One Pucking Destiny (Crane Hockey #4)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER

FOURTEEN

ARI

T he opposing volleyball team did not have cleanup duty tonight. The catering staff left everything in pristine condition. Less than an hour after we’d finished eating, they loaded the last of their supplies into the white vans and took off. The dinner spread consisted of the most delicious barbecue I’ve ever had. There was brisket, ribs, chicken, and all sorts of delicious sides. I’ve always heard that Texas knows how to do barbecue, and now I know that’s true.

I’m usually not much of a foodie. As I grew up, elaborate meals were not a thing under our roof. I always had enough but never food in excess. Yet I was excited to see all the tins of leftovers the caterers had left in the refrigerators. Undoubtedly, more incredible meals are planned for tomorrow, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the guys opt for the barbecue leftovers instead.

The dinner was nice, almost like a wedding reception. I’m sure the caterers do many weddings. They had tables with linens and chairs set up and taken down with ease. All the Crane families from the other houses on the properties came over, and it was one big party.

It was nice seeing my mom in her element. She seems to have a good relationship with everyone, from the secretaries to the coaches and team owners. The sight fills me with joy. I love that so many lovely people surround her. That’s never been the case. While I’m sure she had classmates, professors, and coworkers she had friendships with over the years, I never saw it. Never like this. These people are her extended family now, and she deserves that more than anyone in the world.

Most everyone has returned to their own mansion, and I’m not complaining. Having us all together is nice, but it’s even better to be here with the players. There is some unspoken understanding that this outside area, complete with a gorgeous open pavilion next to the pool and hot tub, is designated for the players. At one end of the pavilion is a wall with a fully stocked bar, a big flat-screen TV, and a sitting area .

I’ve yet to take a tour around the estate, but I’m told each grand home has its own area like this, complete with an outdoor living space and a pool. The house where the families are staying has playground equipment and a more kid-friendly pool with slides and a splash pad.

After dinner, the guys, Iris, and I sat at the tables at the other end of the TV/bar area beneath the pavilion and have been playing a heated game of poker. I’ve lost track of how long we’ve been at this, but it’s been hours.

Iris, who’s been out for a while, walks around and refills everyone’s drinks. “Ari?” She stands beside me with a few options. I reach for the blue can of Long Drink. I tried this beverage for the first time earlier today and am currently obsessed. It’s so delicious and refreshing.

“Thank you!” I set my cards on the table, crack open the gin drink in my hand, and take a swig.

Only four of us are left in the game—Bash, Beckett, Gunner, and me—and the stakes are high. I get the feeling that Beckett and Gunner do not like losing. And Bash, the handsome guy, is just along for the ride. I secretly love that about him. He’s just so carefree all the time. Given his status on the team, I know he's fiercely motivated and competitive. Yet he doesn’t come across that way. In the romance books I read, he would totally be classified as a cinnamon roll hero. I always thought I’d be into the alphas and more dominant men, but I find no one here more attractive than Bash. There’s something to be said for a guy who is so into you that he wants to give you the world and put all his ego aside.

Not that I’m into him. Because I’m not. But if I were forced to choose—it’d be him.

The pot of money in the center of the table is huge as the four of us have gone all in. This is the final hand, and I’m feeling really good about my four kings.

“I’m calling it!” Bash throws the remainder of his chips into the center of the table and throws me a beautiful smirk. “Alright, show us what you’ve got.”

I give him a smug smile and lay out my hand. “Four kings! Beat that, Cookie !” I put emphasis on his nickname because it drives him crazy.

“Dammit.” Bash throws his cards down. He grumbles, “Monster,” under his breath.

Leaning over, I whisper in his ear, “The monster part doesn’t make it any better.”

A smile forms on his lips. “I know. I like to pretend it does.”

Dreven sighs and tosses his hand onto the table. Neither of their hands can beat mine.

I look at Beckett with a challenge in my eyes. “What about you, Stepdad?” I tease .

He slides his cards facedown across the table. “You won it all. Congrats.”

Raising my hands in the air, I shriek. I bolt from the chair and do a victory dance around the table. I can’t believe I beat them all. The thrill is exhilarating. I’m not sure how much is in that pot, but I guarantee it’s more money than I’ve ever had in my possession in my life.

“Yeah, I’m heading in,” Gunner states, pushing away from the table.

“Me too,” Beckett says. He looks at me with a smile.

“Let me see your cards,” Bash says under his breath, the statement meant for Beckett alone.

Beckett takes the piles of cards on the table and mixes them up before Bash can grab them. “I had a three of a kind. Uh, nines.”

Bash chuckles. “You’re lying.”

The two exchange a couple more hushed words, and my love for Beckett grows. My mom picked a good one.

“Good game.” Beckett stands from the table and gives me a high five before he heads over to my mom. She’s sitting in a lounge chair reading on her Kindle. He says something to her about kissing under the moon, and I turn my back to them to give them privacy.

I let out an exaggerated sigh. “How am I going to get all this money up to my room? I just don’t know if I can carry it all.”

