by Toni Aleo
Yeah, they are…especially Karson King, Lacey thought as she slowly nodded. Even with that fact, there was no way she was getting involved with anyone.
“Plus, it wouldn’t be weird for us to be there because Grady is your brother,” she added. She was right, but Lacey wasn’t sure it was a good idea. People didn’t go to those parties to play Scrabble. They went to hook up, and hooking up wasn’t in Lacey’s vocabulary anymore.
“Yeah,” she agreed as she shrugged her shoulder. “But maybe we can go to a movie; guys are at the movies.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” Lacey said, letting out a breath.
“No, it’s something. Tell me.”
Biting into her lip hard, she looked away and muttered, “Karson King was staring at me this morning during practice.”
“So?”
Lacey moved her hands, rubbing her thumbs together in a nervous way. “He was looking at me like I was naked, like he wanted me, and I don’t want to give him a reason to flirt with me by showing up at the party he is hosting.”
Rachel held her gaze for a second before laughing hysterically. “Lacey Martin, are you crazy? Who in their right mind wouldn’t want Karson King to flirt with them?”
“I guess me,” Lacey breathed. “He’s trouble.”
“Oh yeah, he is, the best kind of hot trouble, which would be right up your alley. Get you right back on the horse. You need a little romance; you need to feel like a woman again.”
Having a guy reject her wasn’t going to make her feel like a woman, but she couldn’t say that. Rachel might know her condition, but she didn’t know what it was like. She thought it was nothing to worry about, when it was actually life-altering. So instead of telling Rachel the truth, Lacey shook her head and said, “I don’t want trouble.”
Reaching out, Rachel cupped Lacey’s shoulder as she gave her a look. “Trouble is fun. Come on, let’s go to the party.”
Working her lip, Lacey let out a breath. With one look into Rachel’s eyes, she knew there was no backing out. She knew it was a bad idea, but she also knew Rachel was right. She wasn’t in the hospital anymore. She wasn’t dying. She was alive, and she needed to embrace that. She needed to push her insecurities to the side and enjoy her second chance at life. So, with a slow nod, she said, “Fine, yeah, I’ll go.”
Bundled up in her trusty Cats sweatshirt, Lacey watched as the Cats sailed up the ice toward the goal. Grady had the puck and deked around two players before passing it to another, who shot but missed. NYU got the puck and went to pass it up, but out of nowhere, Karson came, stealing the puck and spinning around a player, backhanding it into the goal with ease. Along with the rest of the Cats’ side, she and Rachel flew up, screaming and cheering for the home team.
The Cats were up by one with Karson’s goal, with only six minutes left in the third. NYU had plenty of time to score, but the Cats’ defense was playing hard. Lacey didn’t think they had a chance on scoring on the Cats’ goalie, who had a streak of four shutouts. Looking down at the bench where Coach was screaming and waving his arms, Lacey knew her father was pumping his players up.
“So what number is Grady?”
“Number twenty-one—it was my mom’s favorite number since she had him when she was twenty-one,” Lacey said with a smile. Her heart ached a little when she remembered that little tidbit about her mom. Sometimes, she felt like she was starting to forget everything about her. Like how she smelled, or what it felt like when she would run her fingers through Lacey’s hair. She remembered those things, but she used to be able to imagine her mom doing them… and it would feel like she were really there. It had been twelve years since her family had lost her mom to breast cancer and, to this day, Lacey didn’t think any of them would ever be the same.
Coach missed her constantly and smothered himself with his playbook, while Grady worked harder than ever to make it into the pros. He wanted to make her proud, and every time he scored a goal, he looked to the heavens and thanked her. It always brought the tears on when Lacey saw him do it, but it was nice that he did. Lacey, on the other hand, just missed her. The year before would have been so much easier if she’d had her mom around. She would have known how to comfort Lacey since her dad and Grady were completely at a loss. They both thought Lacey was next. Hell, Lacey had thought so, too.
