One Pucking Destiny (Crane Hockey #4)

Chapter 10

CHAPTER

TEN

ARI

T he best sex I’ve ever had works with my mother. I should win an award for my acting skills. The amount of talent it took to pretend I didn’t know Bash was worthy of recognition. When my mother invited me on this vacation with the entire Crane hockey team, I knew I’d hang out with a bunch of hot hockey players. I’ve met a handful of the team prior, and they’re all very handsome.

It’s actually a little weird how there are no ugly guys on this team. Whatever, that’s not important. What is important is that Bash is one of the hot hockey guys—the most gorgeous one of them all, if we’re being honest with ourselves. Which I am not. Because I’m standing here talking to this group and pretending that the sight of him didn’t internally freak me out.

I never thought I’d see Bash again. He was a casual one-night stand, not a person I thought I’d be vacationing with.

I need to talk to him.

While I don’t know him well, he seemed different. I think pretending I’d never seen him before threw him off. But I wasn’t prepared to answer questions about how we knew each other. My mother knows me better than anyone. I didn’t want her to suspect me of lying and ask questions. I realize I’m a grown adult and can do what I want, but there’s never a good time to chat with your mother about your one-night stands. We share everything but… not that.

Max and Jaden are in the midst of a story that I’m sure is hilarious based on everyone’s laughter, but I’m only half listening. “I’m going to take my bags and settle into my room,” I say to my mom.

“Okay, sounds good. Do you want me to have Beckett carry your bags up?” She reaches for Beckett’s arm, but I shake my head.

It’s clear Beckett does so much for her. I’m still getting used to seeing her rely on other people, especially a man. I just love this life for her. “No, Ma,” I say on a half laugh. “I’m fully capable of carrying a bag. Just point me in the right direction. ”

She grins. “We have you in the main house right here. It’s where all the players are staying. If you want something quieter, there are a couple more options in other houses on the property.”

“No, right here is fine.”

“Okay, good.” She points toward what can only be described as a mansion. “Head in through the doors right there. A spiral staircase past the kitchen area takes you up to the second level, where all the rooms are located. Yours is all the way at the end of the hallway to the right. You’ll see it.”

“I’ll be back.” I retrieve my bags left on the deck surrounding the back entrance of the grand house and head inside.

The place is stunning. Everything is top-end and beautiful without feeling like a museum. From what I saw of the property on my way in, every bit of it is just as beautiful.

The spiral staircase is impossible to miss. As soon as I step onto the second-floor hallway, I see what my mom meant. Hanging from every door are fancy little chalkboards with the names of that room’s occupant. I turn to the right and read the names on each door as I pass. Some of the names I recognize as members of the team I’ve met, others I don’t know. The name has been erased on one of the chalkboards, and someone has written “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.” On the door next to that one, the chalkboard says “horny.” I shake my head with a laugh. My mother’s day must never be boring with this group. My eyes go wide when I see Cookie written in perfect handwriting on one of the chalkboards. The door right past his, the very last door in this hallway, says A. Cortez .

I quickly drop my bags off in my room and pull out my phone. My fingers move across the screen. Sebastian, Cranes. The search is so simple, and it’s all there.

Sebastian Calloway is the starting center for the Cranes. He was a first-round draft pick two years ago at twenty-two, right out of college, where he had an impressive run for the University of Michigan hockey team. He has a sister, Hattie Calloway, and parents, April and Marty Calloway. I scroll through picture after picture of him sporting the Cranes navy blue jersey with a white number eleven across his chest. He’s gorgeous in every single photo, even the action shots.

“Man.” I sigh to myself and drop my phone to the bed. My mom is the team doctor, and she’s married to one of the star players. I really should pay more attention to her life. I can’t believe I didn’t know Bash was on the team. With any luck, he’ll be in his room so we can have a quick conversation and avoid another awkward social situation .

I change into my bathing suit and throw a cover-up over it. Bathing suits seem to be the attire of the day. Everyone I’ve met so far has been wearing one.

Exiting my room, I step the twelve inches to Bash’s door. With a glance down the hallway, I verify I’m alone, and I knock. A few seconds go by, and I knock again.

After a space of a couple of breaths that feel like an eternity, the door finally cracks open.

Bash’s beautiful blues widen. “Ari.”

The door is open a couple of inches, enough for me to take in his bare chest, wet hair, and the towel wrapped around his waist.

“I was hoping we could talk real quick.”

“Okay. Give me a few minutes.” He threads his fingers through his damp hair.

Male voices sound, and I shoot a glance down the hall. Some of the guys must be in the living area downstairs. I push his door open as Bash protests. “I’ll wait in here,” I say quickly, shutting the door behind me.

