TheGrinder_Kobo

by Steph

  “Oh, he’ll turn into a dick sooner or later. Probably sooner.”

  She couldn’t let that pass. “Viv, are you okay?”

  Her sister’s gaze dropped for a few seconds before she shrugged. “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. You haven’t been for a while and I’m worried about you.”

  Vivi sighed heavily. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine. Honestly.”

  “But you haven’t been yourself lately.”

  “Maybe I’m finally growing up.”

  “You’re twenty-four and you’re making ends meet working three freaking jobs. I think that’s adult enough.”

  “But you’re the one working fifty hours a week in an office where you have to wear grown-up clothes.”

  “And have no social life at all. Don’t forget that.”

  “I guess that makes us both pitiful losers.”

  “Yeah, but I’m a pitiful loser with a date with a hot hockey player. And if you come along, I’m sure you’ll meet lots of other hot hockey players.”

  Damn it, she shouldn’t have said that. Vivi’s expression hardened and her mouth pursed in a way that only happened when she thought about the former asshole boyfriend.

  “Never gonna happen. But I will totally be there tomorrow to make sure he’s not a complete dick.”

  “Gee, when you put it like that, maybe it’s not even worth it.”

  “I’m not sure any guy’s worth it.”

  Trying to lighten the mood, Aly grinned at Vivi. “I guess you really do want to live with me forever. We’ll be known as the Spinster Sisters and have twenty cats.”

  Vivi rolled her eyes again and finally started to laugh. “All right, all right. I’ll stop being such a downer. And no, I do not want to live with you for the rest of my life. We’d probably kill each other after twenty years or so. Doesn’t mean there has to be a man involved. One of these days, I’m going to backpack across Europe and I’m going to hike Everest and…”

  As her sister continued to rattle off all the things she wanted to do with her life, Aly considered the fact that she didn’t really think about stuff like that.

  Sure, she’d love to travel and see the world, but her sister wanted to escape.

  And what’s so bad about that?

  She hated to admit it, and wouldn’t never admit it to her sister, but she wanted to find a guy, someone to spend time with and do things with. Someone with mutual goals and—

  Oh my god. She sounded like her mother.

  “Hey, Aly?”

  Her attention snapped back to her sister, who stared at her like she might have accidentally said all that out loud.

  “Yeah?”

  “I totally think you should do him.”

  With a laugh, Aly grabbed the pillow and smacked her sister across the head.

  “I totally think that’s not going to happen.”

  * * * * *

  “We have a game tonight and you are taking a girl out on a first date? We have a streak going and you must fuck with it?”

  Taking laps around the rink before the start of practice, Riley ignored Vladimir “Lad” Marchenko’s taunt and kept skating.

  He refused to allow any of the kids to get in his head. As the second-oldest player on the team, he sometimes was reminded that he’d actually grown up some since he’d been Lad’s age.

  “Seriously?” Defenseman Derek Flaherty flew by then turned to skate backward so he could get in Riley’s face. “Chickie got someone to go out with him? How the hell’d that happen, old man?”

  Restraining the urge to check the little shit into the boards for using that stupid-ass nickname and for commenting on his age, Riley once again took the high road and ignored the six-foot, hundred-and-eighty-pound redhead who couldn’t keep his mouth shut, no matter how many times he took a fist to the face for opening it.

  Okay, he and Derek had a lot in common but Riley would never admit it.

  “Yes, unlike you.” Lad pounced on Derek with the same droll wit he’d used on Riley. “Who cannot get a date because you open your mouth and speak.”

  Instead of taking offense, Derek grinned. According to his roommate, Adam Zappala, that grin got Derek laid more than a rabbit in mating season.

  “Don’t need to date if all you wanna do is get laid. Don’t need a girlfriend, either. They just fuck with your head.”

  “Yeah, well, we all know he doesn’t have a brain so they don’t fuck with that.”

  Riley turned to smile at Cary, who’d skated up beside him.

  “Hey. How goes it? So you got a date tonight?”

