Page 8 of Puck Me Twice

“No, Robby.”

“Babe—”

“She said no.” Sven rounds the corner, glaring at us. “Continuing to pester her after she’s already rejected you doesn’t seem like the best idea, now does it?”

“I can handle this,” I tell him sternly.

To my surprise, stiff, stoic Sven actually grins. “I know you can.”

Robby looks uncomfortable. “Nessie, it’s been a long time.”

“Yeah, it has.” My brain starts to move at hyper speed. “I’ve moved on. I’m seeing someone now.”

I see Sven’s eyes widen with panic. He doesn’t want to be here. He avoids all personal conversations—he avoids everyone, at all times.

Sven is…

My eyes trail over him. He’s tall and wide, with a broad chest and strong shoulders that I sunk my teeth into almost a decade ago. He’s only grown up since then, putting on a lot of muscle. I’ve seen him shirtless, working out in the weight room. All the guys go topless as much as they can, and he⁠—

Well, there’s a reason I slept with him.

His blonde hair is loose, falling nearly to his shoulders. His green eyes are intent on mine, and his mouth curves into a half-smirk almost naturally.

“Vanessa…” Robby sighs. “Please. I just want to talk.”

I swallow.

Sven raises his eyebrows.

“I need a moment.” I look over at my one-time hookup. “Can I talk to you?”

four

. . .

Sven

Vanessa steps toward me, reaching for my forearm. Her touch sends a lightning bolt of heat through my veins. I don’t like physical touch as a general rule, but when I think back to that night nearly ten years ago… It was different with her.

It’s never been the same since.

She freezes, and I take her hand in mine. Her eyes flick back to me, and I see her make up her mind.

Dragging me to a corner of the equipment cave, I angle myself so Andrews, the new guy, can’t see her.

“I’m about to do something, say something, that you may not like. I know we have a… history. And I know you keep to yourself, so this just might actually work. But can you go along with this for a few minutes? Nobody else has to know except him. I just want him to understand I’m not getting back together with him.”

When she told Andrews she’s seeing someone, my shock was twofold: one, I haven’t seen her with anyone or heard about anything, and as much as I try to stay away from it, there’s a lot of gossip in this locker room. Two: my pattern recognition skills and ability to put two and two together quicker than most people made my spine tingle, even if I wasn’t entirely sure why.

She wants me to be that person she’s seeing. And in a twist I didn’t see coming, my hand lands on her shoulder, surprising us both. “I’ll do it. Whatever you need.”

“It won’t be an issue?” She arches an eyebrow.

“No?” I’m confused.

“It’s not against the rules, technically. It’s just a pain in the ass with the paperwork. And I don’t hook up with hockey players,” she says quietly. “I—we can’t⁠—”

“That won’t be a problem.”