Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
S eptember 16 th
I have researched hockey to the puck and back. I know all the positions, and more importantly, I know all the Charleston Pirates players who are single. Wilder’s brother, Stone, is a total sex god, but his wife, Natalie, is adorable and they appear to be very happily married. While I want to have a book-worthy adventure, I never would break girl code. Nope. Not my style. However, Stewart Reilly and Theo Larson are my style . . . single. And apparently have the reputation as bunny hunters—hockey players who’ve slept with lots of puck bunnies.
Which is how I found myself in short shorts, heels, and a Charleston Pirates T-shirt that’s cut to show off my midriff. I’m meeting my friends at WET. Leah and Noah, Amelia and Felix, and Eli and Kenneth. I even confirmed that Dracklen would be the bartender in the VIP section tonight. Okay, it is time to bunny this trope up and bag me a hockey player.
WET was packed. The VIP lounge had more people in it than the rest of the club. There were hockey players and bunnies everywhere.
“This might be the best date I’ve ever gone on,” Leah said in awe.
“Girl, same,” Kenneth replied.
“I should be jealous of that, but I’m too busy staring at all these muscled legs. I mean, I thought I had good legs being a dancer,” Eli said as everyone did just that. Stared at the legs of the hockey players.
One of the players got up from his group at the far section of the VIP section. They had no women around them. Well, they had women trying to get to them, but they were shutting it down hard. Paige recognized them as the married players on the team. The one walking toward her was Stone Townsend. He smiled at them and even Amelia sighed.
“Paige?” Stone asked.
“Yes?”
“Stone Townsend. My brother said you had a bucket list and meeting a hockey player was on it. So, come on. Let’s meet some hockey players.”
“I’m Eli,” Eli said suddenly. “And this is Kenneth.” Stone shook Eli’s hand. “I’m a Broadway dancer.”
“Very cool,” Stone said easily as he moved to shake Kenneth’s. “My wife is a ballerina. Dance is hardcore.”
“Do you dance? I’d love to see you in tights.” Kenneth slapped his hand over his mouth as if he didn’t mean to say that out loud.
Stone just chuckled. “I do. And you should search for my engagement video. Now, I’m guessing you all are coupled up. These are my friends who are in serious relationships,” Stone said to Leah, Noah, Kenneth, Eli, Amelia, and Felix. “Guys, these are friends of my brother. Introduce yourselves. I need to take Paige over to that group of guys.”
Paige felt her face heat with embarrassment. “You totally know, don’t you?”
“That you want to get pucked? Yeah. Kinda obvious when you said you have a bucket list. But, no judgment here. Your best bet is with Reilly. A word of warning though,” Stone told her as they approached the guys, “bunnies can bite and kick. Watch yourself and have fun.” Stone turned away from her and pushed through the bunnies to get to the players. “Hey, Reilly, Larson, this is Paige. She’s a friend of my brother.”
“Which one?” Reilly asked.
“Wilder.”
“How many brothers do you have?” Paige asked Stone now that she was a little nervous not knowing if she was about to become predator or prey. She couldn’t tell because some of these women looked like killer bunnies straight out of Monty Python.
“A lot,” he chuckled before returning to the other side of the VIP section.
“Nice to meet you, Red,” Reilly said, who’d clearly already forgotten her name. Part of her grimaced, but the other part saw how he filled out his jeans and didn’t care if he knew her name or not. “Hockey fan?”
“Not really, but maybe you can make me one.” Paige tried her best to flirt, but it was hard. She was being jostled from every which way by other bunnies.
“Whoops!” A bunny cried as she stumbled forward, her elbow hitting Paige right in the tit, as she accidentally tripped, landing face first onto Reilly’s crotch.
“Hello, Blondie. I guess you already know what’s up,” Reilly smirked.
That’s when it went to shit. The other bunnies took notice and the shoving increased as they started to “fall” into the other guys. Then the screaming started. Someone yanked Paige’s hair. Screeching, nail clawing, and the sound of someone getting slapped brought security running as the bunnies fell into an all-out brawl.
