Page 35 of The Penalty Shot (Totally Pucked 5)

Hudson, Reed, Briggs, Chaney, and I are all at Rossi’s having a beer, and it still feels weird for us to all be together without Graham, but he’s where he’s supposed to be. He’s found his place with his new wife, Emery, Reed’s younger sister.

That was a whole fiasco, but if anything, it’s brought us all closer together. Lately, Chaney, the new rookie, has been hanging out with us, and while he’s not Graham, he’s cool. He’s laid back and a good asset to the team. He’s just going to have to earn his spot like Graham did.

Bringing the bottle to my lips, I take another pull. “How’s the new house? Must be feeling pretty empty without me there,” I ask Hudson.

It feels weird as fuck to be away from Hudson; he’s like my brother, even if it’s not by blood. We’ve spent the better part of seven years under the same roof, and now he’s twenty minutes away.

He shrugs. “Fucking quiet. I’m used to the city sound. Now that I’m in the suburbs, it’s quiet as hell. I’ve been using some white noise machine just to sleep at night. I’ve been having to have extra sleepovers just to numb the pain, Asher. I just miss you so much.” He reaches for my hand, and I roll my eyes, shaking him off.

He laughs, sipping his drink.

“Shut the fuck up,” I retort.Asshole.

“Yeah, you’re the one having a permanent sleepover with Auden. How’s that going for you?”

I haven’t acknowledged that Auden and me are trying the ‘roommates with benefits’ thing because frankly, it’s not anyone’s business. She’s already so skittish, and Hudson’s got a loud-ass mouth.

“Going good. The season's going to be starting soon, so I'll be gone most of the time.”

He looks at me incredulously, and grins around his beer.

“Hudson, when are you going to hook me up with your sister?” Chaney asks.

“That would be never.”

“What about your sister, Asher?” Chaney glances over at me with his eyebrows raised.

I shrug, “I mean, my sister can handle her own. She’s a real ankle biter.”

We all laugh because we knowing damn good and well Chaney’s got a better chance of dating his own sister before Hudson’s.

“Fuck, I’m exhausted,” Reed says, running his hand through his unruly dark hair. He does look tired as fuck. His eyes are bloodshot and there are dark bags under them.

He and Briggs both have little ones at home, so it’s not surprising.

Hell, Hudson, Chaney and I are the only ones who aren’t married with kids at this point. Even our old coach Liam is married to his former nanny, and they have a toddler together with his two little girls.

I’m not afraid of commitment; I just haven’t ever found anyone that felt worth getting to know past one night. If anything, being surrounded by puck bunnies daily makes me want to stay far away from women.

That is until Auden. I find myself missing her when she walks out the door. Her smile, her sweet scent, her laugh.

I pull my phone out and shoot her a quick text while I’m thinking of her. She’s working late tonight since Alex’s at a Callum’s for a sleepover.

Me: I was thinking…When you get home, wanna watch a movie?

Setting my phone down while I wait for her to reply, I try to keep up with the guys’ conversation.

“Listen, you guys don’t know it yet, but I’m telling you, breastfeeding tits are the best tits in the fucking world, and it just makes me want to keep Maddison pregnant. Twenty-four-fucking-seven.”

Chaney groans. “Jesus fucking Christ. Thinking about having kids makes me never want to have sex again.”

Briggs and Reed clink their beers together, and Reed shrugs. “Ah, to be young and ignorant. Just wait. Even the best ones fall. Look at us. I could have never imagined myself so domesticated and shit, but I love it. I love my wife, love my kids.”

“Yep, same here. I don't miss any of the shit from before. This is my life now,” Briggs agrees.

I never gave it much thought, not until recently. I think about what it would be like for Auden and Alex to be mine. My heart shudders at that thought.

My feelings for Auden aren’t strictly ‘roommates with benefits’ and they probably never were.

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