Cocky Puck: A College Sports Romance (Hockey Hearthrobs)

by Vanessa Winters

  “You’re making a face. What’s with the face?” Carmen asks. Her eyes widen. “Oh, my God. You slept with Matt!”

  “What?” I cry. “How did you get that from a face?”

  “You did! Oh my God. I can’t believe this. When did it happen?”

  “Friday night,” I admit.

  “After you fought?”

  I nod. I told her all about the fight, but I left out the sex part. I’m not embarrassed or ashamed. I’m worried about the “I told you so” I’m going to get from Carmen.

  “I told you so!” she screams.

  I knew it was coming. Carmen loves to be right. Even more than that, she loves when everyone knows she’s right.

  “Okay, okay. Yes. We slept together. But that’s it. It was… the heat of the moment.”

  “Does Matt agree?”

  I know he doesn’t. He tried to kiss me when he left on Saturday morning. On Sunday night, he sat close and it felt… nice. Like we were dating, not just working on a project. Then on Monday, we were at his apartment doing our presentation and we talked and joked like old friends. Or lovers.

  “I’ll take your silence as an answer. Maybe after you apologize, you should talk about your relationship.”

  “No relationship to talk about. I’m not going to date Matt. We’ve discussed this, and I’m sick of going in circles. Can you just accept that I’m not interested?”

  “I would accept it faster if you didn’t sleep with him.”

  “It was a one-time thing. I swear.”

  “Fine. I get it. But you need to talk to Matt.”

  I agree. I’m not going to do it today. We have a presentation to do. Our focus should be on getting a good grade.

  I’ll figure it out after. We have class together three times a week. That’ll be plenty of time to have the conversation we need to have.

  I don’t want to have it, though. I guess part of me knows that once we talk about it, it’ll be over. We’ll never hook up again. He might stop talking to me.

  Am I ready to lose him? We’ve only known each other a few weeks, and it’s been rocky, but I still consider him a friend. I hate losing friends. It sucks.

  “I’ll talk to him, I promise.”

  “Good. I should go. I’m meeting Travis for a post-practice breakfast.”

  “I have to go, too. Matt and I are meeting up before class to go over our project one last time.”

  “Talk to him!” she calls as she heads for her bedroom. I tell her I will and go to get dressed myself. Carmen leaves before I do. I’m glad. I don’t want her to yell at me again. I know she’s coming from a good place, but this whole situation sucks for me. I don’t want to hurt Matt’s feelings by pushing him away, but I can’t risk getting close to someone who might hurt me in the future.

  Matt is waiting outside the classroom when I arrive.

  “Hey,” he says. “How’s it going?”

  “Good, good. Are you ready for this?”

  “I am. Are you?”

  “I’m glad it’s almost over.”

  Matt laughs. “Yeah, I am, too. I’m not a big fan of public speaking.”

  “You better get used to it,” I say. “I heard you’re going pro someday. Don’t all the big hockey players have to give press conferences all the time?”

  “Yeah,” he responds. “That’s different, though. It’s easier to answer questions than to give a presentation, you know?”

  “I can see that.”

  “Anyway, shall we get to work?”

  I nod. The classroom is empty, so we sit at our desks and go over our presentation. I’m really happy with how it turned out. All twenty of the economists we reached out to responded, so we have a ton of information in that section. Overall, I’m satisfied with the project.

  “Hey,” I say after we’ve gone through the presentation. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for getting on your case about hockey. I had no right to get mad at you for having a busy schedule, especially when I have a lot going on, too.”

  “Wow. Thank you for apologizing. I appreciate it. I am sorry that my hockey schedule got in the way of working on this project, but we did a great job even with our restricted time frame.”

  “We did. We’re a good team, Matt. I wouldn’t mind being your partner on any future projects in class.”

  He laughs. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really. I mean, look at what we managed with just a few hours together!”

  “I agree. If given the opportunity, I’d work with you again, too.”