“That’s nice. Your mom was so beautiful. You look so much like her. I love that picture you have of you two.”
Lacey nodded, her eyes suddenly stinging with tears. Lacey was seven in the picture Rachel spoke of, and they were at the beach. It was a beautiful day and, even though it was twelve years ago, she still remembered how much fun they had. It was a couple of months before she was diagnosed and, while Lacey hadn’t understood any of it then, she was kind of glad she didn’t. Cancer was such a scary thing. It had the power to gut you and take away the people you were supposed to have for a very long time. She believed that God had a plan for everyone. She believed that maybe she was supposed to go through her mom’s cancer so she would be strong through her own battle, but at the same time, why did that have to happen to her family? Why did they have to go through the same thing twice? It felt wrong but, for some crazy reason, her faith was still intact, and she planned to live the life He had blessed her with to the fullest.
Like her mom would have.
And if that meant going to a party and actually putting herself out there like the old Lacey would have before she got sick, then damn it, she was going to do it. Deciding this wasn’t the time to be sad about things she couldn’t change, she returned her attention to the game.
“Karson is number sixteen, right?”
Lacey’s face scrunched up. “Yeah, why?”
“He’s staring at you again.”
Following her gaze, Lacey found that Rachel was right. He was unabashedly staring at her, his mouth turned up in a grin as he leaned against the boards. He was supposed to be listening to her father yell, but instead he was watching her. Looking away quickly toward Rachel, her eyes went wide. “What in the world?”
Rachel giggled as her eyes matched Lacey’s. “He is really hot. You should jump on that.”
“No way,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “A guy like that would run the other way once he got a look at me.”
Rachel’s grin fell as she reached out to take Lacey’s hand, but she brushed her off. “Don’t. I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just watch the game.”
Lacey could see that Rachel wanted to say more but, thankfully, she didn’t, turning her attention back to the game. Doing the same, Lacey found that Karson was setting up for the puck drop. She wanted to be a good sister and watch her brother, but there was no way when Karson was demanding her attention. He was so big, so strong, and commanded the respect as the best player on the ice. She knew that the scouts were there tonight. Grady was nervous and so was her dad, but she didn’t have any doubts that Grady would be in the draft that year. It was his year. What she was surprised about was that Karson hadn’t been in it yet. He was by far the greatest player in Chicago. He needed to be in the pros, where his talent could grow.
Watching as he sailed with confidence and determination on the ice, her eyes followed his every move. He was hell on the defense, but even more so when NYU had the puck and decided to come into the Cats’ zone. He poke checked, he hit, and he was on them like white on rice. He wasn’t playing around. Soon, he had the puck on a breakaway, rushing the net. Players tried to catch up to him, but there was no catching Karson King when he was off to score. Deking the goalie one way, he sent the puck into the back of the net, winning the game and leaving Lacey breathless.
Watching as the guys all jumped on Karson while the crowd went wild cheering, Lacey’s heart went nuts in her chest. From where she stood, she could see his grin through the cage of his helmet, and she knew the feelings that were bubbling in her chest were going to do nothing but cause havoc on her heart. She wasn’t kidding when she said that Karson
would run the other way from her. The sad thing was she wished she had the confidence to believe he wouldn’t. That wasn’t reality though, so she would keep her distance and stay away from Karson King.
By the time Rachel and Lacey got to the Cats’ frat house, the party was already crazy. It was Lacey’s first party, but she wasn’t innocent to what these frat guys did. Guys were upside down on kegs, playing beer pong, and shooting pucks against a guy covered in pillows for shots. It was nuts, but she couldn’t help but grin like a fool.
That was, until Grady saw her.
“Fuck,” she muttered as he beelined for her.
“What?” Rachel asked.
“Grady is coming to yell at me.”
She looked up right as Grady stopped in front of them. “Lacey, what the hell are you doing here?”
Looking up at her big brother, she shrugged as she looked around. “Came to party.”
