Chapter - 2
ELOISE
Hockey wasn’t that cool of a sport.
I can see why a lot of hockey romance novels lean more toward straight-up erotica instead of a novel with a plot revolving around the sport of hockey. I would be lying if I said I didn’t immediately get bored as soon as we found our seats. I even pulled out my phone and was mindlessly scrolling through social media when the teams finally hit the ice.
“It’s not as cold as I expected it to be.” I heard Beck speak as she unwrapped a scarf from around her neck. Like me, she hadn’t been to a hockey game before. In fact, I was pretty sure Courtney, Josh, and Taylor were the only ones who had actually gone to a professional game.
“Yeah, all the warm bodies in the seats help with the temperature control,” Courtney replied, reaching over her fiancé’s lap to squeeze my thigh as I sat on his other side. I lifted my gaze from my phone and smiled at her.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her dark eyes boring into mine. Her fiancé, Josh, looked over at me and gave me a friendly smile at her question.
“Yup! Sorry.” I shoved my hands, phone included, into my pockets, realizing I probably shouldn’t be zoning out. “So, when does it start?”
“A couple of minutes, they’re all warming up right now,” Josh replied as his dark gaze went to the ice.
“Thanks again for getting us these seats.” Adam leaned forward from where he was sitting with Beck and Taylor directly behind Courtney, Josh, and me. “These probably aren’t cheap.”
Josh shrugged, money not being a huge issue for him. “It’s more exciting this close to the rink, maybe they’ll get in a fight right in front of us.”
I laughed at the celebrity next to me. I hadn’t thought too much about it until Adam said something, but having seats directly in the front row probably was a special thing to acknowledge. It showed how privileged my life had been, because any sort of sport I had gone to see with my parents always ended up with us in the front row, if not the first few rows. We even sat courtside during a Lakers game during my childhood one time.
I’m pretty sure I was on my phone during the entirety of that game, too.
“Maybe we’ll even get blood on us!” I smiled and wiggled my eyebrows at Courtney’s fiancé, earning a laugh and a fist bump from him. I quickly admired the various tattoos on his knuckles and fingers before he pulled his hand back.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Courtney jumped up and pulled out something from her bulging fanny pack. The ice rink didn’t actually allow large bags or purses inside. Instead, we put all our credit cards and IDs into Courtney and Beck’s matching camo fanny packs. Courtney’s was much fuller for some reason, which is why Beck carried almost everyone’s cards. Once Courtney pulled out a hockey jersey, I realized why hers was so big. How she managed to stuff that massive jersey in there, I’d never know.
“Whose jersey is that?” Taylor asked, leaning forward to get a read on the name. Their dark blue eyes widened before they turned their baseball cap around in surprise. “Wait, as in?”
“Yup!” Courtney interrupted them, a giggle erupting from her mouth as Taylor’s dark brown eyebrows shot up. They then looked over Courtney’s head and narrowed their eyes as they scanned the ice.
“Well, as I live and breathe!” Taylor exclaimed with a hand to their chest, a fake Southern accent masking their voice.
I laughed, raising an eyebrow at Josh who just tugged on his lip ring with his teeth as he smiled.
“What is it?” Adam asked, eyeballing Taylor.
“Check out the name on Courtney’s jersey.” Taylor elbowed Adam, making the red-head narrow his eyes as he obeyed to Taylor’s command. Because of where I was sitting, I still couldn’t read it.
“What’s it say?” I asked, leaning back behind Josh to get a better look. I still couldn’t see, because Courtney was sitting perfectly in her seat to where I couldn’t see her back. Beck just shrugged at me as well.
“Wait…” Adam’s lips pulled into a confused frown as he mirrored Taylor’s earlier facial expression, narrowing his eyes as he searched for something on the ice. I followed his gaze, seeing nothing but a bunch of men in matching jerseys twirling on the ice with their sticks.
Okay, they weren’t twirling, but still.
Beck didn’t know what the big deal was either, but I noticed when she caught Courtney’s gaze, and Courtney finger spelled something to her. Josh had adjusted in his seat, blocking off the visual I had of Courtney’s hand before I could see what she had just spelled out, but I saw Beck’s hazel eyes widen before a big smile erupted over her face.
“Whoa, really?” She then glued her eyes to the rink in front of us. I refused to ask again, it was embarrassing to be left out of something and to be ignored multiple times when asked for clarification. I figured if it was actually that cool, I would learn about whatever the big deal was anyway.
“Does he know we’re here?” I heard Adam ask behind me. I frowned a little. Was he talking about Logan? Was that guy joining us later? I thought he couldn’t come, based on the texts.
