Page 40 of Suck My Puck

I glance up at the sound of Blomdahls’ voice. He’s standing off to the side. A knowing smile tugs at his lips as he looks at me.

That flicker in my belly is back. So is that surge of excitement I felt the night we hooked up.

I shouldn’t feel like this, so giddy and happy to see him after just one hookup.

I tell myself to play it cool.

But then he steps up to me. Heat flashes in his whisper-blue eyes as he pins me with his gaze.

And then he says, “Right, pretty girl?”

My knees actually go weak.

I am insomuch trouble.

Chapter 13

Braden

Ibet I look like a smug asshole right now.

I can’t help it though. I don’t miss that look in Bella’s eyes when I called her “pretty girl.”

I’d bet anything she wasn’t expecting me to call her that.

But I did. Because that’s exactly what she is. Insanely pretty. And I knew that calling her that would get a reaction out of her.

And I’m realizing that I like getting a reaction out of her. Good or bad, I don’t care. I just like that she’s paying attention to me.

There’s a dazed look in her eyes. I don’t miss the faint pink blush on her cheeks.

“Hey,” she says to me after a second.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Maya nudge Ingrid. I glance over right as they exchange a look.

They grab the pitcher of beer they ordered and glance between us. “We’ll let you two chat,” Ingrid says. “It was nice meeting you, Bella.”

Bella smiles at them. “You too.”

They walk off to our usual table, where Del,Xander, and Theo are already sitting. Theo twists around his chair and looks at me. “Get some champagne!” he hollers at me. “We gotta celebrate the way you kicked ass in the net tonight, dude!”

I chuckle and shake my head.

“Special occasion?” Bella teases. She steps over to a small refrigerator behind the bar and grabs a bottle of champagne. I take the opportunity to check out her ass.

“Not really,” I say when she turns back around.

“Your teammate seems to think it is.”

She grabs a handful of flute glasses and sets them on the bar top.

“I, uh, played better than expected during our game tonight.”

“You play goalie, right?”

I grin. “Yeah. Did you Google me?”

She fights a smile as she nods. “That’s tough to be a goalie. Or at least I think it would be. Especially when you play a team sport. Like, all your other teammates are working together for most of the game, but then it all comes down to you. You’re the one stopping the pucks.”

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