23. Xander
The ref blows the whistle, halting the game.
One of the defenders for Los Angeles Demons, who we’re playing tonight, is yelling at Isaac. A scuffle starts.
They shove each other, but the linesmen pull them apart before it turns into a full-blown fight. The crowd lets out a collective disappointed sound.
I can’t help but laugh. The Demons defender skates by me and spins around.
“You think this is funny, asshole?”
I chuckle. “Yeah. Kinda.”
He moves for me and I tense up, ready for a fight, but the linesman orders him to back off, which he does.
I stand there and smile as I wait for play to resume.
I’ve been smiling like a dumbass non-stop for the past few days. Multiple people have noticed and commented. I just say I’ve been in a good mood because of the Bashers’ recent winning streak.
But that’s only part of it. The other part—the bigger part—is Sophie.
She’s the cause of all my smiles lately.
I think back to the day we spent together and how amazing she was with my mom. I was excited for them to meet, but I was also nervous. I haven’t brought a date over to meet her in…years. I can’t even remember the last time, it’s been so long.
My mom is the most important person in my life and I wanted her to get along with Sophie. I wanted them to genuinely like each other.
Even though this whole thing between us is fake.
There’s a gnawing in my gut just thinking that. It doesn’t feel right to call this fake. Not when I saw how well Sophie and my mom got along.
I think about how many times Sophie made my mom laugh and smile, how they chatted like old friends, how my mom was buzzing, she was so happy to meet Sophie.
None of that was fake. Not even close.
Just like how the joy I felt at seeing them hit it off was one hundred percent real.
And then I think about the way Sophie listened to me as I spilled my feelings about my insecurities as a son and caretaker for my mom.
She let me say everything I’d been holding in for years. I’ve never opened up to anyone like that before. I’ve always been too scared, too closed off. But there’s something about Sophie. She’s so kind and honest and non-judgmental. She listened patiently as I poured my guts to her.
And she trusted me enough to share about the loss of her mom, about how she blamed herself. And when she opened up to me about how she finally stopped doing that, I was blown away. She’s so insightful and so intelligent.
The way she comforted me blew me away. When she said I was a good son to my mom and that my dad would be proud of me, I believed it. When she told me that I wasn’t at fault for what happened to my mom, I believed her. Because I know that Sophie wouldn’t lie or say something just to make me feel better. She’s the most genuine person I’ve ever met. And if she thinks I’m good enough, I believe it.
There’s a pull in my chest when I think about just how incredible she is—how lucky I am to be with her.
And then I remind myself that this will all be over in a couple of months because we agreed to end things before playoffs.
That gnawing feeling burrows deeper. I don’t even want to think about that.
I kick the thought from my brain and refocus on the game.
As I skate over to get ready for the puck drop, I catch eyes with Sophie as she stands off to the side of the entrance to the ice. She works all of our home games, but ever since we got together, she’ll stand and watch us play when she’s not busy.
I see that she’s wearing my jersey. That’s my name and my number on her body.
My heart thuds in my chest.
She flashes that shy smile at me. The one that melts me every time I see it.
My brain instantly flashes back to when she came over to my place and we fooled around on my couch.
She gave me that same shy smile when she climbed on my lap, right before she worked her pussy against my erection and came. And she smiled like that when she asked if she could suck my cock.
My dick starts to twitch.
God, this woman. Hot as hell on top of being so sweet and so cute.
That combination is why I’ve jerked off multiple times to the memory of Sophie writhing on me, then taking my dick in her sweet mouth, then licking her to orgasm in those sexy blue panties.
There’s a surge in my cock and my chest.
I can’t get enough of her.
I grin at her and wave. She waves back.
The urge to grab her and kiss her takes hold.
I know I shouldn’t. We’re in the middle of a hockey game.
But that impulsive part of my brain doesn’t give a shit. All he wants is to kiss her plush mouth.
I skate toward the edge of the ice near the tunnel entrance and wave her over. Her blue eyes go wide and her cheeks flush. She starts to shake her head, but I skate over to her anyway.
Around me, my teammates and the players from the other team are looking at me, clearly confused.
“I need a kiss for good luck,” I say to Sophie.
The crowd in the stands cheers around us. Her face is bright red now. A flustered smile tugs at her lips as she stays standing in that same spot.
I tilt my head at her. “Gorgeous. Are you gonna leave me hanging?”
A few people in the crowd start chanting “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” It doesn’t take long before half the arena is cheering along.
My head falls back as I laugh. I look at Sophie, whose cheeks are fire-engine red now. An amused smile plays on her lips as she shakes her head and walks over to me.
“Seriously?” she says when she makes it to me.
I nod, grinning. “Your mouth is my good luck charm.”
She rolls her eyes good-naturedly. I lean down to her as she tip-toes up to me. She presses those pillowy lips to my mouth.
I hum at the warm, soft feel of her lips. I’m aching to tease open her lips with my tongue, but I stop myself. People are filming us with their phones. I’d bet anything our kiss is on the Jumbotron right now. We’ll probably be a highlight on a sports news broadcast tonight too. Gotta keep this PG.
She falls back onto her heels, breaking the kiss. Still smiling, she shakes her head at me as the crowd cheers around us.
I skate off to join the puck drop, grinning like the giddy dipshit I am. Half of the players are laughing and smiling in amusement; half are staring at me, confused. The ref with the puck looks annoyed, but I notice the linesmen are chuckling.
Theo elbows me. “Damn, dude. You’ve gone all romantic and shit.”
“I really have.”
As I set up for puck drop, I catch Coach Porter glaring at me.
Shit.
I’m such an idiot that the thought of him seeing me kiss his daughter never even entered my mind.
I let out a breath and focus on the game. The ref drops the puck and I manage to take control of it and pass it back to Theo.
The whole rest of the game, I play my heart out. I’ll worry about Coach Porter murdering me later.