Page 18 of Dirty Pucker

So it feels good to hear that despite all that, Ingrid still wants to be my friend.

I tell her I’ll get dressed and then drop her back off at the arena.

Twenty minutes later, I pull up to the entrance. When I slow to a stop, I catch her grinning at her phone.

She shows me the screen. It’s a second before I register it’s a TikTok of the video she took of me earlier with the kittens at the shelter.

“You hit ten thousand views in just a few hours.” She grins. “Told you you’d be a hit.”

“Looks like I owe you a drink.”

She grins. “Looks like it.”

“How about tomorrow after the game?”

“Perfect.”

She hops out of the car and leans down to look at me. “See you tomorrow, friend.”

She shuts the door and walks off. I wait until she’s in the building before I drive off, eager for tomorrow.

Chapter 7

Ingrid

Isit in the stands and watch Del as he cuts across the ice at lightning speed, chasing after a player from the Los Angeles Devils, who has possession of the puck.

Del closes in on him, then smashes him against the boards. The home crowd cheers.

He swipes the puck and takes off with it to the other end of the ice. I hold my breath as I watch him skate around defensemen from the opposing team.

A Devils defenseman moves to check him, but Del maneuvers around him, closing in on their goalie.

He hits the puck and sinks it into the net. The crowd is on their feet, going crazy after that impressive shot. The Devils were the first to score in the first period, but thanks to Del, the Bashers are on the board.

I’m on my feet and cheering too. Maya, my best friend and Theo’s wife, jumps up too. We’re sitting right behind the Bashers’ net.

Maya beams at me. “Looks like Dirty Del is winning over the Denver fans. Your TikTok of him yesterday worked magic.”

I chuckle. “Cute kittens win over everyone.”

I watch as Theo bumps Del’s shoulder in congratulations before skating off. A pretty subdued celebration, all things considered. When I’ve watched my cousin play, he usually acts like a wild man whenever one of his teammates scores, hollering and cheering while smacking and hugging them.

But this is the first game that Del is playing for the Bashers, and I know a lot of the team has yet to warm up to him.

The rest of the Bashers players go up to Del and congratulate him. I notice their reactions are subdued too. They all give him congratulatory smacks on the shoulder, but none of them are as excited as they normally are when one of them scores a goal.

As we all sit back down, I notice Del’s smile fades. His game face scowl is back in place as he gets ready for the puck drop.

I wonder if he’s bothered by the reaction from his teammates, if he wishes they’d support him more.

The ref drops the puck and Del is all over it, passing it back to one of his teammates. It’s a frenzy on the ice as the teams battle for control. A few seconds later, a Devils defenseman delivers a late hit to Del and he lands against the boards. Del shoves him back and the referee blows the whistle, stopping play.

Before their scuffle can turn into a full-fledged fight, a couple of linesmen skate over and break it up. I tense, fully expecting Del to break out of their grip and punch the Devils player, just like I’ve seen him do in all of the videos I’ve watched. But instead, Del just nods at the linesmen and skates off. The crowd around us lets out a collective disappointed “oh” sound.

“Damn. Is Dirty Del going soft?” a guy in the row ahead of us says.

The guy next to him shakes his head. “I hope not. Denver needs a player who’s not afraid to throw down.”

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