Wicked Winters: A Collection of Winter Tales

by Lucy Smoke

I looked at the other two, confusion and worry on my face.

  "No Cap, nothing. None of us have slept with anyone since Tori a few weeks ago," Vinnie spoke up.

  "Ahh yes, but what about the girl from Friday night?" he demanded, a knowing smile all over his face.

  Fuck.

  "Yeah, that's right. I took Tori to that Christmas Festival; I saw you all there, working at different stalls. I even saw each of you kiss her like something out of a god damn Disney movie. Real sweet."

  "No Cap, you got it wrong, none of us have slept with her, she isn't a Puck. She has to be a Puck to get on the board, right?" Vinnie asked, stating the rule to his advantage.

  I felt myself relax, fists unclenched from around the bench. That's right, one of us had to sleep with her for her to be a Puck.

  "Well, actually that's where you are wrong. You guys broke rule number three. Don't go after another player’s Potential. Since all three of you were after the same girl, that means she is fair game. Unless one of you can declare Whip? Any of you get an exclusivity agreement from her?" he asked seeming to enjoy the situation just a little bit too much.

  When all of us stayed silent, his smile just grew. “So, gentlemen, I believe the lady in question goes by Hayden Halloway, isn’t that right Vinnie? She’s the journalist from The Press?”

  Vinnie avoided the stare Christian and I were both aiming at him, and just nodded his head.

  We both turned to look at the board as Davidson opened his marker again and filled in the last row with Hayden’s name. Making her officially available to the whole team.

  31

  Hayden

  Tuesday 12th December – 13 days until Christmas

  Today was the day. No more blind spots. No more wondering what the rules were. We were meeting her. The girl. The Puck. Steph, in her excitement, had forgotten to get her name and number. We just had to turn up and hope she came. The wait over the weekend had nearly killed me with stress.

  I’d gotten a couple of texts from the guys on Sunday, nothing interesting, but I’d been sure to tell them all that I was feeling a bit under the weather and that I didn’t want to make any of them sick. Surprisingly, they hadn’t argued. Justin had said something about a big scout coming to their game on Wednesday and that he needed to focus on that for the next few days. It worked for me, since I didn’t want any of them picking up on my tension. I was already omitting so much of the truth from them that I didn’t want to outright lie if they asked me what was wrong.

  Yesterday, they had been dead silent. I assumed they were busy with training and studying. Every time my phone had buzzed with last minute TutorAid requests my heart had thumped heavily in my chest, both hoping and dreading it was one of them. It never was.

  Now, I was sitting in the Coffee Shop in the same seat Vinnie had occupied just a few days ago, with Steph sitting next to me, ready to play the comforting friend role. My knee jiggled up and down, making the little dish with the sugar sashays rattle.

  The bell over the door jingled, and I turned my head to see a guy entering the coffee house. Two things happened at the same time, disappointment it wasn’t the girl we were meeting and also, relief that it wasn’t Vinnie. I was constantly at war with myself, not sure I wanted to meet this girl and have her pop the bubble I was in with the guys, but really wanting to meet the girl who was going to be the source behind the article that would get me picked up by one of the Big Five for an internship this summer.

  Steph placed her hand on my knee under the table. “Calm down Hay, if I didn’t know better, I would think your name was actually on the board.” She squeezed my knee and looked me directly in the eye. “You’d tell me if it was right?”

  My mouth dropped open at the implication. “Of course, I would tell you. I wouldn’t lie to you about sleeping with one of them.”

  “Good, just checking. That kiss with Christian was pretty hot, and I wouldn’t have blamed you if you did jump his bones. They are mighty fine bones.” Waggling her eyebrows, trying to lighten the mood.

  I laughed at her. “Well too bad you didn’t see the kiss with Vinnie. Or Justin,” I teased her back.

  “Shut the front door! You kissed all three of them Friday night? You little hussy! Why am I only just hearing about this now?” she demanded as she turned in her seat to face me directly.

