by Toni Aleo
But as much as his ego infuriated me, and as obnoxious as he sounded joking with his teammates, I pictured his moss-green eyes and thick, gorgeous lashes. His rich brown hair was usually stuffed under a helmet, but when he wasn’t on the ice, the long layers fell over his eyes. If his full lips and chiseled jaw weren’t distracting enough, he had one of the finest bodies I had ever seen. I seriously hated how ripped he was. His sex appeal made me stupid, made me want to touch him. That was not going to happen. I knew damn well I needed to keep my distance from Gus Persson.
He was the kind of trouble I had been through, and I wouldn’t go through again.
I couldn’t.
“Don’t worry, he won’t be here long. Not with how much he is killing it. He’ll be called up to the Tornadoes in no time,” Lizzy said.
Something else moved in my chest—a different feeling than the sharp pang I felt earlier—but I ignored it and tried to suppress the emotion that threatened to shake my voice. “Good,” I sputtered. “I hope he goes. We’ll get a break from cleaning up hats.”
Lizzy was right. Persson scored hat tricks left and right, which was unheard of for a defenseman. But then again, Persson wasn’t your typical defenseman. He could just as easily play forward, but he really dominated on defense. He was a force to be reckoned with. I never understood how he’d gone third in the draft. My dad and I had discussed it for hours. It was insane for a player of his ability to go so late, but he did. The Suns were benefiting from his dominating skill, and eventually the Twin Cities Tornadoes would get the ultimate prize.
Not just Gus Persson…
The Cup.
Maybe?
Men who dominated games and cut down all competition around them used to turn me on. Not anymore. I’d already had a guy like that—someone out to show the world how great he was. Just as the thought crossed my mind, I spotted Gus trying to high-five players on the other team, completely proving my point.
He was just…ugh…obnoxious.
Not the kind of guy I wanted anywhere near me.
Nor had time for.
Even if he was sinfully hot.
And sexy.
And talented.
Glaring at him, I shook my head.
Jackass.
Chapter Three
Gus
After every win, the team went to the local sports bar, the Penalty Box. They had the hottest wings and even hotter waitresses. Plus, the owner, Tommy, was a season ticket holder and took good care of the team. After dominating the game, I was ready for some booze, food, and company.
The Penalty Box had all of that.
In abundance.
Walking in behind the guys, I slid my hands along the black tee that hugged my shoulders and chest. I loved this shirt. It was my “getting some puss” shirt. It showed every detail of my chest and then some. Paired with my favorite shorts, there was no chance I’d go home alone tonight.
Not with the ass I had.
I sat down toward the back, near the pool tables and the second bar, and reached for a menu. Max grabbed a seat across from me.
“Why are you looking at that?” He shook his head. “You get the same damn thing every time.”
“I do not!”
“You do,” he spat back.
I was starting to realize why everyone called us an old married couple. Max was always up my ass, telling me what to do. Yeah, he was older and more experienced, but he wasn’t my daddy.
“You’re not my dad!”
“Okay, son, relax,” he teased.
I glared at him.
“I’m sorry I teased you. Please, look at the menu. Try something else.”
I made a face at him as the waitress came to the table. He ordered his regular: wings and a pitcher of beer.
I looked over the menu, scrunching my face up. “Can I get the fish tacos, a grilled cheese with bacon and tomato, and a side of cheese fries? Along with a mug to go with his pitcher?”
Max stared at me as Julie, our regular waitress, just smiled. “So the regular, Bus?”
“Yeah, whatever,” I mumbled.
Max laughed while Julie walked away. “I don’t know why you fight with me.”
“Because you’re wrong. All the time.”
He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Come on, I’m ready to kick your ass at pool.”
“In your dreams,” I called back. “You couldn’t beat me if I played with no hands.”
“I can, and I will.”
“Bring it,” I said, swirling chalk at the end of a pool cue. I wasn’t one to brag—okay, maybe I was—but there wasn’t anything I was bad at. Oh wait, I sucked at knitting. Yeah, I was horrible, and my aunt would tell anyone that. But at everything else, I was awesome.
