2. Dash
DASH
I’ve had a puck hit my mask so hard before it rattled my teeth. Hell, I’ve been knocked unconscious.
And that still didn’t take my breath away as much as it does when I see…her.
The One.
That’s the only thought that is knocking around in my addled fucking brain as Kane steps aside and reveals the woman standing with him. It feels as if a whole arena full of fans are cheering and waving Number One foam fingers. She’s it.
With big bright blue eyes, a cute button nose, and softly parted pink lips that indicate her surprise at seeing me roll up behind Kane.
Her hair is long and lush, her delicate fingers fluttering nervously at her throat, and her body is a soft display of feminine curves that make me want to run my big clumsy hands all over every single one of them.
Mine, mine, mine drums in my mind as my mouth goes hot and my cock goes hard.
Her eyes widen.
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip.
I can only imagine what I look like right now. I’m a beast of a guy anyway and right now I’m drilling her with an intense stare.
I’m not good with words.
Never have been. Never will be.
Kane likes to speak for me, for which I’m usually grateful, and he does it now.
“Abby, meet Dash, the goaltender for the Mutts. And my best friend and roommate.”
Abby.
This perfect creature’s name is Abby. I let it roll around my head, but I’m not ready to use it on my tongue. I don’t want to spoil the moment.
Kane winks at her. “Don’t worry, Dash only bites if you want him too.”
Abby turns beet red at Kane’s words and hell, my own cheeks feel hot. Because now I have an image of nipping delicately along Abby’s inner thigh until I reach her sweet, swollen…
I clear my throat.
“I can’t imagine I would want that,” she says hastily, in a way that is so adorable and innocent that I instantly feel more at ease.
She’s not a sophisticated flirt. Bold, seductive women who come onto me with sexy smiles and knowing looks always make me even more tongue-tied.
“Dash, meet Abby. She is involved in planning the Stick It To Cancer event and she needs a tour of the arena.”
Wait a minute. There is something in his voice. And the way he’s making eye contact with me while tilting his head ever-so-slightly in her direction.
Kane likes Abby.
Sure, the grin is his usual grin. And yes, he flirts with every attractive girl he stumbles across. But he’s my best friend. I’ve known him since our peewee hockey days.
He likes her.
Like I like her.
Which means…
“Hi,” she says, before I can finish that thought. “It’s nice to meet you…Dash.”
She has a very sweet and quiet voice, and her words come out trembling. She sounds nervous.
I make her nervous.
That feels really fucking unfair considering she makes me feel like I’m choking on a hunk of Wisconsin cheddar. My tongue feels too big for my mouth.
Maybe Kane made her uneasy with his teasing about me biting. I do scare people sometimes. Women cross to the other side of the street when I’m out walking my dog, and when Kane forces me to go out to bars, the crowd always silently parts for us.
Kane says it’s because they’re admiring his awesomeness.
I think it’s an instinctive shrinking away from me, my bulk, and my unintentional surliness.
I’m huge compared to Abby, and I can see why she might find me intimidating. But the last thing in the world I want is to have Abby shrink away from me. That would probably kill me.
So I force my shoulders to relax and try to keep my voice low.
“Hi,” I manage to spit out. “I’m Dash.”
Which…she already knows. My face feels even hotter. I can feel my scowl increasing and I’m fucking powerless to stop it. When I’m uncertain, I scowl.
It’s a defensive habit left over from when I was a kid and had a stutter.
“Bro,” Kane murmurs under his breath in sympathy.
To her—the most magical creature I’ve ever laid eyes on in my life—he says, “Dash gets brain fog when he’s hungry. Takes a lot of calories to fuel hockey players. Especially one his size.”
I appreciate the cover-up.
Instantly, the unease on Abby’s face is replaced by concern. “Oh, don’t let me stop you. Go eat your dinner. I’ll just…” She looks around like she isn’t sure what she’s going to do.
My nerves evaporate.
Her uncertainty puts me at ease.
“No, no, I’m fine,” I tell her, even though five minutes ago I thought my stomach was going to digest itself. “You need a tour? Are you meeting someone here?”
“I thought I was,” she says, sheepishly, tucking her hair behind her ear. “But I had my dates mixed up. I’m supposed to be here tomorrow.”
Then I have every intention of being here tomorrow as well.
“Which is why we’re giving her a tour right now,” Kane says firmly. “From the insider perspective. Really get the lay of the land.”
“Are you sure?” Abby says. “I have to come back to meet my team here tomorrow anyway…”
She watches me carefully. I do the same with her.
