else’s bullshit like this. “I better get going.”

“I’m sorry, I—”

“It’s fine.” I try to act nonchalantly. What did I really think was going to happen? I don’t know this man at the end of the day. Sure, he helped me out, which I appreciate, but seeing that guy come in here and the real hurt on his face . . . I don’t want to get caught up in this. “Thanks again.”

“Uh, yeah.” I get up, wanting to turn back and look at him, but I keep my head forward, barely hearing him say goodbye before I’m out his door.

I grab some ice from the team nurse on my way to Coach’s office and press it against my eye.

Last night it stung, but this morning it’s morphed into a dull throb that’s brought on a headache.

Or maybe that’s from the whole situation with Mark.

Except there is no situation. I am not disappointed or jealous at all. I’m not.

Heading down to the rink, I ignore my teammates’ curious looks before walking into the coach’s office without even knocking. Derrick had been arrested too, but I’m sure his father will have gotten him out by now so I need to get this over as quickly as possible.

Coach Tremblay lifts his eyes up from the paperwork on his desk as I shut the door. “Hunter? What the fuck happened to your eye?”

Greyson “The Wolf” Tremblay is a big man in his mid thirties who used to be pro. I’m talking top of his fucking league, lethal on the ice pro. His story is inspiring, and I admire the fuck out of him. He doesn’t take shit from anyone. I hope and bet on him being on my side now.

Still, this is a game, and Derrick is an amazing goalie. Unfortunately. It wouldn’t be the first time ethics took a back seat in sports. “I want Derrick off the team.”

“What happened to your eye?” He gets up, shutting his office door.

Ignoring him, I double down. “I want him off the team, Coach.”

He sighs, sinking into his chair and combing a large hand through his dirty blond hair that’s slowly threading with gray I’m sure all of us have helped put there. “What’s going on? What’s with the eye?”

I’m trying to calm down. I’m too amped up. I expected a fight, but I need to calm down and just have faith that he’s as good a person as I think he is. “Last night I was out with friends and my friend got into a fight with Derrick.”

“Where is he now?”

“Jail. Although I’m sure his father’s gotten him out by now.” I know that rich prick would have had someone contact his father as soon as the sun came up. “I don’t want him on the team.”

“You’re asking me to kick our goalie off the team because of a stupid fight between men in their twenties? Let me guess. You were all drunk.”

I know it’s not my place, but I have to say something.

After learning why Jane broke up with Derrick, I’m too pissed.

Without giving her identity away, I need to say something.

“During the summer my friend’s sister reported him for attempted sexual assault.

Of course, there wasn’t enough evidence, and with who his father is the charges were dropped.

He did it, though. I know she’s telling the truth.

Last night, I was out with my friend, and Derrick was there and called her a whore. That’s what led to the fight.”

Coach Tremblay’s jaw ticks. “She pressed charges?”

I nod. “They were dropped.” My anxiety starts to rise up in my throat and get the best of me. I feel shaky. I can’t breathe “You don’t know her, sir, but she isn’t easily shaken. I believe her, I know she’s telling—” He holds his hand up.

“You don’t need to do that. I believe you.” He believes me. I feel my lungs unclench. It’s only now I realize I’d been amping myself up for an argument, but I don’t have the space to really think about that or why I just default to defending her.

“She has a restraining order against him, you can verify that, but there wasn’t enough evidence and with—”

“With who his father is, there’s fuck all a restraining order will do,” he says candidly.

“I fully believe if we put Benson in his place, I can have him up to speed before the first game. I’m confident.”

“Hunter, I don’t give a shit if you get a newbie who’s never touched a pair of skates in his life. I won’t be letting Derrick play on my team.”

“His father will push back.”

“His father can deal with me. I’m not having a predator of any kind on this team.

” Being openly queer, he’s taken a lot of shit from a lot of different places, and some rich asshole isn’t going to faze him.

I knew there was a good chance he’d stand by me.

I know it’s only a small victory—not much else will really happen to Derrick and it’s so fucking unfair—but still, this feels like a win.

“Thank you, Coach.”

“Just get your head in the game this season. Practice starts Monday and I expect all my players to be at their best.” I stand, thanking him before reaching out my hand to shake. “Anything else I need to know, don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“Thank you.”