Shot at Love

by Melody Heck Gatto

  Last night was hot. She couldn’t believe he turned her down when she invited him up, but he had done the right thing. She had nothing but respect for that. He was a true gentleman. She knew things would’ve gone too far if he had agreed to come up to her apartment. The sexual tension was sizzling between them, and after being so close all night, she wouldn’t have been able to resist him. It would’ve been a mistake for that to happen this soon.

  “Okay, Mr. Wilson, the doctor will be in to see you in just a few minutes.” She closed the door behind her and dropped the charts into the pocket on the door.

  Sitting back down at her desk, she scratched at her scrubs. Daydreams of it being quitting time filled her head, and they all included going home and changing into a nice comfy pair of blue jeans and relaxing on the couch to something on Netflix. A solo evening took a turn when her mind added Luc to the mix. Curled up on her couch watching Netflix together.

  Her mind wouldn’t stop bringing up memories after seeing him last night. At the game, she and Quinn had been sitting so close to the ice that Kassie could see the smirk that crossed Luc’s face when he noticed her in the crowd. That look alone made her heart race. Then the dancing. Oh, the dancing. The way his body moved with hers. She fanned herself at the recollection.

  Shaking the daydream away, she focused on the papers in front of her. Regardless of what her mind thought she should be doing, she had work to finish. Her purse sat on a shelf under her desk, and it began to vibrate, obviously with a text message. She tried ignoring it, but the purse shook again. This time she stopped what she was doing to check her phone. There was a text from Luc.

  Luc: Want to meet up after work today?

  It had been a few days since they’d met for lunch and gone bowling. Things had gotten intense towards the end of that afternoon, and then last night things boiled over, almost. She wasn’t sure she was ready to see him again just yet. The way her heart raced at the thought of him, maybe her body was anticipating another meeting more than her brain thought was wise.

  Kassie: Sure.

  Luc: I hoped you’d say that. I’m over at the rink working with the trainer. How about we meet up here? I’ll buy you a hot cocoa. Four o’clock?

  Kassie: Um, okay. Sure. See you then.

  Luc: Great. :)

  Smiley face emoticon. She chuckled to herself as she put her phone away and finished the patient paperwork on her desk. But she wasn’t focused on her work. Instead, her daydreams kept going to Luc.

  Why was he asking her to meet him at the practice facility, though? That was just odd. Although, there was a small café in the building. Maybe that was where he wanted to have cocoa. He was working this afternoon, so maybe they were just meeting at the rink for convenience.

  Luckily, a few patients kept her busy, and busy meant that time passed quickly. Kassie checked her watch after the last patient for the day was checked out. No more appointments, and all paperwork was filed. It was three forty-five. She gathered up her purse and quickly said good evening to her coworkers before running home to change. She wasn’t going to meet Luc in her itchy pantyhose and blouse that reminded her of a Sunday school teacher. It was fine for work but not for a date, if that’s what this was.

  She didn’t live that far from the clinic, so running home was a quick stop. She tossed her hair into a ponytail and changed into a cute pair of blue jeans, a pink top that was snug in all the right places, then topped the outfit off with a zip-up sweatshirt. She did a quick spin in front of the mirror before going to meet Luc.

  Kassie entered the lobby of the Three Rivers practice facility, and her nerves crept up. There was a definite temperature drop between the lobby and the outside. Being October in Pittsburgh, some days were hot and steamy, but the nights were chilly, sometimes even cold. She’d spent time here with Ali watching Kaden practice, so she knew to dress in layers.

  “Hey, Kass. Over here,” Luc called from across the café. He stood in the doorway between the café and the ice rink, holding the glass door open. “C’mon.”

  Confusion set in as Kassie looked at him holding the door open. “I thought we were meeting for hot cocoa?”

  “We are. I was hoping you might like to go for a skate first?”