“Yup!” was Courtney’s cheery reply. A few players skated past us and Courtney and Josh both stood up to bang on the plexiglass and cheer, making me startle in my seat. I eyeballed them and a confused but nervous laugh escaped me as I looked over my shoulder, only to see the other three members of our group cheering and clapping too.
Okay.
Courtney and Josh were settling back in their seats, their hands waving with big smiles on their faces as they stared at the rink. I had just turned my head to try to see who they were specifically cheering for when a large body dressed in black filled my vision, just about to collide with me.
I yelped, hiding my face in my hands seconds after his body and hockey stick hit the plexiglass a foot away from me.
I parted my fingers enough for my eye to see what the fuck that was about, only to come face-to-face with a smirking Logan St. James. He eyeballed my terrified reaction before winking at the group and skating off toward the center of the rink. I could tell it was him based on his dark eyes, bordered with thick dark eyelashes and brows, and light pink scars marring the side of his face under his hockey mask. He had just popped his mouthguard back in before taking off, and sure enough, the back of his jersey had his name and number.
St. James. Number 29
Great.
The asshole was a player, and we were all here in support of him, apparently.
Maybe I should have stayed back and gone to that stupid party with Michelle and Lucy instead.
“That’s so cool! How did I not know this about him?” Beck asked, her voice full of surprise. I tried to smile, but it clearly wavered. I eventually gave up and rubbed at my cheeks instead, an excuse in case anyone was wondering why I wasn’t smiling at the big guy on the ice.
It wasn’t really a secret to anybody that Logan and I didn’t get along.
I had smashed pie on his chest in front of Courtney and Josh, after all.
“Because he specifically asked me not to tell anybody for months,” Courtney replied.
“We only figured it out when Court and I went to the hockey game with the guys, remember?” Josh leaned back to chat with our friends behind us, his comment making Taylor and Beck’s eyes widen.
“What the hell? That was years ago.”
“That was a little over one year ago, but sure,” Courtney replied to Taylor, taking a drink from her soda can.
“Still, that’s such a long time. How did you keep that to yourself? How did none of us google him and figure this out ourselves?” Beck asked, her lips quirking to the side as if the concept really did confuse her. I just laughed at all their shock and awe, not willing to add anything to the conversation as long as Logan was concerned.
A few moments passed. The puck was dropped and the game started, grown men scattered everywhere as everyone chased the puck and swatted their little sticks. It took everything in me not to pull out my phone again, because the game seemed even less interesting to me now.
“What do you think?” Josh elbowed me in the arm, making me look up at him. The guy was tall, even when sitting in a seat.
“About what?” I smiled up at him.
“Logan,” Josh nodded towards the ice as he replied, “He’s a beast out there.”
I narrowed my eyes at Josh before I followed his gaze, spotting number twenty-nine way too easily. Logan wasn’t as tall as Josh, but he was right up there around six-three or so. He towered over most of the other players, and he was fast. I eyeballed him as he shoved a guy from the visiting team away so that he could swat at the puck, easily passing it to one of his teammates.
“Yeah. Full beast mode,” I agreed, my tone only sounding a little deadpan to my own ears. Josh’s chuckle let me know I didn’t fool him.
“Wow, you really hate the guy,” he replied, pinching my arm once. I ignored the pinch and folded my arms across my chest, crossing my legs as well. It was a defensive pose.
“Hate is a strong word to describe my feelings towards him,” I lied, “I just…don’t really care about hockey.”
“I don’t either.” Josh leaned back, winking at me before he said, “But I like watching the men play.”
I narrowed my eyes. Josh was bisexual and, unfortunately, there was one fact about Logan that everyone in our group universally accepted.
Logan St. James was hot.
I accepted it, even though I refused to acknowledge it.
He was unfairly good-looking. He had those sharp facial features that belonged on magazine covers. I would know, having been on some myself for my temporary gig as an underwear model for size-inclusive underwear. He had those high cheekbones and thick tendons on his neck that made women’s mouths go dry. His jawline was so sharp he could probably cut stone with it. He was extremely physically fit, with toned muscles everywhere. Which, now that I knew he was a professional athlete, made a little more sense as to why he was so fit. His dark curly hair, which he usually kept a little too long, was what did me in the first time I saw him.
As I said, he was hot. So much so that sometimes, rarely, Josh would even get flustered if Logan stared at him too long or happened to wink in his direction. Because of this, there was now a rule that stated that Logan could not use his crazy good looks to manipulate his opponents into flirtatious stupors, in an attempt to win charades or whatever party game we were in the middle of.
