Dirty Pucker (Denver Bashers #2)

23. Ingrid

Chapter 23

Ingrid

“ C an you believe the way Del slammed into that Bandits player?” Maya asks before sipping her cocktail.

We’re sitting at the lobby bar of Aria, a luxury hotel on the Vegas strip, waiting for the guys to join us. The Bashers players and all the team staff are staying here while they’re in Vegas.

I tap my fingers against my water glass. “Yeah. It was wild.”

“It’s been awhile since he pulled a hit like that. That was downright dirty,” Maya says.

I nod along and think back to the game this evening. I was sitting in the stands with Maya watching the game. I saw Del and Owen talking to each other before the hit.

Only talking isn’t the right word for it. It looked like Owen was shit-talking Del judging by the smirk on Owen’s face and the fact that Del wasn’t even looking at him the whole time he was talking. He was glaring though.

“Maybe Owen said something to get under Del’s skin. I saw them talking a few minutes before Del slammed into him. Del look kind of pissed,” I say.

“I bet you’re right.” She sighs and swipes her long, dark brown hair over her shoulder. “Hockey is so brutal sometimes.”

“It really is.”

“I wonder if he’ll get suspended,” Maya says.

I sink deeper into the plush velvet couch we’re sitting on and glance down at the swirly blue carpet pattern underneath my heels.

I wonder how Del’s feeling, if he’s doing okay or still upset about whatever went down between him and Owen.

“I could tell he didn’t like Owen when they ran into each other yesterday at the photoshoot,” I say. “I asked him about it, but he didn’t really explain.”

Maya and I met up for dinner last night right after she landed in Las Vegas to watch the Bashers game. I filled her in on Del’s nude photoshoot and the awkward run-in with Owen.

Maya tilts her head at me. “Maybe it has something to do with that. Maybe Del was jealous that Owen was flirting with you.”

“Crashing into Owen from behind and injuring him seems like an overreaction, even if Del was jealous,” I say.

Del definitely was bothered to see Owen talking to me. Maybe he was a little jealous, but I can’t imagine he was so upset that he targeted Owen for a dirty hit.

The server stops by to ask if we want another round of drinks.

Maya looks at me. “How about a bottle of champagne? We could use some bubbles after tonight.”

“Yeah, that sounds nice. And could we also have an alcohol-free lemon spritzer too?”

The server says no problem and walks off. A minute later, Sophie makes her way over to us.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” she says through a breath. “I would have come straight from the game, but my clothes were gross.”

Maya makes a face. “Blood?”

“A little blood. Mostly drool and sweat though.” Sophie sits down next to me on the couch and smooths a hand over the skirt of the pretty emerald green sheath dress she’s wearing. “I’m glad I changed since I have to sit next to you two glamazons.”

Maya and I laugh.

Sophie kicks up a gold stiletto. “Even with four-inch heels I’m still shorter than you both.” She chuckles.

I pat her arm. “You look really pretty. I love that dress.”

She beams. “Thanks, it was a Valentine’s Day gift from Xander. He took me to my favorite boutique and let me pick out whatever I wanted.”

“That man is addicted to spoiling you,” Maya says.

Sophie rests a hand on her chest and flashes a dreamy smile. “He really is. I’m so lucky.”

“Let me guess: his only caveat was that you had to pick out new lingerie too?” Maya wiggles an eyebrow. I chuckle.

“You’re absolutely right.” Sophie’s peaches-and-cream skin flushes bright red. She tugs at her strawberry blonde hair, flustered.

“Sorry about the loss,” I say to Sophie.

“Yeah, it’s too bad. The guys played really hard, but you can’t win them all.”

The server returns with a champagne bottle and two flutes along with the lemon spritzer. I hand it to Sophie, who thanks me for remembering that she doesn’t drink alcohol often.

“Did you treat Owen Crowley or did the Bandits’ team doctor take care of him?” I ask Sophie.

“The Bandits’ doctor treated him.” She plays with the hem of her skirt. “He’ll recover. He didn’t break anything or get seriously injured. He’ll just be really sore.”

“Glad to hear it’s not serious,” Maya says. “Too bad he’s hurt though.”

Sophie purses her lips and shrugs, then sips her drink.

Maya frowns. “What’s that look about?”

Sophie glances down at her lap. “It’s not the worst thing in the world that he’s hurt.”

“What do you mean?”

Sophie looks up and bites her lip as she looks between us. “I’m guessing you haven’t heard?”

Maya and I shake our heads.

Sophie sighs, her delicate shoulders sinking with the movement. “I’m not supposed to say anything…” Her big blue eyes land on me.

Maya leans closer. “Well, now you definitely have to tell us.”

Sophie’s eyebrows wrinkle like she’s concerned. She looks at both Maya and me.

“Sophie, we won’t say a word,” Maya says. I tell her the same.

