Page 114 of Puck Yes

Casual, flirty, comfortable. Theoretically, we could be husband and wife and buddy. But it’s not likely, the way Ivy runs a hand down my arm, then Stefan’s.

Just so it’s clear, I take the lead and say, “Stefan’s with us.With us.As in, the three of us.”

Fuck, did that sound weird? Why did I think it’d be smart for me to go first? I’m not the smooth talker. Stefan is.

Ivy must sense I need her so she jumps in. “What Hayes is saying is…” She casts her affectionate gaze toward me. “This is my husband.” Then she looks at Stefan with equal warmth. “And this is my boyfriend.”

Calm spreads through me, chased with happiness, with potential.

Kana’s lips twitch for a few seconds. Behind her, the guests in the sunken living room have gone starkly silent. My teammates on the couch take a beat, along with their partners. But not for too long. Dev shoots a hand up in the air. “Called it. Pay up, bros.”

Brady hangs his head, letting out a long groan. “Damn. I really thought you were all just friends.”

I laugh. Stefan laughs harder, breaking the tension. Dev rubs his fingers together. “A hundred bucks from you,” he says to Brady, who raises his head and reaches for his wallet.

Trina, Chase, and Ryker are hanging out on the couch. Ryker holds up a hand in surrender. Chase does the same. “I didn’t bet. I abstained,” Chase puts in. “I already knew it was going on.”

Tom whips his gaze to Chase, his deep voice chiding. “Well, thanks a lot for telling me.”

“Family secret,” Chase scoffs. “Like I’m gonna give it up. Also, you play for our rivals. No way.”

“You dated herwitha rival,” Tom fires back.

“And now he’s a teammate.” Chase nods to the two of us and Trina, smirking. “It’s a thing. Deal with it.”

In the foyer, Kana just grins knowingly. “It wasn’t that hard to figure out. In Vegas you all looked like you wanted to fuck each other.”

Ivy covers her face with her hand, cracking up.

On that note, we head inside and settle on the couch, Ivy between Stefan and me.

Kana sits on Brady’s lap, roping her arms around his neck. “I guess this means I’m going to have to take a boyfriend, too, just to keep up with everybody. You don’t mind, do you?”

Brady growls. “I don’t share.”

Eva turns to Dev. “Hmm. What about you?”

Dev drapes an arm around her, tugging her close. “You never know.”

Eva’s eyes widen. I steal a glance at Stefan, asking silentlydo you know something I don’t know?Stefan just shrugs, though he looks intrigued.

But the goalie kisses his girlfriend like she’s the center of the world, then Tom grab’s Gilberto’s hand and declares, “You’re all mine.”

Gilberto smacks Tom’s cheek in a kiss. “Same.”

When Dev lets go of Eva, he grabs his beer bottle and lifts it up. “Whatever works for you, right?”

We all lift our proverbial glasses to that.

The three of us get to work on destroying everyone here at game night. As we take them on, I soak in the camaraderie. I figured thatifI ever felt like a part of a team, it’d be on the ice.

Instead, I found one off it.

There’s one little problem though. The expiration date.

* * *

Later that night, after Ivy falls asleep, I slip out of bed and catch Stefan’s attention on the other side of the Alaskan king. He’s still awake and sets down his e-reader. He’s reading something in Danish. Figures.

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