“Girl?” he asks, just as Novak squawks. “It’s the end of an era.”
“Charming Cal didn’t get his dick sucked by some bunny!” he yells for the room to hear, leading to jeers and unnecessarily dramatic reactions from the rest of the guys. Everyone regresses to teenage shitheads in the locker room, feeding off each other’s energy.
“What?” gasps Sam O’Callaghan, our back-up goalie, setting up Novak to spew more bullshit.
“He’s losing his touch.”
“You wish,” I spit, leaning over to increase Novak’s resistance level in the hopes it’ll shut him up.
“Maybe he’s been through all the bunnies already,” Moore adds in a bored voice, walking past us toward the steam room.
“Is this the girl you ditched us for the other night?” Theo jumps off his bike to block my path. He wags his brows like an annoying retriever, his red hair matching the flush of exertion on his cheeks. “You louuuuve her? You gonna maaaaarry her?”
“Shut up, you turkey. She was fun.” And she was. I can’t remember the last time I laughed over silly jokes. She hadn’t fawned over me but had flirted all the same. Shy, sweet, interesting, but not cold.
“Spuddy, no pussy is worth chasing,” DuPont yells from the floor, bent backwards over his foam roller. “Especially when there’s a buffet to pick from!”
I shake my head, biting back my inclination to throw my bottle at his head. She wasn’t just somepussy.
“Never took you for someone interested in the chase,” Moore comments while I shuck off my damp shirt, more than ready to escape this conversation for a much-needed shower. “You’ve always avoided complications.”
He isn’t wrong. I prefer straightforward and easy when it comes to the women I spend time with. Hockey takes up so much of my energy, I haven’t felt inclined to chase anything more than a puck.
Days after meeting her however, I still catch myself thinking about Alia. With her, if only for a little while, life wasn’t static.
Will I make sense to anyone if I admit this? Theo is a man-whore. Kubanski is new and ready to enjoy the buffet that DuPont is determined to introduce him to. Vega is married; happily or not, I’m not certain. And Moore has never been one for chronic flirtations—I’ve never seen him with a woman in the time since I’ve joined the team. Unlike me, he seems perfectly content with the status quo.
“After a long time, I felt it,” I confess out loud to no one in particular.
“Felt what?” Theo asks, grabbing his suit.
Connection. Interest. I recall the flush on her face, the way her irises had expanded when I leaned in.
“Heat.”
“Hey buddy,” he replies, his tone serious. “There’s medication now for STIs.”
“Fuck you.” I yank my towel off and throw it in his face, leaving my balls shrinking in the cold air.
“Not today, I still have bunnies I can score with before I turn to you.” Theo winks, finger combing his coppery hair while sending me a flying kiss. Idiot.
5
CALLUM
When I walk out of the locker room, I’m still consumed with thoughts of brown eyes and smooth skin. Everyone is headed to Block on Wood to decompress as usual. Maybe I’ll get lucky and she’ll be there tonight.
I got held up trying to introduce Kubanski to Chloe the other evening. By the time I returned to the rooftop, she was gone. I effectively cockblocked myself to help a teammate get laid and, if karma is real, my good deed will earn me another chance with Alia.
Deep in my own musing, I don’t notice someone waiting down the hall until I’m right behind them. They turn, jumping at my closeness, a familiar look of surprise on their—no,herpretty face.
“Tater Tots?”
I unintentionally scan her, greedily drinking in her details in the daylight. Her hair is pulled up into a high ponytail that leaves nothing to distract from her almond eyes and sharp cheekbones. She’sin tight leggings, this time paired with a casual white tee and an army-green bomber which offsets the caramel of her skin. She looks downright edible.
Her mouth drops open before she recovers. “Uh. . .”
My excitement dims when she seems less enthused to see me. “You don’t remember me?”