Home Ice

by Rachelle Vaughn

  “I avoid going anywhere with you at all cost,” Ally teased.

  “Hey, maybe your hottie will be at the club.”

  Bonus.

  Ally hadn’t thought about Ben being at the club, but he was friends with Dom. And Izzy had said Dom and a bunch of his friends would be there. Ally’s stomach quivered in anticipation. If there was ever a time for her to broaden her social horizons, it was now.

  “Maybe.”

  And maybe this is turning out to be the best week of my life.

  “Well that’s a start. I’ll convince you over lunch. Are you hungry?” Izzy pushed her paperwork aside. Her stomach was grumbling too loud to concentrate on work. “Let’s go grab a bite to eat somewhere.”

  “I just came from lunch with him.” Ally tried out her best blasé voice and waited to see if Izzy would notice the word ‘him‘.

  “You already ate? Damn. I’m hungry for…Wait. Lunch with whom? Where?” Izzy’s face scrunched up into a hundred question marks.

  “At the diner. That little coffee shop across the street from the clinic. The one with the fifties décor. It’s very---”

  “Him who?” Izzy looked at her suspiciously.

  “Ben.” Ally tried unsuccessfully to say his name with a straight face.

  Izzy‘s black eyes widened to three times their normal size. “You had lunch with him? Already?”

  Ally nodded, sporting a grin that could have powered the entire city of Red Valley with electricity for a week. “Uh-huh.”

  Izzy’s jaw hung open. “Jeez, woman! Who knew you were such a fast mover?”

  “And he asked me to have dinner with him Saturday night.”

  “My girl on a date with hockey’s most gorgeous prodigy of this generation?!” Izzy jumped up and clapped her hands together in celebration. She skipped around to the front of her desk. “Come here and give me a hug, you little sexpot.”

  Ally squeezed her tight and then they both squealed like teenagers and danced around the office. Marcus shot them a dirty look from down the hall but they didn’t care. This was the biggest news they had had in a long, long time.

  “Tell me everything that happened!” Izzy commanded while trying to catch her breath. “Start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out. Oh my gosh, we’re gonna have to find you something to wear!”

  Chapter Eight

  Dance Floored

  “Isadora Sinclair! If you start wearing your heels any higher and your skirt any shorter, I won’t be surprised to see you working the pole at a strip club!”

  Izzy strutted past Ally into the house, her five inch heels clicking on the floor. Izzy stood in the middle of the living room and struck a fashion model pose. “Why do you always have to be such a hater?” she asked and looked Ally up and down.

  Ally was wearing a sparkly, slinky little black dress she had picked up on sale. And sexy kitten heels. Izzy’s black-rimmed eyes widened in surprise. “Wow, you actually look like you belong hanging out with me tonight.”

  “Oh, great. Now I have to go change.” Ally pretended to go in the direction of her bedroom.

  “No,” Izzy stopped her. “You look amazing.” Izzy wasn’t used to seeing her in something other than a tee shirt and sneakers.

  “Nah, I’m afraid I’m just plain old 8 ½ by 11.”

  “Shut up. Where’d you get the new outfit?”

  “I’m perfectly capable of finding clothes for myself. Without your supervision, I might add. I found it on a clearance rack.” That was the only way Ally could justify buying new clothes for herself. There were bargains to be found in Red Valley, if one knew where to look for them and Ally was getting better at it out of necessity.

  Normally she didn’t splurge on clothes, but lately, ever since she met Ben, she felt the need to. She had also gone through her closet and donated several pairs of tapered leg jeans she found. Not only were they a serious crime to fashion, but to her figure as well. No self respecting hockey player would be caught dead with a woman wearing ‘mom jeans’.

  “Where’s Gram?” Izzy asked. “I want to say hi to her before we go.”

  “In her room.” Ally led her down the hall to Gram’s room. “Gram, you might want to cover your eyes so you can’t see Izzy’s outfit. She’s dressed to work the street corner!”

  “Hey friend, watch it!” She shoved Ally in the arm. “This is Gucci!”

  Gram smiled at their antics. “Isadora, you’re going to catch a cold,” Gram’s voice filled with concern.

