Page 118 of A Major Puck Up

My heart pounds, at war with my brain, wanting to pull her against me, tell her I’m glad she brought my daughter here, that I’m glad she’s here too. In my team’s jersey.

I want to tell her that I want my name on her back, but more than that, I want my name attached to hers.

I want her to be mine.

FORTY

MILLIE

“You know your brother is over there.”

Sara, Vivi, and I are set up in the Bolts suite, watching the game. Once the buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the first period, though, I’m heading out so I can get back to the hotel before the little lady’s bedtime.

“Ha ha. You’re hilarious,” I deadpan, tearing my gaze from Gavin.

She flips her blond hair over her shoulder. “Just sayin’. The coach doesn’t actually play in the game.”

“Shouldn’t you be more focused on Brooks? I’ve heard he’s even got a pierced peen. I’m sure that keeps you occupied.”

Her mouth falls open and her eyes go wide. “I’ll kill Lennox.”

“Please don’t.” I grasp her wrist, laughing. “I barely have any friends as it is.”

“Now you have two.” Sara bumps her shoulder against mine. “But seriously, did you see the way Gavin reacted to the jersey? Was I right?”

I can’t help but focus on the sidelines again, where Gavin is currently screaming his head off at his guys on the ice. “I was too focused on how pale he was.” Frowning, I turn back to Sara. “You saw that, right? He was burning up.”

She shrugs. “They’re dropping like flies. Wouldn’t be surprised if he has the flu.”

“Shit.” The second the word is out, I cringe and glance at Vivi, who’s happily bobbing to the music on my lap. “I mean duck. Did I do that right?”

“You’ll fit right in,” Sara says, giving me a warm smile. “And since we’re besties, I gotta tell you, the sparkly peen really is a bedazzling wonder.”

A laugh bubbles out of me. “Bedazzling wonder?”

“The entire team has them.” She wiggles in her seat, scanning the ice. “Can you imagine them all in the shower showing off their glittery penises? It’s like Lisa Frank porn.”

I choke at the visual. Ew. “Sara! Please. The last thing I want to do is picture my brother’s penis.”

Eyes wide, she slaps a hand to her mouth and turns in slow motion back to me. “Whoops. Forgot about that.” The shock fades and is replaced with a look of contemplation. “Although I’m not sure if he has one. The guys got them before Daniel signed with the team.”

“This was a team activity?”

She smiles. “Something like that. Gavin have one?”

“No.” I giggle. “At least not the last time I saw it. Which was a while ago.”

“I could have Brooks talk him into getting one while you aren’t currently banging. It takes a while to heal, but when you finally stop all this ‘we aren’t together’ nonsense, you, too, can ride the bling train.”

“Oh my god.” I flop back against my seat, being sure to keep a good hold on Vivi. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re ridiculous?”

“Only every day,” she practically sings, her face split in a grin.

Vivi went down easily, but I held her for a half hour or so after she fell asleep, relishing the baby snuggles. It wasn’t until my brother scored a goal and I squealed in excitement and nearly woke her up that I finally put her in her playpen.

The Bolts won 2-1. Without War, it was a nail-biter, but Camden did well filling in for him. I shot him a text to congratulate him and sent another to my brother.

Then I stared at my contact list, at Coach specifically, just below Camden’s name, wishing we were in a place where I could send him the same kind of text. More than that, I wanted to check on him. He looked like a ghost on the after-game show.

---