I only knew about this from the grapevine, because whenever our friends mentioned that Logan was attending a group hang, I usually ended up finding an excuse not to go that time.
“Ah, have you been reading some of Courtney’s hockey romances?” I asked Josh, in an attempt to divert the subject away from the guy who took one look at me and decided that I wasn’t worth his time. And has embarrassed me every chance he’s had since.
“I am unapologetically hooked.” Josh shook his head. “We started reading this nonfiction book a few weeks back that has wonderful reviews and ratings, and the whole time I kept asking Court, ‘When are they gonna bang?’”
That made a laugh erupt out of me, because holy shit, Josh was perfect.
“I totally get that!” I agreed. “If there isn’t a happily ever after, I am not interested!”
“I don’t even need the happily ever after,” Josh shrugged, “Just a few chapters of vividly descriptive fucking.”
“What are you talking about?” Beck asked, her head leaning in between Josh and me.
“Hockey romances,” Josh replied.
“Oh,” Beck nodded once, her face taking in a dreamy look as she stared out on the ice. “Those are nice. Has Court shared her alien erotica with either of you yet?”
“What?” I turned in my seat to face Beck. “Alien erotica?” That did not sound fun to read.
“She has!” Josh turned a little to face Beck as well. “It started off as a joke. Like, I genuinely was not interested in the book at all. But that writer got me hooked on the story! And the way he greeted her the first time—”
“Oh, I know!” Beck gasped, gripping Josh’s shoulder in comradery.
“I’m sorry,” I interrupted the two of them, “Alien erotica? Aliens? Little green men?”
“I’m telling you,” Josh rested one of his hands on my shoulders then, while Beck’s still rested one his, as if he was initiating me into the alien erotica consumers club, “It sounds terrible. But it’ll catch you by surprise.”
I laughed again at that, shrugging. “Send me the title, and I’ll add it to my list.”
“Oh, you better add it near the top. It’s…” Beck kissed the tips of her fingers as if she was a chef giving a stamp of approval over a meal. “It’s wonderful. Ten out of ten.”
I didn’t believe her, but I appreciated her and Josh’s enthusiasm.
Everyone erupted into cheers then. Josh had even stood up from his seat to whistle his celebration, making Beck pull her hearing aids out of her ears until all the excessive whistling died down.
The Ducks must have just scored a goal. I stayed sitting in my seat as I clapped, scanning the ice as if I had been watching the game this entire time instead of learning about my friends” enthusiasm for alien erotica.
One of the players on the opposing team (something I only knew because they wore white jerseys) cursed, and punched his hockey stick down on the ice, glaring at our little group who was now loudly chanting variations of “twenty-nine!”
I guess Logan was the one who scored that goal everyone cheered for.
Whoop-de-doo.
I clapped and put on my polite smile, going out of my way to avoid eye contact as Logan skated by our group and lifted his hockey stick up in a hello. I was too busy ignoring Logan entirely, which was why I had noticed the opposing team’s player, number eighteen, watching the whole interaction with anger.
What a child.
The game went on, alien erotica taking a back seat in the conversation as everyone chatted about how well Logan was doing. What position he was playing. Why he was put in the time-out box.
It took all of my willpower to avoid rolling my eyes when Logan had stolen the puck from the opposite team and started speeding down the ice. Nobody was in his way as he pulled his stick back and scored through. Another goal, another stadium erupting with cheers at his success.
God, he was probably going to be so annoying about this.
As everyone else was standing up and cheering, I noticed number eighteen glaring at Logan’s cheering squad (us, it was us) once again. I met his gaze and lifted an eyebrow.
He responded by giving me the finger, with his glove and everything.
It was so absurd, I started laughing.
Not only that, but when the others noticed me laughing all I could do was point at number eighteen on the opposing team and choke out bits and pieces of, “He flipped us off.” Which made the others laugh too.
Did number eighteen like that? No, no he did not. He flipped us all off again, making us all laugh even harder.
Seriously. What a child.
The players were circling around the ice, getting ready for the next play, when Logan noticed us as well and cocked his head to the side at all our laughter. Courtney sat forward in her seat, her hands moving rapidly, and as soon as she lifted her middle finger, I realized that she was telling him what we were all laughing about.
I couldn’t see Logan’s facial expression that far away through his hockey mask, but by the way his head dropped and his shoulder shook a couple of times, I figured he must have been laughing too.
…I mildly wondered what his laugh would sound like, considering I hadn’t ever heard it before and his voice box wasn’t in the best shape.
