Kris and Tyler were passing the puck back and forth, with Sam standing in front of the net. Harrison hung back towards center ice. Tampa was covering a good bit of the goal area, so occasionally Kaden had to watch the scoreboard to see what was happening. Once Sam got ahold of the puck, a nice wrist shot had the game tied with two minutes left.
“End it, guys!” Kaden yelled from his end. The guys banged on the boards from the bench with cheers of encouragement. But at the final buzzer the game was still tied.
Tyler skated down past Kaden before they started the clock for overtime. “We got this, O’Conner.” He tapped his stick on the ice.
The puck dropped. Tyler tapped it away from center ice and down towards Kaden. He slid it towards Kris, who passed it to Sam as a Tampa defenseman smashed him into the boards. Sam passed it back to Tyler before he hopped over the boards and Luc relieved him. Kris was next to be relieved by Pat. The big guns had been out there most of the night; they needed fresh legs to get this done.
Luc carried the puck into Tampa’s end before dropping it back to Ty. With one flick of his wrist as he skated by the goal, the buzzer sounded. The Renegades won.
* * * *
Kaden and Tyler walked out of the stairwell and into the parking garage, almost bumping into a group of girls waiting for them. They were dressed more for a nightclub than a hockey game, in short skirts and skimpy tops. Just the kind of thing he always used to go for. Scantily clad and eager.
“Kaden O’Conner,” the brunette cooed, and ran her hand down his suit jacket. She stood on one side of him, while a blonde stood at the other. The other girls followed behind Tyler, even though he wasn’t paying them any attention. Eventually he turned down their advances and resorted to flashing his wedding ring before security showed up.
“K-man, you coming with?” Dom called, as he strutted through the parking garage. “Poor Ty still has to fight them off. Lucky bastard.”
“He’s got a smokin’ hot wife at home, and bunnies still go after him,” Kris added before detouring off to his own car.
As if on cue, Paige, the Renegades PR assistant and Tyler Kidd’s wife, exited the stairwell with a security officer, who walked her to Tyler’s car. The bunnies who’d been after Tyler backed way off and just stared at Paige with nasty glares.
Paige called to the guys and then thanked the guard. “Goodnight guys, good game. Thanks Bill, see you tomorrow. Hey there, handsome. Sorry I took so long…” Paige’s voice trailed off as she got into his sports car.
Kaden’s attention was split between the goings-on in the garage and the girls that were now surrounding him. The two girls began hanging all over him. Being able to see down the blonde’s top, his dick reacted like any hot-blooded male would. He didn’t want it to, but there was no denying he was attracted to them. Well, part of him was, anyway.
His heart raced with uncertainty as they rubbed up against him. He had no desire for bunnies, but they were coming on strong. A random hook-up didn’t interest him, and he knew better than to spend too much time leading them on. That’s how pictures ended up on social media. Especially ones that he never agreed to. He needed to cut this short and get out of here.
“Kaden, you coming?” Dom asked again and more persistently this time. He also had experience of how wrong these situations could go.
Kaden’s dick and ego deflated a bit as thoughts of Ali filled his mind. He didn’t want these bunnies; he wanted her. Shaking off his female companions and leaving them behind, he closed in on Dom. “Will Ali be there?”
His friend shook his head with a chuckle. “I have no idea, lover boy. Why don’t you ask her yourself?”
“I’ll meet you there, Dom!” Kaden jumped into his sports car, and could see the bunnies out of the corner of his eye. They stomped away, obviously not happy at his choice. But if he had Ali, he didn’t need any other girls.
Pulling up to the bar, he saw that both Dom’s and Hailee’s cars sat outside. The anticipation of seeing Ali made his stomach feel odd. Things had started to get more serious than either of them anticipated, and like a dick, he wasn’t sure how to handle it. The pinch in his gut told him he needed to do something about it, but he didn’t want think too hard about that now. The hockey season was nearing the end, and like all the other guys, he needed to keep his focus on that. There was no time for him to let his emotions outside the rink get in the way of his game. So for now, he was playing it cool with Alison and sticking to fun.
