Page 6 of Of Pucking Course

“And Ingrid.”

“And Maya.”

“And Bella.”

“We want to make sure you’re okay,” Sophie says.

I don’t say anything at first, I’m too flustered. I’m grateful my friends are checking up on me…But I want to hear what Sam has to say. I want him to keep touching me. I want him to hug me. I want to be alone with him so that I can find out how he really feels about me.

Sam blinks, that intensity fading from his face. He steps over to the door and opens it.

“Hey,” he says to Sophie, Ingrid, Maya, and Bella, who are all crowding at the door. He steps out of the storage room.

“You all should, uh, talk,” he says.

They gather around me. As I watch Sam walk off, I wonder what would have happened if my friends hadn’t interrupted us, if we were still alone in this storage closet together…

Would he have hugged me? Would he have answered me honestly?

A tiny voice in the back of my head pipes up.

Sam is your brother’s best friend. He doesn’t see you as anything other than a friend.

I banish the thought from my head. Sam was just being a good friend, nothing more.

Chapter 3

Sam

Iwalk out of the restaurant and tug my tie loose, my head spinning, desperate for air.

As much as I didn’t want to leave Dakota, I’m glad I did. I’m glad Ingrid, Bella, Sophie, and Maya interrupted us because I was on the verge of saying something very, very stupid.

Something that I wouldn’t have been able to come back from. Something that would have changed things between Dakota and me forever.

I was seconds away from telling her that I’m glad she’s not with Jake anymore because I want to be with her. And then I was going to kiss her.

Because for a brief moment, I thought that’s what she wanted.

I think about the way she looked at me—that hungry, pleading look in her eyes. Like she wanted me to hold her and comfort her. And I wanted to. Fuck, did I want to.

I tug a hand through my hair, wincing at the sharp pain shooting through my scalp. That’s exactly what I need rightnow, though. I need a jolt. I need to get my fucking head on straight.

I was probably imagining the way she looked at me. And even if she was looking at me like she wanted me, I shouldn’t have thought about giving in. I shouldn’t have thought about confessing my feelings for her. I shouldn’t have thought about kissing her.

She just broke up with her husband. Her marriage was over before it even began. She’s distraught and vulnerable. She’s probably not thinking straight.

I should be the steady one—the one who knows better. I shouldn’t have been entertaining some messed-up fantasy about the broken-hearted woman I’ve been harboring feelings for over the last five years.

But because my brain is an asshole, it won’t let that fantasy go…and then it takes things a step further.

I fantasize about kissing Dakota until she’s breathless, touching her, making her feel good with my hands and my mouth. I fantasize about pinning her wrists against the wall, dropping to my knees, and making her feel so good she forgets who Jake even is…

I cut off that thought the second it forms. Jesus, I’m a creep.

Everyone thinks I’m a good guy who always does the right thing. The friend who always has your back. The gentleman defenseman who hardly ever gets rough on the ice.

In the bedroom, it’s a different story, though.

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