Page 2 of The Trophy

After practice I take my time in the shower, standing under the warm spray and letting the hot water bring relief to my sore muscles.

I’m extra careful with the side of my body that Topher smashed against the boards last night; the bruise that was starting to appear yesterday is looking worse under the light of day.

The locker room empties quickly, everyone is tired after last night’s game, hungover after going out and worn out by the three hour bus ride back to Star Cove and by the extra practice.

I must not be the only one who has something on his mind however, because Cash and Blaze are the only two men still getting dressed when I open my locker.

We’re out of the arena’s doors pretty much at the same time and I should probably just call an Uber and get the fuck out of here, instead I ask Luca if his driver is picking him up. We’re all headed to the Gamma house after all.

“No, Luigi just made it back to town. He’s about to drop Lakyn back at her place,” he volunteers.

“Great,” I say, checking the time on my phone. “It’s too late for breakfast, but I might see if she wants to grab lunch.”

Luca and Cash have similar and yet opposite reactions to my plans.

“Ah, bravo,” Luca chuckles. “I see you don’t waste your time, Dunne.”

“Are you trying to get to see her before I do? You know I just asked her to dinner and you’re jumping in and taking her to lunch. Is this how it’s going to be from now on?”

I flinch at Cash’s tone.

“I don’t give two fucks about what plans you’re trying to make with her. I had a great night last night and I want to see my girl. I miss her.”

Luca’s smile is firmly in place but it no longer reaches his eyes. “Like I said earlier, I asked her to spend the night with me too. I guess we’ll see who she wants to be with tonight. That could give us an indication about who she likes better between the two of us,” he says to Cash.

“That isn’t gonna work for me,” our goalie bites out. “I asked her first and I took her out first.”

We’re all tall and built, but Cash’s nickname on the ice isn’t The Wall for no reason. He isn’t just an almost impenetrable last line of defense in the crease, he’s also a couple of inches taller and at least a dozen pounds heavier than all of us.

Luca, however, isn’t easily intimidated. “I was her first,” he argues. “Or did you forget who had Lakyn first last night? On her first time? That should mean something.”

Cash frowns and for once, I agree with him. “You didn’t just say that, Prince. I didn’t think you were capable of being such a douche.”

Luca is outraged by Cash’s accusation. “I didn’t fucking mean it that way. Lakyn and I had been planning to sleep together last night. She told me it would be her first time and that she wanted to share that moment with me. We had been talking about it all week.”

“Bullshit,” Cash seethes. “I don’t care what the two of you talked about. If she had wanted to be just with you, she wouldn’t have texted me and Blaze inviting us to her room too last night.”

I have to agree with Cash on this one. “That’s true.”

It’s no surprise that Luca wins most of the face-offs he’s involved in on the ice, he’s one stubborn motherfucker. “Whatever. She said clearly that she wanted me to be her first several times last week. So she obviously likes me better than the two of you.”

“The fuck she does,” Cash advances on Luca, his jaw tight to snapping point, his fists clenched at this sides with white-knuckle force. “You weren’t there on our date. Lakyn and I have real chemistry and I have never liked a woman as much as I like her. So go fuck two or three puck bunnies. That’s what you like, right Prince? The more the merrier seems to be your fucking motto in the bedroom.”

Luca isn’t scared off by Cash’s aggression and stands his ground. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What happened last night was fucking insane,” Cash says. “Or at least it was for me. I just realized that you were the one who pushed us to stay. That was just a regular post game fuck for you, right?”

The expression on Luca’s face tells me that he takes offense. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he repeats.

“I call it the way I see it,” Cash insists. “Or are you telling me that since you set foot on campus, you didn’t plow your way through the puck bunnies two at a time?”

The corner of Luca’s mouth lifts in a sardonic smile. “Have you been keeping tabs on my hookups, goalie?”

Cash doesn’t relent. “I don’t give two shits who you hook up with. I’m merely pointing out that orgies are your MO. But if to you Lakyn is just a notch on your belt and something to brag about in the locker room, I’m not?—”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” This time it’s Luca who takes a menacing step toward Cash. “Lakyn isn’t a puck bunny and you know shit about me. When you never know why a girl wants to come home with you, if she’s gonna sell the story of your hookup to the press, you do what you need to do to protect yourself. Even if it’s taking home two or three girls at a time. Meeting Lakyn made me realize that I spent the past few years avoiding all kinds of intimacy. You talk about notches on my belt? How do you think I feel when women want to be in my bed just to brag that they fucked a real prince? Lakyn is different. She couldn’t care less about my name or my titles. She likes me for me. You said there was chemistry between you two? It’s exactly how it was between me and Lake. I didn’t want you and Blaze in there last night, but Lakyn did and I would rather have her with you two than not at all.”

Luca’s rant reduces Cash to a stunned silence.

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