But tonight was going to be a good night; they had won their game and he couldn’t wait to take Ali home to his bed. Maybe they could talk, and he could figure out a way to work how he felt about her into the conversation.
Kaden puffed up his chest, and with an overabundance of confidence, he strolled through the entrance of the bar. Tonight was going to be great. With a grin, he searched the bar for his friends, and quickly spotted Hailee’s violet hair in the corner of the room. But no Ali.
“Hey guys.” He couldn’t help the goofy grin that was stuck on his face. Looking forward to seeing Ali was what put it there. He was always smiling when he thought of her. That was definitely one of those signs the guys were talking about.
“Hey Kaden!” Hailee said cheerily.
“She’s not here, lover boy,” Dom said matter-of-factly.
“Hey to you too, Z.” Kaden clapped Dom on the shoulder before pulling out a chair and sitting down. “So, where’s Ali?”
“She says she’s sick, but I think she’s worried about something I said about you. Sorry, I didn’t mean to. It just slipped out.” Hailee rambled on before taking a drink.
“What are you going on about? You said that she’s sick?” he asked, his mind whirring over everything Hailee had just said. What the hell is she talking about? How did I not know Ali was sick? And what could Hailee have said about me that upset Ali? “Hailee, what the hell are you talking about?”
“Sweet-tart, tell our dear friend Kaden here what you said,” Dom persuaded with a dumbass smile on his face.
“Bro, what are you talking about?” The anticipation made Kaden’s gut clench, but he tried to play it cool, flagged down a waitress, and ordered whatever was on tap.
“Dominic, it’s not funny. I think I really spooked her by opening my big mouth. I told her it was all rumors, anyway. I’m sure Kaden can explain it to her.” Hailee intervened. “Sorry.”
“Explain what?” His face was heating up, he couldn’t help feeling like he was walking into an ambush, and he was getting defensive. “Will someone please tell me what the hell you’re talking about?”
“What’s your deal with marriage?” Hailee asked.
“Excuse me?” How did we just jump to the ‘M’ word?
“Oh don’t look so frightened at the ‘M’ word, my god. You guys are dating, right?” Hailee asked, and Kaden nodded. “Are you serious about her?”
Here we go again. It’s not bad enough the guys were getting on me, now Hailee? “Yeah. If you’re asking if I have bunnies on the side, the answer is NO. God damn, I wish everyone would stop harping on me about that. People can fucking change, you know.”
“One of the guys was getting on him about that the other day.” Dom explained Kaden’s odd outburst to Hailee. “Look, we aren’t questioning bunnies. Believe it or not, we do know you better than that.”
“So what are we talking about here?” Downing his beer, he waited for an answer.
“I think she wants more,” Hailee said.
“More?” Things were getting serious between them. Lots of long, sleepless nights—the fun kind—and random texts during the day. He wanted to be there for her every day, and he wanted her to be with him every night. He was serious about her. But why did it need a label? “Why do you say that?”
“Because I accidently said not to expect a ring from you any time soon. I didn’t mean it. I was just being funny. Because we all know the rumor about you never wanting to get married. I assumed—”
Kaden scrubbed his face w
ith his hand. “Hailee, what the fuck? Why would you even say anything?” I knew this stupid rumor would eventually come back to bite me.
When Kaden had first arrived in Pittsburgh, there was one particular puck bunny who used to wait outside the arena after every practice and game. At first, he didn’t think anything of it, and she was kind of cute. Eventually she ended up in his bed.
The one-night stand turned into her stalking him all over town. In her mind, they had become a couple, despite the fact that Kaden had told her otherwise. He had quickly shut her up by telling her that he preferred hook-ups over relationships. And drilled the point home by saying that he was against the whole concept of marriage, and would never be the marrying kind.
He thought that dumb reputation had disappeared until Kris was dating Kat. During a guy’s night out, Kris was jealous when he thought Kat was going behind his back with Dom, and in Kaden’s drunken state he had laughed and announced that shit was why he was never getting married.
