Page 48 of Puck Me Twice

His dark green eyes meet mine. “I’m following your lead.”

It’s my turn to swallow. “Wow. So you⁠—”

Squeezing my hand, he shrugs. “It’s never been like it was with you with anyone else.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re the one I compared everyone else to,” he says simply.

I freeze.

“After all, I rather had to. That was my first experience.”

I gape at him. “What?”

Sven blinks, cocking his head. “Is this too much?”

“What do you mean, it was your first experience?”

“At Jackson’s wedding. The night we were together,” he says.

“Yeah. I remember it. We hooked up.”

His face tints pink. “You were the first person I ever slept with.”

“How?”

“What do you mean, how? You were there. We⁠—”

“I was already twenty, so you would have been nineteen or close to it,” I barrel on. “And you were already in the league.”

He rolls his eyes. “So?”

“So? I’m sure there were women throwing themselves at you. Hell, I threw myself at you.”

“I waited until I was ready,” he says simply. “I was a neurodivergent, hockey-obsessed weirdo who had been thrust into the spotlight and barely knew how to talk to my teammates, much less talk to pretty women. I didn’t want to get it over with. I wanted to be comfortable with the decision.”

“But—if I’d known, I would have…”

He squeezes my hand again. “I didn’t want that.”

“It should have been… I don’t know, special, or memorable, or⁠—”

“It was,” he says firmly. “Do you really think I would let myself forget?”

I look away. “I mean, it was just sex.”

“No, it wasn’t,” he says slowly. “We had a connection that night. We still do.”

I think back to that night… It's been a long time, but I can’t deny it hasn’t been on my mind on and off over the years. Especially once I joined the team. But…

“Tell me I’m not alone in this. Tell me I’m not the only one to feel this way,” he implores.

“I… I…”

Sven inhales sharply. “I see.”

“This is just… a lot,” I say lamely. “It’s late. A lot has happened today. I just—I need to sleep on this.”