  “Skate? Um, yeah. Sure. We could do that.” A hockey player asking a girl to skate with him. It was cliché, but she didn’t hate the idea. It wasn’t that she couldn’t skate, because she might just be able to skate circles around him. He just seemed to make her nervous, no matter where they were or what they were doing. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her shoulders back. “Can I rent a pair of skates somewhere? I mean, it’s a skating rink, so I’d assume I could.”

  “Sure.” Luc let the glass door close behind him. He strutted past the lockers and benches, only stopping to look at her when he opened the door to the currently closed skate rental booth. “What size skate do you wear?”

  “Eight.”

  Kassie looked around the quiet vestibule, while Luc fumbled around in the skate rental room. She could hear him moving things around, but her focus was on how empty the building was. Sure, the store and the café were fully staffed. Folks were shopping, and some were eating, but the rink and locker area were free of kids and adults. Maybe it’s still too early for after school practices. She knew how much time Kaden had spent at the rink practicing and working out when they were growing up. She just expected to see this place full of kids and parents.

  Luc appeared before her and handed a newer pair of ice skates to her. “I went with hockey skates. But if you prefer figure skates, I can go grab a pair.”

  “No,” she shook her head. “Hockey skates will work just fine.” Figure skates were easier to stop in, and better for beginners. Without looking at him, she nervously slid off her shoes and worked at getting the ice skates nice and tight.

  When she finally looked up, Luc already had his skates on and was standing with his hand out to her. “Ready?”

  Kassie looked at his outstretched hand and was tempted to take hold of it. But she was more than capable of standing up on her own. Pushing off the bench, she stood up on her own. As she met his glance, she answered, “Yep.”

  Luc just smirked at her. That same smirk sent chills through her body and ignited a warmth in her chest that she chose to ignore. Damn, he looks sexy in his tight blue jeans and blue flannel shirt. This is just a friendly… skate? Date? What is this exactly? She looked past the empty hall, towards the rink. “Is this open skate hour?”

  “Open skate? No, not exactly. C’mon.”

  “Not exactly? What does that mean?”

  “It’s more of a closed, open skate.”

  “Closed?” Kassie had a feeling she knew what he meant by that, but the question left her lips anyway.

  Luc had already started to walk towards the rink. He held out his hand for her again, and when she didn’t take it, he smirked once more and went ahead. “Closed. Since I rented it out for the hour.” Luc paused at the glass door leading to the rink. “Shall we?”

  Ice skating always ended up being romantic, or at least it did in every television movie she’d ever seen. Maybe this was a bad idea, or maybe she had just watched too much TV. What if Kaden showed up?

  She hesitated to step out onto the ice. She knew how to skate, and she was pretty good at it. But for some reason, Luc made her weak in the knees, and that made her nervous. His deep brown eyes focused on her as she stood, frozen, trying to predict how this was going to end before it even started.

  “Kassie?”

  She wanted to move, she wanted to strut into the rink and hop onto the ice like a boss. Show him how it was done. But instead, she just stood there as if she was glued to the floor. “Um…” Her eyes darted around the rink. There had to be something out there she could work with. Because if he turned on music and brought out the disco ball and lights, it would be like junior high skating parties all over again. And they always ended with a kiss that she regretted later. Only she knew this one she wouldn
’t regret. Then she saw it. Hockey nets. “I have an idea.”

  “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s your idea?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  Kassie was already on the move. The plastic covers on her blades smacked against the cement flooring as she walked around the rink to an equipment storage area. “Can we use these?” She pointed to the nets and sticks.

  “Yeah. Why?”

  She flashed him her own smirk. “How about we play one-on-one?”

  “You want to play me one-on-one?”

  “Sure. Don’t you think it’d be more fun than skating around in circles? I mean, that’s okay and all. But I’d rather play.” She did her best sexy pout, or at least she thought it was. “Pretty please?”

  Maybe it was a bad idea to act so cute, but she knew it’d help her get her way. And it’d be easier to not be turned on by him while they were duking it out one-on-one.

  “Oh, I get it. You want to try using some of that O’Conner goalie magic on me?” His dark eyes flashed with a playful glimmer.

