Page 83 of Dirty Pucker

I walk off into the locker room, head to my spot, and start peeling off my gear.

“Did Porter chew you out?” Blomdahl asks.

I unlace my skates. “He heard back from the department of player safety. I’m suspended one game.”

Everyone stops and looks at me. Xander frowns. “That’s some bullshit.”

“Yeah, but it’s not as bad as it could have been,” I say.

Theo looks at me. “It’s still not fair. Sorry, man.”

The rest of the team says similar things.

“The next time we play Vegas, Crowley’s mine. I’m aching to beat that fucker’s ass,” Theo says as he strips off his pads. He juts his chin at me. “Besides, I owe you a fight.”

I chuckle. “Thanks.”

Everyone goes back to what they were doing. I grab a fresh towel and dig around for my shower stuff when I hear Theo say my name.

I turn around.

“What are you doing over the bye week?” he asks.

“Nothing exciting. You?”

“Some of the guys were thinking about heading to Cabo before the playoffs to blow off some steam for a few days. You interested?”

I raise an eyebrow. “You really wanna spend your vacation with me?”

Theo laughs. “Yeah. It’ll be a blast. We’re gonna get drunk off tequila, eat tacos, maybe go fishing.”

Part of me wants to say no. After the fight with Crowley, Theo and my other teammates have been more welcoming of me. But they don’t know about Ingrid and me getting together. I’m certain Theo will be pissed once he finds out.

Xander bumps me with his shoulder. “Doesn’t that sound like a blast? Being hungover with us?”

“That does sound tempting.”

They tell me they’ll text me the travel plans.

“Our ladies are coming too,” Xander says.

“And Ingrid,” Theo says. “I talked to her before practice and convinced her to come.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Blomdahl turn to look at me. I pretend to mess with my gear bag so Theo and Xander won’t notice me fighting the smile on my face.

I try my best to play it cool. “Count me in.”

Chapter 29

Ingrid

Iwake from a dead sleep to the sound of my doorbell ringing.

I groan as I push up off my couch, where I fell asleep this afternoon. It’s a fight to open my eyes. My head is foggy and my lower abdomen is aching.

I rest my hand on my stomach. I got my period this morning, a few days earlier than expected.

I wince when I feel a cramp, searing me from the inside out.

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