  “Well, I did try to see you yesterday, but I believe your exact words were ‘Sorry Hay, but James and I are studying together.’” I quoted back at her. “And I believe study is a code word for making out,” I said teasingly.

  She had the grace to blush a light pink. “That is no excuse to not tell me. You could have texted! How was it, which one did you like best? Did any use too much tongue?”

  “Ew gross, no. None of them were slobbery. And they were all amazing. Seriously. Christian’s was enchanting; I could have stood there in the snow, surrounded by snowmen forever. And then Vinnie, his kiss was smooth and sinful, his kiss surprised me. I expected it to be playful, but it wasn’t, he took control and guided it. But Justin, wow, he owned his kiss. Strong, sure of himself, dominating. I completely forgot we were sitting in a carriage. I was practically lying in his lap by the time it was over.” I sighed remembering each kiss.

  Oh shit. I snapped my eyes to Steph who was sitting there with a bemused expression. “So, they were all good, huh?”

  “Yeah,” I smiled guiltily, glancing away.

  “Darling, you can enjoy their kisses, I won’t begrudge you that. Besides, if it weren’t for me, you either wouldn’t have met them or known about the Puck Games. Those feelings that you are determined to hide from me would be normal under different circumstances. But, what with things how they are, you have to let that simmer out. Today we’re going to get what you need, and then, you can cut your ties with them. You’re going to write the article that will shoot you into your future. It’s that simple. Them or your future,” she stated wisely, her blue eyes crystal clear with her message.

  If only it were that simple…

  The bell chimed again, and I quickly looked over at the door just as Steph urgently whispered, “That’s her.”

  Holy shit, she was gorgeous.

  Tall, with a body that looked like it belonged on a lingerie advertisement, and shoulder length, straight, brown hair. She wore waist high jeans that hugged her in all the right places, tucked into black stiletto calf boots. Her maroon double-breasted jacket was open showing her black, v-neck knitted sweater, and a gold necklace that dipped into her cleavage. She looked around the café until she spotted Steph, who waved back at her, and then headed in our direction.

  Everyone watched her; their eyes just drawn to the sway of her body as she walked. Once she got closer, I saw that she had green eyes and gorgeous long lashes, her makeup done to highlight them.

  I felt inadequate staring up at this girl.

  “Hi, I’m Tori,” she said as she reached our table and sat down in the chair opposite me.

  “Hi,” I squeaked back at her. I quickly cleared my throat, ignoring the look Steph sent me. “I’m Hayden. Thank you so much for coming today.”

  “It’s totally fine, happy to answer your questions for you. The Puck Games can be a little intimidating at the beginning, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be fine.” She smiled warmly at me.

  “Well, that’s the thing actually,” I started, tucking some hair behind my ear, sinking into my role. “I don’t know what the Puck Games are at all. I was seeing this guy, Damian, and after we slept together, which wasn’t very good by the way, he got out this little book from his bedside and wrote a number next to my name and told me I had been officially entered into the Puck Games. I left while he was in the shower, so I never got to ask what he meant. And ever since, hockey players have been bumping into me everywhere I go.” I finished with sad eyes and looked down at the table.

  Tori reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry, that shouldn’t have happened to you. Okay, it’ll be best if I start f
rom the beginning for you then. Stop me if you have any questions.”

  Steph wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “Thanks, Tori, that would be great.” I nodded my head in agreement with Steph, keeping my eyes aimed at my phone hidden and recording under the table.

  “No problem. Okay, well first off, the Puck Games are run by the hockey team, which you clearly know. They have the Puck Board, which has all of the player’s names across the top, well at least the ones who haven’t declared a Whip status. A Whip is someone with a girlfriend, currently there are only two.” Tori leaned back in her chair, seeming to enjoy her position of master of information. “To get on the Puck Board, you have to sleep with a player. Usually, most girls know what they are getting into when they sleep with someone on the hockey team. It’s rare, and kind of wrong, for the guys to bring in fresh meat, no offence, to the games. There are a few rules, I’m not sure of what they are exactly, mostly just rules of engagement for the players I think. Once you get your name on the board, it’s like a greenlight for the rest of the team to go after you. That’s why you’ve been getting hounded by the team.”