  Are we leaning towards each other? Dammit, why do we always almost kiss? I get that we’re very good at it, especially together, but this needs to stop. I don’t want to kiss Matt again.

  I sit back in my desk and pull out my phone. I quickly text Zack and ask if he wants to hang out tonight. He responds immediately that he’s in. Perfect. Zack is the distraction I need to stop thinking about Matt as more than a friend.

  The rest of the class files into the room, followed soon after by Dr. Cruise. He briefly tells us about his trip to Vegas before starting with the presentations. Matt and I end up third.

  It goes well. We practiced enough that we can make our speeches without looking at our notes. We get a decent applause at the end.

  “Great work, you two,” Dr. Cruise says. “You nailed it.”

  I’m grinning when I return to my desk. I meant it when I said I’d work with Matt again. My frustration at him was ridiculous. He’s a hard worker. We got it done, and we did a great job.

  Matt and I pass funny notes as we watch the rest of the presentations. I do my best to pay attention, but it’s more fun to play hangman with Matt. Each phrase we pick is a joke. It’s the most fun I’ve had in class in a long time.

  I know I need to talk to Matt about our relationship, or lack thereof. I know I’m giving him the wrong idea by laughing and flirting with him like this. I know Carmen is right, and Matt and I would be great together.

  I know all of these things, but I can’t face them.

  So, as soon as class is over, I gather my things and run out before Matt has a chance to say anything.

  I’m a coward. And right now, I’m okay with that.

  14

  Matt

  The third time is going to be the charm.

  It has to be.

  Sophie ran out after class, but I’m guessing she was in a hurry to meet Sophie for lunch. We got along so well during class that I can’t believe she was avoiding me. Plus, we’ve texted a few times since then.

  Including the text when I asked her to hang out tonight, just the two of us.

  The double date was a bust. Working together on the project was great, but it wasn’t conducive to a relationship. I’m hoping that this time, we’ll be able to take the next step.

  I know I need to focus on hockey. The game on Saturday went well. It was a shutout. The other team didn’t score any goals against me. Afterwards, Coach clapped me on the back and said I better keep this up if I want to go pro.

  That’s a lot of pressure. I’m not going to have a perfect game every time. I guess the most important thing is to show as much consistency as I can. I should have more good games than bad. That’s how you get drafted.

  I’ve decided I can multitask. Most of my focus will be on hockey. Some on school. The rest on Sophie. If I can get her to date me, I’ll explain how important it is that I play well. I think she’ll understand.

  Well, hopefully. The way she reacted to my tardiness after the game on Friday doesn’t bode well for her understanding. Except, in that case, I didn’t warn her in advance. If I’m clear from the beginning that I care about her, but I also need to think about my future, she might get it. If not, we’re not meant to be together. I can’t date someone who doesn’t support my hockey career. I’m not saying she has to come to every game. She doesn’t have to come to any if she doesn’t want to. There are other ways to be supportive.

  Like not getting pissed if I’m late because Coach is yel
ling at me.

  “Are you taking Sophie on a date tonight?”

  I stare at the text from Carmen. I didn’t tell her about my plan because I didn’t want her to get involved. I don’t need her whispering in my ear as I try to win Sophie over.

  “I am,” I respond. Now that Sophie has agreed to the date, I’m okay sharing. I can always ignore Carmen if she tries to get too pushy.

  “Don’t fuck it up,” is all she says. She includes a smiley face so I know she’s at least half-joking. I have a feeling she’s also a little serious, though. Carmen cares about Sophie. She wants me to pursue Sophie, but Carmen doesn’t want her best friend getting hurt. I feel the same protectiveness for my buddies. I even gave Carmen a little talk when she and Travis made it official. You screw with my friend, you screw with me. She laughed and promised not to break Travis’s heart.

  I can promise the same. I will never intentionally hurt Sophie. I like her too much.