  Riley let his head drop back. “Christ, not you, too? Seriously, you’re all a bunch of teenage girls, I swear.”

  Cary laughed, a deep sound no one heard much. The guy had earned his reputation as a brawler almost twenty years ago when the game had been a lot different. Now, the skill players got most of the spotlight.

  Kids like CJ Young, the twenty-one-year-old forward who’d started the first five games of the season with two points per game. And Robbie Lindback, the nineteen-year-old first-round draft pick from Sweden, who’d probably get called up the next time the Colonials needed a forward.

  “At least they don’t scream and giggle. Much. How’s it going? Haven’t had much time to talk since you got here. You need to come over and have dinner again with Lori and me. Does next Tuesday work?”

  “Yeah, it should. Thanks.”

  “How’s the roommate situation working out?”

  Riley had to laugh. “Is this your way of trying to figure out if I’m pissed off at you for pointing me toward Pigpen?”

  There was Cary’s laugh again, this time even louder. “Yeah, maybe I shoulda warned you about that.”

  “A heads-up that the guy is basically a walking haz-mat spill would’ve been helpful.”

  Justin Perry, or “Pigpen,” had been the only guy who’d needed a roommate when Riley had signed. He’d never talked to Justin except on the ice before so he hadn’t known much about him personally.

  The guy was really nice and skated like he’d been born on blades, but off the ice Justin was one big accident waiting to happen. Kind of like a twenty-four-year-old toddler. If he held it, he spilled it. If he ate it, he wore it, and if he was walking, sure as shit he knocked something over.

  “So you really have a date tonight?”

  Riley slashed Cary across the shins, not hard enough to hurt, of course. They had a game tonight. “Why is that such a shock?”

  “Maybe because you haven’t done it much since your divorce.”

  Ah, yes. He’d almost forgotten he’d known Cary that long.

  “Been almost seven years since it was final. I’ve dated a few times since then.”

  “Yeah, no shit.”

  Okay, maybe more than a few times, but fuck it. He wasn’t married. Not anymore. “Hey, just ’cause you’re old and married doesn’t mean the rest of us should be.”

  “Okay, if you’re gonna insult me—”

  Luckily, Coach blew his whistle, calling the team in to talk about the game tonight and what they needed to work on.

  But Cary’s remark about his divorce stuck in the back of his brain. He hadn’t thought about Ann for months. At least, not since he’d left his parents’ place in June. He’d gone home for a few weeks between the end of last season and the start of training camp. He hadn’t seen his ex the entire time he’d been back, and his parents hadn’t mentioned her at all. But he had seen her new husband, Thad, and their two kids.

  He and Thad had graduated high school together. Ann had been a year behind them. They’d been close back then. Hell, Thad had been one of the groomsmen in Riley and Ann’s wedding. Now, she and Thad were happily married with kids and a house and a mortgage.

  And Riley still ping-ponged around North America playing a game he loved. A game Ann had come to hate because he’d loved it more than her.

  But now…he had to admit he was getting a little sick of neve
r really having anywhere to call his own.

  Maybe he needed to think about hanging up the skates after this season.

  The problem was…what the hell would he do if he didn’t play hockey?

  * * * * *

  “So that’s the guy. Damn, he’s huge.”

  Aly could barely hear Vivi over the roar of the crowd and pumping music. They’d gotten to the arena only five minutes before the game had started and had barely gotten into their seats before the lights dimmed and the teams skated onto the ice.

  She’d had to wait until the lights came up to see the program and find out what number Riley wore so she could find him on the ice.

  But as soon as she spotted him, she knew she’d never mistake him for another man. There was something about Riley that made every single hormone in her body tingle and take notice.

  “They’re all huge. I think some of it’s the gear.”

  “Maybe. But he’s really big.” Vivi looked over and grinned. “So not your type. I like.”

  Knocking her shoulder against Vivi’s, she shook her head. “Don’t even go there. Jesus, we haven’t even gone out yet. And I talked to him for, like, ten minutes.”

