Playing the Pucking Game (LA Vipers #2)

Chapter 1

PARKER

“You owe me,” I slur, throwing my arms around my best friend.

I’ve barely had a chance to speak to her tonight; if she hasn’t been attached to her hot hockey playing boyfriend’s hip, then she’s been chasing around after his sassy little girl, Sutton.

It lights me up inside, seeing my best friend so happy. Seeing her smiling like she is now.

But it also exposes just how fucking lonely I am.

“Why do I owe you?” Casey asks.

“We made a bet, remember?”

Her brows pinch.

“Uh…did we?”

“Yep. At the beginning of the season, I said something like, ‘I bet that by the end of the season, you’ll have fucked Kodie again.’ Well, Missy. It’s New Year’s, the season is far from over, and you have just moved in with him. You owe me.”

Casey quirks a brow, her smile growing as she thinks about her man.

Ugh, there’s that happiness again.

It’s a good thing I love her so much.

“That doesn’t constitute as a bet, and it certainly doesn’t mean I owe you anything.”

I narrow my eyes at her.

“Why aren’t you as drunk as me? If you were, you’d agree.”

She shakes her head. “What is it you want for winning?”

I blow out a long breath as I think.

“I don’t know.”

“Okay, so the point of bringing it up was…”

“Proving a point that I was right, I guess.”

“Well, congratulations, Miss Donnelly. You were right. Now, have you figured out who you’re going to be kissing in…” Casey checks the time. “Six minutes?”

I groan.

“This room is full of hockey players.”

“So? It’s New Year’s. It’s all about new starts, remember?”

Excitement stirs in my stomach as I think about what the next year holds for me already.

Casey wasn’t the only one to have her dream come true this year.

By some miracle, I’ve managed to achieve mine, too.

In three days, I am officially starting my new position as the LA Vipers’ newest—and obviously hottest—athletic trainer.

“My new job is even more reason why I shouldn’t be kissing any of these guys,” I point out.

Drunk or not, I will not be forgetting the promise I made to myself all those years ago.

No hockey players. Not again.

Ever.

“Baby, it’s almost time,” Kodie says, stepping up behind my best friend so he can steal her away for their midnight kiss.

“Please, Parker,” Casey begs, her eyes all soft and pathetic. “Next year is your year, I can feel it. Please don’t start it alone.”

“Go, just go,” I say, waving them off before turning to the bar and gesturing to one of the servers for a new drink.

My spine stiffens as someone steps up beside me.

I don’t need to turn around to know the looming presence belongs to a hockey player; I can tell by the expensive scent of their cologne.

My only question is…which one?

“Thank you,” I say as my double Jack and Coke is placed in front of me.

“Something wrong with all the champagne that’s being passed around?” His familiar deep, raspy voice rolls through me, igniting irritation everywhere it goes.

Closing my eyes, I silently will the man next to me away. This is not how I want to spend the end of this year and the beginning of the next.

But I already know I’m not that lucky.

Lifting my drink to my lips, I swallow a gulp, hoping it’ll help me deal with the man beside me.

My skin heats under his attention, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of knowing he affects me in any way other than annoying me.

“I guess this is the problem with the parties the team owner throws. He doesn’t invite bunnies,” I taunt, finally twisting around to look at the player who dared to come over and ruin the last few minutes of this year.

The smirk that pulls at Lincoln Storm’s lips makes my teeth grind.

He thinks he’s so special. So hot and…okay, fine. He is hot. But the fact he knows it counteracts the whole situation. That along with a whole list of other things.

He’s always been the same. Although, it never used to annoy me as much as it does now.

I guess that’s what happens as you get older.

You get wiser.

“It’s not really an issue when you’re in the room, sweetheart.” My top lip curls.

“If you think that kind of line is going to get you anywhere with me, you really need to think again.”

“It’s almost midnight, Donnelly.”

“And that means what, exactly? You going to turn back into a pumpkin?”

One side of his mouth kicks up in amusement.

“I didn’t have you down as a fairy tale fan.”

I sneer at him.

“You’re even hotter when you’re drunk.”

“I’m done here,” I say, lifting my glass from the bar and walking away.

I make it four steps before everyone around me begins counting down.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

I look around the room at the couples and groups of friends excited to welcome in a new year.

I understand why the Vipers are happy. They’re having their best season in years. There is a very good chance that this is going to be the first time in almost a decade that they make it to the playoffs.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Fletcher has his arms around his wife Reese’s waist. Kodie is gazing into Casey’s eyes.

The other couples on the team are ready.

Four.

Three.

Two.

And I’m standing here with only my drink to celebrate with.

Fuck. I hope Casey is right. I hope next year is my year.

One.

Cheers erupt as kids pull party poppers, shooting confetti everywhere. I’m about to lift my drink to my lips in a private celebration with myself when a hand wraps around the back of my neck.

Before I know what’s happening, a warm pair of lips presses against mine.

It takes me a second for my brain to catch up, and the second it does, I raise my glass higher and dump the contents all over Lincoln Storm’s head.

“The fuck, Donnelly?” he barks as my Jack and Coke soaks his hair and runs down the sides of his face.

“Happy New Year, Storm. It can only get better from here.”

He stares at me, his eyes wide with disbelief, his chest heaving. He shouldn’t look as good as he does right now with my drink dripping from his chin, soaking his white button-down.

Amusement explodes inside me, but I smother it, the slight tugging at the corners of my lips the only evidence.

His gaze darkens as his jaw tics.

My heart pounds harder, unable to drag myself from his intense stare.

He’s the only thing I can see. The party and celebrations around us cease to exist as we both wait to see what the other is going to do next.

We’re at a standoff, one I desperately need to get away from.

Lincoln Storm is dangerous. He always has been.

I remember that very first time my big brother brought him home for a playdate.