He raises a brow, a small smile present on his lips. “Don’t want to be seen with me. Noted. At least you remember me, though. I wasn’t so sure.”

“I don’t want to be seen outside your door while you’re half naked, no. And of course I remember you. How many guys do you think I sleep with? ”

He retrieves some clothing from a suitcase. Shaking his head, he releases a sigh. “I couldn’t tell ya. Turns out, I know absolutely nothing about you.”

I can’t quite place the underlying tone to his comment. “What does that mean?”

Stepping into the bathroom, he closes the door. “Exactly what I said. I know nothing about you. I realized that when I tried to find you for months and couldn’t,” he says from the bathroom.

“What?” My confused stare bores into the door of the bathroom. “You’ve been looking for me. Why?”

Bash exits the bathroom dressed in a T-shirt and shorts. He chuckles dryly. “Thank you for being the reality check I clearly needed. My ego needed to come down a few notches.”

“What are you talking about?”

He shakes his head. “There’s not much more to it. I had a great time with you and was thinking about you. Thought you might be thinking about me. So I tried to find you. But I guess I was wrong.”

“How did you try to find me?”

“How didn’t I?” He’s smiling, but there’s a sadness to it. “It doesn’t matter. I read our night together wrong. My mistake.”

Everything about this conversation is throwing me off. The night I spent with Bash was incredible, and I’d be lying if I said I haven’t replayed the events of that evening more than a few times. But I thought we were on the same page with what that night was and, more importantly, what it wasn’t.

“We said it was a one-night thing,” I say, confusion etched in my voice.

He steps toward me and turns to face me, resting his elbow on the dresser. A warmth radiates in my chest as he takes me in. His gaze flicks from my eyes to my lips.

“I know. We did. But it felt wrong when I woke up the following morning with you gone. Hookups have never felt like that before. Like more. At least for me, it felt different, and I wanted to find you to talk about it at the very least.”

“I’m sorry. I thought I was clear that I can’t do more right now. For me, there’s not a possibility of more.”

“Why?”

His question throws me off guard. “Bash,” I huff. “We talked about all this that night. I don’t want anything serious or even regular. I wanted a night to feel good, one night, and I thought that’s what you wanted too. I’m busy. No part of me wants more.” My shoulders lift and fall as I sigh. “I can’t believe you were looking for me, and now I feel bad about it. Like I wasted your time because I left without leaving a number when I was under the impression that was the way we both knew it was going the whole time.”

“Hey.” He grabs my hand and holds it in his. “I’m sorry. Please don’t feel bad. You’re right. You were very clear. You didn’t waste my time. In fact, I have time to spare. So much so that I just love looking around for people for no reason at all. No. Better yet, I lied. I didn’t look for you at all.” He winks. “Okay? No need to feel bad.”

I hold back a laugh. “You are the worst one-night stand ever.”

“Really?” His tongue peeks out to wet his lips. His gaze drops to my mouth as he leans in, just a fraction, but enough to make me inch back.

I clear my throat. “Okay, the neediest, then.”

“So out of all your one-night stands, I’m not the worst, but I am the neediest. Interesting. How many one-night stands are we talking here?” His voice is playful.

“That’s none of your business,” I quip. “But I guarantee it’s less than you.”

He shrugs. “Yeah, that’s probably true. Just tell me this. Have you thought about that night we shared?”

My stare locks with his. “It was just a hookup, Bash.” I shrug. “No, I never think about it.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. ”

“Oh.” His face drops, and it makes my chest hurt.

I hold my hands up, palms out. “So we’re good.”

He nods, a frown on his face. “Yeah, we’re good.”

“Okay. Now we need to talk about the game plan for the rest of this week.”

“Well, seeing that you pretended you’ve never seen me before in your life, I’m guessing you don’t want your mom to know we’ve previously met.”

“Sorry about that. I froze when I saw you. I didn’t want to risk our stories not lining up. She’s your doctor, and the Crane hockey players are very much off-limits for me. I just didn’t want her to know we hooked up.”

“I get that, but you do go to State where Hattie goes. It’s not too far-fetched to think we ran into each other somewhere like, oh, I don’t know… a bookstore or a bar?” He chuckles, and I’m relieved his sad face is gone.

I groan, shaking my head. “I know. It’s stupid, but as I said, I froze, so here we are.”

“That’s easy enough. I’ll just get to know you on this trip.” He smirks. “It will be a very natural progression. No one would dare think we ran into each other at a bookstore. They’ll never know.” He whispers the last sentence, causing me to laugh.

I hit his chest playfully. “Okay, good. But like friends get to know one another. Right? There will be no repeats of that night in September.”

“I’ll be on my best behavior. You have nothing to worry about, Ari.”

His words seem sincere, but I can’t shake the feeling that there is no truth to them at all.