Page 63 of Wild Pucker

"It wasn't just you."

"Okay, good, because I'm going to need several repeats just to make sure." Chase laughs, and when he looks at me, something catches in my chest. I never thought having sex with someone I consider one of my best friends could be so easy and fucking spectacular at the same time.

I want to lay in this bed forever, but reality sets in. "I have to pee," I say, and then start laughing uncontrollably. I can't help myself. I'm so deliriously happy that I might literally pee myself but I can’t stop giggling. Everything I've ever wanted is right in front of me, and even though there's still so much Chase and I need to figure out, for the first time in my life, I think I might get it right.

19

Fifty Shades of Freaky

Lily

The BUZZ By Cassidy Tippett

Time's Ticking on Lily Valentine's Dating Experiment

The Blue and White Bachelorettehas taken Toronto by storm, and with only one date left for Lily Valentine, everyone is wondering who she'll choose. In case you missed it, Lily concluded her final date with Samuel McCrae, the dashing Canadian Scot whose voice could melt panties, this week. His resume boasts a Toronto FC game, a night at the Ripley Aquarium, and an after-hours art party at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Not to be outdone, Northmen bad boy, Chase Wilder, has one date left to sway Ms. Valentine to the dark side. His dates included a swoon-worthy trip up the CN Tower and, more recently, a night at the Royal Ontario Museum to check out some dinosaur bones. What's next on the agenda to conclude hockey's most popular dating game? With Halloween creeping up on us, one can only assume that Wilder will do his best not to scare his pretty prey away.

And, in case you want to catch the conclusion of this love triangle, Lily Valentine will declare the winner of her heart live at the Toronto Northmen's home game next week against the Las Vegas Aces.

Who is your favourite to win this high-stakes game of love? Leave a comment below.

Torontogurl22: If Lily Valentine doesn't choose Chase, I'll take him every day of the week.

Jinxy111: Great Scot, Sam is hot. He's the clear winner.

SarahShoes12: I don't understand all the hype. It doesn't matter who she picks. They'll break up within a month.

RachelWright43: Lily is too vanilla for a bad boy like Chase Wilder. As someone who's sampled the product, she's way too sweet for his level of spice.

I throw my phone down on the kitchen island at the arena. I hate reading Cassidy Tippett's bullshit column and the comments accompanying it, but I can't help myself. She always seems to have an inside scoop into what's happening in Northmen Nation, and even I have to admit she's good at her job. Although, her information and sources are sometimes questionable.

"Rough day?" Sam asks, walking to the kitchen. I've just finished the pre-game meal, and I'm about to have a few of the line cooks carry it out into the team meeting room on heated serving trays. There's lots of herbed chicken, sautéed veggies, and spiced whole grain rice.

"I guess so. Let's just say I won't be sad when this whole thing ends and I don't have to read about myself in gossip columns anymore."

"I get that," Sam agrees. Over the last few weeks, he's become a good friend and, while I know he wishes there was something more than friendship between us, he's been nothing but supportive and kind this entire time. "Look on the bright side. You and Chase will finally be an official couple in a week, and all the buzz will die down."

There's no one left in the kitchen except the two of us, so I smile shyly back in agreement. I almost can't believe it myself. Chase and I will finally be awe. I've barely seen him since our incredible night together, other than our museum date, and that was sadly very PG because the team was leaving for a short road trip the following day. We're one date away from finishing this thing, and I'm more than ready to give away the charity cheques and be done with it. Remind me to never let Holly and Avery con me into doing something so stupid ever again.

"Thank you, Sam. You've been such a great friend to me through this whole thing. I know, somehow, there'll be an amazing girl waiting for you at the end of this. Just not me." He grins back, and it's not the usual wistful one he gives me. It's genuine and hopeful, and it washes away some of the guilt I feel for dragging him into this.

"I think you might be right." I cock my head to the side and look at Sam.Is he blushing?

"Shut up! Did you meet someone?"

"I did. But you can't laugh. Her name is Sam." I can't help myself. I laugh anyways.

"Sam and Sam? I love it. Have I met her before? Where did you guys meet?"

"At the art gallery," he says sheepishly, and I laugh even harder because, of course, he did. "It was after our date. She knows Holly and Avery and helped organize our visit." My mind immediately files through all the people we met at the AGO until it snags on a very cute, very pretty woman, probably about my age, with the features of a red-headed pixie. I thought she looked familiar.

And then it hits me. I know Sam's Sam.

Last year, when Holly and Avery started working with the Northmen, an aggressive, misogynistic Russian player named Boris Kashlinov got kicked off the team. He beat up his girlfriend and tried to tell everyone she fell down the stairs. But after he assaulted Holly during a charity hockey game, he was charged. Sam was his girlfriend, and she was way too young and pretty for an abusive asshole like Kash.

"Oh my god, I know Sam," I say, but then stop short because I don't know how much Sam knows about her past, and it's not my place to tell her story.