I looked around the bar, taking in all the females. Most of them I knew and had already slept with. The ones I didn’t know, I just wasn’t feeling. Probably because I was still thinking about that sexy redheaded ice girl. She was driving me wild. The way she looked at me, like I stole her doll and drew dicks on its mouth, revved my engines. I wanted to kiss the scowl between her eyes, squeeze that naughty ass of hers, and bury my cock deep inside her. And her tits? Man, fucking those would be heaven. It had been a long time since I yearned for a woman, probably because they usually threw themselves at me.
I was pretty sure the only thing redhead wanted to throw at me was a puck.
“Hey, Bus.”
It took me a moment to place the voice and the face, but then I remembered her. She was an ice girl, and I had slept with her the first time we met. Shannon? Shanna? Sharron?
“Hey…you,” I finally said with a wave. “How you doing?”
“Good. Better if you’d let me take a ride.”
Anyone else might have questioned what ride she wanted to take, but I knew good and well. Especially when she opened her legs a bit, her eyes full and lusty as she trailed her fingers up her thighs. Wiggling my finger at her, I called, “Oh now, you know better than that. I don’t stick my dick in the honeypot more than once.”
She feigned a pout, her lips coming out in a very sexy way. But I had been there, done that, and had the T-shirt. Plus, it wasn’t that great.
“Don’t you wanna make an exception?” She leaned into her arms, her breasts coming together in a way that almost had me reconsidering. Almost.
“Nope, sweetheart, can’t do it. But my boy Maxy can.”
Max glared over at me. “I’m getting married.”
“Small technicality,” I said, waving him off. “Plus, she isn’t even here.”
“Doesn’t mean I don’t love her and respect her.”
I rolled my eyes. Max was engaged to this girl from back home in Iowa. She was legit a milkmaid, and man, he loved her. She was nice, I guess, but there was no way I would ever be tied down to one girl. That was pathetic. “Whatever. Your loss. Or hers,” I said, pointing to Shanna, or whatever her name was.
“Not everyone likes to fuck around like you.”
“Why not?” I asked. I stood and struck the cue ball into the racked balls, scattering them around the table. “It’s the best of both worlds. Lots of ass and no commitments.”
Max rolled his eyes. “I love being committed to one ass.”
“Must be a great ass,” I teased.
He glared. “You just wait. Your one great ass will come, and then our Gussy Bussy will be tied down forever.”
I scoffed at that, pointing my pool stick at him. “The day that happens is the day I don’t score.”
“I am seriously praying for that day.” Maxy stood and took a shot, getting a ball in before looking back up at me. “I’m so tired of having to wait to go to bed.”
“Huh?”
“You and the female friends you bring back to the apartment.”
I made a face. “No one said you can’t go to bed when I have someone over.”
He shot me a deadpan look. “No one could sleep when the whole apartment is being filled with ‘Oh, harder, Bus, harder. Ugh, ugh, oh, oh, Bus
, Bus, Bus—’”
Everyone in earshot started laughing. Hell, even I did as I waved him off. “I get it.”
“I swear, it’s more obnoxious than you.”
I feigned feeling hurt. “How rude.”
“You know it’s true. And I bet you tell them they need to be loud or you won’t give them the full-length Bus.”
When he made a crude hand motion, the room was in stitches.
I shook my head. “You’re pathetic.”
“Takes one to know one,” he shot back.
Miller came up and slapped Max’s back. “Does he still do that pec thing to music?”
Max laughed, nodding his head. “Every morning.” Dropping the stick, he flexed and then started singing “I’m Too Sexy.”
“I don’t sing that!”
He paused, thinking that over, and then nodded. “That’s right, it’s usually Beyoncé.”
More laughter as I scoffed. “Hey, she’s the queen!” The room was loud, and I just smiled as I shot the eight ball in, winning the game. “And like Beyoncé, I slay, motherfucker.”