  “I’m pretty good at protecting the net, yeah. But I’m even better at scoring.” She winked at Luc before hurrying over and grabbing two sticks and a net. Tossing Luc a stick, she added, “Or are you scared you’ll lose to a girl?”

  “What? No! Of course not. I mean, I’d like to see you try to score on me.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively, then turned his attention to the net.

  He carried the net out onto the ice, stopping to drop his blade covers off before he entered the ice surface. He skated with such grace. It was as though she was seeing him skate for the first time.

  “Hey Kass, you’re staring.” Luc laughed as he set up the net.

  “Am not.” She turned away and messed with her skates, anything to keep her from acting like a fool any more than she already had. Keeping her attention towards the ground, she pulled off her blade covers and tightened her laces. Then after taking a deep breath and finding her composure, she straightened up and grabbed her stick. “Game on!”

  Not waiting for Luc to answer, she skated to center ice and stopped at the blue line, the metal blades digging into the frozen surface, spraying snow slightly into the air. “Ready?”

  Luc hit the ice. He shrugged at her question. “I figured you just wanted to get some shots in. Have a little fun?”

  “Oh, no. We’re playing. One-on-one. Best of five. We can play half ice, that’s fine. Especially if you don’t think you can handle me on full ice. I’m probably too fast for you anyway.” There was really no good way to play full ice with just the two of them, but it was fun to razz him about it.

  “Yeah, we’ll see about that. I was thinking more along the lines of saving my energy for after I win.”

  “Oh?”

  “Sure. How about a friendly wager? If I win, you skate with me. Music on, colored lights, the whole nine. I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

  Kassie shook her head with a quiet chuckle. She’d met boys like him before, boys who always thought she’d be a meek pushover. Hockey boy sure is full of himself. He really thinks it’s going to be that easy to win, and then I’ll just swoon at his feet. Did he forget she was Kaden O’Conner’s sister? She didn’t know how to lose.

  “And what do I get if I win?”

  Luc skated around the ice, showboating as usual. “Whatever you want.”

  “Okay.” She skated away from him without another word.

  “Wait!” Luc chased after her. “What’s it gonna be?”

  He was chasing after her and it was amusing. Spinning around so she was facing him and skating backwards, she grinned. Slow strides kept her close enough to him, yet giving her enough room to show off her seamless skating moves. “I don’t know yet. I’ll tell you when I’m ready to collect my prize.”

  Luc shook his head. “Okay, princess. Whatever you say.” He grabbed a puck and tossed it into the air with his stick, bouncing it off the blade a few times. “Any special rules you want?”

  “Nope, let’s just play.” She got into position in front of him.

  Luc lazily dropped the puck. Kassie quickly grabbed the biscuit and zigzagged around him, tossing it right into the back of the net.

  “Score!” she yelled, and pumped her fist in the air.

  Luc watched her with wide eyes, as if he hadn’t expected her to come out swinging. She didn’t know any other way to play hockey. She certainly wasn’t going to dumb it down and become a giggling girl. She was raised on hockey, and her daddy had raised her right.

  “Surprised?” Teasing him would just be a bonus. Kassie had this in the bag, and she knew what her reward was going to be once she won. Her stomach growled at her as if it knew what she was thinking. Patting her stomach, she nodded quickly to herself.

  Luc shook his head frantically. “No. I’m not surprised. I don’t want you to get hurt, so I’m taking it easy on you.”

  “Sure. Whatever you say.” Kassie grinned. “I’m an O’Conner, remember?”

  She enjoyed ribbing him, but her last comment made her question her actions. She was flirting, and that was fine. But she was walking, or skating, a fine line with Luc, considering she was exactly what she was bragging about. That was the white elephant in the room. She was still an O’Conner.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Luc

  “I’m an O’Conner, remember?” She smirked and laid one of her gloved hands on her hip. The girl was sexy even in ice hockey gear. Granted, she had on blue jeans and a zip up hooded sweatshirt. But never in his wildest dreams would he have thought a girl would be downright cute in hockey gloves, helmet, and pads. But Kassie was.

