Hockey Hottie (Loving the Puckers Book 1)

by Kat Obie

  Scotty led me to the kitchen. "Lex is still getting ready. Do you want anything to drink?"

  "No. I'm good." I leaned against the counter. I don't know why I felt so awkward. Maybe because I was picking up the coach's daughter for a date that wasn't really a date. But it wasn’t like I hadn’t picked her up before to go trick or treating or just hang out.

  Scotty grabbed himself a beer from the fridge. As he twisted off the cap, he said, "So, since she's getting ready still, we are going to have a talk."

  "The one where if I hurt her, you will kill me, and I need to bring her home in one piece."

  Scotty smiled and said, "That's the one. I knew you were smart."

  "I'm still impressed you are letting me take Alex to the party tonight. You made it really clear at training camp you would cut anyone who dared to touch her."

  Scotty folded his arms and leaned against the counter. "This is where you are different from the rest of the team. I'm not stupid. I know the only reason you weren’t coming over since moving back was the fact you have feelings for her." I tried not to react, but somehow I was still surprised, despite knowing my dad would be the person to tell him. Scotty continued talking. "It's been refreshing to see how bubbly Alex has been since you started training with her. I like seeing her that way. Hell, your own game has picked up since you got your head out of your ass."

  As much as I wanted to be aghast, I couldn’t. I thought out loud, "Of course you knew; my dad can't keep his mouth shut. Please don't tell me you and Dad planned this out together."

  Scotty took a drink of his beer innocently and said, "I don't tell Lager everything. Unlike him, I can keep a secret. I knew what I was doing. Although we might have talked about wanting the same end goal. He just thought he could convince you to do it on your own without any help."

  Alex shouted down, "Come on up, K. I need to do your makeup!"

  I knew I was being summoned. So I pivoted and started to go upstairs. But apparently Scotty wasn't done since he followed up with, "Klaus. You better bring her home tonight. I will kill you if you hurt my baby."

  "Um, about that, I might not bring her home." Coach pursed his lips. Yup, he was definitely pissed. I tried to pull out the charm, even though it wasn't usually successful on him. He could see through me. It never stopped me from trying since it worked on everyone else. I continued, "If I'm too drunk to drive, I'm not going to, and I'm not sending her home in an Uber if I don't have the full control over my faculties . . . so I got a room at the Plaza. It's a backup plan, and Alex doesn’t even know about it. I swear I won't hurt her."

  "You are pushing it, Klaus Andreas Lagerfield. I suggest you don't drink if you don't want to have bag skates all next week."

  Crap, he’d pulled out the full name and the one thing that no hockey player wanted to do for a full week. I knew he wasn't happy with me, but I wasn't going to commit to something that I couldn't do. I could deal with bag skates for a week. The rest of the guys might not like it, but meh.

  Alex shouted down, "Let’s go K! Let me see you!"

  Scotty cleared his throat. "Um, Klaus . . ." He gestured with his head towards my crotch, and I looked down to see the start of a bulge. I immediately gave myself a tug and reminded myself that Scotty would kill me if I did anything to Alex. It was like the cold water that I needed. He was always protective of her. He would kill me.

  I headed up the stairs. At the top, I put the mask to my face. I turned down the hall to Lex's bedroom. Her door was open. She looked gorgeous as she sat on the edge of her bed. She was surrounded by white fabric and looked exactly like a girl ready to go to a ball. I was glad she was able to replicate the same hairstyle from the movie without hiding her beautiful red hair. I immediately dropped the mask to help shield my crotch as I said, "Lex, you look gorgeous."

  She practically leapt off the bed to pull me into her room. She walked around my body to do an inspection. "Look at you. I can't believe you got the masquerade mask. It even has the little goblin horns. You look magnificent. Probably better than Bowie." That made me feel good.

  I let her pull me over to her vanity. I sat down on the stool and said, "Um, so what do I do? Just close my eyes?"