  I’ve been ready to go on this date since I got back from class. We don’t have evening practice because we have another away game tomorrow, so I asked Sophie to meet me at my apartment at five. I still have to wait eight minutes for her to come.

  The fact that Carmen new about the date is a good thing. It means Sophie talked to her about it. I’m hoping Sophie told Carmen because she’s excited, and not because she’s annoyed or angry.

  If she was annoyed or angry, she wouldn’t have said yes. Right?

  Someone knocks on my door. There are still seven minutes before I’m expecting Sophie, but when I open the door, she’s standing there looking absolutely gorgeous.

  “Hi,” she says. “Sorry, I’m a little early.”

  “No worries. Come on in.”

  I step aside so she can enter my apartment. She’s been here before, when we were working on our project. It feels right having her in my space.

  “So, what’s the plan?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “You know, I don’t like surprises.”

  “Carmen mentioned that once. I’m willing to risk it, though.”

  “As long as you know it’s your life on the line.”

  I laugh. “I think you’ll like this surprise, I promise. You ready to go?”

  “Yeah, let’s go.”

  She follows me outside to the street where my car is parked. I rarely drive unless I’m going home, but the place I want to take Sophie is far enough away to need the wheels.

  Sophie climbs into the passenger seat. I hand her my phone so she can pick the music. She chooses a playlist I created, but she quietly sings along so she must know the songs.

  “You have good taste,” Sophie says. “I love classic rock.”

  “It’s my relaxing music. I listen to it a lot before games to get my head in the right place.”

  “Nice.”

  The rest of the drive is mostly quiet. It only takes fifteen minutes to get to our destination. They close at six-thirty, but we’ll still have over an hour to enjoy ourselves.

  Sophie’s eyes widen when she sees the sign on the front of the building.

  “Please tell me you’re not getting me a dog,” she says.

  “I’m not getting you a dog. But you mentioned that you love animals, and shelters are always looking for volunteers to walk the dogs. I volunteered us for tonight.”

  She grins. “Really? We get to play with them?”

  “Yep. Just don’t fall in love with any of them. I doubt your apartment allows dogs.”

  “If it did, I’d have one already. Thank you, Matt. This is amazing!”

  Once inside, the receptionist greets us and has us fill out a liability form. She quickly goes over protocol for walking the dogs, and then she guides us to the back.

  “These ten haven’t been walked since lunchtime. You can each take five and do ten minutes each.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks, Penny.”

  “Have fun, you two. There will be other volunteers around if you need help.”

  With that, she lets us loose. Sophie immediately picks a husky to take out. I go for a sweet Pitbull. She’s smiling at me. I can’t resist her.

  “You know, back home I volunteer at a shelter like this with my dad. We usually just clean the cages and stuff, though.”

  “That’s still nice. I know a lot of shelters struggle because they can’t afford staff, so they can’t keep up with needs.”

  “It’s sad,” she says. “I’m glad we’re here now, though. Do you think they could use regular volunteers until the semester ends?”

  “I already asked. You’re signed up every Thursday until finals week.”

  “Oh, Matt! Thank you. This is fantastic.”

  I agree. If I’d known all it took was a volunteer gig with a dog rescue to get her to look at me like that, I wouldn’t have gone to Carmen for help.

  Our hour is up far too quickly. We walk all ten dogs and put them back in their cages. Leaving is harder than I expected. I’ve always been a dog person. I miss Benny, my German shepherd back home. I need to take a trip to visit him soon.

  “This was so much fun,” Sophie says. “Thank you again.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”

  “I did! Today has been a great day. You know when you’ve had such a good day that you don’t want it to end, because there’s no guarantee tomorrow will be as good?”

  I know exactly what she’s talking about. “Well, let’s not let it end yet, then. Do you want to watch a movie at my apartment?”

  “I’d like that. Can we order food, too? I’m starving.”

  “How do you feel about Chinese?”

  “Love it.”

  “Perfect. You order, we’ll pick it up on the way.”