Before Paige could escape the chaos, she was grabbed by the shoulder and shoved out of the VIP area and into the street where police officers were arresting them all.
“Paige?”
Oh shit. Not again. Only this time it wasn’t Max’s deep voice here to arrest her. It was the voice of a younger man.
“Kyle!” The young officer had hit on her at a charity event. “Help me, please. This isn’t what it looks like. I wasn’t involved in the bunny brawl.”
“Paige, I’m sorry, I don’t have the power to do that.” Kyle looked around nervously. “I can call Detective Caldwell. He might be able to help you.”
Paige had to think about it. Did she want Max to ride to her rescue again or did she want a criminal record? Paige sighed and then nodded. “Thanks, Kyle. I’d appreciate it if you called him.”
The officers were getting people’s names and lining them up to take to the police station when Max arrived shortly after Kyle called.
“Hello, jailbird. I didn’t know you were a hockey fan.”
“Thanks for coming, Max. I wasn’t involved in the fight. Honest.” Paige hung her head in shame. Not so much shame for hitting on a hockey player, but shame of turning to Max again for help. The same Max she had to find a way to move on without him. He was with Sierra. She had to put him out of her mind. But the trouble was, Max was quickly becoming one of her closest friends. It was hard to put that from her mind as he reviewed the security footage and got her cleared from being hauled into the station. Luckily though, she did have the very hot memory of Mr. Paris to go to when she needed a Max cool down.
“You want to go back in, jailbird?” Max asked as he took the cuffs off her.
“Hockey players aren’t for me, but my friends are inside.”
“Then let’s go get a drink and relax a little. I wouldn’t mind meeting Stone Townsend. He’s a beast of a player.” Max flashed his badge as a way of getting back into the VIP area.
Paige groaned. “You’re a Stone groupie, too? Look at my friends over there making a fool of themselves for a chance to talk to them.”
“Are Eli and Stone doing pirouettes?” Max asked as they approached the group.
“You’re not the only one with a man crush on Stone,” Paige whispered.
Amelia looked up from where they were talking to a player and frowned. “Oh, no. Paige, you didn’t get arrested again, did you?”
“Nope,” Max answered for her. “She’s free as a bird. Hi, I’m Max Caldwell.” Max held out his hand to Stone. “Don’t tell the people of New York or I might have to move, but your team is my favorite.”
Paige slipped away to get a round of beers and meet Dracklen at the bar. Dracklen was a beast of a man. If he was a shifter, he’d be a dragon for sure.
“What’s the matter, little one?”
“It’s time for me to move on. I need to find someone to do it with. How about with you?”
Dracklen chuckled as he started filling beer mugs. “Not your type, little one.” He glanced to where her friends were and looked back at her. “So, it’s the detective. I can’t say I blame you. But why do you feel you need to move on? Is that not who you see when you close your eyes?”
“That eyes-closed exercise you did with me last time was Max, but he’s not interested in me. He has a girlfriend.”
Max glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled when their eyes met.
“Are you sure about that?” Dracklen asked.
“Positive.”
“Or could it be Mr. Paris? I heard he was very pleased the other night after meeting you.”
Paige blushed and felt her heart rate increase. “He was? I really liked him too. But we both know that’s not the real world. The Red Door is a fantasy. We don’t even know each other’s real names. Now, do you know any single and ready to mingle athletes?”
Dracklen chuckled again. “You should call Griz. I was going to go with them to an MMA fight this weekend but I have to work.” Dracklen reached into his pocket and pulled out a ticket from his wallet. “Have fun, little one.”
“Oh my gosh! Thank you so much, Dracklen!” Paige leaned across the bar and placed a kiss on the big man’s cheek before buying a round of beer for the table of hockey players and her friends.
Max saw her trying to carry some of the drinks and hurried over to help her. “I gotta say, Paige. I am loving your sports romance era. Best rescue so far.”
Paige laughed and decided to forget the virginity assignment and just enjoy the night with her friends. She handed out some of the drinks, sat down, and got lost in the stories Stone was telling about the quirky small town he lived in called Shadows Landing.