Page 23 of The Prince and the Puck
His hand lifted the black fabric of his shirt and I saw something glint at his belt just as the door jingled and half my team poured inside. The guy dropped his hand.
“Deck, man, there you are!” Rock Stevens moved to my side, practically shoulder-checking big guy number two without seeming to notice. He reached down and scooped up three Twix bars before considering and then reaching for one more. He actually turned and offered one to big guy number one, who looked irritated by the sudden influx of Wombat players.
“Guys, we need to bounce. Right now!” Panther Aspen swept down the candy aisle, pushing Rock and I ahead of him to pay. We practically threw money at the poor girl behind the register, apologizing as we hauled ass out the door and back down to the bus.
“Coach mad?” I asked Rock as we jogged.
“Nah, he said if I got him a Twix, we’d be good.”
“Yeah, you’ll be good,” I grumbled. “Hey, did you see those two dudes in there?”
“Not really, why?”
“I dunno, they were just acting kinda weird. Set my Spidey senses blinging.”
He laughed. “We could definitely take those guys.”
“The ones you didn’t see?”
“Half a hockey team can take pretty much anyone,” he said. And then he slowed to a walk and grabbed my arm, halting me. “And even when you blow a block, we’re still gonna have your back, man. Happens to all of us.”
I nodded, hoping my face didn’t show quite how much I’d needed to hear that.
After what felt like hours, we were settled on the jet, which the team chartered whenever possible to make the demanding travel a little easier.
I tried not to look too happy when Lizzy took the seat next to me.
Soon after take off, I pulled out my chocolate raisins and caught her eyeballing them.
“You want a few?”
She shook her head, sending that ponytail slipping over her shoulder again and sparking the same fantasy I’d been having since we’d met.
“No thanks. They remind me of rabbit poop.”
“Rabbits are super cute,” I reminded her.
“Poop is not.”
“Fair point.”
Lizzy didn’t mention the game, and I was glad for it. Most of the plane was silent as we headed back to Virginia, leaving me to ponder my poor playing in relative peace. Things turned around a little when, about halfway through the flight, Lizzy’s head slipped from the seat back and landed on my shoulder.
For the rest of the flight, I did everything in my power not to move. Having her so close I could smell the floral scent of her shampoo helped soothe the hurts I’d gathered that night. Feeling the warmth of her cheek against my shoulder gave me some kind of misplaced hope for something. And for the extent of the flight home? I wasn’t going to question it.
We were taxiing toward the gate when my phone vibrated with a text. Lizzy awoke when the plane touched down, removing her head from my shoulder without mentioning anything about having fallen asleep there. I reached into my pocket for the phone, missing the feel of her so close to me.
I was shocked to see one line from my brother.
Lambert: Call me please.
CHAPTER 16
LIZZY
DON’T DISCOUNT THE BUTT.
For the nextfew days after returning from North Carolina, I spent a lot of time with Joey Baxter, John Samuels’s fiancée. She was fun and energetic and, she introduced me to some of the other wives and girlfriends. For some reason, very excited about my PR assignment for the team. John himself was already a PR draw, given that he was the youngest starting goalie in the FHL.
