Page 80 of No Pucks

“Yes, and with the stamina of an eighteen-year-old.” My chest gets warm, and I get a little hard wanting to manhandle Logan after being here. But my stomach drops, and I check the time. It’s barely midnight, and I have no idea how late he’ll be out. If only I could text him. Or maybe figure out where Wolfe lives and crash their party, but not even I’d go that low with my team.

“Get out of that black hole your mind is going into.” She smacks my shoulder.

“How late does this go?” The first couple already finished and left for aftercare.

“All night. But I don’t expect you to stay. How late will he be out?”

“I don’t know. The team has a surprise planned for the guys.”

“So, puck bunnies?” Something behind me catches Krista’s attention.

“What?” I mouth.

“A couple is going at it.” She cocks her head.

“Are you serious?” I don’t know if I should look over my shoulder or not.

“I said it was a sex club ish.” She shrugs, acting like she explained in great detail and I’m the one being weird.Shenudges me back on track with the conversation. “So, puck bunnies…”

“Right… I think so, or worse. Who knows what they’ve come up with since I was in college.”

“They haven’t invented new types of groupies… They are still the same and no shame. We both enjoyed them while in college.”

I hold up my hands. “No shame. I just don’t want them anywhere near Logan.”

“Possessive you is cute. I think you should talk to him.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

TWENTY-FOUR

LOGAN

He gets out of a car and staggers a step, using a cane I don’t recognize to steady himself. He’s in pain but hiding it. Snow clings to his hair. It’s falling heavy, making it hard to see half a block. He’s lucky he found an Uber. I walked here and rang up more than once, figuring he’d fallen asleep. But here Anthony is, swaying as he takes small steps through the snow.

I push off the building and slip in beside him. “Need a hand?”

He glances over at me. “How long have you been here?”

“About ten minutes.” Probably twenty, but I don’t want to tell him how long I’ve been waiting. It feels pathetic. “How drunk are you?”

“Pretty hammered.” He sways again, and I hold out a hand behind him.

I don’t want him to feel like I think he needs help because of his injury or that I’d ever step in without asking. Should I ask? I don’t want to make him feel like shit. “It’s pretty fucking slippery, and if you’re drunk…” I offer my arm.

He glances at it, then takes it. “Thanks.”

“You in a lot of pain?”

“No, it’s not bad today. But my best friend is tired of me not using one of these, so she brought it for me. I didn’t mean todrink as much as I did, but it was a weird night.” He doesn’t give me any weight, but I steady him.

“Weird how?” I grab the door, holding it open. We both wipe our feet on the mat.

“I don’t even think I can explain to you how weird it is. But I will once we get upstairs.” He fixes me with an intense stare.

“What’s that look for?” I hit the elevator button and the doors slide back.

We step inside and he pushes the button to his floor.

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