One Pucking Destiny (Crane Hockey #4)

Chapter 19

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

BASH

T he sun warms my skin. Eyes closed, I face the bright sky.

A splash of water hits my chest, and I sit up on instinct, a rush of air leaving my throat.

“Sorry!” One of our new female friends waves. She runs over and grabs the volleyball at the edge of the pool.

“Is this week over yet?” I grumble and lie back down.

Gunner laughs from the chair beside me.

“What?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “You.”

“What about me?”

“Just because I don’t run my mouth twenty-four seven like the rest of you fools doesn’t mean I don’t see stuff.” He raises a brow.

I throw my hands out. “What does that mean? Enlighten me, oh wise one.”

He releases a deep chuckle and stands from the lounge chair. “I’m going to get a drink. You want one?”

“Yeah, but not a beer. Something strong.”

“I’m not a fucking bartender, Cookie.”

“Fine. I’ll get it myself.”

He waves me off. “Sit your ass down. I’ll bring you something strong.” Gunner walks away, heading to the outside bar.

Max lifts himself out of the water and falls into the lounge chair on my other side. “What’s going on with you? Why aren’t you in the pool with us?”

I point at my crotch. “New ink, remember?” While I couldn’t care less about the rules, it’s as good an excuse as any.

“Eh, it’ll be fine. We’re getting a game of volleyball going. We found new friends.” He smirks.

“Yeah, they seem nice,” I deadpan.

“Dude. They’re fucking hot. The blond one has been eyeing you all morning. Come hang out.”

“She’s not my type.”

“She’s not your type?” he scoffs. “Hot, nice, and interested isn’t your type? Seriously, is there something going on that I don’t know about? Did your dog die? ”

“I don’t have a dog.”

“Whatever, man.” Max stands and rejoins the others in the pool.

Gunner returns and places a tumbler full of brown liquid in my hand. “Sip it,” he orders.

I lift the glass and down the entire thing. “I need more.”

“Get it yourself. That isn’t on me.” He shakes his head.

“Fine, I will.”

Leaving my lounge chair, I find a bottle of whiskey on the bar and bring it to my lips, gulping it as if I were drinking a soda. I loathe the way I’m feeling, and I hate it even more that I can’t stop it.

Ari has been gone since I woke up. She, Elena, Beckett, Cade, and Iris went sightseeing. I didn’t ask where they went, and I don’t care.

I’m not even mad at Ari. She feels the way she feels, and I respect that. She can’t make herself want me when she doesn’t. What I am is furious at myself. I have no right to feel what I’m feeling. I shouldn’t be so miserable and hung up on a girl I never had. I want to go back to feeling how I felt before walking into that bookstore in September, before I reached for that book and saw her face. That’s what I want.

My dad always used to tell Hattie and me that when we felt out of our depths, all we had to do was “ fake it till we make it.” He said it’s foolproof. Just fake it until, eventually, we’re no longer faking it.

New bye week model. Faking it.

Seems solid.

I chug some more whiskey, the liquid burning my throat as I swallow.

Putting the half-empty bottle down on the bar, I run toward the pool with a scream as I cannonball into the water.

The guys are cheering as I come up.

“There he is!” Max yells.

Our new friends come to introduce themselves as Krystal, Destiny, Jasmine, and Champagne.

“What bar did you meet these girls at again?” I murmur.

“Just a local bar.” Max shrugs, looking off to the side.

“You mean a local strip club?”

“Same thing.”

As the alcohol that sloshes around in my stomach reaches my brain, I channel my inner Zen. The old Sebastian would’ve welcomed some beautiful women regardless of their occupation. After all, I am single.

Destiny skips through the water and wraps her arms around my neck. “I was wondering when you were going to get in. ”

Her breath smells like rotten fruit. It’s an unsettling combination. “What’s your name?”

“Destiny.”

“No, your real name.”

With a downward gaze, she softly mumbles, “Carol-Anne.”

“Okay, Carol-Anne. I’m sorry, but I’m in a relationship, so I just don’t want to waste your time.”

“You are? Jaden said you’re single.”

“Well…” I sigh. “It’s a relationship with myself, and it’s vital I stay true to it.”

She lowers her arms from my shoulders, her eyes blinking rapidly—confused.

“Yeah…I know. It’s a bummer.” I frown. “It was great meeting you, though.”

I swim away from her to sit on the ledge at the end of the pool and spot Eddy by the bar. “Eddy! Whiskey me!” I shout.