  “Hi, Gram.” Izzy leaned in to give the old woman a hug and a peck on the cheek. “I’ll be fine. I have a hockey player to keep me warm tonight.”

  “Well, you sure smell wonderful,” Gram said prompting Izzy to stuck her tongue out at Ally. Gram had a knack of always finding something nice to say. No matter what. If you don’t have anything nice to say…

  “You two girls have fun and be careful out there tonight.”

  “Thank you.” Ally found the cordless phone and set it on the night stand next to Gram’s bed. “Call me if you need anything. Anything, okay?”

  “I’ll be fine, Allison. Go. Have fun.”

  “Come on,” Izzy clucked impatiently. “Dom is waiting at the club for us.” Izzy tapped her pointy shoe on the floor.

  “I love you, Gram.” Ally adjusted her purse on her shoulder and went to the door.

  “Me too, Gram.” Izzy blew a kiss in her direction.

  “I love you both, too.” Gram waved goodbye.

  Outside, Ally squeezed into Izzy’s car, feeling like the Barbie to Izzy’s Skipper getting ready to go for a spin in the Barbie Dream Car. Thank God it wasn’t pink. And knowing Izzy, it very well could have been. Luckily, Izzy wasn’t employed by Mary Kay.

  “Ready?” Izzy asked, starting the ignition. She slid a CD into the dash and cranked up the volume.

  “Aye, aye, Skipper!” Ally answered over the sound of the music. “We are way too old to be listening to this,” Ally commented on Izzy’s choice of music.

  “I’m not ready to be an old fogy and neither are you. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

  The night air was crisp and Ally sucked in a deep breath, glad the week was finally over. She usually didn’t like nightclubs or going out at all, especially at night, but tonight she thought it would be fun to go out with Izzy and unwind a little. Izzy always teased her about becoming an old maid because she rarely let loose. So what better night than tonight? Ally had a date lined up with a real flesh and blood man. That in itself was something she hadn’t been able to accomplish in a very long time. And as a bonus she had the next three days off from work. Plus, she was wearing a sexy new dress. One that she hadn’t paid too much for. Tonight was the perfect occasion to let loose.

  From the parking lot of Club 21, music could be heard booming from inside of the club. Nerves collided around in Ally’s stomach reminding her that this was not her regular scene. But she held her head high, determined to go into the club with a positive attitude. An “I’m going to have fun” positive attitude.

  The burly man at the door looked like he belonged in a caged wrestling ring. Perhaps that was where he worked his day job. To Ally’s surprise, his hard, stone face broke into a smile the second he saw Izzy approach the door.

  “Izzy! Good to see you, sweetheart.” He knew her and called her by name, then proceeded to look her up and down, inspecting every curve. When he was finished with his visual once-over, he flashed a grin revealing a gold tooth that somehow matched his hairy chest and pinky ring. Izzy curled her French manicured fingers around his bicep. His arm bulged through his tacky metallic shirt.

  “Looking good, Rocky,” Izzy purred to Rocky’s delight. “This is my girl, Ally.”

  “Welcome to the club.” Rocky nodded at Ally. With another gold-toothed grin, he unhooked the velvet rope and waved them inside. Any friend of Izzy’s was a friend of his. Izzy led Ally passed Rocky and into the depths of the noisy club. A night out with Izzy was like the parting of the R
ed Sea. Pathways always opened, alcohol flowed like water and no one was surprised to find sand in their shorts by the end of the night.

  “Rocky?” Ally snickered once they were out of earshot of the door.

  “He’s harmless,” Izzy shrugged. “A real teddy bear.”

  Yeah, a real teddy bear. Ally could only imagine.

  Club 21 was crowded. A sea of bodies, all belonging to the young and the beautiful, gyrated around each other pulsing to the beat of the ridiculously loud music. Flashing lights streamed around the club bathing everyone in an incandescent glow. It reminded Ally of pictures she had seen of Club 54, but without the bell bottoms and roller skates.

