Dirty Pucker (Denver Bashers #2)

7. Ingrid

Chapter 7

Ingrid

I sit in the stands and watch Del as he cuts across the ice at lightning speed, chasing after a player from the Los Angeles Devils, who has possession of the puck.

Del closes in on him, then smashes him against the boards. The home crowd cheers.

He swipes the puck and takes off with it to the other end of the ice. I hold my breath as I watch him skate around defensemen from the opposing team.

A Devils defenseman moves to check him, but Del maneuvers around him, closing in on their goalie.

He hits the puck and sinks it into the net. The crowd is on their feet, going crazy after that impressive shot. The Devils were the first to score in the first period, but thanks to Del, the Bashers are on the board.

I’m on my feet and cheering too. Maya, my best friend and Theo’s wife, jumps up too. We’re sitting right behind the Bashers’ net.

Maya beams at me. “Looks like Dirty Del is winning over the Denver fans. Your TikTok of him yesterday worked magic.”

I chuckle. “Cute kittens win over everyone.”

I watch as Theo bumps Del’s shoulder in congratulations before skating off. A pretty subdued celebration, all things considered. When I’ve watched my cousin play, he usually acts like a wild man whenever one of his teammates scores, hollering and cheering while smacking and hugging them.

But this is the first game that Del is playing for the Bashers, and I know a lot of the team has yet to warm up to him.

The rest of the Bashers players go up to Del and congratulate him. I notice their reactions are subdued too. They all give him congratulatory smacks on the shoulder, but none of them are as excited as they normally are when one of them scores a goal.

As we all sit back down, I notice Del’s smile fades. His game face scowl is back in place as he gets ready for the puck drop.

I wonder if he’s bothered by the reaction from his teammates, if he wishes they’d support him more.

The ref drops the puck and Del is all over it, passing it back to one of his teammates. It’s a frenzy on the ice as the teams battle for control. A few seconds later, a Devils defenseman delivers a late hit to Del and he lands against the boards. Del shoves him back and the referee blows the whistle, stopping play.

Before their scuffle can turn into a full-fledged fight, a couple of linesmen skate over and break it up. I tense, fully expecting Del to break out of their grip and punch the Devils player, just like I’ve seen him do in all of the videos I’ve watched. But instead, Del just nods at the linesmen and skates off. The crowd around us lets out a collective disappointed “oh” sound.

“Damn. Is Dirty Del going soft?” a guy in the row ahead of us says.

The guy next to him shakes his head. “I hope not. Denver needs a player who’s not afraid to throw down.”

I notice Del looks over at Coach Porter, who nods at Del as he skates by the team box. I think back to yesterday when Del and I spent the morning together and he told me how he wants to clean up his image now that he’s playing for Denver. I don’t doubt that he was telling the truth, but seeing him walk away from an easy fight shows just how seriously he’s taking this opportunity to change himself.

He skates over to our side of the ice and says something to Blomdahl, the Bashers’ goalie. He looks past the net and catches eyes with me. A beat later, his expression brightens. He half-smiles and winks at me before he skates off to get ready for the puck drop. My stomach tumbles.

Maya’s jaw drops. “Did I see that right? Did Del Richards just wink at you?”

My face heats as I try and fail to hold back a smile. “Maybe he was winking at the person behind me.”

I hear a gruff-sounding laugh and look behind me.

“I think that was all for you, doll,” the middle-aged guy says.

Maya and I laugh.

“I’ve never seen that guy do that when he plays. I mean, I’ve seen him smirk at his opponents to taunt them. But a playful smile and wink like he just gave you? Never.” My best friend quirks an eyebrow and flashes that knowing look I’ve seen a million times before. “You’ve had quite an effect on Dirty Del in the short time you’ve known him. What exactly did you two do yesterday during your meeting?”

“We talked about his goals for the season and how I could use social media to help him clean up his public persona.”

My best friend narrows her gaze at me. “You sure that’s all?”

Even in the chill of the hockey arena, I can feel my face heat as I think about how I was one second away from kissing Del before that delivery guy interrupted us.

