Offensive Plays: A Surprise Baby Hockey Romance (Heatwave Hockey Series)

28. Libby

“What the fuck is going on here?” Zane says from his place by the pool as he takes in the sight of me and his teammate holding hands.

Kesley is sitting next to him, pulling her shades down watching us intently as we stroll up to them.

I gulp, looking at Michael.

“Everyone,” Michael says out loud, still holding my hand. The music dies down and his teammates scattered throughout Landry’s backyard all turn our way.

“Libby and I are dating,” he announces, raising our intertwined hands up in the air as proof.

Everyone is quiet for a split second. I swear I see the lollipop in Landry’s mouth fall to the ground.

Then in an instant, the boys all jump up and head over to us, patting Michael on the back, ruffling his hair and pulling me in for hugs.

“About time, Fergie!” Hicks says.

“Wait, wait, wait…”Kesley pulls her feet out of the pool and walks over to me. “Fergie is….”

I bite my lip and nod.

Her mouth drops open. She takes me by the hand and pulls me toward the house. “Excuse me, I need a chat with my bestie,” she says to Michael.

“It’s fine,” I say over my shoulder, following her inside.

She closes the door and turns to me. “Are you kidding me right now? Fergie is your baby daddy?”

We hear something drop to the floor and we both whip our heads to Izzy standing in the middle of the kitchen, a bag of Funyuns spilled out and mixing with the contents of her Dr. Pepper can at her feet.

Kesley and I both look at each other before the three of us move to clean the mess.

“I’m sorry,” Izzy says, grabbing paper towels near the sink. “That seems like it was supposed to be a private conversation.”

“Too late, now,” Rina says casually strolling into the kitchen with a few bags of chips. “Mazel tov, Libby.”

“Uh, thanks. I think.”

“Excuse me,” Kesley says from the floor. “But I’m still reeling from the fact that my best friend has been keeping this from me, for weeks.”

“So you and Fergie?” Izzy clarifies.

I decide to just come clean to everyone at once. “We met on a dating app.”

“BlindBang, to be specific,” Kesley adds.

“Yes…” I admit. “It was only supposed to be a weekend hookup,”

“So wait, you didn’t know it was him you were talking to?”

I shake my head. “Nope, not until we were going to meetup and I put the pieces together.”

“Him being a hockey player in Houston didn’t ring any bells for you?” Rina asks, placing the bags onto the counter.

“Um…no. That never came up. He told me he was a software developer.”

“What?” Kesley says, picking up the bag of Funyuns and popping one into her mouth, like she’s watching a movie play out.

“Yeah.”

“Wait, why would he say that?” Rina asks.

“Because he made the app,” Hicks says strolling past our gathered group shirtless and wearing only his swimming trunks. He opens the fridge and looks inside.

“How long have you been listening in?” Izzy asks him.

“Long enough,” he says over his shoulder.

“What do you mean he made the app?” I ask him.

“Fergie,” he says. “He made BlindBang.”

He’s so casual about it, bending down and sifting through the contents of the fridge.

The four of us say at the same time, “What?”

Hicks grabs a can of beer and closes the fridge turning to the four of us gathered around him.

“Ah, shit. I think that was 2018,” he mumbles to himself. “Fergie’s gonna kill me.”

“And I’m gonna kill Fergie,” I say, pushing past the forward to get to the sliding doors.

“Libby, wait,” Hicks calls out behind me.

But it’s too late.

“You made BlindBang?!” I scream out to the crowded pool area.

Michael’s head shoots over at me and he scrambles to his feet the moment he sees me.

“Libby…”

“I cannot believe you, Michael. How did I ever think this could work? I’m such an idiot.”

He reaches for me and I pull my arm away from him. “Libby, I can explain,” he says, following behind me.

Hicks is in front of us, arms up in surrender. “Sorry, dude. I forgot that was 2018.”

“You think?” Michael spits out at him.

I stomp through the kitchen and grab my bag from the coat closet. I need distance.

“Libby, wait.”

I whirl on him. “I’m sorry, like a clueless nitwit, I just assumed that us meeting on a blind dating app was fate. And now I’m learning that it wasn’t fate at all. You were behind it the whole time. Did you trap me on purpose Michael?”

“No, Libby,” he breathes out. “No. I had no idea it was you until…”

“Until what?”

“Until you invited me to your place. I had no idea it was you on the other side of the screen. I swear. That was all real.”

I feel my shoulders relax slightly.

“Okay?” His eyes are worried. “It was fate, Lib.”

I drop my purse and he steps up to me, wrapping his arms around me. “I’m sorry I never told you.”

I breathe in the scent of his cologne. The same cologne I smelled our first night together. It calms me.

