Page 5 of Puck U Been Gone
Why didn’t I block their numbers after they broke up with me?
Because a part of you wanted them to be able to contact you.
I curse my wayward thoughts as I rush to my room and gather my things, not bothering to glance at the text messages waiting for me. If I am going to spend the day with Blair at the hockey arena, I need to be at my best. I can’t let the word get out that the female referee is upset about a couple of guys—it won’t look good for my professional reputation.
four
Ryker
“Have you seen heryet?” Felix skates past me during warm-ups, his eyes darting around the ice looking for Ollie.
“Not yet, but she’s listed as one of the officials tonight.” I’ve known Ollie’s game schedule since she first started refereeing professionally last year.
Our game against the Chicago Kraken was her first professional game. I still remember her flushed cheeks as she skated up and down the ice, watching the players and making sure no one broke the rules.
She kept her long, curly brown hair in a low ponytail, but a stray piece escaped and fell across her face, sticking to her damp skin, making me wonder how her hair would look after a night of sex.
It wasn’t until the game that Felix and I were sent to the penalty box for fighting with the guys from the Indiana Freeze. Those jerks taunted Ollie every chance they got, saying all the filthy things they wanted to do to her and what they wanted her to do to them.
Felix and I had had enough, hitting each of those bastards with a right hook whenever we could. Luckily, our team still won the game, so Coach Wynn wasn’t too mad at us. She was, however, furious when she found out what the Freeze players were saying about Ollie. As a female head coach in a male-dominated world, Coach Wynn took it personally, giving us free rein to do whatever we wanted to the Freeze the next time we played them.
Ollie never cowed at their taunts—if anything, she thrived on them, making her one of the most requested referees in our league, which made me happy for her but annoyed me because she was pulled to work more of the East Coast games instead of the Midwest games.
“There she is.” Felix stopped suddenly in front of me, his eyes fixed on Ollie. “Damn, she’s beautiful.”
Ollie scans the ice, her eyes lighting up slightly when they land on us before she abruptly turns away, focusing on what the other two referees are discussing.
We’re playing the Minnesota Norse today, so I don’t expect there to be any trouble, but I still plan to keep an eye on Ollie.
The hockey game starts, but I’m too focused on Ollie to notice what’s happening around me until Felix reminds me. “Come on, man, you have to keep your head in the game or Coach Wynn is going to bench you.”
“You’re right. Sorry.” For the rest of the game, I focus on the puck and my teammates, not the sexy referee who scowls at me the entire game.
It’s like she knows I’m struggling to concentrate on anything but her, and she’s giving me that look that says, shut that shit down.
Damn, I love a woman who takes control.
The final horn sounds, and we scrape by with a win, no thanks to me and my beautiful distraction.
five
Felix
“You think axe throwingis a good idea?” Ollie’s laugh fills my truck, and I’m glad I insisted on driving. The bench seat allows both Ryker and me to sit next to Ollie.
The short, flowy skirt she’s wearing is going to be the death of me. My hand itches to rest on her creamy thigh.
“Felix chose trivia, I picked axe throwing, and you get to pick our third date.”
“How gentlemanly of you, letting me pick the third date. How do you even know I’ll agree to a third date?”
“I think we all know there will be a third date.” I place my hand on her thigh just above the knee. “And a fourth date.” I inch my hand up further under her skirt. “And a fifth date.”
“We’re here.” Ryker points out the obvious as we pull up next to a dive bar with a neon sign of a lumberjack holding an axe.
“Fancy.” Ollie laughs again, and my fingers itch to move further up her thigh. But instead, I remove my hand from her leg, put the truck in park, and turn it off.
“This is Iowa, Ollie. This is as fancy as it gets," Ryker says, opening the passenger side door and sliding out, taking Ollie with him.
