Chapter 2
Charlie fucking Smith.
The most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. She might be seven years younger than me at twenty-five, but that doesn’t make her any less fucking gorgeous. But she’s also my best friend’s little sister.
And completely off-limits.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Charlie. She followed in her brother Connor’s footsteps and became a badass hockey player. It was hard not to root for the girl. She annoyed the hell out of Connor, but I got a kick out of it. Who doesn’t love to see their best buddy annoyed from time to time?
It wasn’t until I saw her play at Wisconsin that I realized my adoration from childhood had grown into something more. How could it not? The way she moves across the ice and completely dominates her opponents is sexy as hell.
Now here she is, an ocean away from the person who ties us together, looking absolutely stunning in our country’s colors.
Her espresso brown hair falls down her shoulders, the spiral curls practically inviting me to pull them.
Her mossy green eyes have yet to leave me since her and her friend ambushed us on the sidewalk.
Can’t say I’m mad about it though.
Connor told me she'd be in Sweden, as if I didn’t already know that.
The Village is huge so I wasn’t sure I’d see her here, but I already planned on going to her games before our competition starts next week.
It’s half of the reason I wanted to be in Sweden so early.
I told the guys on my team it was so we could get used to the time change and also attend Opening Ceremonies tomorrow, but that wasn’t the entire truth.
Brendan is chatting away with Liv while I’m busy getting lost in a set of beautiful green eyes.
That is until my lead, Wyatt, bumps into me from behind and makes his way towards Charlie.
“Hi. My skip here has shit manners. I’m Wyatt.” He sticks his hand out and Charlie doesn’t hesitate to reach out to grab his.
“I’m Charlotte. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t actually like the name Charlie.”
Bullshit.
“You can call me Char, though.”
Yeah, fuck that. There’s no way I’m going to miss out on the way her cheeks turn red every time I call her Charlie. But I’ll be damned if anyone else has that effect on her, so I keep my damn mouth shut.
“Char. I like that.” Wyatt’s shit-eating grin turns my way, like he knows exactly what game he’s playing. Hell, maybe he does. We were literally just talking about going to the women’s hockey game tonight.
“Lucas here was just telling us all how excited he is for your game tonight. We were debating whose numbers to write on our cheeks, but I’d be honored to wear yours, Char.”
This fucking guy.
He’s a show off if I’ve ever seen one. Just last night at the bar, he bagged some chick on Team Finland by claiming, “The lead is the most important position. I’m the first person to throw a stone.
It’s up to me to set my team up for success.
” The girl was hanging on his every word, even if half of them were complete bullshit.
Remembering exactly what happened last night, I attempt to knock my lead down a peg. Or two.
“I’m pretty sure the Finnish goalie you were making out with last night would be heartbroken if you didn’t write ‘31’ in blue and white on your face tonight.”
Liv snorts, Brendan and Zack simultaneously chant “ooh, burn” after my dig, but Charlie whips her head toward me, her eyes as wide as saucers.
“You’re coming to my game?”
I hate how shocked she sounds. But I guess I can’t really blame her since I avoid her at all costs when her brother is around. Can’t have him catching me with a hard-on, so sacrifices must be made.
But we’re in Sweden now. It’s a Connor-free zone. Is it really so bad if she knows I want to see her play?
Fuck it.
“Yeah. I’ve been dying to see you play in person again.”
Charlie’s jaw drops and she stares at me in disbelief. She’s too fucking cute for her own good.
Before I can think better of it, I reach out and place two fingers under her chin and push her mouth closed.
I lean in and quietly enough so only she can hear and whisper, “Why don’t you close that pretty little mouth before it starts giving me some bad ideas?”
I didn’t intend on going there, but there’s no taking it back now.
Slowly, I slide my thumb across her jaw before pulling my hand back and shoving it into my coat pocket.
Charlie’s breathing picks up. I can tell by the plumes of cold that keep leaving her mouth as she attempts to catch her breath.
Wyatt clears his throat next to me but my eyes are glued on Charlie, waiting to see what her reaction is after my inappropriate comment.
“When did you guys get into town?” Liv asks abruptly. I turn to her and her eyes bounce from Charlie back to me and my team.
Damn it. I really wish she didn’t come to her best friend’s rescue. I’m dying to hear what Charlie has to say. But it’s probably for the best. As bad as I want her, there’s no way she’s going to go there with me.
Would I be willing to cross that line and risk the wrath of her older brother? I never thought I would risk it, but being here at the Olympics with her, I’m starting to doubt my self-control. The gold medal is mine for the taking, so why not Charlie too?
Except, no. That would absolutely be a terrible idea. I might be willing to risk the wrath of Connor, but I’d never want to do anything to jeopardize his friendship. He’s too important to me.
“We just got in a few hours ago,” Brendan answers. “Apparently our room wasn’t ready yet, but we’re on our way there now.”