I was only eight. But even then, I felt this weird pull toward Linc.

He was a sweet kid. Arrogant as fuck. Nothing has really changed there. But for the first few years of their friendship, he was nice to me. He'd allow me to play with them and chastise Rett when he tried to shove me aside.

I got it. I was a little girl who lived and breathed ice hockey just like they did. But I wasn’t one of them. I was never going to be.

Discovering that fact as a young girl with big dreams of playing hockey for a living was a bitter pill to swallow.

The truth is, it doesn’t matter how well we play, how good we are at our jobs. Hockey has always been a male-dominated sport. Sure, things have slowly been getting better over the years. The PWHL is growing in popularity, and I really hope it continues.

Casey and I didn’t manage to live out our childhood dreams.

But there’s a chance that in ten years’ time, Sutton will.

Linc suddenly takes a step toward me, ripping me from my thoughts and back to reality.

He’s no longer that sweet little kid. He’s a huge, brutal hockey player with a smile that makes panties drop left and right.

He acts like the world of women owes him something. And I, for one, am not giving him a single fucking thing.

“The fuck do you think you’re doing?” I seethe, taking a big step back.

My lips are still tingling from that kiss.

That unwanted kiss…

Thoughtlessly, my hand lifts, my fingers brushing over my bottom lip.

His signature smirk appears as he takes another step.

“You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?” he drawls, making my hand sink like a rock.

My eyes narrow, irritation flaring to the surface once more.

“You need to back the fuck up before I do something I’ll regret.”

“Aw, babe, I think we both know you’d never regret anything when it comes to me.”

“Don’t call me babe,” I snap. “I’m your colleague now; it’s about time you learned some respect.”

Amusement glitters in his eyes.

“Babe, you were my friend long before you were my colleague,” he taunts.

My top lip peels back.

“We’ve never been friends.”

His smile widens. “Sure, you keep lying to yourself, Donnelly. We both know it’s only a matter of time before you end up in my bed.”

Fury erupts, and this time I’m the one who surges forward. He might be a six-foot-four giant who could squash me like an annoying fly, but I’ve had enough alcohol tonight to delude myself into thinking I’ll have any kind of impact on him.

“You’re a fu—”

“Let’s dance,” my best friend suggests loudly, wrapping her hand around my upper arm and dragging me away from the irritant who seems to want to press every one of my buttons tonight.

“What are you doing?” I cry as she drags me all the way to the middle of the dance floor. “I was just about to tell him what I think—”

“He already knows, Parker,” she assures me as we come to a stop.

She steps in front of me, her body already swaying to the music.

Happiness radiates from her.

“He’s such an asshole,” I mutter, crossing my arms and pouting like a petulant child who didn’t get her way.

What did I want, though?

“Let it go, P. It’s a new year. A fresh start.”

A little bit of hope trickles in.

“And on top of that, you’re about to start your dream job. You did it, Parker,” she says, her smile growing impossibly wide. “Have I told you how proud of you I am?”

My arms drop, and the resentment I was clinging to begins to ebb away.

“Maybe,” I murmur. “But I could hear it again.”

Casey laughs before throwing her arms around my shoulders. “I’m so fucking proud of you, Parker Donnelly. You are going to be the best athletic trainer in the NHL, and you’re going to look hot as fuck doing it.”

Excitement tingles in my belly. Of course, I’m fucking terrified about landing the job I’ve been working toward since I was fifteen, but I can push that aside for a few days in favor of celebrating.

Something tells me that I’ve got plenty of opportunities ahead of me where I’ll question my place in a man’s world.

“Fuck Storm. Fuck all of them. This is about you right now,” Casey says, swaying her hips as she loses herself in the music.

Her ability to forget everything for a few minutes helps me to do the same, and for a few songs, we dance together as if we’re the only two people in the room.

I startle as a small person bumps into me, and when I look down, I find Sutton beaming up at me.

“Can I dance with you?” she asks, looking between me and Casey as if we’re the most incredible women in the world. Man, this kid does good things for my confidence.

“Of course!” We take her hands in ours, lifting them above her head, dancing together as she giggles in delight.

Sutton may only be seven, but she is a force to be reckoned with.

She’s going to go far, I know it. Her grit and determination are up there with the ice hockey players we’re surrounded by.

I have no doubt that the name Sutton Rivers is going to be hitting headlines in the years to come for her contribution to women’s ice hockey.

We dance and laugh until I have sweat dripping down my back.

Sutton is doing her best, but she’s getting tired.

Looking up, I spot Kodie, her dad, heading our way with a drink in his hand.

“Parker,” he says, handing me the glass. “I understand that someone is wearing your last one,” he teases.

“What?” Casey asks, a frown marring her brow.

Kodie barks a laugh as he lifts his daughter into his arms. She immediately snuggles against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

A few months ago, I wasn’t sure this man was capable of laughing. But since getting with my best friend, he smiles more than any of the Vipers’ family thought possible.

“Didn’t you notice Linc was wet?”

Casey spins around, searching for the man in question.

She stills when she finds him before turning back to me with a curious look in her eyes.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing you need to know about,” I say, trying to wave it off.

“Parker,” she warns, amusement twitching at her lips. “Did you dump your drink on Linc’s head?”

“He kissed me,” I blurt.

“W-what?”

“At midnight. The ball dropped, and he thought…god, why is he such a fucking idiot.”

“He kissed you, and to thank him, you dumped your Jack and Coke all over him?”

“What else was I supposed to do?” I ask, not seeing the issue here.

“Uh…I don’t know. Kiss him back?”

I balk. “There is not a chance you’ll ever catch me kissing Lincoln Storm,” I state firmly, my hand on my hip for good measure.

She stares at me, her eyes bouncing between mine before she asks, “Do you want to bet?”