The Publicity Stunt

6. Chapter Five

Kace hasn”t heard anything from Bri since the lunch where the fake relationship idea was brought up. He”s asked Neo a couple of times, and he says Nia says Bri hasn”t made up her mind yet. He continues to go back and forth between thinking it”s a decent idea and the dumbest thing anyone has thought up in the history of ideas. He has to remind himself that if she rejects the plan, she”s not rejecting him. No matter how much it feels like she might be.

He”s surprised at how much he wants to check up on her. She”s not normally the type of girl he goes for, but there”s something about her that interests him. Besides her obvious good looks and talent, he likes how reserved she comes across one minute, but the next, she”s ready to fight to the death. It excites him in the best way possible. She has a spark, and he’s drawn to it.

After she defended her ex, Kace had to listen to Easton”s music again, but he hasn”t changed his stance. If anything, meeting her and seeing the small amount of herself she showed him, he”s doubled down on his opinions. In fact, Kace would rather listen to feral cats in heat in New York than this man”s music.

It”s not just bad. It”s really bad. The instrumentals conflict. He”s never heard a song with country elements that include a synthesizer. At least not one that would be considered good, and Easton”s shown why this isn”t a thing. On top of that, the lyrics were atrocious. The only redeeming quality is the fact his voice isn”t all that bad. The guy just doesn”t know what to do with it, and Kace can”t stop thinking about how it”s likely not the only thing Easton has that he doesn”t know what to do with.

Coach put Kace through hell every day since he skipped the first practice, but it hasn”t done anything to tame the pure hatred he feels every time he looks at Rudy. To make it worse, Coach refuses to switch up the lines, so he”s always on the ice and bench with the damned traitor. The only part of being out with him that makes it relatively bearable is the fact he”s not the only one who takes an opportunity to make him look bad or let a defenseman slip through and hand him his ass. It”s an unwritten rule that a teammate”s girl is off-limits.

It”s the third period, and the Bootleggers are down by two. The crowd suddenly starts losing their damned mind, and Kace exchanges a confused glance with everyone on the team, including Rudy. They all look around, and he finally sees what caused it. Bri Waters sits in the VIP section of the Bootleggers. She showed up to a game, and more than that, she”s wearing his jersey.

”What the hell?” Rudy asks as they skate towards the net and moves the puck in front of him. ”Why”s Bri Waters in VIP? Our VIP?”

”You”re just pissed she wears my number and not yours,” Kace says, accepts the puck when Rudy gets blocked, and skates full steam ahead towards the net.

Knowing Bri watches him makes him want to impress her. He winds back and smacks the puck as hard as he can. It slips right above the goalie”s left mitt in the top corner, and the train horn sounds. The crowd goes wild again, this time for him.

He looks up and nods at her as she claps with a wide smile on her face. Standing next to her is a tall blonde with sharp features he would have normally gone for, but the way Bri looks at him, as though she”s fully impressed, captivates him. He barely sees her friend.

The media can”t get enough of her, and she waves down at him. He blows a kiss, and she pretends to catch it. No matter how shy she may come across, it”s no secret she knows how to put on a show when needed.

And it hits him that this must mean she agreed to Neo and Nia”s idea. Easton has been doing everything and anything he can to get his name into the news lately, and it”s for the best if the asshole just disappears. He”s done using Bri for clout.

”Are you dating her?” Rudy asks and elbows him as they climb onto the bench.

”Anything off the ice isn”t your business anymore.”

He scoffs. ”You”re not dating her. You found a way to make it look like you are just to get back at Sasha. That makes you an asshole ten times over, you know that, right?”

Kace ignores Rudy until it”s time to climb back into the game, and he finds his spot on the ice to catch the puck before passing it to the rookie, Brandon, and moves towards the net. Brandon takes his shot, but it bounces off the post. Kace catches it with his stick and smacks it hard between the goalie”s legs, surprising him by hitting it from the right instead of the left. Being left-handed has its perks when most people are right-handed.

