Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
The Machine.
I skated over to him, and he jumped up and down more excitedly when he realized I’d spotted him. He tugged on his mom’s jersey, and she only laughed and thanked me with a sweet smile and tilt of her head.
Instead of tossing the puck up over the glass like I usually did, I nodded toward security and motioned for them to find a way to get him on the ice. When they did, I pulled him up onto my shoulders, handing him the puck and letting him celebrate like the victory was his as we skated another lap with the other stars.
When the celebrations were done, I bent to let him down and rejoin his family, and I turned to find Maven watching me from the bench. I cocked a brow, silently asking what she thought.
She smiled, something light and soft about her for just a moment. But then, she scrunched her face up and waved her flat palm side to side, as if to say, Meh, it was alright.
I scrubbed a hand over my smile at that.
Back in the locker room, the celebrations continued, my teammates stripping their clothes off and chugging beer as the DJ played our win song loudly through the speakers.
“Great job out there,” Coach McCabe said when we were all gathered. “It was a rough first period, but you found your groove in the second, and if we keep playing like that, we’ll have the trophy in our hands by the end of the season.”
We roared our agreement.
“Have fun tonight, but be smart,” he warned. His expression was severe for only a moment before he grinned, and we all cheered and whistled as he shook his head and left us be.
He knew as well as we did that tonight was going to be lit as fuck.
“Let’s fucking party!” Jaxson belted out once Coach had ducked out of the room, and the team responded by beating on the lockers and dancing as if we’d already won the championship.
I joined in, grabbing my jersey at opposite ends and threading it between my legs as I thrust my hips in a ridiculous dance. I whipped it overhead like a helicopter next before sending it flying into the team laundry basket.
It soared right by Maven’s head on the way, and she caught the whole thing on camera.
I hopped down from where I’d been on a bench, slowly making my way toward her. Where I was a sweaty, smelly mess, she was just as pristine as she had been standing in my doorway hours ago. I noted the freckles on her cheeks the closer I got, loving that I could see them even through her makeup.
“Well, did I give you enough content tonight?”
“Indeed, you did,” she answered on a smile. “I just have one question.”
“Shoot.”
“What’s with the fish?”
“Sacrificing to the Osprey!” Carter answered for me, slinging his arm around Maven. She grimaced a bit at how sweaty he was, but didn’t pull away. “It’s tradition after a win.”
“You know what else is tradition,” Jaxson said, waggling his brows as he sidled up next to me. “Boomer’s.”
“And Boomer Bunnies,” Carter added with his own salacious grin.
“Shut up, Fabio. We all know bunnies don’t come for your rookie ass,” one of our defensemen chided. Dimitri Volkov. He was Russian, an older vet, his accent thick and his tolerance for bullshit somewhere around Daddy P’s. I loved him, though, because he was essentially like having a second goalie. The man was a weapon, one I was glad to have on my team.
Carter flicked him off.
“Boomer Bunnies?” Maven asked carefully.
“Boomer’s is the bar we go to after a win,” Brittzy explained. “And let’s just say, there are some very attractive women in the area who are well aware of that fact.”
“They’re also aware of how fat your pockets are,” Daddy P grumbled from the bench. “You’re a fool if you mistake it for anything else.”
“Some of them are nice,” Carter defended.
“Just because one of them let you poke her in the butt doesn’t mean she’s Miss America, Fabio.”
The words shot out of Jaxson like a barrel, and we all burst into a fit of laughter as Carter shamefully took his arm from around Maven. He sulked for a moment before punching Jaxson in the arm.
“Um… she let you… what?” Maven asked.
Carter’s face flamed a furious red.
“Carter here was a virgin the first night we all went out,” Jaxson explained, all too happy to fill in the blanks. “And a couple teammates took some bunnies home, a few of them excited to… play.” He grinned.
“One of them told Carter he could put it anywhere,” I said. Maven’s eyes doubled in size when her gaze snapped to mine, and I loved it. I loved seeing her squirm, watching her reaction to that little tidbit.
It made me wonder what she was thinking, if she was disgusted by the thought, or maybe, just maybe, a little turned on.