After Julie filled my mug, I took a long swig. Just as I turned to lay my stick against the wall, I found myself toe-to-toe with a certain redhead.
She narrowed her eyes as she looked up at me. “Excuse me.”
My heart stopped. My eyes widened. My body suddenly felt as hot as her hair. She ducked to walk around me, but I couldn’t let her by. Not yet. I stepped in front of her, holding my hands up. “Hey, no need to excuse yourself. Want a beer?”
She shook her head. She was wearing a halter, and her breasts peeked out the sides. Her jeans hugged every inch of her ass. Her long hair was up in a top knot, and her makeup from the game was gone. She looked even hotter without it. Like someone I wanted to wake up to the next morning.
“I’m good,” she replied. “I don’t drink beer.”
I stopped her once again. “I can buy you whatever you want.”
Her glare deepened as she shook her head. “No. I’m good.”
Once more, I moved to stop her when she tried to walk away. No one turned me down. This was insane. “Hey, what’s your name?”
She paused, a smile coming over her face. “My name? That’s all you want? Well, it’s Fuck Off.”
Whoa. What the hell? I didn’t understand her hostility. Had I slept with her already? No. No, I hadn’t. I’d remember her. As she walked toward her group of friends, I called out, “I don’t think you like me.”
She turned back, her eyes cutting to mine. “Don’t think? Well let me help you with that. No, I don’t like you, because I have a tendency to find self-absorbed dicks to be obnoxious assholes.”
I held my chest, this time a tad hurt. What a bitch! “Whoa.”
“Oh, please don’t be surprised. Everyone thinks it; they just won’t say it,” she added, sitting down and crossing her legs. “But I’m not them.”
I could only blink and glance back at Max, whose jaw was almost to the floor. I held my hands out. “What the fuck?”
He looked at me, a grin pulling at his lips. “I don’t know, but I love her.”
Speechless, I shook my head as I looked back to the redhead who had just cut me in a way no one ever had. Usually women loved me. I’d met a few who didn’t, but usually it was because they were playing for the other team! What did I do to this girl?
And why the hell did I want to find out?
Her message was clear—stay the hell away—but I couldn’t help it.
I wanted more.
A lot more.
For the simple fact that rejection wasn’t really my thing.
Chapter Four
Bo
I hadn’t wanted to come out.
I had planned to go home, study, and soak in a nice long bath. I had a heavy schedule tomorrow. I had private classes with clients in the morning, my internship in the afternoon, and my ice skating classes at night. It was going to be a busy day, but Lizzy had convinced me to come out, saying I needed it. I didn’t, but since I loved her dearly and didn’t want her to think I didn’t, I went.
And to my surprise, I was sort of glad I did.
Especially after cutting Gus Persson down to size.
“You’ve waited a long time to do that, haven’t you?” Lizzy asked.
I beamed over at her. “Just a full year.”
“Oh, I can tell. You have a slight wiggle to you now.”
I laughed. “I just hate how cocky and entitled he is.” I rolled my eyes, reaching for my Jack and Coke. “Like I’m supposed to give him my name, or stroke his ego, or let him shove his cock up my ass. Please. I have better things to do, like clean my bathroom.”
That had all the girls laughing as we gathered around the table. There were six ice girls, and while I normally didn’t do well in big girl-group settings, I did fine with these girls. Probably because, for the most part, we all had the same goals. Their only drama usually had to deal with the shitty guys they dated. Of course, I didn’t date. We all wanted to get through school and make something of ourselves. They tended to sleep with players on the team, but I had bigger plans, and getting distracted by a big doofus of a rookie was not in the cards.
Hell, I didn’t have time for anyone, to be honest.
Not even myself.
Which was one of the main points that Lizzy had thrown in my face when she encouraged me to come out.
“Well, Bo, if you were looking for a good time, Persson was your best bet. He’s great in bed,” Shania informed me. She had slept with him and was begging for another shot.
“He is,” Natalie agreed. “So damn good.”