“I assumed she knew about it and knew it was bullshit.” Hailee was no longer grinning, but her face flushed. “Well, open mouth, insert foot. Anyway, she looked really down when I said that. She played it off like she’s not ready for that, and what I said didn’t bother her, but I think it got to her.”
“We’re dating. It’s not like we’re ready to get married. Not planning on going there any time soon. So she didn’t know that whole not the marrying kind was all bullshit?” And you put that doubt in her mind now?
“Judging by how she acted, I don’t think she knew about it,” Hailee admitted and nervously picked at some peanuts that were on the table. “Again, sorry.”
It struck Kaden then. Of course Alison hadn’t heard that rumor. She was far from being a bunny, and wasn’t the sort of girl who went hunting for information about the players. Maybe he hadn’t admitted his feelings, but he didn’t think he’d ever given her any reason to feel insecure about his past, and the idea of her getting upset over that rumor bothered him.
It’s not that he didn’t want to get married, he did… someday. Just not today. Before Ali, he was happy with various girls and was too young to be tied down. So the stupid rumor benefited him. But now, it could be backfiring on him. “Yeah, doesn’t sound like it.”
He knew Hailee was sorry, but why did she have to say anything at all? Yet he couldn’t be really annoyed with her. It wasn’t all her fault; if he had just told Ali about the stupid rumor to begin with, this wouldn’t even be an issue.
“I think you should try to clear things up. Now she’s saying she’s sick… Maybe she isn’t, and she’s just upset over all that. I really don’t know. But Kaden, you guys are so good together. Don’t screw that up,” Hailee pleaded. “I never saw her light up the way she does when she’s with you.”
“You know what guys, I think I’m just going to head home.” He didn’t want to talk about this. He liked Ali, more than liked her, and he hoped she felt the same way about him. Wasn’t that enough for now? He knew someday his past playboy ways would bite him in the ass. He just didn’t realize it would happen so soon.
Maybe I am just growing up. Maybe I am ready to consider settling down.
His brain was racing off in a million different directions. But he had to find out what Ali was thinking. She was too important to him, and he had no intention of screwing this up. “Talk to you two later. Thanks for the drink.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Alison
“Ali!” Hailee squealed loudly from the open doorway. “Come on in. Don’t mind the mess; we’re still unpacking. I’m so glad you could come over.” Hailee hugged her. From over her shoulder Alison could see a large, spacious living room. It might have run the length of the house.
“You feeling okay?” Hailee asked, looking at Alison with a cocked head.
“Sure. Yeah. Better.” Alison looked everywhere but her best friend’s eyes. She couldn’t lie to her. She wouldn’t be able to for long. But admitting it to Hailee meant she would be admitting it to herself, and she wasn’t ready for that. She wasn’t ready for any of this.
“If you say so.” Hailee turned quickly and led her into the living room. “This is the family room. Like I said, excuse the boxes. Every time we start making some progress on the unpacking, Dom has something hockey related that he needs to do.”
“The house is gorgeous, Hailee.” Alison expected nothing less from her friend.
“Wait till you see the rest of it. Dominic thought I was crazy when I found this place. He had no idea why we needed a house this big. Why not? It’s gorgeous! And it isn’t that big, is it?”
Just as they entered the kitchen, Smokey the cat joined them. He meowed at their feet and weaved in and out of their legs. Hailee patted the gray cat’s head. “Hey there, champ. It’s not time for dinner yet. Ali, if it was up to him it would always be dinner time. This cat loves to eat.”
An island separated the kitchen from the dining room, with bar stools sitting along it for a breakfast nook.
“Isn’t this place just awesome? I guess coming from my loft, where it was one big room… Well, you know. You want something to drink?”
“Yeah, water is fine.”
Hailee passed her a bottle. She was worried Hailee would offer her a beer, and turning that down would send up a red flag. She just wasn’t ready. Alison sat down in the dining room, and moved around all the various wedding and bridal magazines her friend had all over the table. Seeing them brought all of those uneasy feelings about Kaden not being the “marrying kind” to the surface again. Now more than ever, she needed reassurance that he would be there for her.