  After a quick sweep of the club, they found Dom in the VIP area surrounded by people. The keyword being ‘people’. People meaning women. Spandex wearing, glitter covered, sticky lip gloss wearing women. It was then that Ally realized what a girl magnet Dom really was. In this situation, Velcro seemed a much better description of the two women on either side of the big hockey player. Big might have been a bit of an understatement. Dominic Devereaux was six foot four inches of pure muscle. With his short cropped hair and designer clothes and gold chain, Ally could see why he stood out to the female sex.

  Dom finished ordering a round of drinks, looked up at Izzy and his face lit up.

  “Hey, baby. I thought you weren’t gonna make it,” he said in his trademark gravelly voice.

  Secretly, Dom had almost hoped she wouldn’t show up because of the abundance of scantily clad sex kittens at the club tonight. But there was always room for one more. Or two, if you counted the blonde standing next to Izzy. Very rarely did Dom ever see the same girl twice. He liked the variety. Except for Izzy. She was too good of a time to let go so quickly. Every time he saw that girl he wanted to kiss the lipstick right off her sweet little face. Luckily for him, she never asked for anything more from him. She never demanded a commitment or needed him to “define” their “relationship”. It was just sex. Plain and simple. Well, what they did wasn’t exactly plain or simple. Her sexual savvy kept him coming back for more when he normally would have kicked her to the curb by now.

  Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to wake up to the same woman in his bed day after day. But he knew that would be his definition of hell on earth. If he could see himself going domestic with anyone, it would probably be Izzy. Thankfully, she was a free spirit and he knew she wasn’t the type to ever “settle down”. Not in this lifetime. What was he thinking? Neither was he. Going domestic? Not gonna happen.

  Boy, she was a helluva good time, though. Always willing to try something new. Never one to judge and she definitely guaranteed a good time. Every time. All that without any of the awkwardness that usually came with a crazy-hot hookup. She didn’t expect any commitment from him and that was what he liked best. A phenomenal lay with no strings attached.

  When Dom tore himself from his club groupies, Ally half expected to hear the ripping sound of Velcro, but was disappointed nonetheless. He dipped Izzy into an exaggerated kiss and she squealed in delight. He was charming, that one. Ally had to give him that much, even though there was something about him that unsettled her. Well, it could be the fact that seconds before, he had had his hand awfully high up on the girl’s thigh next to him. The girl who was wearing a skirt the size of a tube top. ‘Mini’ just didn’t have the same meaning as it used to.

  Ally immediately felt out of place and wondered why she had let Izzy drag her to yet another place that made her feel uncomfortable. So much for ‘positive, fun-time’ attitude. It had been deflated along with Tube Top Girl’s hopes of getting with a professional athlete tonight.

  Ally thought about how she’d rather be at home in her fuzzy slippers watching old reruns on television. Come to think of it, there was a Wonder Years marathon on tonight. Now those were simpler times. But Izzy had begged her and Ally could never say no to her best friend. Besides, it was supposed to be her big night out to celebrate her date.

  With him.

  The sexiest man she had ever laid eyes on.

  In person.

  The CW channel did have some great looking young actors. But they weren’t technically ‘real’.

  Ugh. Just the thought of Ben made her stomach flip-flop.

  Ugh, as in -- it felt absolutely wonderful.

  I need a drink.

  Ally didn’t realize she had said it out loud, or maybe she didn’t, until Dom thrust a drink into her hand. She smiled at him with thanks.

  When she took a couple gulps of the drink, the alcohol burned her throat as it slid down. She didn’t even know what kind of drink it was, but it was red and looked like something the ladies of Sex and the City would drink. And they were absolutely fabulous, so…“bottoms up!”

  Ally looked around for any familiar faces in the group. None here. There was so much Botox and collagen that Ally doubted anyone remembered what they really looked like under all that silicone. She found an empty seat in between Tube Top Girl and I’m Not A Porn Star But I Sure Look Like One Girl and downed the rest of her drink. The alcohol tingled from her cheeks to the tips of her fingers and toes.

  Whew, that feels better. Now I can’t feel a thing.

  Ally watched Izzy pull Dom out on to the dance floor. They made a cute couple despite their significant height difference. Dom was over a foot taller than Izzy, but somehow they seemed to fit together perfectly.

  “Funny, running into you here.”

