BLAZE: Enemies to Lovers College Hockey Romance

by Eddie Cleveland

  “Oh yeah, Prissy will be done after tomorrow. Right?” Canuck chimes in.

  “Yeah, I guess.” I shrug. I was proud when I came up with Becky Ball-Buster. Now it just makes me cringe.

  Canuck continues, “You get to go back to being yourself. No more Prissy. Just pussy and parties.”

  “Fuck yeah.” Rookie makes every guy in the room glance at each other, but no one says anything.

  Prissy changed something inside me. I don’t miss the blur of faces, the alcohol black outs, the numbness of weed… I don’t miss that life. Knowing the exact face she’ll make when I push her buttons, or make her laugh, or make her cum… that means everything. I thought if I never let anyone in, I couldn’t get hurt. I never realized by not letting anyone in, I was hurting myself.

  “I’m not thinking about parties or pussy or Prissy. Just the game.” I frown at my phone.

  “Yeah, but after our game, Prissy is gone. Then you can go back to only thinking about parties and pussy.” Canuck laughs.

  “It gets old,” Player says.

  “No man, don’t say that,” Rookie interrupts. “It’s not old. Not for me. Parties and pussy sound pretty fucking good.”

  Everyone laughs, but I’m distracted by my phone.

  Prissy: I’m sorry I hurt you

  Back when life was parties and pussy, Prissy and I had sex. I hate that no matter how many times I search my mind, I can’t retrieve that memory. I hate that the first time I touched her, the first time I kissed her, the first time we fucked, it’s gone. Just a lost puzzle piece in my mind. Not even a helpful puzzle piece, like a corner. It’s just a random bit of sky, shuffled amongst all the other blue pieces. It’s crazy how much my life has changed, how much I’ve changed. I don’t want it to go back.

  A knock at the door makes everyone jump up and pay attention.

  “Who wouldn’t just walk in?” Griz leans forward to catch a glimpse.

  “Must be the food!” Canuck jumps up, racing to go get it. “Oh, it’s you.” He couldn’t sound more defeated. “Blaze, Prissy is here for you.”

  “Nah, I’m busy,” I answer.

  “She knows you’re here. What do you want me to say?” Canuck whispers over his shoulder. Like if I can hear him in the room, somehow Prissy can’t.

  “Never mind.” I sigh and get off the bed. Canuck looks relieved to go back to the table with Rookie, and I take his place at the door. “I don’t wanna talk to you.”

  “Shit, Blaze. What did you do now?” Player sounds more tired than pissed off.

  “Can you just give me one second. Please,” she pleads. I’ve been avoiding her eyes and it’s like a fucking stab in the heart when I look into them. They’re red and a bit puffy. It’s obvious she hasn’t just been sending me messages. She’s been crying.

  “Fine.” I wait.

  Prissy looks over my shoulder into the suddenly quiet room. She doesn’t just have my attention. Everyone is listening. Her red-rimmed eyes dart from me to them and back again. She still doesn’t want them to know her dirty little secret. Me.

  Her silence says more than her words ever could. “That’s what I thought.” I start to walk away.

  “I’m sorry!” She blurts it out, and I stop. “I didn’t know you were helping Rookie out at Foxies. I assumed that it was your idea to go there again.”

  “You assumed I didn’t change.”

  She looks down, frowning and swallowing. “You’re right. But I was wrong. You did change. You’re a better teammate. You’re a better friend. You’re a better person,” she murmurs.

  “Guys, just take it up to her room already!” Canuck makes a joke and laughter erupts in the room. It completely vanishes when I grab her and walk down the hall with Prissy to do exactly that. My lips cover hers in a slow, steady kiss. My arms surround her, and she presses into me like her body was designed for exactly that.

  “Wait, I was just kidding. Are they a thing?” Canuck sounds confused.

  “Called it,” Griz says.

  “Okay, shit just got real,” Rookie chimes in.

  A man wheeling a cart with dome-covered plates makes his way down the hall toward us.

  “Let’s go to your room,” I whisper in Prissy’s ear. She bites her bottom lip and nods.

