The whole ride to the rink Alex talks nonstop about Stephanie—first he was grilling me on what happened when she came upstairs but when I refused to give him any information, he then decided to just contemplate Stephanie herself—her looks, her personality and how completely “bangable” she was. I almost leaned over, opened the passenger door and pushed him out onto the freeway.
Now in the locker room I’m stripping out of my street clothes, getting into my practice gear when Larue brings up Steph—again. “So how naked were you when she walked in? More naked than you are now?”
I decide to give him something because clearly if I don’t, he won’t shut up. “Yep.”
I pull off my shirt and reach for my pads. He points. “More naked than now?”
Ty laughs beside me. “It sounds like you’re pretty obsessed with naked Avery. Anything you want to tell us, Rue?”
Larue rolls his eyes. I smile at him sympathetically. “It’s okay, buddy. Remember, we’re an inclusive sport. We don’t care what hole you put your dick in, as long as you put the puck in the back of the net.”
“Fuck off. I’m just wondering how she saw you naked and didn’t bang you,” Alex explains, and Ty bursts out laughing.
“Do you want to bang Westwood when you see him naked?” Parsons wants to know, and a few more guys in the room chuckle. “Is that a daily struggle for you, Rue?”
Alex makes a face and flips off Ty. “I watch chicks drop their panties at the sight of him clothed, so how does Stephanie see him naked and not let him stick it to her?”
“Larue, you are a hillbilly dirtbag,” Parsons announces, and shakes his head before turning his eyes to me. “But seriously, dude. You were in her bedroom last night, too, and you were fully clothed. I thought for sure I’d see nothing but your naked ass when I opened that door.”
“You guys think highly of me, huh?”
“We think highly of Stephanie’s hotness,” Larue retorts, and grins. “Which is why this is so disappointing. Nothing’s happening!”
I chuckle. “Oh, something’s going to happen. I know that now.” And I do. I knew that after our conversation last night. Any doubt I had this morning, with the sobriety of a new day, disappeared with our conversation this morning.
“So what are you waiting for?” Larue asks before he tugs his jersey over his fat head. Before I can answer, Larue rolls his eyes. “You’re really going to let this go because you’re too uptight and obsessed with your career? Really?”
“I didn’t say that,” I reply, but he’s not listening.
He laces his skates and announces, “Well, your loss is going to be someone else’s gain. Maybe mine.”
“That’s not your typical Rue victim,” Nikolai pipes up as he tugs on his skate laces. “She’s got a career that doesn’t involve tips. She’s a natural beauty. She has real tits. She’s bright. She’s not going to fall for your usual sleazy bullshit.”
“Thanks, Furry. Asshole,” Alex replies.
Everyone laughs. The guys start to wander out of the room toward the ice. I have the unfortunate luck of ending up next to Beau as we make our way down the tunnel. He fiddles with his gloves and glances up at me. “Sebastian Deveau lives to punch people. He doesn’t even need a reason, but banging his sister would be a damn good reason.”
“Seb’s my friend. And I’m not banging his sister.” Yet.
He shrugs. “Not my business…”
He steps onto the ice and skates away. He’s right; it’s not his business. But the fact that our little exchange just now didn’t involve any major insults felt like maybe we were making progress.
After practice Ty is asking what everyone is doing tonight. He’s talking about getting a group together for drinks. He’s doing a roll call. Larue, Furlov and our rookie defenseman Drew Abbott are all in. Echolls mumbles a maybe.
“I’m out,” I add. “I’m going to be on a date.”
“Your dad in town? Your sister?”
“Shut up, Rue.”
I’ve been stagnant long enough when it comes to what I want. It’s time to go after Stephanie. She’s a normal girl and she deserves to be wooed by a normal guy—or at least in a normal way by a not so normal guy. So I’m going to ask her on a date and I’m going to take her out in public, even if it means taking grief from my team or getting photographed by media or pissing off dear old Don.
Besides, Steph isn’t some puck bunny. She’s not a risk to me or my brand. I’ve known her for a few years now. She’s the sister of a player, so she knows what my life is about. She doesn’t need to fuck me for perks.
But God, it’s nice to know she wants to fuck me.
Chapter 12