He looks from me to the bottle of whiskey on the bar top, and I nod.

Snatching it up, he jogs it over to me. “Careful, Cookie. You’re already slurring your words.”

“Have I ever not been careful?” I ask him.

“Um…many times.” He shakes his head and gives me a grin before returning to the bar to grab his beer.

Jaden’s voice booms across the water. “You guys, we should go to the theater tonight. Catch Annalise Sterling’s new film.”

“No!” I shout in unison with the other guys.

“What?” Jaden scoffs. “It’s a great movie.”

“Yeah, we know.” Max laughs under his breath. “You’ve already dragged me to see it twice.”

“Me too,” Eddy chimes in.

“So? When a movie is good, you go see it several times,” Jaden protests.

“Noooo!” I wag my finger in front of me. Admittedly, the motion makes my head spin. “You don’t care about the movie. You’re a stalker!”

“What?” Jaden turns toward me. “Of who?”

“Annalise Sterling!” we all shout.

“Do any of you dumb fucks know what a stalker is? Watching a movie doesn’t qualify as such.” He pauses and extends his hand out in front of him. “I enjoy her art. She’s very talented.”

“You enjoy her ass!” Max laughs.

“Like in that shower scene,” Sean points out. “Or when she had sex on that motorcycle.”

“Oh, the motorcycle scene.” I sigh. “That was hot.”

My mind wanders as I listen to one of the strippers change the subject. I guess a conversation about a movie star’s ass isn’t high on her list of interests.

I chug some whiskey and let my head lean back against the pool’s edge. Closing my eyes, I relax. I take in the cool water as it splashes against me, and I listen to the excitement of the others in the pool. They’re having a lively chicken fight competition. I take another drink of the whiskey and feel the warm Texas breeze. Eventually, numbness engulfs me, and I let the blackness behind my eyelids pull me under where there are no feelings at all.

Something slides under my arms, and I feel heavy.

It sounds like someone puking.

I miss the coolness of the water.

My mouth tastes like vomit.

“You can’t let him drink whiskey like water!”

Why is everyone so loud?

“I’m not his father! He’s a grown-ass man!”

I’m so tired.

“I think I love you.”

I need sleep.

My body feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. My heavy eyelids inch open. My room comes into focus through squinty eyes. My head pounds, and I close my eyes again, preferring the darkness.

“How are you feeling, champ?” Her angelic voice cuts through the chainsaw currently attacking my brain.

“Like death.” My throat hurts.

“Has anyone ever told you that you shouldn’t chug whiskey? It’s meant for sipping.”

“It might’ve been mentioned.”

I roll onto my back and throw my arm over my eyes. “What time is it?”

“It’s eleven o’clock… tomorrow.”

“I slept through the whole day and night?”

I can hear the smile in her voice. “Yeah, you sure did.”

“Hmm. I guess that was a strong drink.”

“You mean bottle.”

“Same difference.”

She chuckles. “Apparently, to you, it is. Can you sit up?”

I scoot to a seated position, fighting through the pure agony in my head. Ari stands beside my bed, fresh-faced and beautiful. She hands me a couple of pills and a glass of water.

“Take these.”

I swallow the pills and down the water.

“I’m making you the perfect hangover cure. But you need to get into the shower first. Maybe brush your teeth.” She grins. “It will make you feel human again. ”

“What’s the hangover cure?”

“It’s one of Marcela’s recipes. They’re special pancakes guaranteed to make you feel better. Marcela always made them for Mom, and Mom always made them for me. They’re magical. I ran to the store this morning to get the ingredients.”

“You did that for me?”

“Of course. Can’t have you feeling like shit on our last full day here, can we? Come on.” She extends a hand.

I place my hand in hers and stand from the bed, noticing I’m wearing a pair of boxer shorts that I wasn’t wearing yesterday. “Ari, why am I in different clothes?”

Her gaze narrows. “What do you remember from yesterday?”

“Last thing I remember, I was sitting on the ledge in the pool, listening to the guys and the strippers laughing.”

“And that’s all you remember?”

“That’s all.”

“Well, I had to help you shower because you puked all over yourself.” She scrunches up her nose.

“What? I puked…you showered me?”

“I had to. You were smelly.”

“But you… you showered me.”

“Would you have rather had Gunner do it? ”

A grumble leaves my throat. “I don’t know, maybe.”

A mischievous smile graces her face. “As you said, it’s nothing I haven’t seen already anyway. And despite going in the pool against orders, your chocolate chip cookie looks great.”

