34. Brynn
brYNN
I waved at all of the patrons that filled the parking lot.
My boss from The Hideout had already set up a stand, selling bottled and canned beverages to anyone who’d give him the time of day.
The parking lot buzzed with electricity.
Everyone was ready for the game. They cheered and whooped and hollered as we pulled into the parking lot.
Rhett and Jett jumped off the bed of the truck, immediately heading into the crowd to shake people’s hands and take pictures.
You know, shmoozing and mingling the way the players were supposed to.
“Come on,” Colton said as he got out of the car, coming around, and opened my door, “the quicker we get inside, the quicker this crowd will leave us alone.”
I slipped my hand into his offered one. “You don’t want to stay out here and—”
But before I could ask my question, Coach barked over my head as he helped me out of his truck. “No hot dogs until after the game! You wanna puke it up on the ice or something!?”
I winced at the bark of his voice, but he was right.
Dad never let the guys eat before a game, either.
One time, when that happened, our current sniper took a nosedive on the ice because of some nausea, and he ended up vomiting so much that the game had to be forfeited just so the ice could be thawed out, drained, and replaced.
“Hey!” Coach exclaimed as he linked my arm with his. “I said, no fucking hot dogs! Jett!”
“What!?” I heard him call out.
“The fuck is in your mouth!?”
I craned my head over my shoulder just in time to see Jett swallow. “Just a hot dog bun!”
I barked with laughter as Colton bellowed. “Inside! Now! Time to warm up!”
I laughed all the way into the stadium. I couldn’t help it.
This was probably the most entertaining group of characters I’d ever seen rally behind a hockey team.
Maybe it was Colton and his influence. Maybe it was just the natural jive of things.
Maybe I saw things through a different lens altogether, I wasn’t sure. But I knew one thing for certain.
I wanted this to be a regular pregame routine for us.
For me and Colton.
“Meetcha in the locker room, Coach,” Rhett said as he passed by, patting Colton on the shoulder.
“Yep, gotta go take a dump before I get dressed,” Jett said as he passed me on my right.
“Jettson,” Colton warned.
Jett turned around, walking backwards, and put his hands on his hips. “Colton.”
Coach pinned him with a look. “Locker room. Now.”
Jett tossed me a wink before he clapped Rhett on the back, and then the two of them took off.
I listened as Rhett yelled at some of the guys on the ice, and I turned my attention to see that some of our offensivemen were already doing warm-up drills.
I stole a peek up at Colton’s face and saw him clocking the guys.
Bouncing his head. Already lost in his own little world. I loved Colton’s passion for hockey.
It damn near rivaled my father’s.
“Come on,” Colton said as he took my hand and tugged me down the hallway, “I need to grab things from my office before I gather them in the locker room.”
He sure as hell didn’t have to tell me twice, either.
I’d spend any second with him. Every second he allowed.
We could’ve been on a boat rocking in the middle of the ocean with me puking off the edge of the balcony, and I’d still want to be there with him.
He released me when we got to his office.
I snuck the door closed while he rummaged around, grumbling beneath his breath like a bear foraging for snacks.
I couldn’t help but just… watch him.
I watched the way his muscles flexed beneath his clothes.
The way he always kept his shirt sleeves rolled up, showcasing the power and corded muscles of his forearms. His gruff hands, rough with calluses, made me shiver as I studied them from afar.
His legs, beefy and brawny, pulsing with every movement he took.
I’d never seen a more beautiful man in my life.
“Like what you see?” Colton asked coyly.
I slid my eyes back up to his face. “Something like that.”
He grinned as he zipped up his windbreaker, and it gave me pause.
“No suits?” I asked.
He chuckled as he moved toward me, caging me against the wall my back was pressed against. “Gotta earn those suits.”
“Ah.”
Both of his hands pressed into the wall above my head before he leaned in a bit, his stoic brown eyes hooked with mine. “You look amazing in our jersey.”
I blushed a bit at his words. “It’s not too much?”
His hips pinned me to the wall. “You could never be too much.”
My voice grew breathless as his warmth penetrated deep into my bones. “Colton, we have to get focused for the game.”
He gripped my chin, holding my stare with his. “I’ll get focused just fine.”
He dipped his nose down, running it along the pulse point of my neck.
My head tilted to the side, a soft sigh dropping from my lips.
His hand moved away from my chin and slid down the front of my body, his palm cupping my aching breasts.
My nipples puckered tightly against my bra as his breath fanned over the sensitive area where my neck met my shoulder, and I silently praised myself for having picked a bra with a bit of padding.
Not much, but enough to hide how absolutely wanton I was for his man.
“Colton,” I gasped as he nipped at my earlobe.
“I love the way you say my name,” he growled lowly.
“Colton, we ca—mmph.”
His lips found mine in a heated kiss that stole the very breath from my lungs.
His tongue invaded me, prodding against mine and laving against the roof of my mouth.
Fucking hell, did the gods teach this man to kiss or something?
I felt my knees grow weak and he pinned me back to the wall.
He cupped my cheek, keeping my head tilted back as his hips rocked against mine.
His leg pressed in between my thighs. He pinned me to the wall with his weight.
I tilted my head to the side, deepening our kiss.
He pulled away just so we could come up for air.
“Well,” I said breathlessly, panting softly as his forehead descended against mine.
“Well,” he said in that comforting, rumbling voice of his.
Like tires over a gravel walkway, I tell ya. “Guess we should, uh, well, guess I should… uh…”
He chuckled. “Take your time. I’ve got all of it in the world for you.”
I shot him a look, but dear fucking hell, my pussy pounded at his words.
He had the best words.
“Well, get to the locker room before those guys come searching for you,” I said.
His eyes searched mine before he pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’ll look for you.”
I stood to my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. “And I’ll cheer for you.”
Then, before I had a chance to get caught up in him again, I reached for the doorknob of his office door and gave it a quick turn. He took a few steps back from me, now that our lives were exposed to the rest of the stadium, and I gave him one last smile before I slipped out into the hallway.
Time to go get a seat so that I could get some good footage for Dani.
After all, I wasn’t giving up on convincing her to come to a game.
Especially when I thought she’d be a great date for Jett.