Page 19 of Conner

“I believe so,” he said. He pulled up the employee page. There was her ID picture and job title.

She clenched her shaking hands in her lap. “Can you please take that down?”

He cocked his head and looked like he was going to protest.

“Right now. Could you please take it down right now,” she said quickly trying to hide the panic slipping into her voice.

“Yeah, I’ll take it down,” he said, eyeing her carefully. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just don’t want my picture on the site,” she said, trying to sound as professional as possible.

“I’ll do it right now,” he said, still watching her.

“Thank you. I gotta go talk to Hillary,” she said as she stood to leave.

She went to the bathroom first, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It didn’t mean anything. It could have been anyone. She had over a million followers. And she was halfway across the country. She was safe. Now if only she could believe that.

11

Conner

Conner was gearing up in the locker room, getting ready to film some of those videos with Sasha. He was begrudgingly realizing that his attraction to her wasn’t going anywhere. He had been so focused on the cup that he had been taking it out on her. It wasn’t her fault she distracted him. It wasn't her fault that he couldn't get her delicious curves out of his mind, that he wanted to kiss her and smear her perfect red lipstick. He was pissed that Wes was out for the season because there was no cup without Wes. They could have a playoff run and he was still focused, and he would never tell anyone he didn't see the cup happening this year, but he couldn't seem to shake that feeling. With that pressure and focus gone, he noticed Sasha Maloof in ways he never had.

When he had caught her dancing in the office something had changed. Watching the joy all over her face, the shake her hips, and that perfect round ass he just wanted to take a bite of made him come to terms with just how attracted he was to her. But he wasn't quite sure what to do with that knowledge. And maybe it was his sister and one of his closest friends getting together, but he started to think maybe it was time to think about settling down. And while he wasn't sure she was the answer, he hadn't even thought about that until Sasha Maloof had rolled into town.

He was alone in the room and his phone dinged. His mom had texted a picture of his nephew all suited up for his Saturday game to the family group chat. Owen was five and there was something so cute about kids all geared up. While he had his phone out, he decided to check the social media for the Magic.

He had given Sasha a hard time when she first came, but even he had to admit she had done a remarkable job. She posted about all sides of hockey, the video about the equipment manager during the game and them talking about each player's stick was really interesting, and she had some great ones of Wes and Ethan being Wes and Ethan. And she had been right, the only ones that were at all thirst traps were Cash and Sven, but that tracked. They looked like a well-rounded and fun community to be part of.

He made his way to the practice rink to see she was already there. She was talking to one of the rink managers with a big smile on her face. He really did like that she treated everyone like they were an important part of this organization. Not everyone did that. Some people seemed to think that all that went into a hockey organization was the players, coaches, and the GM, but there was so much more, and Sasha was doing an incredible job showing that.

He skated out onto the ice, and she beamed at him. Something about that look settled in his soul. She had on some leggings and a fitted Magic fleece zip up. The outfit showed every single one of her curves. He was starting to think maybe he might need to ask her out, but he would wait until the season was over, but then maybe. He tried to push away the dirty thoughts as she skated his way.

“You're looking much steadier on skates,” he said.

“I’ve been practicing,” she said. But then as she skated to him, she got a panicked look on her face and started to wiggle on the skates before skating right into him. His arms wrapped around her once again holding her up on the ice. He couldn't help but turn and breathe her in. Her hair was down in a mess of curls.

“Sorry, stopping isn't something I'm great at yet,” she said looking into his eyes, biting her lower lip.

“Your hair looks really nice.”

“Thanks, I didn't have the time to straighten it today so it's kind of a mess,” she replied, holding his gaze. Once she was steady, she skated away from him a bit and he ached to pull her back to him. She was always so put together at work, but today she looked casual and real, and he still wanted to kiss her.

“So, I set up a camera to get your feet for the hockey stop video. Feel free to spray it good and then we can film the tutorial.”

“Or hear me out. I could teach you, since you seem to need some tips on stopping yourself,” he said with gentle ribbing.

“I’m more of a behind the scenes kind of person,” she said.

“I see how you are, make all of us be on camera while you get to just stay behind the scenes.”

“It's all part of the job, I'm just here to make you look good.”

“But you're looking good, so why not get you out in front of that camera today?” he said.

Her eyes stopped on his for a moment and he wasn't sure what was behind them, but all he knew was he wanted to know more about her.

“Why don't we just focus on getting the captain's tips videos today?” she said with a smile. “I’ll learn how to stop from that. Let's not put my lackluster skating skills on blast quite yet.”

---