  I give Sophie my usual order and she calls the Chinese food place close to campus. They have the best egg rolls I’ve ever tasted. We pick up the food and head to my apartment. Luckily, my parking spot is still empty. Otherwise, I’d have to park a few blocks away. I hate doing that.

  Inside, we settle on the couch with our food. “What movie do you want to watch?” I ask.

  Sophie shrugs. “You can put on whatever.”

  I open up Netflix and put on the first movie I see. I have no idea what it’s about, but it doesn’t matter. Sophie and I chat through the first half, anyway. It’s more like white noise.

  Our food is sitting half-finished on the table. Sophie is sitting close to me. I look over, just to take her in, and find her doing the same.

  Without thinking, I lean forward and kiss her. I expect Sophie to push me away, but she melts into the kiss.

  I adjust us so she’s laying on the couch and I’m on top of her, careful not to crush her. I slip my tongue between her lips. She moans as our tongues dance together.

  My hand works its way up under the hem of her t-shirt. I squeeze her breasts over her bra, causing her to moan again.

  I sit up and pull her shirt over her head. Her bra quickly joins the shirt on the ground.

  We rushed last time. It was a frenzy of limbs and clothes and while it was great, it was nothing like this. Tonight, we’re going slow.

  My lips find her nipple. Sophie squirms beneath me.

  “Oh, yes, Matt, that feels so good,” she whispers. Her hands tangle in my shaggy hair, pulling my face into her chest. It’s a good place to be.

  Sophie’s hand dips between us to cup my hardon. My cock twitches at her touch. I need more of her right now.

  I kiss my way down her chest to her stomach until I reach the hem of her pants. The couch isn’t the most comfortable place to do this, but I don’t want to risk breaking the moment to move into my room. I’ll make it work.

  I unbutton her pants and slide them down her legs. They fall to the floor, leaving Sophie only in her panties. I kiss her soft pussy over the fabric before removing them, too.

  Teasing her, I kiss Sophie’s thighs. She tries to move around so I hit her center, but I laugh and avoid it.

  “Please, Matt. I need
it!”

  “What do you need?”

  “You,” she moans. I finally close my lips around her sensitive nub, my tongue swirling around her clit. “Fuck, YES!”

  I slip two fingers into her wet slit, plunging in and out as my mouth works on her clit and lips.

  “Fuck, Matt. You’re good at that. Don’t you dare stop.”

  I obey her command. I add a third finger and thrust until Sophie cries out in extasy. Her entire body quakes in orgasm.

  I crawl back up the couch as she catches her breath. She grins at me, sweat glistening on her forehead.

  “You’re wearing too many clothes,” she says, flipping me over so she’s on top. My clothes are quickly shed, leaving us both completely naked.

  Sophie starts to move down my body, and I have a feeling I know her end goal, but I don’t want that right now. We can do that another time.

  I’d rather feel her soft folds again.

  “No, baby, I want to be inside you.”

  She grins again. “Is that so?”

  I nod. “Please, baby…”

  “Your wish is my command,” she says. Sophie lowers herself onto my cock. I nearly explode right there.

  “That’s it, Sophie. Fuck. You’re so tight.”

  She uses her legs to lift herself off my member before lowering herself quickly. The movements speed up and then slow, driving me crazy.

  “I want you to cum inside me,” Sophie says.

  Shit. I’m not wearing a condom. I got carried away…

  Sophie notices the panic on my face. “I’m on birth control. It’s okay. Please, Matt. I want it.”

  Her words send me over the edge. I grab her hips and pull her down hard, emptying my load inside her. A second orgasm wracks her body.

  When we’re finished, Sophie collapses on top of me, but she only stays there long enough to come down from her orgasm.

  She sits up enough to meet my eyes. “I think we should go to your room,” she whispers, kissing me.

  Fuck. This woman will be the death of me, but I’m okay with it. I pick her up and carry her into my bedroom for round two. After we both cum again, we fall asleep holding each other tight. I could get used to this.