“Come here,” he says, sliding my hand into his and walking me down the hall.

The kitchen is now empty as we walk by. The girls have since moved outside to give us some space. And I appreciate them for that.

Michael holds my hand behind his back as he leads me up the stairs.

He pauses in front of the first door to the left. “I want to show you something.”

He opens the door and I follow him inside. There’s a queen size bed with a cushy beige duvet and lots of pillows pushed to the far corner of the room. But the majority of the room is taken up by a giant L-shaped desk lined with multiple computer screens. Five to be exact.

“What the hell?” I breathe out. “Are you some kind of hacker?”

He grins. “No, I’m a software developer. I play hockey but this is what I love to do when I’m not on the ice.”

I walk up to the setup. There’s flashing lights and colorful keyboards.

He turns the lights off in the room, and the computer area comes to life.

“So… you’re a nerd. Is that what you’re trying to show me?”

He bites his bottom lip in amusement and takes my hand.

“Libby, for as long as I can remember. I’ve had a crush on you. First, we were neighbors. Then we were friends. Then Jonah, by some sick joke of the universe convinced you to be his girlfriend. And I couldn’t do anything about it, but sit back and watch. And I was convinced I had lost you.”

I swallow at his confession.

“But then, you guys broke up. And I saw the smallest glimmer of hope.”

I nod. Remembering the conversation when we were younger. The same one that wakes me up on some nights.

“You told me I had to stay away. And that if I didn’t that you would.”

I look down at my hands, fingers fumbling over each other.

“I didn’t know why we couldn’t be friends. Only that you didn’t want me. So I had to try to move on. Then Zane joined the Heatwave. And I knew I was a goner. Because if Zane was going to be around. I knew you would too.”

He steps up to his keyboard and runs a hand over it. “So I tried out some apps. Got catfished. Got ghosted. Got swindled for a lot of money. Girls took advantage. And I knew the only way to forget about you, would be to create an app that would be the ultimate distraction. I did everything I could to teach the algorithm to know exactly all the ways one human could match with another. The ultimate hookup. I spent a year building it. Then it went live.”

He pulls the computer chair out and pats it for me to sit on it. I walk over and sit. He pushes me toward one of the screens. His head leaning down just over my left shoulder, as he speaks.

“And the first match I got…” he opens the screen to his account and pulls up mine. “LeaveHerWild.”

I look at him and he looks at me. His eyes flickering from my lips back to my eyes. “It was fate, Libby.”

I push the chair back and stand up to face him. He straightens, slipping his hands into his pockets and staring back at me.

“I’m sorry, I pushed you away. It was never what I wanted.”

He shifts his weight to another foot. “Then why did you?”

I don’t know how to tell him. I don’t know if I ever can. And that’s the part that kills me the most. I want to tell this man everything, but I can’t.

“I was young and impressionable.” I tell him. “I wish I would’ve done things differently.”

He slips one hand out of his pocket and tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear.

“I’m sure we both wish we would’ve done things differently,” he admits.

He takes my chin in his hand and brings my lips up to his. “But I have you now. And that’s all that fucking matters to me, Libby. We can figure out the rest.”

I nod, my lips parting at the closeness of his.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” He asks.

I nod softly.

“Then say it,” he growls out.

That voice of his sends electric shockwaves down to my core. My dominant man is back. And it thrills me.

“Please, kiss me stranger.”

A slow and wicked grin spreads across his face. “That’s my girl.”

His fingers lace into my hair and he pulls my mouth to his, devouring my lips in a needy, heady kiss. When we finally pull away. He looks at me.

“Take your clothes off, Libby.”

I rip my top off. And he reaches behind me to undo my bikini top. It drops to the floor in front of my feet. And he pauses. Looking at me topless.

“What is it?” I breathe out.

“There were some…” he gulps. “Pictures of you. Some of the boys were caught looking at them.”

“Oh god,” I say shooting my hands up to my face. He grabs my hands and looks me in the eye. Zane and I handled it.

“I didn’t even want to do that stupid shoot,” I mutter.

“What happened?”

“Paris happened,” I say.

“Well, we threatened to kill them if they’re ever caught with those photos again,” he says, pulling me by a loop on the waist of my jean shorts. “But, if I’m being honest…”

He slips his phone open from his back pocket and opens it to an album. He thumbs through photos of my topless shoot. And even photos from the more recent lingerie shoot.”

I grab the phone. “How did you get these? These haven’t even been released.”

I look up at him and he smirks. “I might be a little bit of a hacker.”

I slap his chest. “What are you doing with these pictures, Michael?”

He licks his lips as he looks down at me. “So many dirty things, baby. Wanna see?”

My lips part and I swallow as he reaches for the zipper of his jeans.