  Then she had to bring up O’Conner. Yes, she was in fact Kaden’s sister. Luc wasn’t exactly sure how he should or shouldn’t go about this. His internal fight pulled him to honor the code, but then her playful smile pulled him right back in.

  When she invited him up last night, he knew right then that he was going to break a lot of rules and ruin friendships. But he also knew she was worth it. Even so, he wasn’t going to rush this. And taking things slow was way out of his wheelhouse.

  Kassie was more athletic than he imagined. And that was downright hot. He should be backing off, but instead he went into full Romeo mode. Girls can’t resist my charm. Determined, he flashed her his signature smile.

  Figuring she’d be so caught up in his smile, he snuck around her, stealing the puck off her stick and then racing towards the net. Assuming he had plenty of time, he went backhand and took longer than usual to take the shot. He had this in the bag. She might be up one, but that’d change soon.

  Out of nowhere, Kassie swooped in with her stick, poking the puck away and making a wide arc around him and towards the blue line. It took Luc a moment to realize what had happened, and by the time he raced after her, she had arced around at center ice and back towards the goal. She controlled the puck with precision and danced around him, making him look like a fool, before putting it in the back of the net.

  “Boom!” She celebrated a little less enthusiastically than she had the first time.

  Smiling, because it was hard not to around her, he shook his head in defeat. This girl had his number. “Go ahead and celebrate. Don’t be shy, princess.”

  With his persuading, she skated back around the net, pumping her fist, and ended her celly with a loud, “BOOM!”

  Even celebrating what may just be his defeat, she was adorable. Forgetting all about the code, about Kaden, and everything else that didn’t matter this moment, he tried his best for the next twenty minutes to play like the Renegades player that he was.

  Somehow, he managed to get two by her, finally. It wasn’t easy. She was as good on offense as she was defensively.

  They were tied, and he had her now. If he could just get the puck off her, he could touch up at center ice and get back to the net before she knew what hit her. Cornering her against the boards, he pressed his body against her back. It only took a second for the situation to go from competitive t
o hot as hell.

  His biggest worry was making sure she didn’t realize how hot he really thought it was. That was a tough order. Downright hard. As long as she didn’t notice that’s exactly what he was.

  “Um?” Her voice cut through his thoughts. “Luc?”

  “Uh, yeah?” Backing off, he spun away from her, making sure to take the puck with him. His face was hot, and if he didn’t put his mind back on the game, things would go sideways quickly. Speeding up his stride towards the net, he called over his shoulder to her, “Sorry, got tangled up back there!”

  Trying to put that awkwardness behind them, he focused on the game. He had her now. A clear path to the goal. Easily sliding the puck to the back of the net, he punched his fist high in the air. “BAM!”

  “Nice shot, hockey boy.” She twirled around gracefully in almost a figure skater way. A playful smirk filled her face. “Hate to tell you, but I kinda let you have that one.”

  “Yeah right. That was all talent, baby.” Of course it was. Wasn’t it?

  “I didn’t even try to stop you. Figured your ego needed it.” She batted her eyes and twirled around in a circle, letting out a little giggle. It wasn’t a laugh, but a giggle, as though she was enjoying seeing him confused.

  She had to be messing with him. It was the only explanation. He didn’t know why she was egging him on, but she might not like the kind of rise it got out of him. It certainly wasn’t making him mad, more like the complete opposite. He was used to the cat and mouse game, but he wasn’t used to being the mouse.

  He had tried to be a gentleman last night, but he felt as if she was purposely playing him. The reality was, he liked it. And he liked her. A lot.

  “Oh yeah?” Luc grabbed the biscuit and began to stick handle back and forth in front of him, showcasing his fancy moves and total puck control. He ignored her attempt to get a competitive upsurge out of him, but she did get a rise. His focus was on the ice in front of him as he spoke. “Now I’m up by one. You wanna call it now?”