Talk Hockey to Me (Bears Hockey #3) - Kelly Jamieson Page 0,12
love with him. Which seemed to be how I felt about most guys I went out with, if I found a guy who could handle me.
The party was loud and noisy and we were playing Drunk Jenga when Hunter arrived. A cheer went up upon seeing him step into the living room. He shook his head, one corner of his mouth lifted.
“Hey! You need a drink!” I called to him, jumping up.
“Yeah. I do.” He looked at Jude. “Happy birthday, man.”
“Thanks, Morry!” Jude stumbled over to Hunter to hug him. He was half wasted, but why not, it was his birthday.
I led the way to the kitchen to get Hunter a beer, bopping along to the music blasting from the speakers. I opened the fridge door, then paused. Looking over my shoulder, I asked, “Do you want beer? Or some of my Mexican punch?”
His eyebrows shot up. “Mexican punch?”
I pointed to the big bowl on the counter, now about half full of bright orange beverage.
“What’s in it?” he asked doubtfully.
“Juice. And tequila. Lots of tequila. Grenadine. 7-Up. It’s really good!”
“You’re cute and all, but I’m not drinking that shit.”
After a startled beat, I burst out laughing. “Okay, fine.” I hand him a beer. “Why are you so late? And where’s Colette?”
He rubbed that back of his neck. “We broke up.”
My jaw came unhinged. “What? Why?”
He didn’t meet my eyes and shuffled his feet. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You look pissed. What happened?” I was a little tipsy, but sober enough to read the look on his face.
He sighed. “You were right. She was steamed that I went for coffee with you the other night.”
My eyes nearly popped right out of their sockets. “Are you shitting me?”
“I shit you not.”
“For fuck’s sake!” I glared at him, although it was Colette I was mad at. “That’s just stupid! You can go for coffee with whoever you want!”
“That’s what I told her.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Did you dump her because of that?”
He hesitated, then nodded. “I’m not staying with someone who thinks she can tell me who I can be friends with.”
Suddenly, it dawned on me that this happened because of me. My chest tightened and I swallowed thickly. “Ah, hell. I’m sorry, Hunter.”
“It’s okay. It’s her problem.”
“Yeah, but…I feel responsible.”
He shook his head. “It’s not your fault.”
“We are friends.” I was a little liquored up and I threw my arms around him to hug him. “And I’m sorry.”
He hugged me back, probably just about knocked out by the alcohol on my breath, but gentleman that he was, he said nothing about that. “I told you—”
“I mean, I’m sorry that happened. You’re such a good guy.” My face was so close to his. I could see his beard stubble, the texture of his skin, and I could smell his clean, musky scent. Electricity prickled over my skin. I was consumed with the desire to press my lips to his cheek. His square jaw. His mouth.
My boyfriend was in the other room. What the hell was I doing?
I stepped back and stretched my mouth into a smile. “Come on. We’ll cheer you up.”
He followed me back to the living room where Jude had just pulled out a Jenga block that said Make someone else drink.
“Morry!” Jude shouted, pointing at Hunter. “Drink!”
Hunter lifted his beer and chugged the whole thing, everyone hooting and cheering him on. He finished with a grin and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth in a sexy move.
Gah. What was wrong with me?
5
Kate
In our senior year, neither Hunter nor I dated much. Hockey was intense that year because both the men’s and women’s teams were considered favorites to go to the Frozen Four. I was putting in extra time on the ice and so was Hunter. It was also the year we were graduating; recruiters were on campus to hire us for corporate jobs, and NHL scouts were at all the men’s games.
There was only a small gang of us left who’d been together all through college.
After a study session one night, Hunter and I went back to his place for beers. His roommates were out, so we grabbed drinks and made ourselves comfy in the living room.
There were a couple of young guys on the team who were likely to get drafted. The NHL Central Scouting had them on their list of “Players to Watch” from each major league around North America. They also had Hunter on their list.
He kept dismissing their interest. For the last four years, he’d