The play started again, fans cheered, and hockey players skittered around each other all over the rink. Lots of stick slapping took place. Lots of shoves and body checks happened as well. Another of Logan’s teammates had gotten the puck and had started skating away from our end of the rink where the goal was, and I found myself scooting closer and closer to the edge of my seat. Suddenly, they lost the puck. The other team sped towards it at an alarming rate, successfully stealing it from the Ducks. I found myself clutching the armrest of the chair in angst, before realizing I was actually into the game.
Suddenly, everyone was over on our end of the rink as the opposing team shot and scored a goal. Number eighteen was the one who made the shot, and he decided to do a quick lap right past our group, spreading his fingers and licking his tongue in between them as he eyeballed Courtney and me on his pass.
“Eww,” I grumbled.
“What the fuck?” Courtney gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth in surprise. Josh’s face turned to stone as he glared at the player, who gave him a gross smile before he turned to skate away.
However, Logan body-slammed him up against the boards in front of us, halting his attempt.
They were fighting less than a foot away—they probably would have pummeled right into us had the rink wall and plexiglass not been there. By the way their fists were flying and their bodies were cracking against the plexiglass, I was surprised it stayed intact at all.
“Oh my god!” I gasped and stood up, not sure what my plan was because it wasn’t like I was able to do anything about the fight. Josh and Courtney stood up too, except Courtney was pulling Josh back because he was cussing at number eighteen for the gesture that he made toward us.
Logan looked furious.
Their helmets and gloves had flown off at some point, and the look on Logan’s face was pure rage. His dark eyes were somehow narrow while still being able to view the whites of them. His teeth clenched as he blocked one fist from number eighteen and quickly returned the gesture by planting his fist in his opponent’s jaw. He was heaving his breath, the muscles in his neck straining as he fought the other player.
“Logan!” I cried, banging my fists on the glass. Logan had a busted lip, but number eighteen looked worse. Eventually, one more fist to the face and number eighteen had collapsed to the ground, making Logan finally let up on the brawl. The refs” whistles screeched as other players finally swarmed the two and put distance between them. Logan was already skating away, ignoring the refs calling towards him as he went towards the time-out box.
“That’s at least a five-minute penalty, if not more,” Josh grumbled, frowning at number eighteen as he stood up and shook off his teammate’s assistance. It looked like number eighteen was also headed for the time-out box.
“Oh my god,” I was still standing at the plexiglass, remembering to use my legs and step back into my seat as I folded my fingers over each other. “Can Logan get kicked off the team for that?”
“What? No. It’s just a fight,” Josh explained, his lips twitching a little bit.
“What do you mean, it’s just a fight?” I asked. The others seemed interested in this conversation as well, if the way that they leaned forward in their seats meant anything.
“Fighting is allowed in hockey,” Courtney explained, “It’s how players solve issues between themselves.”
I just blinked at her. “Are you messing with me?”
Courtney and Josh both laughed at my reaction. “Nope.”
“They can hurt themselves! Logan’s lip was bleeding!” I gestured vaguely to the side where I knew Logan was sitting in time-out. I even glanced over at him, just to make sure I hadn’t imagined the whole thing. His helmet was off as he glared at the timer at the bottom of the Jumbo-Tron, mindlessly wiping at his lip which was only bleeding a little bit now. His curly dark hair was wet with sweat as he brushed a few curls off of his forehead to glare properly at the screen holding him hostage.
“Yeah, that’s why the fight has to end as soon as there is blood, or a player hits the ice.” Josh continued the conversation as if this sport was sane.
“Okay,” I could feel the sarcasm dripping from my voice, “What happens when there are both? Logan’s lip was bleeding, but he kept throwing punches until that guy hit the ice.”
“I have no idea,” Josh shrugged, “Again, I don’t actually care about the sport that much. I only know the gist.”
“Oh my god,” I pinched the bridge of my nose, “This sport is so toxic.”
“I mean,” Courtney shrugged, “You’re not wrong.”
“That was crazy to witness,” Beck mumbled from behind me. I nodded with her, agreeing.
“…Anyone else get kind of turned on by the fight?” Taylor asked, finally joining the conversation. Josh raised his hand and pointed directly at himself, and then at Courtney, who nodded her confirmation.
“You all are nuts!” I gasped, a hysterical giggle escaping my lips.
“Oh please, like you didn’t feel anything watching Logan beat the shit out of some punk for your honor.” Courtney leaned forward to give me a disbelieving look across Josh’s lap.
“What are you talking about?” I widened my eyes at her. She was the biggest feminist I knew. I couldn’t handle the fact that she of all people was genuinely turned on by a guy going out of his way to harm another person.