  “Good night guys. Enjoy your meal.” I hold Prissy’s hand in mine and walk out with her.

  “Yeah, you too!” Canuck calls back. The laughter from the room keeps fading as Prissy and I walk away.

  29

  Love Mute Button

  Blaze

  Prissy pulls a keycard from her sweatpants pocket. My eyes slide over her ass slowly, the same way my tongue is going to when she gets that fucking door open. My cock is already throbbing, and I haven’t even touched her.

  She’s so sexy. If it wasn’t for the frozen four final game tomorrow, and the fact that I’ve already got a rap sheet for public indecency, I would’ve taken her in the elevator. Just rip those pants and underwear right down her legs and fuck her against the wall.

  Prissy tests my self-control, but it’s about more than how she makes my cock feel. If I lost her, it would’ve broken my heart a second time. I’m not ready to find labels for the way she ends the dull ache I’ve been carrying around in my chest for years. I don’t need to. I just know it’s different with her.

  It’s how I miss her when she’s not around. How she is when other people aren’t around, and not just in bed.

  Her hand hangs in the air, and concern crinkles her brows as she tries to read my face. “Are you okay?”

  “Okay? Yeah, why?”

  “You look deep in thought. Are you still upset about what I said at Foxies? We can talk about all this more. I didn’t really get to say everything in front of the guys.”

  Prissy opens the door to her hotel room, and I shove my foot out to stop it from slamming in our faces.

  “Nope.” I circle my arms around her, bear squeezing her until I’ve got her lifted off the floor. Prissy’s shoes fall off her dangling feet and I walk over them as I let the door slam behind us.

  “No talking, unless it’s dirty.” I walk her over to the bed and toss her down. She flops back, laughing.

  She gets up on her knees and it gives my cock a fucking pulse. She’s got me so hard I’m standing here worrying about having another involuntary cock sneeze. That better not happen again. Before Prissy, it’s not something I ever questioned let alone fucking worried about. She looks up at me with a smile I’d love to see wrapped around my cock.

  “Take off everything,” I demand, narrowing my eyes.

  Prissy’s gaze widens, but the flush of her cheeks tells me how turned on she is. She slowly slides her hands down across her belly until they cross over. She pulls up the fabric and peels off her shirt. Her hands reach around her back to the hooks on her bra when she stops and locks eyes with me.

  “Need help?” I lift an eyebrow, but when I see the sadness, I get serious fast. “What’s wrong?”

  Prissy’s lips tug down, and she drops her head. She sits back on her legs and the sadness seems to spread over her. “I just… I want you to know how sorry I am. I said some awful things last night. I really underestimated you.” Her eyes shine when she finally looks back up at me.

  She did underestimate me, but not that long ago she would’ve been right. It feels like forever since Prissy went up on the stage at Foxies doing her Becky Ball-Buster routine and got our asses tossed out.

  Not long ago I was that guy. And, I was that guy for a long fucking time.

  “I was wrong. I know you’ve changed. I think I was worried it would hurt too much if I fully believed that you did and then it turned out not to be true. You really have changed into someone I think I…” she trails off.

  She was going to say love.

  I know it in my cells. In my bones. In my soul. I know she was going to say it because I feel it too. And I’m not ready to say it yet either. Even though it burns inside me and takes up my brain, I keep the words insid
e. Love is my favorite movie playing on a big screen that I’m watching on mute. The love mute button is stuck right now, but I’m still enjoying the show.

  “Listen, I know it’s hard not to get jealous.” I smirk and climb onto the bed with her. “You see your man at the strip club, and you’re worried all the girls are gonna want a piece. I get it.” I try to lighten the mood with a bit of swagger. “But you got nothing to worry about. This big ol’ cock is just for you.” I start to lay her back on the bed, but she stops and frowns again.

  “Has it been that way the whole time? Like, since your birthday?”

  Wasn’t she just apologizing for underestimating me? And now she’s doubting if I’ve been fucking other girls or not? I can’t stop the frown forming on my face, “Uh, yeah? Why?”

