Page 40 of The Heart Breaker
It’s that every single time she looked over…
I was already looking at her, unable to take my eyes off her.
When Coach finally blows the whistle a while later, signaling the end of practice, I blow out a breath and rip my helmet off as the guys skate off the ice. The boards rattle when Logan hops over them, Austin right behind him, trying to shove him mid-jump. I snort under my breath. Children.
I coast toward the bench, step off onto the rubber, and head for the locker room, Austin’s playlist already playing when I step inside.
I head straight for my stall, slot my helmet into the cubby, and shove another piece of mint gum between my teeth, dropping onto the bench to tug off my skates.
My shoulders crack when I roll them back, lifting my arms to tug off the jersey sticking to my skin. I hate wearing compression shirts under my jerseys. I get hot with anything underneath myjersey, and I feel like I skate faster without it. I like the feeling of wind hitting my skin.
I glance up as Nathan and a couple of other rookies head for the showers. I lean back for a second, blow out a slow breath, then start unstrapping my pads. I like waiting until most of the guys clear out before I hit the water. Means I get more time to let the hot spray scald my muscles and quiet my head.
The door opens again, and Holden comes in, his eyes flying to mine for a couple of seconds. Rookie probably wants to know why I put him on his ass today. I grind the gum harder, feel my jaw click, and focus on tugging off my shin pads.
“Saw you last night with Aurora,” Miles pipes up, nudging Holden with his elbow. “You hit that?”
Holden huffs out a laugh but shakes his head, dropping onto the bench. “Nah. She left.”
I tell myself I don’t care what Aurora does. My hands slowing on the straps say otherwise.
Miles lets out a laugh. “No shit?”
“Yeah,” Holden says, and the sigh he lets out is pure disappointment. “Thought we were hitting it off. Dunno know what happened.”
Miles claps him on the back. “You dodged a bullet, man. She’s psycho.”
My jaw locks so hard the muscle twinges.Can’t get expelled, I remind myself.Can’t fight outside of hockey games.
Logan, sitting on the bench across from me, lets out a low laugh as he unlaces his skates. “Told you, man,” he says, nodding at Holden. “She isn’t interested in rookie dick.” He lifts his brows, shaking his head. “Have you seen her? She needs someone who knows what he’s doing.”
He whistles and something in my spine snaps tighter. Never wanted to punch Logan before. Kind of want to now.
Holden’s eyes narrow. “I do know what I’m doing.”
Austin barks a laugh, slinging an arm around Holden’s shoulders. “Aw, my little virgin teammate. You’re adorable.”
“I’m not a virgin,” he says, shoving him off. “I get more pussy than you do, since you’ve gone soft and fallen in love.”
“Technically,” Austin adds, tapping his own chest, “I get more sex than you now. So I win. Quality and quantity, baby,” he says, shooting the rookie a wink.
Ryan snorts from where he’s peeling tape off his stick. “Christ,” he mutters, shaking his head at all of them. “Do you guys ever talk about anything but sex?”
“It’s important to be educated,” Austin replies, turning his attention back to Holden. “Now, Miller… do you know where a woman’s clit is?”
Miles wheezes, and Holden flips Austin off, but the kid’s blushing to his hairline, red climbing all the way up his neck.
“You guys coming to the Halloween party tomorrow?” Logan asks, yanking his jersey over his head.
“You better,” Austin chimes in as he drops onto the bench to peel off his pads. “I already decorated the whole house. It looks cool as hell.”
Right on cue, Nathan walks back in from the showers with a towel slung around his waist. “It’s annoying,” he says, shooting him a glare. “Why did you decorate the bathroom? I can’t even take a shower without hitting my head on paper bats.”
Austin shrugs, wagging his brows. “Sets the mood.”
Nathan scrunches his face. “You think people are going to hook up in there?”
“Hell yes,” Austin answers with a chuckle.