He laughed as he shook his head, grasping her shoulders in his hand. “The hell you are. This is no place for you.”
Smacking his arms away, she glared. “For fuck’s sake, Grady. I’m eighteen years old. I think I can handle a party. I’m not a baby.”
“Yes, you are. You’re my baby sister. Go back to the dorm.”
Still glaring, Lacey took a step toward him, placing her hands on her hips. “I can stay here, have fun, and be on my best behavior, or I can go to another party, get blasted, and have sex with half the guys there. Since I apparently can’t make good choices, it’s totally up to you. At least here, you can keep an eye on me.”
Glaring back at her, he sneered, “You’re a jerk.”
“I love you too. Now, while I have you, you haven’t met Rachel yet. Rachel, my brother, Grady. Grady, my best friend, Rachel.”
Looking back at Rachel, she saw that Rachel’s face was bright with color as her mouth curved in a very sexy grin. When she glanced back at Grady, she saw the same look on his face. Reaching out, he took her hand as he said, “I don’t remember my sister telling me her best friend was beautiful.”
“That’s because I don’t try to hook my best friend up with my brother since that’s gross,” Lacey said, but she didn’t think they were listening to her.
Rolling her eyes, she watched as Rachel said, “Yeah, all she told me was that you were a beast on the ice, not that you were a sexy beast.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Lacey muttered, heading toward the kitchen for a drink. She didn’t care if they hooked up, but she still thought it was weird. Grady was not a sexy beast… he was a weirdo. Plus, he was dirty. They’d only last a day before Rachel dumped him.
Rolling her eyes, she reached in a bucket for a beer. She went to open the top but couldn’t manage it. When the cap began to cut into her hand, she placed it on the table and opened the drawer for a bottle opener, stopping when someone reached out, taking her beer.
“Hey, that’s mine—” she said, stopping when her eyes met Karson’s.
His eyes bored into hers as he popped the top with ease, handing it back to her. “Here you go.”
“Thank you,” she said, taking the bottle, her eyes still held by his. She didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to do, so she just drank in the sight of him. He was wearing fitted blue jeans and a Cats tee which hugged every inch of him. She could see that the definition of his chest and his arms was just scrumptious. He was so big, so burly, that she just wanted to get lost in his arms and never leave. Jesus, he was hot. His hair fell into his caramel eyes as his mouth curved up into a devilish grin. Soon, she found herself lost in his eyes, grinning like a fool, but then she remembered that she was supposed to stay far, far away from Karson King.
Taking a step back, she muttered, “Well, thanks again. Bye.”
Just as fast as she tried to get away, Karson’s arms shot out, holding the counter to stop her. Looking from his arm to his eyes, she knew that she could push through and be gone, but she wasn’t going anywhere.
She couldn’t, not with how she was locked into his playful gaze.
Karson was feeling on top of the world.
He scored the only two goals, winning the game, and basically played the best game of his life. He was on fire and knew it. The draft was his, and he knew he would be the first pick. He was excited, ready to celebrate a winning night and his bright future. After being fussed over by his mom and dad, he said bye, promising to meet them for breakfast and for Kacey’s game before going back to the house to set up for the party they always had after games. Tonight though, the atmosphere was nuts. It was the first time in years the Cats had shut out NYU, so they were partying hard.
Girls were everywhere, his teammates were being their dumb selves, and Karson was feeling great. But when he saw Grady’s sister at the counter, he knew his night was about to get ten times better. There was something very intriguing about the gorgeous blonde, and she had Karson heading straight for her. Maybe it was her legs, which went on for days and ended at a great ass. Or maybe it was her sweet lips and even sweeter eyes. He wasn’t sure, but he had to talk to her. He had to know her. As he reached where she stood, he saw that she was trying to open a beer, which meant she was a damsel in distress… And he was all about saving damsels.
