“I’m really sorry about those assholes. Are you alright?” He doesn’t look all that sorry, but I notice the guilt that flashes across his face at the possibility of hurting me—Lorelei—more. I fake another groan and shrug, then gather my crutches.
“I think I’m okay.” He’s clearly struggling to get up with his skates still on, so I hold out my hand. With a confused, somewhat horrified look on his face, he accepts my help. Standing, he towers over me, and I feel like a little kitten who wants to crawl under his jersey for warmth and protection.
Good God, I must be hungrier than I thought. He’s scowling down at me, and I open my mouth to ask him if he’s okay, disappointed beyond measure that I can’t flirt with him. His coach calls him over, already berating the other players for their foolishness. Well, that takes care of that, then.
I pop into the local market and stock up on creativity inducing snacks like ice cream sundae fixings, chips, and cookies, then add a salad for my dinner, and take it back to Lorelei’s apartment to look up the hockey team.
“What’s up with you and Hudson Bollinger?” I ask Lorelei the second she answers my call.
“Who?” she asks. She can’t hate him that much since she doesn’t recognize his name.
“Hockey player, big deal. Already drafted. Super-hot.”
“Apparently, since he stole your ability to speak in complete sentences.”
“I’m eating and trying not to make chewing noises,” I say.
“Did you leave the apartment?” she accuses, then since she already knows I did, she heads straight into a warning. “Don’t do it again, except for the exhibition.”
“You really don’t know who Hudson is?” I ask.
“I’m brushing up for your test, Cara. Why are you bothering me? He’s interchangeable with any of the guys on the team. They’re all loud, party-obsessed assholes.”
“Okay, sorry. Keep studying. I love you.”
“Stay in the apartment!”
She knows I won’t as well as I know I won’t. I still need to rehabilitate Lorelei’s image, after all, and that includes with the members of the hockey team.
Chapter 4
Hudson
I barely listened to our coach yell at us for roughhousing like a bunch of high school dumbasses and nearly hurting someone. That someone just had to be Lorelei, who was bizarrely nice to me. Did the stick in her ass get removed somehow? And why does she look so hot all of a sudden?
I’ve never thought that before. Hell, I’ve never bothered to think about her before at all. I don’t know if it’s because she was being helpful or her unusual choice in clothes, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her. I even keep looking for her, but she doesn’t come around the rink again until the exhibition on Friday. I take a good, long look at her as she gives interviews, and there’s nothing different that should have me so obsessed with her. But there has to be, because before I knocked into her the other day, she never crossed my mind, except to make me uncomfortable whenever we caught each other’s eye, and she’d give me one of her dirty, judgmental looks. She never goes to parties and barely says hello to her own teammates. She’s just not a fun person. In fact, I think she actively drains fun.
Now she’s smiling all the time, animated, chatting with her team. Her teammates are all smiling at her, and the media rep interviewing her is looking at her like she’s the goddamn sun. Jesus, did she just laugh? I can’t tear my eyes away from her as she throws her head back and tosses her long blonde hair behind her shoulder. Is it the hair? She normally wears it in a tight bun. No, it’s not just the hair. It’s not just her body, which is pure sin in a tight, low-cut sweater that clings to her small, taut breasts that I really want to see set free. I’ve never once glanced at Lorelei’s tits, and now I want to run my thumbs across her nipples to watch them pucker, then….
I stop myself before I get too carried away.
Thankfully, it’s our turn on the ice, so I can concentrate on something else. By the time we’re done, I feel like I’ve gotten my sanity back and can’t wait for the after party, one place I’ll be sure to not see Lorelei. My teammates and I are on our way out of the locker room, raring to knock back some beers and let loose when we pass a couple of the figure skaters in a huddle. The ones who performed are changed into street clothes, and Lorelei is with them. Our eyes meet for a moment, and she blinks and looks away. Was that nerves? Or just her regular disdain? God, I’m so sick of her being on my mind, that my good mood starts to vanish.
The other guys converge on them, pulling me along so we’re face to face with them. Lorelei looks at the ground, her cheeks turning red.
“You going to the party, Lorelei?” I ask, causing her teammates to laugh. Her face gets redder, but I can’t help wanting to get under her skin. She’s certainly been getting under mine, and for no good reason, since all she’s ever done is give me grief because I play as hard as I work. “Oh, sorry, I forgot who I was asking,” I say sarcastically.
Danica, who’s decided she’s my sworn enemy because I didn’t sleep with her, sticks up for Lorelei. “Come on, Lorelei, why don’t you go?” she asks.
“Yeah, goooooo,” one of my teammates yells.
She glances up, and our eyes meet again. Just that small look makes my cock twitch, and I clench my hands into fists to stop myself from reaching out and taking her right there, showing her exactly what all her attitude gets her. She bites her lower lip, and it’s clear she’s trying to decide. Instead of keeping her head down and slithering away, she lifts her chin and looks me full in the eye, a sunny smile curling her lips.
“That sounds really fun,” she says. “Sure, I’ll go.”
I’m in some alternate universe, miserable, and hard as a rock at how sexy that smile is.
Chapter 5