“Your room, you say? I definitely have time to help you with that.” Bash collects the cards from the table and puts them back in their box.

“You know, I think I’m good.” I retrieve an empty to-go box from the bar and start piling the money into the container.

He takes a final chug of his beer, finishing it off. Everyone else has dispersed, leaving just the two of us outside.

“What are you going to do with your new fortune?” he asks, tossing his beer bottle into the recycling bin.

I pucker my lips in thought. “I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll buy myself a pony.”

“A very practical choice.”

After throwing the last bit of cash into the box, I shut the lid. “I am a very practical woman.”

As a pair, we finish cleaning up the table, throwing a few pieces of discarded trash away and disposing of empty beer bottles. I grab a bottle of water from the bar refrigerator and grab my box of cash from the table.

“I’m heading up. Night, Bash.”

“I’ll walk with you.”

I shake my head. “No, I’m fine. I can walk myself.”

“Well, I’ll walk next to you anyway. Our rooms are right by each other. ”

He has me there. I can’t do much about him walking himself to his own room.

“Did you have a good day?” he asks.

“I did. Thanks. Yeah, the team is really cool, actually.”

“Actually?” He lets out a small laugh. “Did you think we wouldn’t be?”

I shrug. “As you’ve seen… I don’t know much about sports or the hockey world, but for some reason, I thought hockey players would be dicks.”

He chuckles. “Some are—not really on our team but others in the league, but I don’t think it has anything to do with being a player. There are dicks in all professions.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

We make our way up the spiral staircase to the second story. We’re quiet as we head down the hall to our rooms. No words are spoken, but the tension in the air is palpable as I anticipate what’s going to happen when we reach our doors. Or what I want to happen.

No, I know what I want. We need to each go into our prospective rooms and go to bed. That’s the only reasonable outcome.

The hallway ends, leaving just the two of us, our bedrooms, and a mountain of emotions.

“Ari,” he says my name, a loaded whisper.

I lean against the door to my room, gripping my money container and water against my chest like a shield. “Don’t, Bash,” I plead.

He moves toward me, resting his arm on the door molding beside my head. His tongue peeks out to wet his lips. “Why’d you say what you did in the pool?”

I internally chastise myself for those words. It was a moment of weakness. One that I knew would give him false hope. Yet, for some reason, it felt important for him to know. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

“So it wasn’t true?” He holds me in his stare, his blues begging for honesty.

“No, it was true, but it was cruel. I shouldn’t have said it knowing that you still have feelings or whatever.”

He inches his body closer. I can feel the heat from his chest against mine. His arms, against the sides of the door, cage me in. “So you think about that night every day?”

My chin betrays me as it dips in affirmation.

“And here we are. Alone. Together.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “I can’t.”

“Is there someone else?”

“No. No one since you.” I regret the words the second they leave my lips. Bash has this way of tearing down all my walls, making it impossible for me to tell him anything but the truth.

There’s an audible hitch in his throat. “You haven’t slept with anyone since me?” His words are veiled in a cloak of hunger.

“I’m not dating anyone, and as I told you, despite my night with you, I really don’t just hook up with random people all that often. I’m not some hot-ass hockey player sleeping my way through America with a different puck bunny each night.” My words are unfair. I don’t have the right to make Bash feel bad for who he sleeps with. He doesn’t owe me anything.

“I don’t do that.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“I haven’t slept with anyone since that night either.”

My chest aches, and I long to reach out for him. I pull the items in my hand closer to my chest. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Whether you believe me or not doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. You’re all I’ve thought about since that night. I wasn’t lying about that. I couldn’t sleep with someone else when you’re the only woman taking up space in my mind.”

“I told you, I can’t do this with you.”

“Why?”

“Just because.”

His face lowers to mine. His lips are a heated breath away from kissing me. “Tell me you don’t want to feel my lips on you. Tell me you haven’t felt the insane chemistry we share all day. Tell me that your body isn’t an inferno pulsing with the desire to feel me again. Tell me you don’t want me as much as I want you right now, and I’ll walk away. But be honest, Ari. I can make you feel so good. All I need is a simple yes. Drop your walls. Let yourself have what I know you want. I just need one little word. Say yes.”

My skin tingles, and my core burns with desire. My heart is beating so hard it echoes in my ears. “No.” The word is quiet and raspy. I clear my throat, and much louder this time, I say, “No.”

His arms drop, and he takes a step back from me. A war of words, things he wants to say weigh on his features. But he doesn’t utter a single word. A single emotion burns through his stare, causing my heart to ache. It isn’t hurt or even anger. It’s disappointment, and for some reason, that seems worse than all the rest.

Without another word, he enters his room and closes the door behind him, leaving me alone in the hallway. The items in my grasp weigh a hundred pounds, and my arms shake as I hold them to me.

The final sound of the lock turning on his side of the door crushes my soul in an excruciating wave of remorse.

But it still doesn’t change a thing. For now, my answer will always be no. It has to be.