  “Okay, is there any way for me to get my name off the board?” I asked quietly, but on the inside, I was seething. They usually didn’t bring in fresh meat? Seriously? I got that this chick had signed herself up for this, but Steph definitely hadn’t. And what about the girls who wanted to back out once they realized it wasn’t for them? Did they have to spend the rest of the year fending off unwanted attention? If shit went down, did their prior consent into the Games mean that they consented to all future encounters?

  “No, not really. You could maybe approach the captain and tell him you want to bow out. I’m not exactly sure how that works though. He might be able to scrub your name from the board. I haven’t heard of that happening before, but like I said, usually the girl knows what she is getting into beforehand,” Tori answered, her eyes showed her sympathy.

  Steph’s arm tightened slightly around me at that information. So, there was no way to get her name off. She was going to have to deal with this shit all year.

  As Tori continued, I glanced down at my phone on my lap to ensure that my recording was still running, hopefully catching every word being uttered right now.

  “If you don’t mind my asking, but why do girls willingly participate in the Puck Games? I’m sorry to be rude, but it sounds incredibly chauvinistic and degrading to women to let men sexually score them and pass them around the team,” Steph inquired, her Southern accent came out a bit thicker with the edge to her words. I gave her knee a squeeze under the table. That was not one of the questions we had agreed on. But it was a good question.

  Tori just laughed. “You have that totally backwards, hun. Without us girls, the Puck Games wouldn’t exist. The guys all think that we are competing to be crowned Puck Queen at the end of the school year, but in actual fact it’s us giving them the middle finger. We get to sleep with any one of them that we want, while they only get the girls that choose them. And we get to explore any kinky dreams we have. You’d be surprised what some of them are into. We get to own our sexuality. Being Queen at the end of the year has its perks too. There’s a huge party and you get a crown like in a pageant. But yeah, no, this is about us, not about them.”

  I stared at her, flabbergasted. They were playing the hockey players. Not the other way around. The whole thing, constructed to look like the hockey players were using women, when in actual fact they were using the guys. Don’t get me wrong, the guys were taking advantage of the situation in a big way. The whole thing could be just a bit of fun, but it was situations like Steph’s and any girl who had a player take it too far that made the whole thing seem sordid. Wrong even.

  I looked at Steph, watching her work her way through that last bit; her eyes focused as she gazed out the window for a bit. I could see her thoughts running across her face as she made connections, slotting herself into the overall picture. After a little bit she seemed to come to a decision and turned back to face Tori, before opening and closing her mouth a few times, uncertainty crossing her features.

  “Go ahead and ask sweetie, I won’t answer if I don’t want to,” Tori stated as she leaned back casually in her chair again, like it was every day that she spoke about sleeping with an entire team of hockey players. A small piece of me admired her confidence; the secret knowledge that she was in complete control of her life covered her like a second skin. It was in each of her movements; the casual glances to the people who couldn’t keep their eyes off of her; the smiles at our awkwardness; the general air of no-fucks-given about what anyone else thought about her.

  Steph’s cheeks blazed a bright red, but she pressed on. “Uh ok, well, I was wondering, how many guys you have, uh, chosen, so far?”

  Tori’s eyes twinkled at the question. “Well I only joined the comp just before Thanksgiving; I’m up to seven.”

  My eyebrows shot up, seven guys in… twenty-ish days?

  “Most of them were single sessions, but there was one night I’ll never forget it.” She leaned forward with a cheeky look in her eyes. We both leaned in towards her, it was hard not to. “I had three of them in one night, roommates.”