“And he’s so damn dreamy,” Melanie said with a wide grin. “Like so hot. Gah, how do you say no?”
“Easy. No,” I said, and she laughed while everyone shook their heads in disbelief.
“He’s a one-and-done kind of guy. Great for someone who doesn’t want a relationship,” Maci said with a saucy grin. “Like you.”
I let out a laugh. “I don’t care what he does or who he does it with. He is not the guy for me, one time or not. I have more self-respect than to get with a guy who just wants me for sex.”
Lizzy shook her head. “You’re insane. I’d let him put it in every hole I have.”
Everyone sputtered with laughter.
“Even your ear?” Natalie asked.
She nodded, dead serious. “Even my nose.”
I gawked at her. “Could you imagine how awful that would be? And then come in your nose?”
That had everyone basically falling over themselves laughing, the whole room filling with our hilarity. Damn, it felt good. So damn good. I just wished it wasn’t about Gus Fucking Persson. I rolled my eyes as I leaned back on the bar stool, glancing around the room, but that didn’t last before my gaze was trapped by his.
Gus’s.
Damn it.
He was staring at me, his eyes so dark, no longer the beautiful green moss that I liked—well, admired. I didn’t like anything about the guy. His shoulders were back as he leaned into the pool stick he was holding, and his gaze was downright corrupt. It was almost like he was undressing me. Like he didn’t care that I’d just told him off. He still wanted to pounce on me, and I didn’t understand how that made me feel.
Or better yet, I didn’t like how it made me feel.
When his buddy smacked his chest, taking his attention away from me, I thanked the gods above and went back to gossiping with my friends. I couldn’t handle his gaze. The more our eyes stayed locked, the more I had to fight the pull that was between us. That was the reason I’d told him off, because I refused to be the girl I was—the one I used to be. I refused to go back to the position I came from.
Nope, that wasn’t going to happen.
As the night went on, the drinks started flowing, and I was really glad I’d come out. I already liked the girls, but getting to know them outside of school and work was awesome. We were all cut from the same cloth, and I liked that.
“I lived in a trailer,” Lizzy said with a laugh. “I was straight trailer trash, but then my mom married this movie producer, and all of a sudden, we were rich. It was insane.”
“No way!” Maci yelled. “You’re rich?”
She scoffed. “My stepdad is. I mean, he spoils me and pays for my apartment, but I’m not rich.”
I reached over and grabbed her shoulder with my hand. “Your dad pays for the apartment?”
She grinned. “He pays my half.”
“And you couldn’t get him to pay mine?”
“He does.”
I glared at her.
“Sometimes,” she admitted, “I revert back to my trailer park ways and pocket the money.”
We all laughed, and I glared again. “That is rude.”
“I know. I’m sorry. You understand, right? You’re a fellow trailer parker.”
I laughed as I shook my head. “Actually, I grew up blue collar. I had to work for everything I wanted, and because of it, I wanted big things.”
“I can tell,” she said with a grim smile. “You aren’t mad, are you?”
“Nah, I pay my way, and if that helps you out, that’s awesome.”
She let out a breath. “You’re the best. And to think, guys, we could have lost her to Stanford.”
Everyone gasped and looked at me.
“Huh? Really? You chose MPT over Stanford?” Shania asked, her brows pulled together. “Are you crazy?”
I waved her off. “I had plans to go to Stanford to be a doctor, but—” I stopped short, blinking a few times. Man, I was a tad drunk. How had I almost said that? Shit. “I didn’t get in, and boom, I’m going to school for PT.” I waved my hands in the air for emphasis, and thankfully everyone laughed at me.
Well, except Lizzy, who was looking at me with a certain look in her eyes. A look, I was finding, I did not like. “You’re lying to us.”
I pressed my hands into my chest. “Me? Never.”
“Yes! You did get in, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t,” I lied even more, and I hated lying. It wasn’t my strong suit, and I could tell by the way Lizzy was looking at me that I wasn’t doing well. Nope, she was onto me, and the more time that passed, the more everyone else was eyeing me.