Page 50 of Mine

“Hey Max, let’s make you famous,” Cap said, skating away to the x I had on the floor.

Maximus clearly liked Cap because he kept licking him, making him laugh. They were the cutest pictures and when Walker went to get into the photo he stole the show. I would definitely send these to Heather.

A few of the men from the second line took a couple of photos and I was lucky enough to bribe one of the coaches to take pictures too. The first set of guys took me about an hour to finish and as we waited for the second set of guys to show, I took a quick bathroom break and grabbed a snack.

As I made it back to the ice, I saw the two guys I didn’t expect to see and didn’t want to see. Romeo and Hunter were talking to Webber and Clark. They weren’t supposed to be here, but I would be surprised if they bribed their way into the photo shoot to torture me with their smolders and lip bites.

“Need some help?” Fred Baxter, our other goalie, offered me his arm.

“You’re a doll,” I said, taking it, making walking so much easier.

“Someone should have scratched the ice for you,” he said, as we got to my set up.

“It was busy the first hour and I didn’t even think of it,” I said, trying not to look at the men who had been staring at me since I took Baxter’s arm.

“Let me help you out,” he said, making sure I was gonna be fine standing alone.

“I got it, man,” Ro said, scratching the ice to give me some grip in my shoes.

“Alright, who is first?” I hoped Hunter or Ro would say they wanted to so they could leave, but of course, they didn’t.

Baxter wanted to go first so he could leave to a family function. One of the volunteers brought an Australian Shepherd mix and she was darling.

“Oh no, you are too cute to handle,” Baxter said, kneeling beside her.

She looked a little wary, but as soon as Baxter talked to her more, she relaxed around him. They took the most adorable pictures together. I was capturing the moment they fell in love, and I really hoped he would take her home.

Once Baxter was done, Clarke came forward with a puppy who looked like he wanted to get out of his hands. He was pushing and biting his jersey and anything he could get his hands on. The moment he put him down, the puppy took off and Clarke skated after him. It wasn’t perfect, but I decided this might be even better. They made me laugh and the best photo was where Clarke fell, and the puppy decided to lick his face. Everyone was enjoying the playfulness, and it made my heart melt.

The next two photos were easy with the dogs falling asleep in their arms and Webber sitting on the ice cradling the puppy likea baby. These guys seemed quite attached to these dogs and I really hoped one of them got adopted.

Even though I tried to get them to take pictures, Gomez and Riggs were fighting to be the last ones. My will could only handle so much before I agreed to whatever contract they had drawn up. Hunter was up first with an adorable Golden Retriever mix. He looked like a retriever, but he was small, fitting in his arms with an adorable sweater that had the Yetis stitched on it.

The dog loved Hunter, and it got him to give me a real smile and a hearty laugh. He looked relaxed and so fucking good-looking.

“Damn, he looks gorgeous when he actually smiles,” Romeo said, standing a little too close. “Thank God he doesn’t smile too often or else he would be dangerous.”

“He would have had you on your knees sooner,” I said softly, snapping another picture.

“Probably, but it's a place I’m finding I’m pretty comfortable being,” he quipped, and I chuckled. “You could get a front row seat. Just another taste so you can see what you’re missing out on.”

“Ro,” I whispered.

“Just reminding you,” he said, stepping back, giving me space to take more pictures of Hunter who looked completely smitten with the dog.

“Ok, I think I have the perfect picture,” I said, taking off my sweater because my body was flushed from my mind racing about the possibilities of what it could be like to have a contract with these two hockey players.

“He’s adorable,” he said, skating up to me.

I focused on the dog giving it a few scratches, looking anywhere but at Hunter.

“He needs a home,” I said, wanting at least one of them to go to a good home.

“I would love it, but I’m not home enough,” he said, kissing his nose. “It wouldn’t be fair to him.”

“That’s what they have doggy hotels for,” I said quickly.

They looked to be perfect for each other.

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