Sophie lets out a breath. “I overheard the guys talking in the locker room and apparently the reason why Del hit Owen was because he made a gross comment about you, Ingrid.”

I lean back, shocked. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” She pauses, like she’s working up the nerve to say more. “I overheard Del say that while he was on the ice with Owen, Owen made a joke to him about sexually assaulting you.”

My mouth falls open. An ugly feeling gnaws at the pit of my stomach.

“That bastard.” Maya’s voice is sharp and angry.

Sophie’s angelic face turns pained as she looks at me. “I’m so sorry, Ingrid. I know that must be awful to hear. Del didn’t want you to find out because he didn’t want to upset you.”

Maya scoots closer to me on the couch and links her arm in mine. Sophie pats my hand.

I’m quiet as my friends give me a few minutes to process my thoughts.

I can’t believe Owen did that. He acted all flirty with me yesterday and before the game, then he jokes about assaulting me.

I make a disgusted noise. “Del was right. Owen’s a scumbag.”

I tell Sophie and Maya about how before the game, while I was filming the teams warming up for social media, Del came up to me to say hi, then Owen skated over to talk to me.

“Owen wanted to meet up with me after the game, but Del warned me not to,” I say. “Del said he was a scumbag. But before I could ask him why, warmup ended and he left.”

Both Maya and Sophie sip their drinks. Maya downs all the champagne in her glass, then pours herself more.

She raises her glass. “To Del. For kicking the shit out of that scumbag.”

“To Del,” Sophie and I say. The three of us clink our glasses and sip our drinks.

As I gaze at the bubbles in my glass, I notice that ugly feeling starts to fade.

I think about Del, how quickly he reacted to defend me. How unfazed his expression was when he was taken to the penalty box. How he looked just as unbothered when he got kicked out of the game.

He did all that for me.

I think about my ex, Kyle, how we’d be out with his friends and they’d make snide comments about how silly my job was, even though I made more money as an influencer than all of them. They all worked normal office jobs as attorneys and accountants and turned their noses up at anyone who had a nontraditional career. When they made fun of me, Kyle never once defended me. He’d just laugh along, and then make excuses for them later on when we were alone together.

“Babe, you know they’re just giving you a hard time. Your job is just really different from what they do for a living. Try and have a sense of humor about it.”

Even just thinking about how he always defended them—never me—is still so upsetting.

I know that’s not the same as a guy making a horrific joke about assaulting me. Maybe if that had happened, Kyle would have defended me.

But that’s kind of the point. I can’t say for sure he would have. Because I don’t ever remember him standing up for me.

But Del did. Del put his career and his standing in the league at risk to defend me.

I wasn’t even there, and he stood up for me.

My stomach dips again, but this time it feels way more intense.

“Hey, ladies.”

I look up and see Xander, Theo, Blomdahl, Del, and a few other guys from the team, all dressed in suits, walking over to us.

Xander sits next to Sophie on the arm of the couch we’re sitting on. Theo takes the armchair next to Maya. Del, Blomdahl, and their other teammates take the couch across from us.

“Sorry about the loss,” I say to the guys.

Xander and Theo shrug like it’s no big deal.

“It’s okay. We beat them the last three times we played them. We’ll let them have this one.” Theo smiles. Maya kisses him.

The server comes by with more champagne flutes and takes the guys’ drink orders.

Xander asks if the champagne is any good and I offer him my glass to try. I look over and see Del staring at me. His gaze is dark and watchful. He blinks before glancing off to the side.

My stomach does that flippy thing again at the way he was looking at me.

Like he was watching over me, making sure I was safe.

Heat flashes across my skin. I can’t remember the last time a guy looked at me like that. There’s something so protective about it.

I like it. A lot.

That heat makes its way all the way down between my legs. I start to ache, then quickly cross my legs.

Wow. I didn’t know protectiveness turned me on this much.

I clear my throat and say, “No problem,” when Xander thanks me and hands me my drink back. I down the rest of the champagne in my flute, then chug from my water glass. My throat feels hot and dry all of a sudden.

When I look at Del, I catch him looking at me again, that same watchful stare. And then the corners of his mouth curve up slightly in the sweetest, most subtle smile.

My heart flutters.

God, he’s killing me with that quiet protectiveness he’s emanating.

The longer I look at him, the more that ache inside of me builds and builds.

I need to talk to him about what happened at the game tonight…

But I can’t. He doesn’t know that I know I’m the reason he went after Owen. And I don’t want to betray Sophie’s trust when she asked me not to say anything.

So I sit there, my entire body buzzing to grab Del so I can talk to him, so I can tell him how much it means that he stood up for me, that he made that jerk Owen pay for talking about me in such a gross way.

But before I can do or say anything, Del stands up.

“I’m tired. I’m gonna head back to the room,” he says, yanking his tie loose.

He walks out of the lounge and disappears into the hotel lobby.