Page 4 of Offside Attraction

Nate nodded, and Jordan glanced at the clock on the wall above the bar. He'd told her five minutes. It had been forty-five seconds, and it felt like a half-hour. He picked up his beer and took another gulp. His leg bounced under the table.

“Hey, Nurse Betty. I have a serious question.” Chubs glanced around, pretending to make sure no one else was listening. “Hypothetically speaking, if a guy had a rash?—”

Cam stifled a laugh. “Pick something up in your extracurriculars, bud?”

Steele exhaled. “Is it in the crease?” He mimicked a goalie stretch, and Chubs shot them both a glare.

Jordan smirked, stopping his fingers from tapping impatiently on the table. Chubs was a high school teacher. He deserved all the extracurriculars he could get. “Can’t be out there giving the boards a lap dance every game and not expect a little burn.” Chubs grinned at that, and Jordan slid off his stool, clapping a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’ve got some cream at home. I can bring it tomorrow. You know, theoretically.”

“You leaving then?” Nate asked.

Jordan nodded. “See you at ten thirty. South locker rooms.”

Steele picked up his beer. “We play on rink five?”

Jordan nodded, trying his damndest to look relaxed when every cell in his body was buzzing like a hive of bees. He hugged and fist-bumped his way around the table, then didn't look back as he pushed through the door and stepped into the evening chill. The sun had already set, and the parking lot was dimly lit by a few garish post lights.

He walked past the first row of vehicles, his breath visible in the cool night air, until he reached his truck parked in the back corner. He’d never been more grateful to have chosen a spot far from the main entrance. In the dark.

He leaned against the hood of his truck, the metal cold against his palms, then turned to look at the front of the sports bar. His pulse quickened.

There she stood, framed in the doorway.

She glanced up, and her posture shifted like all the air in her body had left in a single rush. She wrapped her arms around herself and started toward him. His hands were trembling. They’d already slept together once, so he shouldn’t have been nervous, but something about this girl made him feel like he was back in grade ten getting to second base for the first time.

Jordan turned and leaned into his truck, shoving his gym bag and a box of extra pucks into the front seat. He barely had time to straighten before Rhonda was in front of him, her cheeks flushed from the cold. She looked up at him with those dark, curious eyes, and he decided right then that he wouldn’t give himself a chance to open his mouth and ruin this.

He reached out, and his hands found her waist, pulling her forward. He twisted and flipped her between him and the side of his truck, and she let out a surprised gasp. The scent of her perfume wrapped around him, and he breathed her in for a split second before her hands ran up his arms, slipping under the sleeves of his shirt.

“I knew you were watching,” he murmured, dropping his head. He hovered there, feeling her quickening breath. And then her lips were on his, and he was lapping up her lip gloss like a damn kitten. Sweet, with a hint of berries. He swept his tongue into her mouth.

Her fingernails trailed over his neck as she tilted her head, deepening the kiss and rolling her hips against his. The cold metal of the truck must've been seeping through her thin jacket, but she didn't push away. Instead, she twined a leg around his, pulling him flush against her.

Jordan's pulse pounded in his ears as he shuffled them toward the truck bed, then reached for the door handle. He fumbled for a moment but finally yanked it open. He lifted her off the ground, put a hand up to duck her head, then dropped her on the backseat. She laughed in surprise, her eyes glittering in the street light. Then she fisted her hand in his shirt and shimmied back on the bench seat, tugging him in after her.

Prologue 3

Rhonda

Summer 2024

He was there.The Grande Prairie Guy. Parking Lot Guy. He was standing at a table on the other side of the dance floor. Rhonda turned away and swayed to the music, popping her hips a little more than necessary. She was desperate to turn and confirm he’d noticed her—be sure he was watching.

They weren’t at a hockey tournament or at a new rink for playoffs. They were out at the Dusty Rose on a regular weeknight.Her mind spun, all her previous assumptions cracking as they crashed against this new information.

Sean and the other Snowballs seemed to know exactly who he was. Had they looked at him like that at that bar in Okotoks before she’d met him in the parking lot?

Jenna and Anne were more than happy to mirror her sexy energy on the dance floor, though the second Country saw some guy with a half-unbuttoned shirt move into their circle he was at Jenna’s side, his hands clamping protectively over her hips. The “move along” message may as well have been tattooed on his forehead.

Anne leaned in. “Would you go home withthatguy?”

Rhonda jolted, then realized Anne wasn’t looking in the direction of Parking Lot Guy. She raised an eyebrow and motioned to Half-Unbuttoned Shirt Guy instead.

“Uh, doubtful.” Rhonda kept her eyes trained forward.

“So how do you choose then? How do you know a man isn’t looking for something more serious?”

Rhonda laughed. “Why? Are you thinking of trying things my way?”

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