Page 26 of Pucking Secret

I force myself to smile.

“Just never been much of a partier, I guess.”

“What about women?” Zander pipes in—then pauses, catching himself. “Or are you into guys? If you are, that’s obviously totally cool, and I didn’t mean to make assumptions…”

“I’m straight,” I assure him. “Just haven’t had much time to date, and I’m just a pretty private guy in general. Having a somewhat high-profile family will do that to you.”

I catch Jayce’s eye and he nods. “Hell yeah it does.”

“You won’t be short of female attention here,” Wilder says.

“True,” Zander nods, though he doesn’t sound as enthusiastic about that point as Wilder does.

Jensen, who’s been leaning back against the bar, quietly chuckles. “I mean, if rabid puck bunnies and fans are your thing. If you want something more substantial, you’re probably out of luck. Most of the women who come in here want one thing and one thing only: to brag to their friends that they screwed a hockey player.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Wilder smirks.

“To each their own,” Jensen replies. “Personally, I prefer a woman who wants more from me than my dick.”

“Only a dude with a small dick would say that,” Wilder teases.

“I gotta side with Jensen on this one,” Carson says. “Going home to Skyler every night is the highlight of my day.”

Jensen nods. “I can’t imagine my life without Grace. I never thought I wanted a relationship until I met her, and now I know I was always just waiting for her to come along.”

I arch my brow, surprised by his words. None of these guys strike me as overly sentimental.

Wilder pretends to wipe a tear from his eye. “That’s so beautiful, Reece. You’ve really opened my eyes to the power of love.”

Jensen rolls his eyes. “Of course, some guys are just perpetual man-whores like you, Wilder.”

“How am I supposed to find my Cinderella if I don’t take the glass slipper around to as many girls as possible?” Wilder asks.

“And by glass slipper, you mean your dick?” Jayce interjects.

Wilder nods. “Exactly.”

We all laugh and I feel myself relaxing. I like the dynamics between these guys. They’re not just teammates, they’re friends. I was never really close with any of the guys on my old team. We respected each other and trusted each other on the ice, but my teammates were wary of me because of who my stepfather was.

As the guys continue to banter back and forth, I get up and tell the group I’m going to get another drink, but I’m stepping back a little just to catch my breath. Jayce moves to stand next to me and gives me a grin.

“How you doing, man? Overwhelmed by these animals yet?”

Chuckling, I shake my head. “Not at all. It’s kind of refreshing that they don’t feel the need to censor themselves around me.”

“Was that an issue with your old team?”

Sighing, I lean back against the bar. “Yeah, it was.”

“Because of your family.”

It’s not a question, but I nod. “Yep.”

He relaxes against the bar next to me. “I get that. These guys don’t care about any of that stuff. If you can play and you’re not a total asshole, they’ll bring you into the fold.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Jayce glances around and shoots me a knowing look. “One thing I will say about growing up rich is that you get used to more quality liquor than places like this offer.”

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