“Logan saw number eighteen do that gross thing with his hand, and he didn’t hesitate to step in. I’m not saying fighting was the way to go, but watching Logan react that instinctively to defend his friends was kind of hot,” Courtney explained. Taylor started snapping their fingers in agreement with her. I rolled my eyes hard, glaring at all of them as I still couldn’t believe my ears.
“I’m just going to say it,” Josh held both of his palms up, “Logan also looked hot while he was punching that other guy in the face. You can acknowledge the toxic masculinity that comes with that statement, I understand. But I said what I said.”
I glanced behind me to see Adam pinching his nose, silent laughter shaking his shoulders as he tugged Beck close to his side, her quiet giggles mirroring his as she gazed lovingly at him. Taylor snapped their fingers again, this time agreeing with Josh before saying, “Preach.”
“You’re nuts. There was nothing hot about that.” I argued.
“You sure?” Josh asked, giving Courtney a look I couldn’t interpret before he leaned closer to my seat and lowering his voice. “Did you see his face during the fight?”
I frowned at his question, glancing over at Logan once more before answering the rock star, “Yes.”
“So you saw how his jaw clenched?” Josh asked, his voice a tone I didn’t quite understand. All I knew was that I had to strain to focus on his words with the noise of the stadium around us. I was still staring at Logan, who hadn’t bothered glancing over at us the entire time he was sitting in time-out.
“Yeah,” I replied, not sure what Josh was getting at.
“How focused and determined he was? How his breath exhaled through his nose with each punch of his fist? The tendons in his neck flexing each time.” Josh paused his questioning, waiting for my answer. I simply nodded my head, my eyes studying Logan as he frowned at the timer once more before putting his helmet back on his head. “You can’t picture that look on him in any other position?”
I blushed. Hard.
I wasn’t quite sure if Josh was saying what I thought he was saying, but I didn’t really have time to question it further, because he kept speaking. “Picture his jaw clenched, his breath fanning your neck”—Oh dear god—“His arms caging you in, his breathing sharp like he’s focused and determined on something else.”
My heartbeat was unstable, I was sweating under my clothes. Logan had just stood up from his bench and kicked the door from the time-out box open a second after the timer showed that he was allowed back on the ice.
“Picture him exerting that much energy purely for your benefit,” Josh mumbled against my ear, right when Logan turned his head to glance over at us. He was skating by our section, which was the only reason I could see his dark brow loosen a little bit after he scanned our group and made eye contact with me. I don’t know what my facial expression was, but I knew it wasn’t normal based on Logan’s reaction to it.
I gasped and quickly punched Josh in the arm before Logan turned away and focused on the game.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I grumbled at Josh, who was laughing right along with Courtney.
“I’m simply calling you on your holier-than-thou bullshit, Lo.” Josh chuckled. Beck had reached forward and patted me on the shoulder, her silent way of apologizing for our friends embarrassing me. I squeezed her hand back and faced forward, trying not to smile from being so easily bamboozled by Josh.
Thankfully, the rest of the game went by without additional fights. I had managed to pay attention to some of the plays, but it happened so fast and players swapped positions off and on the ice so quickly that it was sometimes difficult to keep up.
Afterward, Josh was caught by a few fans who had recognized him, so we lingered a little bit so that he could do his celebrity rock star thing. Even Courtney got asked for an autograph or two, and she literally was only famous for being engaged to him.
Well, and for signing at his concert that one time, but that was a while back.
When Courtney and Josh asked if we should go to the bar with the team to celebrate their win, I was thankful that Beck and Adam were the ones to speak up and say that they were tired and wanted to call it a night.
That way, I didn’t have to be the loser who asked to skip out on the bar where I knew Logan would be. I wasn’t in the mood to be judged or teased by him again, especially after he had intentionally startled me by slamming against the plexiglass before the game started.
***
I had just gotten into bed, my bedroom mostly put together already from the moving company earlier in the day when my phone buzzed with a text.
Josh: Here’s the title by the way.
With that message, he sent along an image of the cover of the alien erotica series he and Beck were hyping up earlier. I laugh-reacted to the image and tossed my phone on the bed while I showered and got changed.
I wasn’t exactly sleepy yet, but I kept picturing that image that Josh had painted so well with his words during the game.
Logan caging me in.
Neck tendons flexing, etc.
So I decided to download the first book since it was free on my e-reader app. Generally, the fact that it was free wasn’t a great sign. But I said I would give it a shot, and I was curious to see what Josh and Beck were so excited about.