Page 22 of The Penalty Shot (Totally Pucked 5)

“Do you like it?”

His breath whispers along the back of my neck, and I’m so startled, I bump directly into his hard chest. I can feel the heat of his skin through my shirt.

"Jesus, you scared me.” I breathe, whipping around to face him, my hand clutching my heart as it races. The towel is gone, and a pair of loose gray sweatpants sit low on his hips, sans shirt.

“Sorry, Killer. The piece.” He nods towards the art and asks quietly, “do you like it?”

I nod. “It’s hauntingly beautiful. I love it.”

“It’s one of my favorite pieces that I’ve done. The first one I was truly proud of.”

My mouth hangs open in shock.What?

I mean…he mentioned that he liked art, and he was an artist, but this? This is…gallery-level incredible. Asher is unbelievably talented and I had no idea.

“Wow.” My eyes flit back to the girl, and I suck in an uneven breath, “Asher, this is amazing.”

“Thank you. My sister and mom wouldn’t take no for an answer about hanging it, so here it is. Not a huge fan of people seeing my work. It’s more for myself, you know? Not really to show anyone else.”

“You mentioned you have dinner with your family most weekends, are you very close with your sister? Is she your only sibling?”

We walk over to his couch, and I sit opposite of him.

“Yeah, Isla is my only sibling. I’m older than her by two years, and we’ve always been really close. She’s hilarious, and always gives the guys shit when she sees them. My parents are both retired now and they travel a lot. But when they’re home, we make sure to have Sunday dinners. It’s good to have us all together under one roof and not just through a screen.” He smiles fondly as he talks about them.

“That’s really great. They sound awesome. So…I know it’s late, uh, but I just got off of work, and I wanted to let you know that I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

“About me being your roommate,” he muses, running his hand through his damp hair, his eyes shining with amusement.

“Yes. Uh, if you’re truly up for it…I’d love for you to be my roommate.”

My heart pounds in my chest, thumping erratically as I say it, and when he smirks, leaning back against the couch, and nods, relief floods me.

“I think it’s a great idea. We both need roommates, so why not?”

I clear my throat. “I just…I think we need some ground rules. I want to make sure this is a good fit for Alex and me both, and make sure that it’s going to work for you too.”

“Understandably. What do you have in mind?”

“For one, I’d really appreciate no late-night hookups. I don’t want to have to deal with that again. I told Jarrett how important it was that I not have that kind of environment around Alex, and obviously, he did it anyway, so I really just can’t.”

His eyes darken slightly, and he leans forward. “Done. Not an issue. Alcohol either. I don’t drink much, and if I do, it’s generally at a bar, catching a game with the guys.”

Thank God.

Okay, maybe this is going to work out better than I thought.

“Perfect. Other than that, I uh…I’m pretty easy to live with. I think?”

He laughs. “Auden, I’ve been living with hockey players for the last seven years. I promise you’re the best fucking upgrade there is.”

“Okay, so it’s settled. You’re moving in.”

“Looks like it. How’s this weekend? I have work outs and a few skates this week, and then an event on Friday night, but I could move things over Saturday? Hudson will be moving out at the end of next week, and we can turn our keys in then.”

Okay, so…this is really happening.

Asher Hart is going to be my roommate.

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