“We have wedding work to do.”
“We?” Wedding plans are the last thing on my “things I want to do right now” list.
“Of course. There’s still so much planning to do.”
Thinking about it for a minute, Alison decided that helping Hailee plan her wedding was better than sitting in her loft all alone, dwelling over her predicament.
Settling in to work, Alison leafed through one of the magazines. “Aren’t you kind of down to the wire?” Hailee’s wedding was about four weeks away. Isn’t everything normally done by now?
“Well, yeah. Most of it is all set. But I’m still trying to decide on flowers. I just can’t make up my mind, and I want to make sure everything is going to be perfect. So basically, I’ve just been going through all these magazines, looking for flowers, and making sure there isn’t anything I’ve missed. I still have seating charts to do, and you and I will need a final fitting…” Hailee grew quiet, sat back in her seat and stared at Alison.
Alison didn’t like the way Hailee was looking at her. “What?”
The concentrated stare made her shift uneasily in her seat.
Hailee didn’t take her glare off her friend. “I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something different about you. What’s going on? It isn’t that thing I said about Kaden and marriage, is it? I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s all bullshit. You know that, right?”
Alison avoided her friend’s eyes by flipping through the magazines again, looking blankly at pages. She could feel Hailee’s heavy stare on her. Without looking up at her, she said flatly, “Stop staring at me”.
“So tell me what’s going on.”
“Am I crazy for dating a hockey player?” Those words had run through her head many times. Was she dumb for dating him? Would she only get hurt in the end?
Hailee looked at her with a confused scowl. Alison knew what was coming next. She should’ve kept her mouth shut.
“What’s wrong with hockey players?”
Alison winced apologetically. “My fault, that’s not what I meant. You and Dom are serious. Kaden and I never even agreed on exclusive. And you remember those social media photos in New York that you thought were Dom, and it was actually all of Kaden’s bunnies?” The words hurt to say them. She didn’t want to think about Kaden and bunnies, knowing what she was about to face.
&nbs
p; “Is that what you’re worrying about? I haven’t seen any of those pictures lately. And if you are concerned, take it from me—I’ve learned my lesson—don’t rely on the internet; just ask him.”
“You make that sound so easy.” Alison may have hoped deep inside that Kaden would get more serious, but he seemed to be too busy having fun. She was too, but some kind of commitment would’ve been nice, and now it would be even nicer.
Then there was that whole thing about marriage. Since they never agreed to be exclusive, what could she really say? She frowned at Hailee. “Why did you say it’s all bullshit? What does that even mean?”
“Look, I shouldn’t have said anything. It was just a dumb rumor about Kaden not being the marrying kind. It started when he was a rookie and had the steady revolving door of bunnies with no commitment. I’d say he’s pretty committed to you, even if you are just ‘having fun’. Don’t dwell on it too much.”
”Revolving door of bunnies…” Not words any girl wanted to hear about the man she lov—had feelings for and was now carrying his baby.
Smokey hopped onto the table, scattering the magazines, and started to meow. The high-pitched cat whine sounded a lot like “mom”. He butted his head against Hailee’s cheek. “Hey there, little man. I know you’re hungry. I know. Oh, alright. Mommy is such a pushover. C’mon.” She got up and went into the kitchen, with the cat following right behind her.
As Hailee popped open a can of cat food, the horrible tuna smell caught Alison’s nose. Her gag reflex reacted before her brain could stop it, and nausea crept up her throat. Trying to push down the wave of nausea with multiple sips of water didn’t help. A few deep breaths finally settled her stomach.
“Okay, spill it.” Hailee was now standing over Alison. “What’s going on? I know that wasn’t the whole thing. You’re keeping a secret.”
I bet she saw me almost toss my cookies at the smell of that cat food. “Why do you keep saying that?”
SHOOTOUT SAVE (The Renegades Series Book 6) Page 5