Page 11 of Play the Game

“I think it’s best if you bond with the team a little.”

The locker room is full of men changing out of their practice gear. We’re all tired and sweaty, yet they are hyped up on their plans for the evening to celebrate Kane’s birthday. Some of them are trying to convince their captain to go out with them too, but Rhodes has a pretty good excuse—a five-year-old daughter with no mother and a disappearing-nanny problem.

Malaki elbows me. “Come on, man. Just make an appearance.”

I wiggle my fingers after my gloves fall to the floor. “When and where?” I ask, fully fucking annoyed, but also, I know that team bonding isn’t something to skip out on. It took me a few years in college to understand the importance of it, but hockey is not a one-man type of sport, even if my position on the ice is a little more isolated than the rest.

“Strip club.” Kane wiggles his eyebrows.

My chest tightens.

I’m instantly on edge. Last fall, I would have jumped at the opportunity, but now there’s a resistance that wasn’t there before. The thought of going out with the team wires me in all the wrong ways, yet I find myself agreeing.

If anything, maybe I’ll lay eyes on a little blue-eyed devil and leave her a note just like she left me.

Five

SCOTTIE

The Cat House is packed.

All the other girls are hyped. I watch in admiration as their outfits become a little more revealing and their makeup a little edgier. They tell me they’re just playing a part, but little do they know, me on stage in a red wig is more than enough acting on my behalf.

I’m about to go back on when Chastity saunters up beside me and reaches her hand into the cup of my lacy bra. She gets a cupful and pulls my boobs up a little more.

I gasp, and she winks. Her fake eyelashes are so long they look like furry caterpillars. “Get those tips, babe, or you’ll be working here for far longer than you want to be.”

The validity of her advice is spot on.

She’s right. I need to get my shit together.

What’s a little stripping compared to the agony and guilt I’ll be forced to live with if I don’t do everything I can to help William.

It’s notthatbig of a deal.

A haunting voice wisps through my head that I know belongs to my past, but I quickly brush it away and get to work.

The lights are blue tonight, and it reminds me of the hockey game. All we need is an ice rink with some broody hockey players, and it would be the exact same setup. Even the song is upbeat.

I avoid all the longing stares glued to my bare legs as I walk along the platform to my spot. My hands grab the pole, and as soon as the beat drops in the song, I jump up and wrap my leg around it with a sexy arch of my back.

A few dollars are thrown at my feet, but I ignore them and listen to the song, losing myself in the music instead of focusing on what I’m doing, because the only thing stripping does is remind me of my mother, and I swore I’d never end up like her.

Take a look in the mirror, Scottie.

My heartbeat thumps harder as I spin and move faster. The club is filling up quicker than usual, but that means more tips, and that’s what I’m here for.

“You’re up, baby girl.”

I turn and press my spine against the pole. I peer down at Russ smiling like a perv. He reminds me of a creep that would drive a scary white van full of candy down a street packed with children.

“Over at booth four. You’re up.” He raises an eyebrow, like he’s waiting for me to challenge him.

God, no.

I quickly turn and lock onto booth four. I stare at the pole that's smackdabin the middle of the table. I shake on wobbly legs and pray I don’t break an ankle. I peer back down at my boss with a refusal on the tip of my tongue.

“I’ll fire you if you refuse,” he warns.

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