Kane is a people person but honestly, he doesn’t always read people accurately. He rushes in, always wants to fill the silence, and sometimes his big personality can roll right over quieter types.
But I’m the guy who hangs back and watches everyone else. I can usually sense how someone is really feeling.
Right now, if I thought Abby wanted to leave and Kane was just dragging her along by the force of his will, I’d intervene and walk her out to her car.
But I think she actually wants the tour. Maybe she even is curious about us, though she’s trying hard to be polite and make sure she doesn’t put us out in any way.
Which is ridiculous.
If I had any plans for tonight I’ve forgotten what the fuck they were because now they’re just her.
“Let’s do it,” I say. I gesture with my hand. “Right this way. Ladies first.”
My voice sounds gruffer than I intend it to, but Abby gives me a tentative smile and starts walking.
“First rule of hockey,” Kane says, as he falls in step behind Abby.
I walk next to him, transfixed by the swing of Abby’s hips. Her pants are loose and don’t show much of her curves, but it’s distracting nonetheless.
She glances at him, her brows raised in curiosity. “Yes?”
“You gotta score.”
Abby lets out a startled laugh.
I love the sound.
I hate that it was Kane who caused it.
I’ve never been jealous of my best friend before. It’s a feeling I don’t like. We’re going to need to hash this out.
“I know that at least!” Abby says. She chuckles and faces forward again. “Where are we going?”
“Just keep walking about twenty paces and then there are double doors on the left.”
It occurs to me Abby is incredibly trusting. It causes a surge of protectiveness to rise in me.
“I could really go for a cheeseburger later,” I tell Kane, my voice low.
It’s our code phrase. When there is a girl around that one of us is interested in we make it clear to the other by saying, “I could go for a cheeseburger.”
I think this is actually the first time I’ve ever used it. Kane and I don’t usually like the same women. He has eclectic taste—the common denominator usually being they are falling all over him.
Me?
I have a type. Not so much physically. But personality-wise.
Quiet. Likes to read. Loves dogs.
That’s my kind of girl.
Not that I date. I tell myself I don’t have time because I’m focused on getting called up but the truth is the girls I find attractive find me…formidable.
I’m big. Everywhere. And I have a hard time being friendly. I don’t like to fake things. I don’t like when other people fake things either. So, I come off as, okay, an asshole sometimes.
I turn to Kane to see his reaction to my invoking the bro code. I can tell he likes Abby too so he might push back.
But he looks more excited than anything else. “How about a party pack?”
I frown. “What? What the hell does that mean?”
That’s not part of the code.
Am I going to have to spell it out more clearly?
“One of those combo packs with cheeseburgers for more than one person. Enough food for both you and me,” he pauses, “something we share.”
No, it’s him who is spelling it out more clearly.
He’s saying…
Holy shit.
All the blood in my head rushes straight down to my dick.
“Seriously? Share?”
He nods. “I know we’ve never…but Dash. This girl.”
“Do you think she would…?” I murmur under my breath, not wanting Abby to hear. I hate that we’re talking in food terms, but I’m glad we didn’t wait to have this conversation.
“Only one way to find out. We’ll have to ask her. But first, let’s make sure she’s comfortable.”
Abby pauses in front of the double doors to the main rink and sips from her water bottle. Her tongue flicks over the straw, which twists my gut. She’s so damn sexy and she doesn’t even know it.
If I’m normally at a loss for words, now I have none. The idea of me and Kane pleasuring Abby at the same time is a fucking fantasy I never knew I had.
Actually, I know that wasn’t a fantasy of mine. Until her.
Kane shoves open the door and holds it open for Abby.
“There are three main operational rules: Offsides, icing, and penalties,” he tells her. “We can get into what all that means bit by bit but if you just throw those words around, you’ll already sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
She nods, listening intently. She looks around the rink.
I feel a surge of pride. I love hockey and this place is my home away from home.
Abby lifts her phone and takes a few pictures. She focuses in on our team logo emblazoned on the scoreboard.
“The Mutts have been the feeder team for the Racketeers for thirty years,” Kane says. “Every single one of us on the team is fighting for our chance to get to the big leagues. So we play scrappy.”
“Is that what you want too?” Abby says, eyeing me. “To play for the Racketeers?”
I nod firmly. “Hell, yeah. That’s the ultimate goal. No pun intended.”
Abby gives a little giggle.
It makes me feel like I won the damn lottery. I’ve never been considered the funny one. My chest might even puff up a little.
“Can we do any part of the event on the ice?” Abby asks.