My eyes haven’t moved from Charlie. Her breathing is finally less rapid, but the way she nibbles on her bottom lip lets me know she’s still thinking about what I said.
Good. I hope she thinks about it tonight when she’s in her bed, too.
Jesus fuck. I need to reel it in.
Liv laughs, but there’s no humor to it. I finally tear my eyes away from Charlie to look at Liv and she’s wearing an incredulous look.
“Good luck with that. Hopefully it’s better than where they put us.”
My gaze flits to Charlie quickly. It’s impossible not to look at her. She rocks back and forth on her heels, looking a bit uncomfortable now. Her reaction to Liv’s comment about their residence gives me pause.
“What’s wrong with where you guys are staying?”
Liv huffs. “Nothing if you don’t mind sharing a bathroom with your literal competition.”
“No fucking way,” Wyatt says, disbelief coating his every word. “Please tell me you’re not sharing living quarters with Team Canada. Actually, when I think about it, I think I’d like to be there if you are. Cat fights are hot.”
What an idiot
Charlie finally looks up, her eyes bulging.
“First off, ew. And no, that would be literal torture. But we are sharing our space with Team Finland. Apparently both the heat and water are out at our original residence hall. Now we’re stuck sharing a bathroom, and walls”—she shivers at the thought—“with Finland’s women’s hockey team.
You’d think they’d at least put us with a different sport, but nope.
” She pops the ‘p’ at the end of the word and I can’t help but smirk.
Brendan shakes his head next to me. “That’s fucking brutal. Are the rooms at least nice?”
Both girls mimic Brendan’s reaction, shaking their heads. Charlie speaks again, and even though I know I’m not going to like what she’s about to say, I’m hanging onto her every word.
“I don’t even fit in my bed and it’s about as soft as off-brand toilet paper.”
“Ouch,” Wyatt grimaces.
Liv chimes in and by how fast she’s speaking, it’s clear these girls are pissed about where they’re staying.
“And the walls are like paper. We heard a girl on Team Finland getting it on with some dude named Sebastian last night. Listen, I’m all about those types of pregame rituals, but hearing it is a different story.”
“I can get on board with those pregame rituals,” Wyatt mumbles quietly behind me. I shoot him a warning glare and he raises his hands, feigning innocence.
I turn back to Liv, and by the look on her face, I can tell she heard Wyatt too. Except unlike me, she’s not pissed. No. Liv looks intrigued. She shoots Wyatt a wink and then continues her rant.
“That’s why we’re here in the Village right now. We were picking up some earplugs and looking for some gummy bears for this one.” She tilts her head toward her roommate.
I look over and Charlie shrugs her shoulders, not at all bothered by Liv calling her out. And it’s got to be the cutest damn thing I’ve ever seen.
“Still obsessed with those bears, Smith? Let me guess, you still save all the red ones for last too.”
Charlie appears shocked at first, her mouth hanging open for a split second before she quirks her eyebrow at me. “They’re good luck. It’s cute you know I like the red ones by the way.”
My teammates snicker behind me and Liv snorts. But my eyes stay firmly in place on Charlie and that smart mouth of hers.
The things I want to do to that mouth.
While I’m lost in inappropriate la-la land, Charlie calls me out again. “And don’t even try to tell me that curling players aren’t superstitious. If I recall, back in high school, you had to listen to the same songs and wear those stupid flamingo socks to every match.”
“It’s cute you know about my flamingo socks.” I throw her own words back at her and for a moment, we simply stare at each other.
Never being able to read the situation, Brendan laughs and then throws me under the bus even more.
“Oh, he still wears those socks. It’s gotten to the point where he refuses to wash them. It’s fucking disgusting.”
I turn and shove my teammate, causing him to trip over the snow bank next to the sidewalk, falling onto his ass.
He jumps up and dusts the snow off his pants. “Dick,” he mutters under his breath.
Liv laughs and then bumps her shoulder against Charlie’s. “We should probably get going. The bus will be here soon to transport us to the arena. If we’re late, Coach will have our necks.”
Charlie nods and then looks back to me and my team. “It was good seeing you guys. Maybe we’ll see you at the rink after our game?”
I may be imagining it, but I swear Charlie’s words are laced in hope.
“Yeah, maybe,” I respond nonchalantly. But the thought of watching her play and waiting for her after the game is exactly what I plan on doing tonight.
“You’ll have to let us know how your living quarters are,” Liv remarks. “There’s no way they can be worse than ours.”
We wish the girls good luck at their game and then continue our walk through the Village.
Wyatt and Zack walk ahead, while Brendan hangs back to walk next to me. After a few minutes of walking, simply taking in the incredible scene around us, Brendan breaks the silence.
“Something you wanna tell me about your best friend’s little sister?”