  “Because...” She presses her lips together nervously, then meets my eyes. “I’m on the pill, and I wanted to see how you feel. Without a condom.”

  My cock is already hard, but I think it just got harder. “Yeah?” I turn and face her, sliding my hands around her back and unsnap her bra. “What else do you want?”

  “I’m not sure, to be honest.” She lets her bra fall down her arms. “I feel good pushing my boundaries in bed with you. I’ve never been open to much in bed, but I like how it feels right with you. And I like that you’re rough around the edges.” She slides her hand down my shoulder and pulls at my shirt.

  “So,” she purrs, “why don’t we take off all this stuff and stop talking.”

  I pull off my clothes and get out of my pants and underwear while Prissy sheds the rest of her stuff. We push them off the side of the bed. Prissy is naked, up on her knees, and I slide in behind her, pressing my hard cock into her ass. Her moan tests me.

  “You like this?” I wrap one hand in her hair and slide the other one down the front of her body until the wet heat of her pussy is coating my fingers. I press my finger in until it is soaked, then I slide up to reach her clit and start rubbing small circles.

  “Uhh,” she whimpers. “I do. I want more. I want it a bit more rough.” She gyrates her hips so she’s rocking in rhythm with my fingers, but she’s also driving me fucking crazy rubbing her ass side to side over my cock.

  “Rough? What do you have in mind,” I murmur in her ear and kiss down the side of her neck. She cries out louder, bucking against my hand wildly.

  “Mmmm, that feels… Oh! Fuck!” She throws her head back and shudders against me. Her orgasm tears through her like a bullet.

  “I want you to fuck me from behind.” Prissy looks over her shoulder at me, like she’s a bit shy to say it.

  “Yeah? I can do that.” I grab a pillow and stuff it under her as I bend her over on the bed. The side of her face is pressed down and her ass is tempting me. Fisting the base of my cock, I push the tip at her entrance and slide into her until I’m completely buried inside her tight, wet pussy. “Fuck,” I growl.

  “Mmmm.” She swings her ass a bit, and I pull back, fucking her deep with every thrust. She pulses against my cock every time I bury myself in her. My eyes slide down her back to her ass. More specifically, to her asshole. It’s right there, tight and tempting me. I lick my thumb and press it into her ass as I start fucking her harder.

  “You know, if you’re feeling adventurous, your pussy isn’t the only place I can fuck you.” I stretch her out with my cock, and she quivers around me.

  “Oh! Not today,” she answers. “Oh, God, that feels so good.”

  I bury my cock in her deep and her pussy grips around me tightly. Prissy cries out as her orgasm pulses through her and pulses her pussy against my cock.

  “I’m gonna cum,” I warn her. Prissy rocks back against me, keeping me rooted inside her. My cum fills her as my orgasm makes me fucking growl. When the shudders stop, I pull out of her and watch a little bit of my cum slide down her pussy.

  I go grab a towel from the bathroom. “Here.” I hand it to her.

  “Thanks.” Prissy wipes between her legs, and I get back into bed with her. She rolls onto my chest and this feels like the place I’m meant to be.

  For a bit, we just lie together. The only noise is our breathing. It’s peaceful.

  “I know after me going down to your floor, it’s not like we’re keeping this super low key,” Prissy tilts her head to look at me. “But, I’m okay letting people know about us now if you are.” She watches me closely.

  “What about your contract?” I gaze down at her.

  “It’s over after the tournament. Their biggest public relations issue stops being a problem when the season is over.” She winks at me.

  “So, you really were just my babysitter.”

  “Basically.”

  “All right, I wasn’t exactly planning on huddling them up in the locker room and making an announcement, but we can just be normal about it,” I agree. Prissy laughs and it makes me smile. “Let’s just wait until after the game though, okay?”

  “Her laughter stops. So does any trace of a grin. Guilt sweeps her face and she raises her eyebrows with worry. “Because of Coach Wilson?” she asks.

  I don’t understand why she would think that. “What? No, why would it be about him?”