“Of course,” Kane says, as if he has any idea if that’s true or not. There are rules for these events and legal considerations.
Benjamin would know.
But this is all just talk. It’s not like we’re actually setting up an event.
“I mean, specifically, can people walk on the ice? In regular shoes?”
“Absolutely,” I tell her. I step out onto the rink to prove the point. I slide my feet back and forth, and Kane fights the urge to laugh at me. He knows I’m showing off.
Hell, yeah, I’m showing off. I want Abby to think I’m awesome.
“Come on,” Kane says to Abby, joining me on the ice. He holds his hand out for her.
She takes it.
Kane sucks in his breath. If I didn’t know him as well as I do I’d never notice it. He covers up the confusion I can tell he feels with a playful grin.
He’s as surprised as I am by our mutual reaction to this girl.
Abby gives a little squawk as she slides on the ice. “I’m going to fall!”
“Don’t try to walk. Just glide.” Kane takes Abby by both hands and pulls her forward. “Trust me. I’ve got you.”
“What the hell is going on?”
I jump when I hear a familiar voice behind me.
Turning, I spot Benjamin storming onto the ice in his suit and fancy-ass shoes. He points at Kane, who has put himself between Benjamin and Abby. Abby has glided out of earshot. I hope.
“I expect a stunt like this from him. But you?” Benjamin points to me. “You know better.”
I immediately feel defensive on Kane’s behalf. “Hey, this isn’t what it looks like.”
“It looks like my brother brought one of his little girlfriends onto the ice when the arena is empty and is putting us at risk for a serious legal issue.”
I’ve always thought it was cool that in Kane and Benjamin’s house they never distinguished between biological and stepsiblings.
But right now all I hear is Benjamin being the bossy older brother.
It’s annoying, but I’m also not going to argue with him. Kane and Benjamin bicker and poke at each other, but it’s not my style. I hate arguing. Hell, I hate any sort of confrontation. It’s why my dog, Linda, is so spoiled.
Nothing I’m going to say is going to change what they’re going to say.
They both always have a lot to say.
“This isn’t one of my—”
Kane cuts himself off, and I give him a puzzled look. He’s not going to deny that Abby’s a girlfriend? Interesting.
Though I suppose I would have a hard time saying that she’s just some girl who showed up at the arena too.
Also interesting.
“This is Abby,” Kane starts again. “She’s here because—”
“I don’t care,” Benjamin interrupts. “You can’t have her here after hours.”
“It’s not really after hours,” Kane says.
It’s definitely after hours. All of the other players and coaches have left. I’m sure most of the people in the offices are probably gone too. Of course Benjamin, the workaholic lawyer, is still here though.
“Kane, don’t be a dumbass,” Benjamin tells him, now sounding more exasperated than angry.
“You can’t invite people here to skate after hours.
I’m sure she thinks it’s cool to see behind the scenes of the arena with a hockey player, but you’re going to have to use other techniques to get laid.
” He casts a quick glance toward Abby. “A proper puck bunny only needs the hockey player part anyway, right? How about you don’t get the organization sued. ”
“Hey!” Kane says sharply. “She’s not a puck bunny!”
I step forward. “That’s not what this is,” I say, butting in despite my usual MO. My voice is low, almost a growl, and gets Benjamin’s attention.
I scowl at him. I don’t like someone, even Benjamin, talking about Abby that way.
“Look, I didn’t invite her,” Kane says. “She was at the door and—”
Benjamin lowers his voice but still interrupts. “You shouldn’t encourage this stuff,” he tells his younger brother. “You don’t know if these women are dangerous.”
Kane laughs and gestures toward Abby. “She is not dangerous.”
I don’t know if I agree. I mean, I don’t think she’s going to tie him up in her basement or break his legs, but I think she’s very dangerous, actually. I think she’s going to shake up our lives in a really big, unavoidable way.
Benjamin seems to finally actually look at Abby and he suddenly straightens.
I turn to see why.
Abby is sliding across the ice on her own, a look of pure delight on her face.
She looks absolutely fucking gorgeous.
I look back at Benjamin to see if…
Yep, he notices.
He definitely notices.
“This is so fun!” she exclaims. She starts to turn back toward us, and her foot slips out a little too far. She flails her arms, catching her balance.
“Abby, wait for me,” Kane says. He starts for her.
“Oh, I’m fi—”
Then suddenly her foot slides again, her legs going in two different directions, her arms windmill, and her water bottle goes flying.
Kane lurches forward.
My heart plummets to my stomach.
Abby hits the ice.
And Benjamin swears.