Nash runs a hand over his face. “That’s probably another reason why I should stay away from Taryn. I don’t want any more bad blood between teammates. Especially if we’re going to play together next year, too. I shouldn’t have even told you any of this. Now you might think that I go after other men’s women as a habit.”
I can see why Nash might feel that way. “Nash, we wouldn’t think that about you, I promise.”
“Really?” he sounds skeptical.
“Seriously,” I try to reassure him. “My impression of you so far has been nothing but positive. And the fact that you immediately came clean about you and Taryn confirms that.”
“I agree.” Tucker backs me up. “And look, if you don’t want anything serious with Taryn, I would appreciate it if you told her so and stepped aside. But if you like her, we need to continue being honest with each other until we figure it out. If we’re grown up about this, it won’t affect us on or off the ice.”
Nash looks troubled. “I don’t know. I came here to get away from women's drama, and I’m not sure I can be as chill as the two of you are.”
“Dude,” Tucker chuckles. “I have zero chill when it comes to Taryn. But it sounds like we’re all still getting to know her. Like I said, I want her to want me without wondering, ‘What if?’ You don’t have to decide right now. After all, it takes two to tango, and you might be the one she wants. Which would suck, but I want her to be happy even if it isn’t with me.”
Nash’s jaw tightens. “I doubt I’m the one she wants. After we hooked up, she couldn’t get away from me fast enough. It looked like a breakaway on the ice. Maybe I was too rough with her; I don’t know. I was so fucking turned on after that kiss in front of everyone.”
“That’s between you and her.” I drawl. “I’m with Tucker on this. Don’t shut her out. For as much as I want Taryn to myself, I want her to be happy.”
Nash is about to say something, but we’re all distracted by a rustling noise coming from a few feet away from the pool.
“What’s that?” Tucker’s head turns left and right, looking for the source of the noise. “Are there any wolves in these woods? Or bears?”
I throw my head back, laughing at his wide-eyed expression. “Dude, maybe if we were in an actual woodland. These are a few trees and some shrubs, and there are landscape gardeners maintaining the area.”
“I mean, there are bears in California.” Mack chuckles.
We hear the same noise again.
“Who’s there?” Tucker yells. “We’re four big, dangerous hockey players and we’re armed.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
BAETY SWALLS
TUCKER
My teammates are laughing, but I’m seriously freaked out. I might be six five and two hundred and fifteen pounds, but I’m super jumpy.
“Tuck, what the fuck are you saying?” Col whisper-yells. “We aren’t armed.”
“I know that. And you know that, but whoever is lurking out there doesn’t know.”
Nash tries to reassure me. “Who could it be around here? This is private property. It’s probably staff or some of our teammates who had our same idea.”
“I hope not.” Colsen rolls his eyes. “Remember last year when we had that party on the beach to celebrate winning the championship? We went skinny dipping, and a few of the freshmen decided it would be funny to steal our clothes. I really don’t feel like walking back to our rooms buck naked.”
It’s my turn to reassure my teammates. “Nah, I doubt it. No one would dare prank the king of pranks. Remember what I did to them last year?”
Mack explains what happened to Nash. “Tucker got revenge on the freshmen. He snuck into their rooms at the Gamma house while they were asleep, and they all woke up with maxi-pads stuck to their foreheads and the word “Loser” in red marker on them. I don’t know what kind of glue he used, but it took them an entire day to get them off.”
“Evil,” Nash chuckles.
“Yup. Whoever you are, you don’t want to start a prank war with me,” Tucker yells. “Fuck around and find out is my motto; you’ve been warned.”
Another noise, a little louder this time, seems to be getting closer.
“Maybe it’s some of the cheerleaders who had our same idea and they’re naked.” Mack grins.
“Or maybe,” Nash offers. “A serial killer is hiding in the training center, and he’s going to kill us one by one. Like in a slasher movie.”