  I closed my eyes as soon as she said, "Yeah. It won't take me very long. But thank you, K." She must have leaned over to kiss my cheek as I turned my head towards her voice, and our lips met. I didn't control myself and deepened it. Her tongue slipped in and started to massage mine. It was perfect. It was when my hand was on the back of her neck pulling her closer that I realized I should stop before we got out of control. So I retracted and pulled away. I opened my mouth to apologize, but she put her finger to my lips to silence me. "Don't you dare apologize to me for that. I've waited too long for it to happen."

  "Wait, you have?" I knitted my brows together ‘cause I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was exactly what I wanted to hear. I looked right at her to make sure she really felt that way. I saw nothing but pure joy on her face. So she did want that kiss as much as I did.

  "Relax your face and close your eyes so I can do your makeup." I immediately closed my eyes again but I struggled to relax until she said, "Yeah. Pretty much since you started playing in New York. I guess I didn't know what I had until you left. But, yeah, I like you a lot."

  It felt weird having brushes go over my face, and I didn't know what to think. I prayed that I wasn’t turning red. Sure, we’d been friends forever, but I had no clue she even thought about me in that way. I knew I had a stupid grin on my face. "Yeah. You were it for me too, pretty much since you started to take the skating world by storm."

  "So, why did you stay away?"

  If she hadn’t needed me to keep my eyes closed, I would have grabbed a hold of her and tried to apologize properly. I didn’t know where her hand was, so I just stayed still as I said, "Honestly, your dad put the fear of God into me at the training camp. I didn't want to get cut from the team. Playing here has been my dream. You were deemed to be untouchable to everyone on the team and I didn't trust myself. So texting was just easier."

  Then, all of a sudden, she stopped with the brushes and kissed me one more time. This time it was on purpose, and both of us knew what was happening. I again took it deeper and pulled her close to me. We stopped kissing and she said, "Take a look."

  I looked into the mirror. The makeup was on point. Even my brows looked like they were pointed upwards like a proper goblin king. I teased, "I thought I said don't mess with my brows."

  "I didn't. Trust me, you would have felt it if I taped or plucked them. It’s just regular makeup. You know I've gotten pretty good with stage makeup over the past few years," she said with a wink.

  "It's incredible, Alex. Are you ready?"

  "Yup."

  The two of us headed out of her bedroom. I was tempted to hold her hand on the way down the stairs, but I decided against it. Unsurprisingly, Scotty was waiting with his phone in hand, most likely hoping to get a few photos of the two of us.

  "Dad, we're already running late." We weren't really late yet, and he probably knew it. But Alex didn't always love to have her photo taken unless she was posing.

  "Just a couple photos. For old times’ sakes," he said with a smile.

  "Fine, but we aren't posing," she said. I did plan to get a more posed photo. Scotty took a couple of us while we were on the stairs. Then, before she tried to run away, I made my move. I leaned over and gave her a kiss. I knew I’d caught Alex off guard ‘cause I heard her breath hitch, so I quickly wrapped an arm around her waist so she wouldn't fall. Compared to our first two kisses, it was chaste since it was in front of my coach/her dad, but there was a lot more going on with that kiss. It was clear to everyone we weren't going to the party as just friends anymore.

  "It's about time. Now, Klaus, don't make me hurt you," he repeated. It was something I wouldn't do in the first place, but at least Scotty seemed to be happy about us kissing.

  I led Alex out to my car and opened up the passenger door fo
r her. I waited to make sure she was comfortable before shutting it. It was amazing how much room her ball gown took. As I got in, I put my mask in the back seat.

  Alex almost immediately said, "You really shouldn't listen to my dad."

  I laughed and said, "My contract kinda says I have to. At least, as long as he’s the head coach."

  She shook her head with a small laugh under her breath. She said, "You know what I mean. He won't hurt or cut you. He loves you, K."

  "I know it’s unlikely for him to do anything to me, but that doesn’t negate the fact he has a mean right hook. I'm glad we finally got to kiss."

  Alex

  As we pulled up to the hotel the Sound had rented out, K surprised me again. He asked, "Um, Alex. Would you want to spend the night here?"