  “Yeah, but you’re going out with him tonight. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised if you don’t come home, huh?”

  She felt a blush heat her cheeks. “Jeez. Tell the entire arena.”

  Vivi rolled her eyes. “Oh please. No one can hear us over this noise.”

  Probably true. The arena wasn’t completely sold out but there had to be at least seven thousand people in the building, most of them standing and clapping for their team while they waited for the referee to drop the puck to start the game.

  Since she’d never been to a game before, she wasn’t really sure what to expect.

  The speed was exhilarating but, oh my god, the game was physical. Players slammed each other into the boards so hard, the glass around the ice shook. They fell or were tripped and hit the ice so hard, she flinched, unable to believe they didn’t break bones.

  But milliseconds later, they were back on their feet and skating off after the puck.

  After a particularly brutal-looking hit by an opposing player against one of the Redtails, the man sitting a few rows down yell, “Get off your knees, ref! You’re blowing the game.”

  She and Vivi turned to each other and started to laugh.

  As they continued to laugh, the buzzer sounded and the players exited the ice. Music started to play and everyone around them rose and stretched or headed toward the aisles.

  She and Vivi stood but didn’t leave.

  “I think I might love hockey.” Vivi grinned at her, no hint of sarcasm to be found. “I can’t believe we haven’t come to a game before.”

  Aly smiled back, happy to see her sister smiling. “I’m enjoying it but, oh my god, every time they get hit, I want to cringe. How do they take so much damage? It’s brutal. They must be one big bruise afterward.”

  “Usually, yes, they are.”

  The friendly voice came from behind them and Aly turned to find a pretty redhead smiling at them.

  “Sorry, couldn’t help but overhear. Hi, I’m Bliss.” She stuck out her hand, which Aly immediately shook. “You obviously haven’t been to a game before and we are so loving your commentary.”

  Immediately on her guard, Aly’s smile dimmed as she transferred it to the brunette standing next to Bliss.

  “Hey, I’m Lori.” She stuck out her hand, too. “And honestly, we’re not being catty. My husband and Bliss’s boyfriend are players. I’ve been living and breathing hockey for a few years so whenever I meet someone who doesn’t, I love watching them fall in love with the game the way I did.”

  “I’m fairly new to the sport, too,” Bliss said. “My boyfriend, Shane, is the goalie. Lori’s husband, Cary, is a forward.”

  Then Lori and Bliss exchanged a glance before Lori’s smile widened. “So I hope you don’t mind me asking but…which one of you is dating Riley?”

  Stunned, Aly’s eyes widened.

  What the hell?

  Obviously, Lori read her expression because the other woman held up a hand. “Yes, I know we’re being really intrusive but you’re sitting in the wives and girlfriends section so we figured we’d say hi. And since hockey players are almost as bad as teenage girls about gossip, everyone knows Riley has a date after the game. We just wanted to say hi. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us. We’ve probably had the same ones.”

  Since they seemed nice, Aly decided to take them up on the offer. “Is the game always so…rough?”

  Both women’s smiles warmed and Aly felt her internal walls slipping even more.

  “Sometimes, it’s worse.” Lori shook her head. “This game’s actually been pretty tame.”

  “Since Shane’s the goalie, he doesn’t get hit a lot but Riley’s a pretty physical player,” Bliss continued. “He’ll probably have more than a few cuts and bruises when he takes off his gear tonight. Just don’t be shocked. The guys are used to it. You will be, too, when you’re around the game long enough.”

  Aly had the almost overwhelming urge to reiterate the fact that she and Riley had just met and were having their first date tonight then decided against it when Lori continued.

  “The first time I met Cary after a game, I thought he’d been in a fight in the locker room. He had a black eye from a fight in the second period and a huge bruise on his side. I was afraid to touch him.” She exchanged a glance with Bliss. “He didn’t have the same problem.”

  Bliss rolled her eyes while Lori laughed. She was a little older than the rest of them, probably mid-thirties, but her laughter was warm and inviting and Aly couldn’t help but like her. Even Vivi, who didn’t always warm up to people right away, smiled at Lori.