I think about the way Del cradled me in his arms, carrying me like it was nothing. I think about how hard his muscled body felt underneath my hands, how wet his skin was against me, how hot his breath felt when he exhaled, his mouth barely two inches from mine…

I’ve been replaying that almost kiss over and over in my head ever since it happened.

I know I shouldn’t. We agreed that kissing would have been a mistake, and that we’re just friends.

But I can’t help the way my ladybits throb when I think about almost kissing Del. I can’t help the way my clit pulses when I imagine how his tongue would feel teasing my mouth open…

I work up the nerve to tell Maya that Del and I almost kissed. She’s going to freak out.

I finally look over at her. “Okay, so something else might have happened…”

Maya’s big brown eyes go wide.

I lean in close so that no one can hear me. “We almost kissed.”

Her mouth falls open and I instantly cover it with my hand. “Not a word to anyone, okay?” I say in a low tone. I glance around at the people sitting around us. Thankfully they’re all so engrossed in the game that no one is even looking at us.

When I pull my hand away from Maya’s mouth, she looks dazed. She shakes her head. “I need details. Like, now.”

I tell Maya what happened yesterday at Del’s apartment. When I finish, her eyes are wide as saucers. Then she shoves my shoulder and lets out a wild-sounding laugh.

She shakes her head like she’s in disbelief. “Wow. You didn’t waste any time, did you?”

I sip from the cup of beer we’re sharing as I process my thoughts. Maya’s right. I’ve known Del Richards for a total of two days and we almost kissed.

Already I can’t get him out of my head.

“We got caught up in the moment,” I say, my voice pitchier than normal.

Maya quirks an eyebrow at me, her silent way of saying, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“We did.” I fiddle with the zipper on my jacket. “We both agreed that we got a little carried away. I mean, he was shirtless and wet and carrying me and…”

That familiar heat crawls up my chest and neck as I think about a half-naked and wet Del holding me in his arms, seconds away from kissing me.

I press my eyes shut and shake my head. “We’re good now. The moment passed and now we’re just friends.”

Maya laughs and shakes her head. “If you say so.”

For the next few minutes, we watch the game. The buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the first period.

Maya takes a long sip of beer. “I gotta say, I’m surprised to hear that you like Del. He’s not the type of guy you typically go for.”

I watch as Del skates off the ice. My gaze fixes on the dark scruff along his ruggedly handsome face and the hard set of his jaw as he scowls at a Devils player.

“Don’t get me wrong. Del’s a hottie for sure. He’s got that scruffy bad boy look down pat. Not to mention he’s got the hair of a Greek god.”

I chuckle.

“I guess I’m just used to you dating rich pretty boys. Like Kyle. He looked like the quintessential prep school boy-turned-corporate bro.”

I tense at just the mention of my ex’s name. “I’m done with guys like him.”

Maya grabs my hand in hers. Her pretty face twists in a pained expression when I look at her. “I’m sorry I brought him up.”

I try to smile, despite the tightness in my chest at just the thought of Kyle. Maya’s been my best friend since middle school, and we’ve always told each other everything. She knows all about what a jerk he was.

I squeeze her hand in mine. “It’s okay. I get why you’d be surprised about Del. You’re right, he’s not my type. He’s not at all what I expected. He’s really kind and sweet.”

I tell her about how he told off that guy at Spanky’s who harassed me and how fun it was to hang out with him yesterday.

“He’s so funny. And he has a really calm, easygoing energy.”

Maya blinks like she can hardly believe me. “Del Richards is funny and sweet and easygoing?”

I grin and nod.

She chuckles. “You must bring it out in him.”

I glance down at my lap, that familiar flush making its way up my chest and cheeks again.

Maya gently bumps me with her shoulder. “Honestly, that’s adorable. And kind of romantic. This grumpy hardcore hockey player is all soft and sweet for you and only you.”

“We’re just friends.”

My best friend flashes that knowing look once more. “We’ll see.”