Page 81 of Fall Wherever They May

“Thanks.” He clears his throat. “Have you seen Hannah around?”

I try to peek over the crowd surrounding us to look for her. “I haven’t seen her. Want me to text her real fast?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “That's okay. She’s around here somewhere. I’ll go find her.” He returns his attention to my mom. “So how long are you in town?”

“Oh, I live here now.” She moves her purse up on her shoulder, cuts a glance my way, then focuses back on Luke.

He raises his arm and looks at his watch. “Well, I better go find Hannah. We have dinner reservations.”

“Be safe,” I call out just as Mom says, “It was good to see you again, Luke,” with a flirtatious smirk.

I roll my eyes. Oh, for Pete’s sake. “Mom,” I scold.

She playfully bumps against me and whispers. “What?” She dramatically shrugs one shoulder.

“Nothing.” I shake my head, looking for Cal.

“I’m starving, Mom. Can we go now?” Tucker interrupts and pulls at my sleeve.

Mom ruffles his hair. “How about I take you? We’ll grab the greasiest burger we can find on our way home while your mom finishes up here.” Her eyes meet mine. “You good with that?”

“Yeah.” I nod. “Thanks, Mom.”

I tell them goodbye and try to call Cal but receive no answer.

I pace back and forth in front of the locker room doors.I wait . . . and I wait . . . and I wait. An hour has passed, and the players have all trickled out of the building—gone out to celebrate, no doubt. The arena is mostly empty, aside from the janitor, Aaron, who is packing up, and Liam, the Zamboni driver, who has just resurfaced the ice and is putting the machine away. I tap my foot impatiently, checking the time on my cell. I try calling Cal again to no avail. I swear to God, if he left me . . . I shake my head. He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t leave me here stranded.

All the facility lights click off, and the ambient lights kick on. My heart kicks up to hyper-speed. “Hey!” I yell, stepping out of the little alcove concealing me and back into the arena. “Hey!” I call out again, trying to garner someone’s attention. My voice echoes through the empty space, but all I’m met with is silence. Fuck! What did Cal do? Go out the back? And why the fuck would he leave me here?

Pissed off, I stomp back to the locker room and sling the door open. I’m greeted with pitch black. Okay, now I’m creeped out. I blame it on all those horror movies River and I would marathon-watch as teenagers. This is exactly how they start. I shiver at the thought.

Trekking up the stairs toward the exit, I catch sight of a figure standing in the announcer’s box, backlit by a glowing red light. I start to run up the steps to get their attention. I hate the dark, and knowing I’m not alone gives me a sense of security.

That is until I close the distance between us.All the blood rushes to my head, and dizziness overtakes me when I see the hockey mask tilting to one side, looking at me, as if he’s the predator and I’m the prey. In the back of my mind, I know it’s Callan, but the way he’s staring at me unmoving is freaking me the fuck out. I walk backwards down the steps, backing away slowly.

My breaths come in rapidly as adrenaline and excitement course through my veins. He slowly stalks out of the booth and stands facing me on the steps.

“Run, Angel.”

Holy fuck! I turn and run as fast as I can down the stairs and into the hallway. I bypass the locker room. That would be the first place he would look. I try to push various doors open, only to find them locked. I don’t have time to fiddle with my keys.Fucking Aaron. Goddamnit!The gym has no door, so I can run in there. No—the space is open and offers no hiding spot. Think. Think. Think. He’s going to round that corner any minute. I have no choice but to dart inside the weight room. Slow, heavy footsteps echo down the hallway as they approach. My back hits the wall. Fuck. My heart races in excitement at the thought of what he’ll do to me once he catches me. The footsteps stop at the open doorway. I slap a hand over my mouth to conceal my rapid breathing.

His feet shuffles; then he continues walking down the hallway. I think I’m in the clear, so I sprint to the middle of the room, quickly turning around in a circle to look for someplace to hide. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Bingo. I look behind me as I head for the door to the equipment room. I don’t even care that it’s bathed in complete darkness at this point. I ease the door open and quickly close it behind me. Leaning back against the door, I take in ragged breaths.

I know it’s just a matter of—

“You know . . .”

A gasp flies out of my mouth, and my hand soars to my chest.

“I was thinking you would play a little harder to get. You made this game entirely too easy, like herding sheep to the slaughter.” Cal’s hard length presses into my hip as he crowds my space. A combination of his cologne and body wash wafts in the air around me. The woodsy smell makes me delirious. An electric current shoots right through me, causing my core to throb. An aching need builds within me.

The lights flicker on, and Cal stands in only a goalie mask and worn jeans hanging low on his hips—showing off that sexy V. He grips the hair on the back of my head and tilts my head back. My eyes lock with his through his mask. “I see the way you bite your lip and how your feet rub together when something in your smutty little book turns you on. I would have never guessed that my sweet angel would have such a dark side. Masked men, Aspen?” He tsks, “You are a filthy little whore, aren’t you?”

Cal removes the mask and tosses it to the ground. “I would keep it on, but I want you to witness what you do to me when I fuck this pretty little mouth.” He growls, then squats down, removing my shoes and socks before peeling my jeans down my legs.

His hands glide up my body as he stands. “I’m sad to see this go too, but I really want to see these gorgeous tits.” He slowly removes my Blaze jersey with his name on the back. “Did it excite you to be chased by a masked man?”

“Yes,” I breathe.

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