  Startled, Ally turned and looked up in the direction of the voice. None other than Benjamin Price was standing over her. He looked handsome wearing a black tee shirt and jeans. As a matter of fact, he looked like he just came from a photo shoot. Damn, he made casual look good. He was extremely easy on the eyes. And everything else, for that matter.

  Ben wasn’t normally a big partier, but the team had a couple of nights off before their next game and Dom said he was a pussy if he didn’t show up at the club tonight.

  The music was so loud that he had to lean close to her to talk. His breath felt warm on her neck. She felt her face flush. It could have been from him or the alcohol. She wasn’t sure.

  “Hi,” she said.

  She was surprised to see him at the noisy club. He looked great, but a bit out of place at the same time. Like he belonged in a more outdoorsy setting. She pictured him playing fetch in the park with his dog, or walking on the beach, or camping by the lake. In a tent, in a sleeping bag. Two sleeping bags zipped together. The flannel material soft on his naked body…

  She quickly grabbed the drink that had materialized on the table in front of her and swallowed it down in a few gulps. “It wasn’t my idea. Izzy--.”

  “Ah, yes. Izzy dragged you here,” he smirked.

  Wow, the league must have a great dental plan, she thought and set the empty glass back on the table.

  Ben leaned in close to her again. She smelled like alcohol and strawberries. But before he opened his mouth to speak, Izzy grabbed Ally’s hand and pulled her to the dance floor. That girl had the worst timing.

  Ally’s first thought was to high-tail it out of there. She was a little tipsy and the dance floor was the last place she wanted to be. Especially with Ben watching her. But as the music pulsated through her body, she felt herself giving in. She started to sway her hips and let the sound of the music wash through her. It had been such a long, tiring week that it felt good to lose control.

  Putting on a not-so-private show for Dom, Izzy wiggled her petite body and suggestively touched herself. Unable to help himself, Dom joined in. Izzy began running her hands across his chest and practically humped him on the dance floor. Ally laughed at the show they were putting on but never stopped dancing to the music. It felt good. The lights and the room were spinning around her, but then again, that could have been the alcohol. Spinning. Everything spinning.

  Ben stood his ground and watched Ally from the shadows. He was fascinated by everything about her. The way she seemed so shy and reserved one minute and
then moved her body to the music with no reservations the next. He had noticed her amazing curves before, but now the way the lights illuminated her in that sexy dress. Where did that dress come from? It was a crime against humanity to keep a body like hers hidden under shapeless tee shirts and hospital scrubs.

  He licked his lips and watched her hair as it flowed around her, making him ache for her. Her side swept hair hung over one eye and she glanced at him with the other. Her cheeks flushed from the alcohol and the dancing, giving her an amazing rosy glow and her blue eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief.

  A smile crept to her lips as if she was putting on a private show for Ben and him alone. She traced her hands from the curve of her hips, up around her waist, to the side of her rounded breasts up to her neck and then ran her fingers through her hair. She giggled to herself and then gestured a come-hither motion with her finger to Ben.

  He found his feet moving beneath him and in a few strides he was in front of her. Face to face. Body to body.

  Everyone else faded away along with the music. All he could hear was his own breathing. His heartbeat pumped with the music.

  Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

  They danced together as if they were the only two people in the club. He felt his jeans tighten as she shook her hips. She put her arms around him, weaving her hands into the hair at the base his neck.

  Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

  He put his hands on her waist forming his fingers to her soft curves. He moved his hands up her back and down to the base of her spine.

  Thump, thump.

  His tee shirt was soft and clung to his chest and biceps. She reached out and touched his sleeve before running her palm across his chest and felt his muscle ripple beneath the thin fabric.

  In return, he touched the ends of her hair, fighting the urge to clench his fist into it near her scalp. His senses heightened and he focused on the scent of her. Strawberries. How was it, that surrounded by a club full of people, he could pick up on her scent and hers alone?

  He wanted his hands everywhere on her. He wanted to bury his nose into her silky blonde hair. Her neck. He wanted to lose himself in her fragrance. He wanted her over him with her glorious hair falling down to brush against his bare chest. That slinky dress of hers was sexy as hell, but it would look even better on his bedroom floor. He didn’t want anything to be between them. Skin on skin. Mouth on mouth. Hands on…