Ice Contact (Milwaukee Steel Riders #1)

12. Olivia

12

olivia

I am terrified to walk by a mirror right now. I probably look like a dying clown. I’m on the verge of a crying headache, my eyes are swollen, and the chaos spinning in my head from the last ten minutes is overwhelming. But Hayes Larson is walking me through the players’ parking lot. He puts his hand on the small of my back, guiding me toward his car. My skin ignites from his touch, and the ache in my heart quickly morphs into gratefulness toward the man driving me home. On a normal night, I would never be allowed to talk to a player, let alone get a ride home from one. But…I technically don’t work for the Riders anymore, so I guess there is one bright spot in the evening.

I jump at the honk of a vehicle passing by us. God, I’m on edge right now. Coming to a stop next to us, the window rolls down.

“You still headed home, Larsy?” Vladi says with a smirk and one eyebrow raised at Hayes.

“Yes Vladi, just giving Olivia a ride home first. Olivia, this is my best friend, and nosy bastard, Vladi.”

“Pleasure to officially meet you, Olivia. Don’t let Larsy use that hockey player charm on you.”

Oh my God. My eyes widen in shock and embarrassment. Is Vladimir Volkov, aka The Wolf, hinting at the tension between Hayes and I? The air leaps from my lungs at the thought of Larsy using his charm, or honestly any part of his body, on me.

I finally compose myself enough to respond. “Nice to meet you too Vladimir.”

“You are The Weapon. You have my respect. You may call me Vladi.”

Well, I was The Weapon . Still…it’s nice of him to say. I give him a soft smile at the kind words, nodding at his request.

“Okay Vladi,” Hayes says trying to shoo him off. “Thanks for stopping to say goodbye. See you at the airport in the morning,”

“Yes, Larsy. I’ll save you a seat on the plane. Right next to me. I cannot wait to catch up,” Vladi says with a wink as he drives off. Hayes looks up to the top of the parking garage and shakes his head, and I can’t help but let out a little giggle.

Arriving at his parking spot, Hayes opens the door for me. The smell of crisp leather and Hayes’ cologne engulfs me as I slide into the passenger seat. This is a nice, black SUV. I’m not a car expert, nor do I have any interest in cars, but I think this might be a Mercedes. Clasping my hands in my lap, too scared to touch anything, I watch Hayes jog to the driver’s side. I basically know two things about cars - what color it is and how much gas is in the tank. And yes, I’m one of those ‘driving on fumes’ gals, knowing exactly how far I can drive after the gas light comes on. I’m going to guess Hayes is one of those guys that never lets his car get below half a tank.

“No equipment to haul tonight?” Hayes jokes after we’re both settled.

“Nope! Luckily, MKE Arena has its own built-in sound system. Otherwise, you’d be up in the rafters on a catwalk unhooking my speakers to pack in the car,” I say as he laughs.

“Well, equipment or not, I am more than happy to drive you home. But, I do need to ask you something,” he says with a serious, deep voice that makes my heart skip a beat.

Oh my gosh. Is he going to ask for some big favor for this? Is this going to turn into an episode of Dateline? Do I look so hideous from crying he’s changed his mind about the ride home? Flinching, I look in the rearview mirror to make sure I don’t look like an actual monster. Then I look at him stunned, not knowing what to say.

“I need to know your address,” he says, a ridiculous smile stretching across his face.

I awkwardly laugh with a relieved smile. “Yes, you do. I can put it into your GPS.”

He hands me his phone, starts the car, and nods toward some of his teammates as we drive by. “Go for it. You should add your number in there too.”

“Why would you need my number, Hayes?”

“In case of emergencies,” he says, completely serious as we pull out of the parking garage.

I glare at him. “Emergencies? What kind of emergency would you need my number for?”

“First of all, I don’t know many people in town, and I may need someone to help me haul my gear to my car,” he says with a smile. “Or someone may try to kidnap me and hold me for ransom. You can never be too careful with stranger danger in this town.” He glances at me out of the corner of his eyes. “Or some asshole could call me Larsy and ask me to autograph their jersey, and I accidentally punch them in the face, ending up in jail and in need of someone to bail me out.” He looks at me a little sheepishly, clearing his voice to get rid of the growl he fell into. “Too soon?”

I stare at him for a minute…then burst out laughing, my eyes watering as I struggle to catch my breath.

“No. Not too soon at all. I would definitely provide bail money for that,” I giggle. “You should for sure have my number for that reason alone. I don’t want you sitting in a cell overnight thinking of which guy will make the best prison boyfriend.” He laughs from deep in his belly, warming mine as I hand him his phone back with my address in his phone GPS and my number in his contacts. I bite my lip trying to hide the excitement of him having my number.

“So, you sing and you’re funny?” he says, glancing at his screen and lane changing for our exit.

“Yeah, I guess. Thanks for laughing at my jokes.”

“You’re funny, Olivia. I thought you were funny a few weeks ago at Walt’s too.”

“Cayden never laughed when I said something funny, but then he always tried to steal my jokes and use them as his own. But, with jokes, it’s all about timing and delivery, and he just didn’t have the delivery, so no one ever laughed. But he still took the credit for it. I’m sorry, I should stop. I don’t want to talk about Cayden all night; he’s wasted enough of my time.”

“Me neither,” Hayes replies with a gentleness in his voice I didn’t expect.

The miles seem to pass by in a flash, Hayes’ music playing quietly in the background. 80s rock is a genre I wouldn’t expect he’d enjoy, but now that I know him a little more, it’s the perfect fit.

“I know there was a lot going on tonight, so I haven’t gotten a chance yet to tell you how awesome your anthem was. I’ve have heard a lot in my career, from middle school bands that make your ears bleed, to electric guitars that don’t make sense, to famous popstars merely doing it for the exposure, but yours tonight was the most beautiful version I’ve ever heard.”

Heat floods my cheeks, and it feels unbearably hot in this car. “You think so?” I whisper, twining my fingers together in my lap. “I was a little distracted when I saw you skate out on the ice, if I’m being honest, and all the puzzle pieces started clicking into place that you were the same Hayes from Walt’s. So, I wasn’t sure if it was one of my best performances.”

“Olivia,” he says in a deep, serious tone, turning his head long enough to make me lift mine and stare back. “Do you remember me saying I don’t give out compliments I don’t mean? Please believe me when I say you are amazing.”

Where did this guy come from? Cayden never once told me my singing was beautiful. He never actually told me I was beautiful either. It was always ‘you look nice’ or ‘I like that outfit.’ And now, here I am, getting a ride from a pro hockey player who thinks my singing is beautiful.

“Plus, that anthem literally gave me chills. It got me and the whole team pumped up for the game. You’re definitely the reason why we won,” he says with a smile, taking a quick glance at me.

“Oh, stop it; that’s not true,” I scoff, trying to give him another smack on the arm. But as I do, he takes his hand off the steering wheel and grabs mine before I can playfully punch him. And then he just…holds my hand. I swallow hard as heat creeps into my cheeks. I try and hide my smile, but it’s no use. He rubs his thumb along my knuckles and gently sets our clasped hands on my thigh as he continues to drive towards my place.

Then I realize two things at once:

Cayden broke up with me. He is no longer my boyfriend, and I’m single for the first time in eighteen months.

Hayes Larson is holding my hand. On. My. Thigh. And he’s not letting go.