Page 30 of The Promise

Chapter 21

Kyle

“Fucking pass it man, what are you doing?” I yell to Nick, who zips past Sean and beelines for the net at the opposite end of the rink to where I stand. My knees are bent, adrenaline pumping, waiting for a puck to come flying towards me at any moment.

Of course the puck is stolen from Nick the moment he comes within ten feet of the goal, the opposing defensemen crowding in on him like a lamb to the slaughter. The guy never learns, always confident that he can score without the need to use his teammates to his advantage, but never actually proving that theory to be true.

By the third period I’ve saved what feels like 500 shots on goal and received just as many slaps of gratitude to the back from Sean, as he skated past me, triumphant smirk pulling his dimples deep. When the whistle eventually echoes through the arena to signal the end of the game, I wait on bated breath for the fighting to start. I’ve never been one to fight, not over hockey anyway. It’s not really a goalie’s job to get involved in fights and we’re usually not the target of an angry opponent’s fist. But I quite like to watch them all the same, especially the ones Sean sticks his nose into. He was born for this shit and I think the whole arena would agree that you can physically feel the heavy air lift after a few punches are thrown, post whistle blow. There aren’t any fights today though, and when I see Sean skate straight off the ice after the whistle, I follow, nipping closely at his heels.

“Wow, is this the day you’ve finally grown up?” I taunt, helmet coming off and the blonde, sweat soaked tresses that stick to my head being brushed away.

Sean barks a laugh, yanking his gloves off and squeezing his fists with a wince. “I’m going to be a dad, so should probably go easy on the fighting from now on. Callie said she doesn’t want a husband who’s missing his front teeth.”

“Husband? She finally agreed to marry you? I thought you had the whole proposal thing planned out?”

He nods, looking over his shoulder for the rest of our team, who haven’t left the ice yet. “I do have it planned, I don’t know when or where I'm doing it, but I'm fucking doing it before this baby comes.” He huffs a sigh and ruffles a hand through his mess of curls. “I’m still kind of worried she’ll say no though. I know she wants to be my wife, she’s said so, but she still thinks she’s too young.”

“Too young for marriage, but not to be parents?” I laugh and Sean nudges me.

“Don't let her hear you teasing her like that, she’ll have your testicles on a stick.”

“She loves you man, she won’t be able to resist when you do eventually get down on one knee.”

Sean laughs heartily as we round the corner, our team now following behind. “I'll be in the perfect position for a swift kick to the balls if that’s what she chooses, instead of saying yes like any other woman would.” There’s the arrogance that never fails him.

My teammates filter past me and into the locker rooms as I fixate my gaze on the fiery blonde who stands beaming at me, twisting the end of her braid around her pinky finger. I approach her, striding forward, still on my skates as Sean pulls Callie into a lingering hug.

Fuck, I want one of those.

“Killed it tonight boys, congrats.” Molly smiles, clapping her hands in the air with a jump. All I can see is her tits bouncing and the brightly coloured lace that covers them through her white t-shirt. I swear she wears this brightly coloured lingerie through transparent clothing on the regular, purely to get a rise out of my dick.

Molly lands a few high fives with the guys as they pass her and head into the locker rooms to shower off the barrel full of sweat we’ve all produced in the past two hours.

“Yeah,” Callie beams up at Sean as he towers over her, hands planted on her hips. “You boys did amaz—” in less than a second her face pales, neck clammy and she clamps a hand to her mouth. “Sean, I'm gonna puke.” Callie bowls down the hallway to the public bathroom and Sean sprints in after her.

I turn to Molly, her lightly freckled cheeks glowing under the harsh light of the arena. “Give me a hug.” I reach my arms out to her and she slinks away, nose scrunched in disgust.

“Ew, no you stink of sweat Davis.” She brings her palms in front of her, holding them out to fend me off.

I skulk towards her like a lion. “I wasn’t asking Crawford.” I smile playfully, fingers wiggling at her. “Give. Me. A. Hug.”

Molly’s blue eyes gleam, flecks of ice woven through them. “Make me.” A couple more of my teammates pass us, Nick and Lewis halting for a beat to spare me a shit eating grin, before leaning arrogantly against the locker room door, watching Molly and I. She barely even registers them, her gaze sticking to mine like glue, as she waits for me to grab a hold of her like she wants me to. So, that’s exactly what I do, ignoring my friends and dropping my chest to fling Molly over my shoulder as she squeals with glee. Her slender legs kick, so I wrap an arm around them, pinning them to my chest whilst her fists attempt to assault my back. All the while she laughs so hard she’s clutching her stomach when I place her back on her feet. Lewis and Kyle exchange a knowing look and head into the locker rooms, leaving Molly and I alone again. Although, I don't even know if she registered their presence, as she was only looking at me the entire time. Come to think of it, she looks at me a lot, even when she thinks I don't notice and I guess I do the same, always keeping her in my vision out of the corner of my eye. Constantly noting the tiny details of her face, the way her nose slopes into a perfect curve, the apples of her cheeks and how they’re sprinkled with the tiniest honey coloured freckles, that nobody else gets close enough to see.

It’s like she only sees me and I only see her.

My eyes fall to her pouty lips, the heavenly swell of them and the way she always sucks in a stuttered breath when my eyes land there.

“Kiss me,” I whisper, pressing my chest to her’s and forcing her back against the cold wall.

She lifts on her tip-toes, nose brushing mine as she covers my mouth with her’s for a swift moment. I look back at her with my eyebrows pulled together, I don’t know what the fuck that peck was, but it certainly wasn’t what I was looking for.

“I said kiss me,” I coo, breathing against the parting of her lips. My heart kicks into high gear when she leans closer, her voice a mere quiver against my mouth.

“That was a ki—” she starts, but I don't let her finish. I crash down onto her, my lips pressing into her’s and soaking up every tiny piece of her taste, her smell, the way her taut waist feels when I grip it hard and haul her into me. Her breathing is jagged as she parts her bowed lips for me, meeting my tongue with a hot, wet sweep that drives me fucking insane with need. My hand finds her jaw, bracketing it as she tries desperately to rise higher on her toes, begging the friction between out tongues to increase. When I finally let her go, our chests heaving in time and the pink seeping out of both of our cheeks, she runs a hand over her braid.

“Wow, Kyle that was…” she pants, wide eyed gaze faltering and twisting into a bright smile.

“What I meant when I said, kiss me,” I pick up my gloves from the ground where I launched them, as I got totally swallowed into that kiss with Molly and shove them under my arm. “Meet me here in ten, I’ll have a quick shower.” I peck her lips once more, “Don't go anywhere Barbie.” She slaps my ass as I retreat to the shower and when I push open the door of the locker room with a clearly victorious smile, I'm met with at least seven pairs of eyes smirking back at me. Lewis is the first one to zero in on me though and the fucker decides to meet me with a condescending pat to the shoulder.

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