  "Maybe?" This was where I felt every bit the six years younger than K. Usually, I didn't even think about the fact he could have been an older brother. We’d always had a great bond. When we were kids, he would always include me in his plans. I really didn't want him to know how I wasn't that experienced but at the same time, I knew I would have to tell him so he would have so much more experience then me.

  He smiled and looked at me. "I know neither of us has too much privacy at home. I'll fix it on my end soon. I booked a hotel room tonight in case I got too drunk and I couldn't take you back home safely. But . . ."

  "Wait, are you trying to proposition me?" I said with a smile. It was just so funny to see how the guy who could normally charm the pants off of anyone wasn’t being so smooth. The car behind us beeped their horn since K didn’t move when the light turned green. He started driving again.

  I liked that K wasn't cocky or too sure of himself around me. He was just him. Until that kiss in my bedroom, I wasn't even sure if he thought about me in a romantic way. I knew he would clam up anytime I mentioned seeing another guy, but I just assumed he wasn't a perv wanting to know all the details of my dating life. Now I wondered if it was because he was jealous.

  "Only if you are interested. I'm not saying we should. Just that we could."

  "Relax, K." I smiled. If he wasn't gripping the steering wheel with both hands, I would have grabbed a hand to comfort him. "I'll be interested in giving it a go if you don't mind that I'm inexperienced. Not a virgin but..."

  "Okay. I'll check in before we go to the party."

  K pulled into the valet parking area for the Plaza. He reached back to grab the mask as a valet opened up my door. I quickly got out since I wanted to have some space again. My dress had been making me a bit claustrophobic. He pulled a small black backpack from the trunk. He must have seen the confusion on my face because he said, "Supplies for later."

  He had a hand on the small of my back. The two of us walked up to the check-in desk. I was surprised that he got the penthouse for the night.

  "I'm going to drop this off in the room. Do you want to head to the party first or want to join me?"

  "I'll go with you. It's not my party."

  "Sure it is," he said with a smile as we walked over to the elevator and he put in his key card to access the penthouse.

  The penthouse was stunning, with a view of the city and large glass windows. I’d always loved being in a skyscraper and being able to see across a city. I saw in the reflection that K placed a few bottles of Gatorade into the fridge. When he was done, he came up and started to nuzzle and kiss the back of my neck. "You really are something, Alex."

  "Hmmm?" I was lost in the moment. It was like a switch had been flipped and all my desires were coming true with him. He turned me to face him and started to kiss me passionately and deeply. His kisses were like drugs. "You’re the talented one."

  "Bull . . . It's not like you aren't the face of women's figure skating for the US. Besides, I only look this good because of you." He kissed me one more time before saying, "I hate to say this, but we have to get going if we want to make it to the party. ‘Cause I'm so tempted to just take that dress off of you right now."

  "I wouldn't be against that."

  "Then our costumes would be wasted because I won't let you out of bed once we get in it."

  "You won't let me? What are you—a caveman?" I couldn't believe he’d said that. It was so unlike him, especially when he’d been so shy about even asking about the possibility of getting intimate tonight.

  "No. I’ll make it so good that you won't want to leave," He said with a wink. We both liked being the best, and I had a feeling that he would make it so absolutely perfect. He gave me a quick kiss. "When you are ready, all you have to do is say the word."

  We went down to the party. You could hear the guys halfway down the hall. I was excited to just be at the party with Klaus.

  Almost immediately, Captain Sparrow, who I recognized to be Colton Weber, greeted K. "Look what the cat dragged in. Who are you even supposed to be?"

  "It's David Bowie from that one movie," supplied Shoresy. At least, I thought it was his voice coming from the stormtrooper.

  "Get it right: I'm Jareth the Goblin King!" K said with excitement. I swear he would have made a great actor since he could ham it up. He then said, "Alex here is the lovely Sarah from Labyrinth who the Goblin King was in love with but wasn’t able to show it properly. In case you didn't figure it out, Alex, Captain Sparrow is Webs and Stormtrooper 838 is Shoresy."