The train whistle goes off again, and he can”t help it. He looks up to find Bri jumping up and down next to her friend, her hands hitting the plexiglass. He points up at her, and she places her hand over her heart with a wide smile.

”Seriously, what kind of bullshit did you pull to get her here? There”s no way she”s here for you. No way,” Rudy says.

Kace just scoffs and looks at the scoreboard. In a matter of minutes, they”ve tied with Brett”s team, three to three. Bri Waters just might be his good luck charm.

Kace came close to his first hat trick of the season tonight. Instead of a third goal, he had an assist for Brandon, who scored his very first NHL goal. It was almost as good, and seeing Bri clap for him made it even better.

She looked so happy, and he thoroughly enjoyed himself on the ice for the first time all season. It didn”t hurt that the attention and speculation pissed Rudy off even more with every minute that passed. Serves him right for making the one place Kace always felt like home feel like the worst place in the world.

”Lyons!” Coach shouts as he walks into the locker room.

”Yeah, Coach?”

”Good game. Didn”t have anything to do with that pretty singer up in our stands wearing your jersey, did it?”

Even Coach noticed her, and the annoyed look on Rudy”s face makes that much better. ”We just had a hell of a game and came back strong in the third period. Bran scored his first goal. How”s it feel, little man?”

The kid dropped out of college to join the team, and he”s only twenty. He”s a little shorter than Kace, but not by much, with a baby face and blue eyes. His sandy hair makes him look even younger, and a wide smile spreads across his face.

”Do you have any idea how kickass it was to score my first goal in front of Bri Waters?”

Rudy rolls his eyes and slams his locker. ”Whatever.”

”He looks annoyed,” Brandon says.

”Because he”s about to stand in the shower next to me, and it”s not just the height that makes him the smaller one,” Kace says and chuckles as he heads to the showers.

He turns on the hot water and strips down before standing under the hot stream. It never fails to surprise him just how sore his muscles are until the hot water hits them, and it worries him that his age is starting to catch up quicker than he thinks. He has a few good years yet, but many retire at thirty-five. This means he only has a few seasons left to win the Cup.

Steam fills the small area, and he quickly lathers up to finish up as soon as possible. If he”s lucky, Bri will be waiting for him outside the locker room.

”Seriously, did you pay her or something?” Rudy calls.

”Get over it, dude,” Kace says.

The water shuts off next to Kace, and the black-haired man sticks his head through the curtain. ”I want to know.”

”I”m sure Sasha has you feeling insecure about your size, but get out of here, perv.”

”She doesn”t complain one bit, thanks.”

”Then what the hell has you so interested in my junk? Checking out to see if that toy she loves so much was made from yours truly? Spoiler alert, it was.”

Reaching out, he pushes Kace. ”Fuck you.”

”Marshall, what are you doing to Lyons?” Bruno”s large voice booms in the showers. ”Stealing his girl wasn”t enough? You want to fondle him while you”re at it, too? Or do you just like to watch him like a Peeping Tim?”

Kace laughs and turns off his water as Rudy backs away. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he walks out. ”Tom. It”s a Peeping Tom, Bruno. And it”s creepy, right? Like, did he start with Sasha as a weird obsession but really wants me? Because it”s a little gay to stick your head in my shower, dude. You know we”ll never judge, but I just don”t see you like that.”

”Get your own life,” Bruno says and turns on the water three stalls down. ”And don”t even think about coming in here. Touch me while I”m naked, and you”ll end up on the injured roster with a broken hand. Don”t test me.”

”It”s not what... you know what? Whatever,” Rudy says and stomps back to the locker room.

Kace chuckles and dries off. At least he”s getting under the jerk”s skin. Bruno leans out and nods to him, and Kace goes in to change. Ever since everything went down the first day of practice, he”s made it a point to stay on the other side of the locker room from Rudy. Coach was generous enough to move lockers in their stadium after murderous threats.

His former friend seems to drag his feet to leave, and Kace knows he”s waiting to leave at the same time as him. Kace glares in annoyance, but he decides the best option is just to ignore him. If Bri”s outside, he doesn’t want to keep her waiting by playing a game of chicken with the asshole on who”ll finally leave first.