  “Oh. I don’t know.” She pauses, biting her lip. “He’s the only one I feel bad about keeping it from. In my last job, my boss was a douche. When I got fired, I was mad, but I told myself I still had my integrity. Coach Wilson has been kind and respectful and I’ve been sneaking around and lying to him.” Her face drops. “So much for integrity.”

  I can see this is weighing on her. More than it should be. If anyone should feel bad about keeping things from Coach Wilson, it’s me. And I don’t.

  “Prissy, you’ve got a lot of integrity. Too much most days. Sometimes, doing the right thing isn’t destroying someone’s entire chances at life. Actions have consequences, yes, but mistakes need to be learned from, not life-ruining. You are a good person, and you did a good job. Look at me.” I squeeze her tightly.

  “I don’t know if that’s a great example,” she teases me. Her eyes soften. “So why do you want to keep it quiet?”

  “Tomorrow is the last game. This is the time for mindfulness and visualization. If I go announcing it to the team that we’re a thing, how are they gonna concentrate? They’ll all be fighting about who will get to be my best man.”

  Prissy laughs. “Um, was that a proposal?”

  “No. That was a joke. Not a proposal. I hope you expect more than that for a proposal. How low are your standards?”

  “I’m joking. Besides, I wouldn’t marry you.” Her eyes sparkle, and I can see she’s lying.

  “Yeah you would.”

  “Nope,” she insists. “You’re just not good husband material.”

  “Pfft, name three reasons I’m not good - ”

  “You think you’re God’s gift to women. Too many girls agree with you. Oh, and you’re obnoxiously cocky.” She prattles off her reasons, ticking her points off on her fingers.

  “Wow. Okay. So, I wasn’t expecting you to just fire off a whole list like that.” Prissy laughs. “Like, how much time are you spending thinking about this? You were just ready with those?” I tease her.

  “First of all, you love how cocky I am. It makes me good in bed.” I pull her in toward me.

  “Second, I can’t control how many women fall for me, it’s just the way it is when you look like this.” My smile broadens as she rolls her eyes. “I mean, can you blame them?”

  Prissy pulls the pillow out from under my head and bonks me in the face with it. “Seriously?”

  “Hey, just wait a second. I wasn’t done. Listen, I might not be able to control how bad they want a piece of this, but I’m not sharing. I’m not noticing either, okay? There’s way too many things about you that keep me distracted. Like your fine ass.”

  “Blaze!” The pillow hits me again, and Prissy giggles.

  “Hey, you didn’t let me finish.” I throw my arms over for protection from her pillow attack. “A
lso all the other things. Because of your beauty, and your smarts and your personality.”

  Prissy sits back and sighs. “You’re a handful, you know that?”

  “You love it.” I pull her back down under the covers with me. “C’mon, admit it. You’d marry me.”

  “Well…” she doesn’t agree, but she doesn’t disagree either. And right now, that’s enough for me.

  I slide my hand down her back until I cup her cheek and give it a squeeze. “Now, let me see some more of that fine ass.”

  30

  Raising Roosters

  Priscilla

  This has to be the longest amount of time I’ve shared a space with Canuck without hearing him say something dumb. He’s very quiet sitting next to me, but it’s not just him. The entire bus is weirdly calm and cool. I’ve shared early morning shuttles and late-night buses with Westbury’s hockey elite. At best, it’s been varying degrees of loud.

  The whirr of rolling tires against pavement and the shuffle of winter coats against bus seats are songs on the soundtrack of our drive to the arena. I have no doubt every guy on here is trying to whittle their thoughts down to the final game, or even to one single word: Win.

  The hum in the air reminds me of the white noise apps I used for major study sessions in college. Driving in to play the last game of the Frozen Four is no study session. It’s an entirely different energy. This drive is giving me too much time to think. I have a single word playing on a loop in my head too: Liar.

  I’ve made some mistakes, but I have no regrets. I didn’t expect to fall in love with Blaze, but that’s what this is. I love him. I almost told him last night. I wish I did. Despite my mistakes in life, I’ve always had integrity.

  Until now.

  We finally pull into the arena, and the bus stops. I hang back as the team shuffles down the aisle and out into the cold. They don’t notice. They don’t even see me. They’re in the zone.