  “Yeah, I’m not going there.” Bliss shook her head. “But I will say they’re usually a little…hyper after a game, especially if they win.”

  “Do they win a lot?”

  “Well, we’re two months into the season and they’re twelve and three. Last year, they won the championship and this year, they’re predicted to get to the finals again.”

  “So they’re good?” Vivi asked.

  Lori smiled. “Yeah, they’re really good. Riley wasn’t here last year but he’s been a great addition to the team. Cary thinks this could be Riley’s year to get called up.”

  Aly shook her head. “I don’t—”

  “Sorry, sorry.” Lori made a face. “Forgot you don’t speak hockey yet. Called up means he’d get to play in the NHL.”

  Okay, now that she understood. “And that’s where he wants to be, right?”

  “That’s the ultimate goal, yes.” Bliss nodded. “Not all of them make it, though.”

  Lori put her arm around Bliss’s shoulders and hugged. “And some are destined. They don’t call Shane ‘Brick Wall’ for nothing.”

  Aly was fascinated. “Does Riley have a nickname?”

  Bliss grinned. “Well, some of the guys call him ‘Chickie’ because he chirps. It means he likes to talk shit to the other players, throw them off their game, draw a penalty. He’s pretty well known for it.”

  “Cary swears Riley could get a saint to take a swing at him.” Lori shook her head. “But he’s mainly known as a grinder. He doesn’t make a lot of goals but he makes sure his teammates have the puck so they can score.”

  Chirp. Grinder. The lingo was making her head spin.

  Lori must have seen her brain misfiring because the other woman reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “Stick with us, ladies. By the end of the game, you’ll be experts.”

  * * * * *

  “So your woman showed up. See, I told you. No need for worry.”

  Jake stopped beside Riley as he buckled his belt then grabbed his coat. They’d won the game so the noise level in the locker room approached deafening, but it barely registered.

  Riley had played hard tonight. He’ had one fight because one of the Lynx players had gotte
n in his face, and had three assists on four goals.

  A good night. And hopefully about to get better.

  “I wasn’t worried,” he told Jake as he headed for the hall where he’d told Aly he’d meet her after the game. He hadn’t thought about her at all during the game. He never let anyone—not a girl, not another player, no one—mess with his head before or during a game.

  But now… Yeah, maybe he had been a little worried she wouldn’t show.

  He’d purposely not looked into the stands to see if she was there tonight. He’d kept his mind on the game and it’d paid off. This season was off to a good start and he hoped to hell it continued.

  “I know you do not worry during game. You are machine out there. Damn good game tonight.”

  “Thanks. I—”

  Damn, there she was. And, holy shit, was she gorgeous.

  Vaguely, he heard Jake laugh, but Riley dismissed him as the uncontrollable urge to grab her and kiss her nearly overtook him. The urge was so strong, his fingers clenched.

  She didn’t see him right away. She stood next to Cary’s wife, Lori, and Shane’s girlfriend, Bliss. They looked to be in deep conversation.

  And then she smiled and, holy shit, he swore he was back in high school when a girl just had to look at him and he got hard.

  Back then, his only desire had been to get laid. Until he’d met Ann and things had changed.

  Damn, he’d have to stop thinking about his ex. That’d been a hell of a long time ago.He let himself stare at Aly instead.

  Fuck, was she gorgeous. Sure, he’d noticed yesterday but now, in tight jeans and boots with heels, a tight white shirt and a blue cardigan, she looked so fucking hot, he thought he might break out in a sweat.

  How the hell did she manage that looking like a kindergarten teacher?

  Probably because the jeans fit her long legs like a second skin and the shirt had a v-neck that hinted at just enough cleavage to make him drool.

  And her hair was down, nearly reaching the small of her back. Holy fuck. He wanted to wrap his hands in it and tug her head back so he could kiss her. And do other, less polite things to her.

  Not that the way he wanted to kiss her was polite. No, what he wanted to do to her should be done in private. And naked.