They walk out together, and the audible gasp from Rudy as they round the corner makes ignoring him completely impossible. He sees the reason for his shock when Bri and her friend come into view.

”Hey,” Bri says, her smile shy. ”I thought I”d surprise you.”

”I”m glad you did,” Kace says and winks. ”I see you brought a friend.”

The blonde holds out her hand, and he”s surprised at how tall she is. With her heels, she”s over six feet and might be taller than Rudy. ”Tessa.”

”Hi, Tessa. Kace Lyons. It”s nice to meet you.”

The look she gives him tells him she knows about the arrangement, but if Bri trusts her, he supposes he can, too. Someone doesn”t get far in the industry Bri is in by trusting the wrong people.

”She had to come and help explain the game to me,” Bri admits. ”I looked up some stuff online, but it was like reading a textbook. She”s the biggest hockey fan, but as you can see, she”s hardcore for the other team.”

He smiles and nods at her Twisters jersey. Brett would be proud. ”Texas girl, too?”

”Born and raised.”

”You grow up with Bri?”

”Yep.”

”I went to school about an hour south of you guys. And I can say, the girls I went to school with aren”t nearly as pretty as the two of you. She’s kind of a big deal.”

Tessa rolls her eyes but nods. ”Looks like my girl”s your lucky charm. Almost got a hat trick. Maybe you”ll get the next one she gets to watch, but it might be a while. She”s got a pretty busy schedule.”

Rudy stands, his mouth gaping open, and Bri looks at him and back to Kace. ”Is he... Is he okay?”

”Don”t pay him any attention. That”s Rudy. The guy my ex cheated with.”

Her body language shifts, and she stands straighter. ”That”s unfortunate.”

”Tell me about it. I have to play with him for at least the rest of the season.”

Tessa, annoyed at the glaring, snaps her fingers in his face. ”Trying to catch flies. Snap out of it, Cheater, Cheater Pumpkin Eater. Run along now.”

Her response makes Kace chuckle, but Rudy just glares at her. He walks a few paces and stops, and Tessa kicks out her hip while crossing her arms under her chest and stares at him.

”What? I walked away!” Rudy calls.

”Away, creep. Out of eyesight. Buh-bye now.”

”You are officially on my list of my top favorite people right now,” Kace says with a laugh. ”No one puts that man in his place. Do you two want to get a bite to eat?”

She laughs. ”Sorry, hunny, but I can”t be seen in public with a Bootlegger. My boyfriend would disown me.”

”He”s a trainer for the Twisters,” Bri adds.

”But you two have fun,” she says. ”I have a car waiting for me. Call me when you get back to the hotel, okay?”

Bri nods and watches her walk away. Kace can”t keep his eyes off Bri, and without fail, Brett chooses this moment to round the corner.

”Hey, buddy!”

”Hey, Brett.”

”You were the other guy at my concert,” Bri says and holds her hand out. ”Bri Waters.”

Brett takes her hand and winks at her. ”Baby, the entire world knows who you are. I can”t believe you”re here!”

”She came and watched you lose,” Kace says with a smirk.

He just laughs. ”You”re lucky you lost the last time we played each other, otherwise she might not be here with you now. Speaking of, are we going out tonight?”

”Raincheck. I”ve got other plans.”

”I see how it is,” he says and kisses Bri”s hand. ”It was very nice to meet you, Bri. I”ll go catch up with Rudy, then.”

Bristling at the idea of his best friend and his ex-best friend spending quality time together, he cracks his neck.

”You don”t like Brett spending time with Rudy,” Bri says.

It’s an observation rather than a question, and he likes how intuitive she appears to be.

”I just don”t like Rudy. Forget him. What do you say? Food?”

”I like food,” she says. ”Your car or mine?”

”Let”s take mine. Any preferences?”

Shaking her head, she slips her small hand into the crook of his elbow. The touch surprises him because he suddenly has an urge to feel her hands all over his body. This is supposed to be fake, so why does he have a very real urge to see what she looks like on top of him?