Page 23 of Ice Contact

“Yep.” I lean my head back against the rack, not bothering to fight the goofy ass grin stretching my cheeks.

“You said she was your dream girl, but she was dating some other guy. You said you weren’t going to get in the way. What happened to him?”

“Cocksucker dumped her after the home opener. And got her fired from the anthem job. That’s why she was crying.”

“He got herfired? What the fuck? She can’t be fired. She’s part of the Riders.”

“I know. I asked if I could talk to someone about it, but she said no. I wanted to respect her wishes. And you know…I’m kind of the new guy.”

“Right. Nothing to do with your panty-dropping good looks swooping in to be her hero?”

“There was no panty-dropping involved.”Not yet anyway. I sigh, standing up from the squat rack as my heart races just thinking about being Olivia’s harbor from the toxic shit she was evicted from.Little victories, even if it comes from a painfulplace.“This girl isdifferent.There’s something about the way she crinkles her nose when she laughs, the way her eyes light up when she talks about hockey, the way the entire room stops to listen when she sings. She’s funny, smart, and wicked talented. Even in the short amount of time I’ve spent with her, I feel like she’s my equal instead of someone trying to be with me because of my job. I don’t want anything to jeopardize this. I don’t want to be her rebound or a random hookup. She deserves so much more than that. I just want to be…I don’t know…”

Vladi’s eyes meet mine in the mirror, understanding and concern coloring their depths. “You want to be hers.”

“Yeah.” My heart pounds in my chest as I swipe a shaky hand down my face. “Permanently. I’m playing for keeps this time.”

The clang of metal plates pings through the room as Vladi adds more weights, his breathing steady as he waits for me to go on.

“Shit, Vladi; I’m fucking losing my mind over this girl! I can’t think of anything but making her mine. Giving her everything that asshat never did. Never could.” I collapse against the bench, staring at the ground between my feet. “How am I falling for a girl I barely know?”

“You know, Larsy, there’s a saying in Russian.Yesli lyubov' ne bezumna, to eto ne Lyubov. When love is not madness, it is not love.”

“Fuck, man, that’s deep.” And surprisingly fitting for my situation.How does he always know?It’s madness that her smile, her voice, and her scent consume my every thought. The emptiness I felt after our embrace at Walt’s vanished with one touch of her luscious fucking lips on mine. And now I am a madman willing to do anything to make her mine. Even that first day of training camp, when I was rambling to Vladi, I was already a goner.

Wait…son of a bitch.I jump up from the bench, adrenaline pumping, and block Vladi from moving out of the squat rack. “Motherfucker…I told you about a redheaded singer named Olivia, and you didn’tthinkto mention our anthem singer matched that description to a fucking T?!”

Vladi stares back at me with the same evil grin I gave him earlier. “Larsy, I am in my own world during pre-game. It’s just me, my net, and the fresh ice. I know they call her ‘The Weapon,’ but I never paid attention to her name. Brother, I tuned you out when you were rambling on and on andonabout thisdream girlof yours. So, I may have missed some details. I blame the vodka.”

“Buy your own vodka, motherfucker. And I’m going to figure out how to get her back singing for us, so pay attention to the damn anthem next time.”

“I will now that I know you’re trying to get into her five hole,” Vladi says with a wink.

“I need to get my reps in too, Vladi, finish your damn squats.”

19

olivia

“Are you sure this looks okay?” I ask Maggie, turning side to side in my full-length mirror to show her outfit number seven I’ve tried on.What does one wear to casually show a super handsome, fabulous kisser, pro-hockey player around the city?

I have on a pair of black leggings, a black and white v-neck t-shirt, a navy bomber jacket, and white tennis shoes with a leopard print logo on them.

“I’m acting like this is a date. Is it a date? Do you have to use the word date for it to be a date?” My breath catches in my chest, the edges of my vision going fuzzy as I continue to spiral.

“Olivia. Girl,breathe.You worry too much. You look fabulous. Smoking hot, if I do say so myself. It’s just the right amount of sexy, sporty, and chic. I would think a certain pro athlete would go crazy over an outfit like this. As long asyouare comfortable in your outfit, that’s what matters,” she reassures me, some of the fear and tension leeching from my body. “Whether you call it a date or not, this guy went out of his way not only to ask you to show him around the city, but to give you a jerseyhewore in a game. If you ask me…he’s got it bad for you.”She scoffs, pretending to pout as she eyes me up and down. “You and your damn red hair. Why can’t I have red hair?”

“Mags, your chocolate brown hair is to die for, and you know it. You can’t go anywhere without turning heads, but if you want red hair, they have this new thing called hair dye; have you heard of it? You think my hair is actuallythiscolor red?” I joke, my lips twitching as I try to hide my smile.

“Whatever. You know I tried red and it wasn’t a good color for my skin tone. You and your forever tanned skin with fucking gorgeous red hair is impossible to compete with as a single girl living on the streets looking for a man,” she replies as I laugh once again.

“Mags…it’s a spray tan. My pale skin is my least favorite feature, and I feel more confident in myself with a little glow. I know there is a great guy out there for you. We’ll keep looking.” Maggie smiles, some of the life and confidence bleeding back into her.

“I expect to hear about every second of your day date at brunch tomorrow! Mimosas are on me, so I can get you nice and relaxed and you won’t even bat an eye at giving me all the sordid details.”

“Maggie, we are going tolunch, then I’m showing him a few places around the city. How sordid could that get?”

“There are alotof sordid things you can do in broad daylight, Liv.”

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