Page 52 of Puck Prince

Fuck.He’s got me there.

He clears his throat and tries again. “Listen, O: If you’re into her, right on. But she’s Coach’s niece. That’s some slippery ground to be treading on. Even for a hockey player.”

I rub the back of my neck. “It’s just that it’s kind of new.”

Lance nods. “Sure, sure. But I mean, maybe when you get your bearings, we can all have a drink or something. The annual charity event is coming up soon. Everyone on the team is going to be there.”

“Yeah. Alright,” I relent. “That could work.”

“Even if she does only drink ginger ale.” He smirks, and I have to grin.

“Yeah, man, I don’t know what was up with that.”

We head to the ice and he pats me on the back. “You’ve never been into normal girls, anyway.”

I shove him. “Hey, screw you. At least I have a girlfriend.”

He laughs, I laugh, everything is all hunky-fucking-dory.

But when that fades, the word lingers on my tongue.Girlfriend.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

I make it through the day without running into Callie. She’s basically locked in a room with Coach, Miriam, and other support staff, so I’m able to go to practice, work out for a bit, and go back to my Batcave.

Even after I swim through the crowd outside of the complex, I can hear them buzzing down below my balcony. I keep everything locked and the blinds drawn.

“It’s just for a couple of weeks,” I tell myself. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

Unless Lance was right, and I can’t navigate this very slippery ground as well as I hope.

How do you break up with your coach’s niece, who you also work with? Fuck if I know.

I feel like shit for lying to him. But once everything blows over, I’ll come clean. I’m sure he’ll understand.

In the meantime, we probably do have to make more public appearances. Like it or not, the more we show our faces sucking face, the faster the leeches outside will move on to their next victims. The charity event wasn’t a bad idea.

I grab a beer from the fridge and make my way to the couch. But the moment I sit down, my phone buzzes.

“What now?” I ask the universe.

SUMMER:You have a LOT of explaining to do.

I type back,I know.

SUMMER:You have a girlfriend??

OWEN:Not…exactly. She’s the new PT for the Scythes. We were just grabbing dinner.

SUMMER:Social media begs to differ.

OWEN:Social media can suck my dick.

SUMMER:Charming. But for real, what the fuck is going on?

I think about that for a second. Then I down half the bottle of beer and tell her the truth.

OWEN:We aren’t really dating.

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