Page 68 of Crazy Pucking Love
The Greek letters tacked onto the red and gray brick house with the wrought iron balcony made it clear we were in the right place.
A couple of people milled about on the lawn, red cups in hand, and several of the girls were in halter tops and shorts or skirts, which I didn’t understand. I was freezing in my long sleeves, leggings, and boots, not to mention the pink faux leather jacket I exchanged my puffy coat for when Vanessa and I snuck home to change and refresh our makeup.
As much as I’d wanted to wait outside of the locker room, I was suddenly unsure where Dane and I stood, and I didn’t want him to freak out over me waiting for him—only girlfriends and puck bunnies waited, and I was neither. Which shouldn’t cause a slight sting, because it was all part of our arrangement. Or so I’d told myself way too many times on the drive over.
The buzz of multiple conversations and music filled the air, and the place was wall to wall bodies—clearly this was more than just a hockey player party.
Hudson offered to get drinks, and while my brother shot me a look when I asked for a beer, he didn’t overstep and insist on soda instead.
“Just don’t drink too much,” Beckett said. “And don’t set it down anywhere—you’ve got to watch it at all times.”
I scanned the room for Dane while trying not to look like I was scanning the room for him. “I’m well versed on safety first party rules.”
“Safety first would mean that you leave right now.”
“Well, I was promised a ride home with you, and I don’t think walking from here to campus, or even waiting outside for a cab alone would be very safe.”
He sighed, and I sighed louder, crossing my arms. “At some point, you’re going to have to recognize that I’m old enough to make my own decisions.” When the muscles in his jaw flexed, I put my hand on his arm. “But I’ll be careful. Promise.”
“Fine.”
“And I’m sorry about the game. You guys’ll get them next time.”
His stern big brother expression softened. “Thanks.”
Hudson came back balancing five cups. He passed them to Beckett, Lyla, Vanessa, and me, and then turned and wrapped one arm around Whitney. “Man, it was crazy over there.”
“Thanks for fighting the crowd for us,” Whitney said.
I still hadn’t spotted Dane, and everyone just sort of stood around sipping their drinks as I awaited a good opportunity to escape unnoticed.
“Let’s dance,” Lyla said, grabbing my brother’s hand.
“Who’s idea was it to let you drink?”
“Yours.”
“Clearly I forgot how much drunk Lyla loves dancing.”
She flashed him a grin and tugged on his arm, and he handed me his empty cup and went after her.
A familiar hat caught my attention, just past the area where people were bobbing along to the beat. Dane was surrounded by people, but it was the girl plastered to his side that turned my blood hot and thick. Hurt bloomed through my chest, too, and the combination made me freeze in place.
“Ugh,” Whitney said, and I noticed Hudson wasn’t next to her anymore. “That girl. She cycles through the hockey players like she’s a collector determined to have the whole set. Which is fine if that’s her thing and it’s what makes her feel empowered, but what’s not fine is when a guy tells her he has a girlfriend and she says she doesn’t care. If anything, it makes her push harder to get them to sleep with her.”
My throat tightened. “Lucky for her, Dane doesn’t have a girlfriend.”
Whitney and Vanessa both gave me sympathy-filled looks.
“It’s fine, I’m fine.” If I said it enough, it’d make it true, right?
“If it makes you feel any better, the fact that she’s trying that hard with him means they haven’t had sex. Misty’s one of those girls who means it when she says she doesn’t want a relationship. Once she sleeps with a guy, she moves on to trying to get the next hockey player to complete her collection.”
Since I’d had sex with Dane and knew how good it was, that didn’t comfort me. How could shenotwant a repeat performance? I’d wanted one all week, and even now, a shock of awareness went through me thinking about his body pressed against mine.
While he didn’t seem to be returning her affection—he kept turning to Ryder and talking to him until the girl would tap him on the shoulder—he wasn’t walking away, either.
Other girls were circled around him and Ryder as well, all pretty, and every single one looking like they were down for some temporary fun.
