Page 94 of Slap Shot

His bowtie is loose, and the top button of his shirt is unfastened. He ditched his tuxedo jacket a while ago, and his hair is a little messier than it was when we got here.

“Yes, Huddy, you are.” Lexi flips her hair over her shoulder. “This is girl talk.”

“If any of the guys were to join girl talk, I’d want Hudson to be the one,” Emmy says, and Piper nods in agreement.

“Same. He can be an honorary part of our group.”

“As flattered as I am, I don’t want to impose.” His eyes move to me, and he tips his head to the side. “I was hoping I could steal Madeline for a minute.”

I finish off my wine and set the empty glass down. Anticipation sits at the base of my spine. “Sure.”

“Do you want to dance?”

“I’m not sure I’ve danced since homecoming my senior year of high school.” I laugh and smile up at him. “What the hell? Let’s give it a whirl.”

He leads me to the part of the ballroom that’s been designated as the dance floor. We join the couples bopping to thebeat of some pop song, but the music shifts to something slower when we start to move.

“I did not plan this,” he says.

“Are you sure about that, Hayes?”

“I swear.” He laughs and offers me his palm. I drop my hand in his, and his fingers curl around mine. “But did I manifest it so I could have a second alone with you? I’ll never tell.”

“You’ve been busy. You don’t have to entertain me.”

“You’re way more fun than an auction where someone pays thousands of dollars to spend an hour with me.” He settles his other palm on my waist, and I’m glad he’s not wincing when he moves anymore. His shoulder must’ve healed up, and it’s good to see him back at full strength. “I’m glad you’re here tonight.”

“Me too. This really gets me in the holiday spirit. Time moves so fast these days, and it’s nice to slow down for a night and enjoy the season. Y’all donated so much money to local charities, and it’s inspiring.”

“Our organization does good work. Speaking of holiday spirit, I thought we could pick out a Christmas tree this week. You, me, and Lucy. It’s been a few years since I put one up, and it would brighten up the condo.”

“She’d love that. We’ve only ever had artificial trees.”

“I’m off on Thursday. We’ll go to a Christmas tree farm outside the city and find the best one.”

“I’m going to call you Santa Claus.” I laugh when he accidentally steps on my toe. My heel gets stuck on the hem of my dress, and he wraps his arm around my waist to keep me from falling. “Shouldn’t you be good at this? You leaped over someone during your game the other night, but dancing trips you up?”

“Are you a hockey girl now?” Hudson asks, his voice an octave deeper than it was a minute ago. “Are you staying up and watching my games?”

I am watching his games.

After Lucy goes to bed, I turn the TV back on, mesmerized by howgoodhe is at his job.

I’ve wanted to get better about understanding the rules of the sport, because it lets me have a few extra minutes with him when he gets home.

I linger in the kitchen longer than I did when we first moved in. I’ve stopped leaving instructions on his meals and started waiting until he sends a text letting me know he’s on the way home to cook his dinner.

It’s stupid, really, but all of a sudden, I’m looking for any opportunity to be around him. Paying attention to the thing he loves seems like the easiest way to do that.

“I’ve watched a few of your matches, Hayes,” I say, and his smile is the brighter than all the Christmas trees in the room. He dips me, and I squeal when the ends of my hair graze the floor. “But don’t flatter yourself. It’s only so I can roast you on social media and call you Bombshell.”

“That explains the uptick in comments using that nickname. I knew you had ulterior motives.” He sets me back on two feet. His thumb rubs along the dip in the fabric on the back of my dress, and the contact is searing. “Are you enjoying the games you’re watching?”

“Yeah. I mean, I still don’t understand everything. But I like learning.”

“Think I could convince you and Lucy to come to a game?”

“I’m not sure it would take much convincing. We’d love to come if the schedules lined up.”

---