Giddy excitement raced through me, and in that moment, it was like we were back in freshman year of high school, gossiping about hot boys and skipping class so I could watch Josh Walker play. Except now I knew what his kiss tasted like, what his hands on my body felt like, and I wanted more.
With Josh, I always wanted more.
Watching him on the ice was hypnotizing. I lost my thoughts in the glide of his skates, the turns and switches. Ten minutes of the game passed, and I barely noticed, entranced by his sheer determination, drawn into everything about him. He was relentless, pushing through the defensemen to shoot and SCORE!
We were up out of our seats, yelling and cheering as he lit the lamp and was engulfed by his teammates. “Goal scored by senior forward Josh Walker at eleven minutes twenty-three seconds.” The announcer brought out another wave of cheers.
The crowd died back down enough for me to hear the two girls sitting right behind us. “He’s so fucking hot.”
“I know right? I wonder if we can catch him after the game.”
Ah, yes, puck bunnies. I laughed out loud. He may have been just a hot hockey player to them, but he was so much more to me. They could sleep with him, hell, maybe they already had, but something told me I had more of him than they ever would, and that was without the sex.
Sam giggled, and I knew she’d heard them. Not that they were being overly discreet. A quick glance behind me showed what I already knew: it was Tweedledee and Tweedledum, and they both had his number painted on their cheeks. Then again, I couldn’t get too judgmental. After all, I was trying to catch him after the game, too.
Josh scored one more goal in the third period, and the Mountain Lions won, three to one. From the look of the hugging melee when the final buzzer sounded, he’d be in a good mood. Sam pulled me up the stairs before the puck bunnies could make it out. “You need a head start!” she called over her shoulder with a laugh.
Give Sam a good pursuit of a guy, and she became a female 007, ready to seek and destroy.
We made it up to the promenade as it was filling. “Sam, can I catch you at home?”
She hugged me close with a little more exuberance than usual. “As long as you’re catching Josh Walker!”
I pushed her away with a laugh. What, was I sixteen again? Because it sure as hell felt like it. “I’ll see you later!” With a wave, I ran across the promenade and down the stairs to the locker room entry. There were benefits to my little brother playing hockey in the same arena I was stalking a guy in.
I slipped out the west doors and huddled my jacket to me against the February chill. The path was well lit to the locker room entrance as I hurried along the back side of the arena.
I fell in with a small group of mostly girl fans as we bottlenecked at the door. Guess I wasn’t the only one with this idea. We filed into the hallway, and I snagged one of the only bare spots against the wall. Girls pulled out compacts, checking their makeup or applying more as they giggled about what party would be hot that night, and who had dibs on which player. Josh’s name was called out more than once.
Holy shit. I was hanging out with groupies.
To affirm my guess, Tweedledee and Tweedledum sauntered in and brazenly approached the pimple-faced security guard to attempt to get into the locker room. Although it appeared he highly enjoyed their attempts, he stood his ground.
Atta boy.
Heads turned as the locker room door opened and the first players emerged. Cheers echoed through the hallway, reverberating off the painted cinder block walls. Once those players made it down the hallway, bags of gear slung over their shoulders and a girl on their arm, the others filed out.
It felt like the entire team exited before Josh made his appearance. He nodded to the security guard with a smile and zipped up his black Columbia coat before turning toward us. His hair was damp from a shower, and he rubbed his hands over it with a look so broken I nearly lost it. A quick shake of his head, and a fake smile appeared on his face. The two puck bunnies raced forward, and Josh held out his arms, making room for them under each.
He was certainly no stranger to female adoration.
For a split second I debated running, just taking off and saying to hell with this plan. He looked happy enough, right? He would never lack for a girlfriend; it’s not like not having me was killing him. Yeah. I would just leave.
My grip tightened on the strap of my purse, and I glanced up at him one more time before escape. He was looking at the floor, laughing with the girls as he came down the hallway, but the smile faltered, and I saw it again, the broken part of him that I somehow knew I was responsible for. I had to try to fix it.
“Josh.” I stepped out and said his name so softly I barely heard it over the noise in the hallway.
His head snapped up like he’d been struck. “Ember?” Everything I needed to know was in the curt snap of his voice. Instead of the smile I longed for, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What are you doing here?”
I looked at the Tweedle twins, who both threw me mocking smiles. “Can I have a minute?”
He blasted that fake smile at me, which hurt more than anything he could have said. “Not sure.” He kissed one of the puck bunnies on the cheek. “What do you think, ladies? Should we bring Ember along to the party?”
Heather took a peek at my casual jeans, vest, and Henley, compared to her short skirt and shorter neckline, and giggled. “Why not? She looks like she needs to loosen up.”
Josh shrugged. “Come on, if you can keep up, Ember.”