He thought once their eyes met she wouldn’t want to leave, but to his surprise, after thanking him, she tried to run off. There was no way he was going to let her escape that easily. As he threw his arm out against her stomach, she glanced up at him, her eyes wide and her lips parted. He wanted to drop his lips to hers, and he wanted to trap her in his arms and never let go. She was taller than most of the girls he went after, but her eyes captivated him. Such a pale green that shone in such an intoxicating way.
“Where’s the fire?” he asked, replacing his arm with his hip. She took a step back, and he noticed she was squeezing the bottle she held so tightly her knuckles were white.
“No fire, just need to go find my friend.”
Karson’s head fell to the side. “Oh, well, I wanted to say hi. Introduce myself.”
“I know who you are,” she said quickly, looking up at him.
His mouth curved in a grin as he slowly nodded. “Well, that’s not fair. I want to know you. What’s your name?”
Looking away, she expelled a breath, trying to act like she was annoyed, but Karson could see it in her eyes. She wanted him.
“Lacey.”
“Lacey, such a pretty name. I’m Karson. It’s truly a pleasure to meet you,” he said, reaching out to take her hand in his. She didn’t take his at first, but he could see in her eyes that she wanted to. Finally, she did, squeezing his hand as she held his gaze. When she brought her lip in between her teeth, it took everything not to groan out loud. She was sexy and sweet all in one. He could get lost in her body and never look back. He had never been completely taken by a girl like this, but Lacey was doing something to him, and he liked it way more than he should.
“So you’re Grady’s sister, right? Younger sister?”
She nodded as he got lost in depths of her green eyes. “Yes, I may be younger, but I can still make him cry.”
Karson laughed. “Good to know and, if I may add, that’s kind of hot.”
He wanted to make her laugh. When her lips curved in a smile, the laughter followed, and his dick came to life in his pants. It was such a heavenly sound, and he had never wanted to make a girl laugh as much as he wanted to make Lacey.
“You’re a dork.”
“That’s a good thing, right? That turns you on?”
She laughed again as she shook her head. Looking at him through hooded eyes, she said, “Maybe.”
“Good to know. It was great to see that you came to watch me play tonight. I’m pretty good, huh?”
She laughed, rolling her eyes. “Wow, conceited much?”
Karson grinned. “I know what I saw.”
“You’re delusional. I came to watch my brother.”
Still grinning, he said, “But you watched me.”
�
�You were on the ice; I was watching the game,” she protested, but he shook his head.
“Your eyes never left me.”
“How do you know?” she asked with an amused look.
“Because when I wasn’t trying to score, I was watching you.”
Her cheeks deepened with color as she looked down, playing with the label on the beer. “I’m not sleeping with you; you’re wasting your time throwing all this game at me.”
He was a goner. This girl was it. Any other girl would have fallen for his game, but not Lacey Martin.
Smiling, he said, “Who said anything about sleeping together? Are you thinking about having sex with me?”
Her cheeks colored more before she looked away, laughing louder, making him think that maybe she was. He liked that. A lot. “Oh my God, shut up!”
“I never once brought up sex, and you did.”
“Whatever,” she said, a grin still pulling her lips.
“You are really beautiful when you do that. I like that half smile thing. Really hot.”
Meeting his gaze, her smile fell as she looked away, shaking her head. “You’re wasting your time.”
“Let me be the one to decide that, and aren’t you supposed to thank me? I did just say you are the hottest girl in the world.”
Her cheeks still burned with color as she nodded. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She brought her beer up to her lips, and he smiled as he watched her take a sip before asking, “Are you old enough to drink?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you going to tell on me if I’m not?”
He shook his head. “Nope, I was just trying to figure out how old you are.”
“Eighteen,” she answered, a smile pulling at her sweet lips.
“Cool, I like my girl legal.”
“Your girl?” she laughed, her eyes wide.
As she giggled, her eyes bright, he admired the long lashes that framed her beautiful eyes. “Yeah, you didn’t get the memo that I find you incredibly sexy and want to know every single thing about you?”