  I bowed my head to both of them but cracked up at K giving Shoresy a stormtrooper designation. K then gave all his attention to me. He asked, "What do you want to drink?"

  "I’ll drink whatever you are drinking."

  He looked at me closely, probably trying to gauge me. He whispered in my ear, "You sure you want a rum and coke?"

  I nodded. It actually sounded pretty good. I knew I would have to work out extra hard, but one night of letting loose wouldn't kill me.

  Then K went to the bar to get the drinks, leaving me with his friends.

  Almost immediately Webs asked, "So, how do you know Lager?" which immediately got him a slap to the back of the head from Shoresy.

  Shoresy said, "Don't you recognize the coach's daughter?"

  "Yeah, so?" asked Webs.

  "Their dads played together," Shoresy said. "It's why the coach refuses to call him Lager."

  "Wait, what? What does he call him, then?" I asked.

  "It's usually K or Klaus. I think I might have heard Lager Jr one day, but I was drunk so I may have made that one up."

  I started laughing. That sounded like my dad. I had assumed he only did that when I was around since that was what I called K.

  "What's so funny?" K asked as he sidled up to me and passed me my drink. I took a sip and loved how sweet it was. I immediately downed it.

  "Just that Dad calls you K most of the time. I thought he only did that for my sake."

  K leaned in and said, "Oh, it's totally because of you." Then he kissed my ear which sent shivers down my spine. I moved my hand to direct his kiss towards my lips.

  Then I heard K's friends start to wolf whistle. He pulled back and said, "You are addicting."

  "So are you."

  We stared at each other for a moment, almost daring each other to either kiss or pull away.

  Webs said, "You two need a room." That was the reminder that we could slow it down since we did have a room for later. We didn't need to do it in front of the team.

  Weber then asked, "Do you guys want refills?"

  "Sure, but I'll go with you," said K.

  I made casual conversation with Weber, but I kept my eyes on K the entire time.

  5

  Klaus

  "Dude, what are you doing with the coach's daughter?" asked Webs.

  "Living my best life,'' I said casually. I really was. The moment the two of us kissed, it just let everything we were holding back out in the open. It seemed so natural. Every fantasy was coming to life, and I loved it so much.

  We paused our conversation as we approached the bartender. I immediately said, "Two rum and cokes, a Heineken, and a whiskey on the rocks."
The bartender quickly made the drinks. I grabbed Alex and my drinks while Webs grabbed the Heineken for Shoresy and started to sip on the whiskey. He then asked, "Um, what if Scotty finds out?"

  "He knows. I'm not dead yet, but he did make it clear I couldn't hurt Alex if I wanted to live," I said with a smile since I knew I was damn lucky.

  "You got balls and in more than one way. What made you make the move? I thought you said you guys were just friends when we hung out last week."

  "It just sorta happened." I then stopped talking and moved quickly ahead. I could see Alex was watching me, and I wanted to be with her since she was smiling so sweetly.

  I handed her the rum and coke. She leaned up to me. I thought she was going to kiss me but instead she said, "We should dance."

  "Um, all right." I drowned my drink. While I wasn't a terrible dancer, I did like to be a bit buzzed when I did and I didn’t want to be holding onto a drink. She did the same thing. By some miracle of a god, there was a slow song playing. I pulled her close, and we started our best waltz. We were looking into each other's eyes, and I said, "Do you remember when we used to do this?"

  "Yeah, every time we watched that scene in Labyrinth. You used to be so bad that you would always step on my toes."

  I smiled. She was right. Thankfully, I’d gotten much better and could move in sync without killing her feet. I turned the two of us. It allowed her gown to sway from side to side. I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

  When the song switched to Drake, I dropped my arms from the ballroom hold and started to dance with the music. She was so extraordinary to watch since she knew how to work the music. Then again, she actually took dance classes on a regular basis. At the end of the song, I said, "I'm going to get a drink."

  I really just wanted to excuse myself so I could watch her, but she said, "Get me one too."