  Ice shattered over my head as Steph slipped her hand under the table to land on my knee, like she thought I was going to jump out of my chair and blow our cover. But I could barely move; my whole body locked with tension. Roommates. What were the chances that there were another set of them on the hockey team? My eyes slid closed as Tori continued divulging details about her three-way, slowly taking pieces of me with each word.

  “I managed to hook the lead forward at The Sports Bar just after Thanksgiving break. He took me back to his place on the back of his motorcycle, and as we were getting into it, he offered to bring in his roommates so I could get my numbers up. Was super sweet about it too. One of them had a lip ring, and let me just say, it was for more than decoration that night.” She finished with a satisfied smile.

  I had gone completely numb. I was there, but I wasn’t there. I raised a hand up to my lips, to check that they were still there. When I knew for sure that I hadn’t bitten them off, I slowly turned to look at Steph. I knew my eyes were as big as saucers, that my pain was on display for her, but there was nothing I could do about it. I hadn’t realized how much Christian, Vinnie, and Justin had come to mean to me. To hear that they had all been actively partaking in the Puck Games tore me to pieces.

  Well, now you have your confirmation that they do participate. At least you never slept with any of them.

  True, Inner Voice, very true.

  I squeezed Steph’s hand, needing her to continue with our questions, while I got myself back under control.

  “I just have one more question,” she said, taking my hint.

  “Sure.” Tori smiled back.

  “Have you seen the actual Puck Board?” She asked.

  She smirked as she leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner. “Well actually, yes. But I shouldn’t have, so you have to keep it a secret. I was with the captain, Davidson, on Friday night, as you,” Tori tilted her head towards Steph, “know. Anyway, I told him I wouldn’t go back to his place until I saw the board. He whined and begged for a few minutes, but I held strong and eventually he caved. He took me there directly after we left the Winter Wonderland.”

  Both Steph and I leaned forward slightly in our chairs, as we silently begged for her to share that information with us. This, right now, this moment was everything. If we could find the board, we could get photos, evidence, not just hearsay and conjecture. Real honest to goodness facts.

  “You really can’t tell anyone this, but it was in the old men’s change rooms at the stadium. They’re still accessible off the main hallways. The Puck Board is facing backwards, so if anyone just happens to walk into the room, they’ll only see a normal whiteboard, but flip it over and you get all the scores. I am currently winning by four points. Beating Teresa Vantoli. She was Queen last year and one of my sorority
sisters. I can’t wait to wipe the floor with her. If I keep my scores up, I should crush her,” Tori said with a smirk as she sat back in her chair.

  The old change rooms. I knew exactly where they were. And they weren’t even in a section of the stadium that was closed off, so if we got caught on our way, we could just play it off like we were on our way somewhere else. This was big; my brain was unable to handle the momentousness of the occasion.

  Steph nudged me under the table, and I realized I had zoned out as I had already started planning the layout of my story around the images I was going to get tonight.

  I let out a small cough into my closed fist, clearing my throat. “Uh, well thank you Tori, you have really helped me out. I’ll try talking to the captain and seeing what he can do about scratching out my name or something.” I attempted to slip back into my role, by keeping a sad but hopeful look on my face.

  “You’re welcome hun, I was happy to help. I hope you can figure something out. If not, just join in. It’s incredibly liberating owning your own sexuality, give it ago.” She gave me a cheeky grin as she stood up and walked away.

  “Well, that was enlightening,” Steph stated, as she flopped backwards in her chair.

  Yep, it certainly was.

  32

  Hayden

  Wednesday 13th December – 12 days until Christmas

  "How much further is it?" Steph hissed at me. As we walked quickly along the deserted hallways of the hockey stadium, our sneakers squeaked every so often.

  "It should be the next right," I whispered back. There was a sudden roar from the crowd in the stadium above us, the foot stamping and cheers made the ceiling rumble. We both jumped; our joined hands gripped each other as the fear and excitement shot to a new level within us.

  "Why are we whispering? There isn't a soul around," Steph pointed out.