Page 84 of Sinful Secrets

Avery leans forward. “Who is this mystery man?”

Using my eyes, I discreetly gesture to Christy before shaking my head. “It’s still new and private, so I don’t want to jinx it.”

She pouts, so I give her a look that promises to tell her when we are alone.

Is it even okay for me to be dating a hockey player?

Christy pouts. “Aww, you’re really not going to tell us?”

I shake my head, desperately pleading for something or someone to interrupt our conversation.

Sensing my urgency to drop the subject, Avery jumps up. “We’ve got to get back out there.”

The second period flies by. Christy and I talk about future dreams and what restaurants we love in town.

When the players leave the ice for the second intermission, I put on my skates and take the ice with Avery. She gives me a crash course on the shirt-shooter and we shoot t-shirts into the crowd.

The crowd cheers, wanting a chance to get a shirt. I laugh more than I have in a while. The two sides of the arena compete to be the loudest.

Avery gets her half of the arena to scream a little louder than mine, so they get the last shirt.

I follow her off the ice, feeling my muscles burn.

I don’t know how the guys do this all the time. I feel like I need a week off just to recover, and lucky for me, we have a string of away games coming up.

But that means I won’t see Spencer for a while.

“Hey Savannah, do you mind coming with me to help the Booster Club pack up their tables? And then you’re free to go.”

“Not at all.”

I take my skates off and put them in their cubby before following Avery upstairs to the concourse. It’s mostly empty except for a few people walking around.

Avery shows me where everything goes and how it’s usually packed up. She starts with the insulated cups with the Sharks logo on them, and I pack up the hockey pucks in their own box.

Yelling and cheers filter through the closed doors. I turn around to watch the game on one of the concourse flat screens.

A huge fight breaks out after the final whistle, with both teams punching and pulling at one another.

This is what turns on Christy?

I’m the furthest from being turned on. My gaze searches for the number seventeen, hoping he isn’t the one in the middle of the scuffle.

One of the booster club women catches me watching the game. “Which one is yours?”

I glance back to where Avery’s gaze is locked onto the two of us before looking back at the game. “Oh, um, Spencer Reed.”

The older woman nods. “He’s a nice kid and a great player.”

I’ve never heard someone refer to Spencer as a kid. He’s anything but a kid…especially in bed.

Avery steps up beside me. “All done. Do you need help bringing the boxes to the office?”

“No, dear. We have help for that already. We appreciate the help. It sure did make things go fast.”

“Our pleasure. I’ll see you at the next two home game.”

She practically drags me back downstairs to the office.

---