Page 162 of Hockey Halloween
“I’m not sure why he hasn’t said anything, but since his accident…” I swallow, trying to tread carefully as Eloise has a similarly placed scar on her face. “I guess the nickname has taken a different meaning for him.”
Eloise reaches across and clasps her hand over mine. “You’re sweet to mention it. It’s sometimes hard to vocalize to people how you’re feeling about something. Especially when you were fine about it before a specific incident.”
Athena purses her lips. “Part of me wants to make him tell people to knock it off himself, but the rest of me wants to make sure none of the guys ever say it to him again.”
From the resolve on her face, I can tell she’s going to go with the latter, and my heart swells at how much this extended hockey family rallies around each other. She points a perfectly manicured red nail at me. “Who saw you kissing Mac?”
The blond next to me—Savannah—grabs my thigh on a gasp. “Oh mygooooood. It was Johnny, wasn’t it? He was there last night at the maze. I saw him get out of a car with some of the other players.” Her nose turns up as she refers to the opposition on the ice tonight like they bring a bad smell with them.
Athena gives a slow nod of approval. “Nice.”
“Yeah, it explains why Johnny has been chipping at Mason for the whole first period.” Should I be affronted to have been used in some petty manipulation against another person? Maybe. Am I? Fuck no. I’m all in for the pettiness.
“Mac has a younger sister.” The woman, I think her name is Penelope, sits forward and offers popcorn down the row. “He’s fiercely protective of her. Tate mentioned in passing once that Mac is the biggest feminist on the team. If Artemis hadn’t handed Rico and Mikko their asses for fat shaming me, I’m pretty sure Mac would have unalived them both without hesitation.” She grins at me. “I met Tate at a Halloween party, too. It’s good luck to meet your other half at a de la Peña party.” She holds her hand out and Athena slaps her with a hi-five.
“I’m not… we’re not…” My objection to being called Mason’s other half is drowned out by one of the other women speaking.
“It’s hot as fuck.” Tori fans herself before accepting the popcorn from Penelope and takes a handful. “There’s literally nothing hotter than a man who’s a feminist for not just his mom and his sisters, but for all women. If I wasn’t already with Raffi, you’d have competition.”She flaps her hand in front of her face. “I might need a moment with my vibrator tonight. Total spank bank material.”
It’s a little overwhelming, sitting here surrounded by all of the girlfriends of the Raccoons, but there’s something so inherently natural about being included. Athena wanted me to come along because I’m new to town, don’t know anyone here, and she wanted me to meet the gang, but they’ve accepted me as one of their own, and it feels… I don’t know, it feels kind of nice.
As soon as I lift my drink to my mouth, the arena starts bubbling with excitement. A couple kids behind us chant ‘fight, fight, fight,’ and I know before seeking him out on the ice that Mason is about to hand my ex-boyfriend his ass right there, in front of everyone.
Mason
I don’t care how long it takes; this piece of shit is eating ice.
I can’t stop thinking about Lilith, about the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes when she knew he was watching, the way her body tightened with, dare I guess,fearin knowing that he was close by?
How someone hasn’t put this asshole in the ground is beyond me. I push out a slow breath through my nose, because while at one time in my life I’d have said I was too pretty for jail, there’s a real chance I’ll wipe the floor with this prick tonight and end up behind bars.
And he knows it, too. Every time he takes to the ice, he has a menacing smirk on his face and a glint in his eyes that tell me he’s up to something, but I can’t figure out what.
At least I couldn’t, until the second period intermission when someone thrusts a phone in front of my face in the locker room. It’s a picture of me pressing Lilith into the side of the merch stand outside the rink last night.
I can’t help the twitch in my pants or my lips at the sight. She looks damn good with her legs curled around my waist and my dick pinning her to the wall.
But a quick scan of the article, of the small-town publicationsmearing Lilith’s name through the mud as some kind of hussy makes a red mist descend in front of me.
Artemis places a hand on my chest, seemingly sensing the shift in my body. “Easy.” He pats me, once, twice, even a third time, but it does little to dissolve the bubbling in my bloodstream.
“He took that picture,” I grit out through painfully clenched teeth.
“He did. But he’s not worth going to jail over, amigo.” Apollo nails me with a pointed stare from a few feet away. “Don’t let him goad you into something you’ll regret.”
That’s just it; I’m not sure I would regret it. My aunt’s abuser got away scot-free,had his whole life ahead of himall while ruining hers. There was never enough evidence, they said. Men who do bad things to people deserve to have bad things done to them.
Fuck.
I rake my hands through my hair. I know I’m not God, I’m not even judge or jury, but the roaring fire of rage in my veins has me wanting to be executioner for that absolute asshole, JW.
He’s been far too problematic for far too long.
Back out on the ice, Artemis ices every time JW does, keeping our enemy out of the eye of my Cat five hurricane. He’s a good friend, and a great teammate. And every time he skates within JW’s range, he throws a subtle shoulder that not even the great Johnny White can pretend doesn’t affect him.
Artemis de la Peña is a fucking tank.
Something prickles my awareness in the stands. Glancing up from the bench, my eyes easily find Pennywise in the crowd. She’s like a vibrant homing beacon, the hair, the tits, those fucking suspenders. I bet she wore the costume again because she knows it drives me out of my mind.