“Oh, thank God for that.” I roll my eyes.

I make my way into the bathroom and reach for my toothbrush. The mint tastes amazing.

Ari leans up against the bathroom doorjamb. “I can take it from here.” I grin.

She crosses her arms over her chest. “So you don’t remember anything?”

“No. Have you heard the expression blackout drunk? Yesterday was me blackout drunk. Why, did I run around the house naked, quacking like a duck? What awful, embarrassing thing—that the guys will never let me live down—did I do?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing. You didn’t embarrass yourself.”

“Well, that’s up for debate.” I tilt my head from side to side.

“Are you going to watch me shower, too?” I ask after spitting the green mouthwash into the sink. She doesn’t answer immediately, and it strikes me as odd. “Ari?”

She raises her hands, palms out. “I’m out of here. ”

I close the bathroom door and turn on the shower and step in. The scalding water rains down my face, and I feel so much better. I’m not sure if brushing my teeth or the medicine and water Ari gave me did the trick, but I’m already feeling so much better. I may have the fact that I puked most of the alcohol out yesterday to thank for a quick turnaround time.

Relief floods over the fact that it’s our last day here. This week wasn’t awful, but it was enlightening. I’m ready to get back into the swing of things. Nothing cures a confused heart better than my first love, hockey.

“Bash.” My name is so soft I’m not certain I heard it. I remove my head from the water.

I turn my head to the side, and my mouth falls open. Ari stands outside the glass shower door. She’s blurry from the steam that’s fogged up the glass, but she’s undeniably naked.

Opening the door a crack, I trail my gaze from her perfectly painted toes up to her rosy-cheeked gorgeous face. “What are you doing?”

“Can I join you?” She swallows, her eyes wide with nerves.

I open the door wider and motion her inside the shower. “Always. But what’s going on? I thought…”

She presses her finger to my lips. “I have a proposition, and we’ll only do it if you’re comfortable with it. ”

My heart beats wildly in my chest as I wait for her to continue.

“Everything I said is true. I don’t want anything serious or regular, but I was thinking that we could use today as a sort of one-night stand goodbye.”

I raise a brow.

“It would be strictly physical. Just sex. No attachment. We’ll enjoy ourselves today, and when we leave tomorrow, we go back to our lives. Today can be a way to… blow off some steam.”

“I thought you didn’t want this.” I hate the words coming out of my mouth and can’t believe I’m even questioning this incredible proposition, but I have to be sure.

“I don’t want a relationship or feelings, but I do want sex. With you.”

Once again, my stupid brain runs through all the reasons this is happening. I’ve been trying to sleep with her since she arrived, to no avail. Why now?

I shake my head. “I’m so confused. You want this?”

She hikes her leg up and rests her foot on the edge of the shower. Taking my hand, she places it between her legs. “You tell me.” Her voice is hoarse.

My finger slides into her opening, and we both groan. She’s so wet and perfectly ready for me. There’s no question that her body wants this. She drops her leg, and it pushes my hand out. She closes the gap between us and threads her fingers through my wet hair.

I circle my arms around her back and pull her against me, loving the way her soft skin feels against mine. She pulls my head toward her, and our mouths meet.

The kiss is tentative at first. My lips are in shock over feeling the very thing they’ve craved for so long. It doesn’t take long for it to deepen, our tongues desperate for contact. Kissing is often a roadblock to something better, but it could be the main event with Ari. She kisses me like she owns me—and she could, if she’d only take me.

With my fingers splayed against her back, I slide them up her skin until they’re tangled in the hair at the nape of her neck, and I pull her face into mine. Our mouths move together in this feral battle while our tongues tangle, dancing with one another in a needy rhythm.

She yanks her mouth from mine. “Can you do no feelings, Bash?” she pants. “Promise me. This is just today.”

“I know.” My hands glide down her back and over her ass. I’m in awe of the fact that I’m actually touching her.

She drops to her knees, and I watch her in fascination as she kisses my tattoo. She looks up at me through her eyelashes and smiles. Her kisses trail around my tattoo and over to my dick. She kisses up my shaft before she takes me in her mouth. My head falls back as I release a moan.

Her mouth leaves me, and I look back down at her. She holds me at the base and tilts her head up to me. Her lips are a mere breath away from where I want her to be. “Just today,” she reiterates.

I nod. “Just today.”

She takes me into her mouth again, and I relish in the feeling it brings. Chills run through my body, a contrast to the hot spray of the water. She sucks harder and circles her tongue around the tip, causing a whole new sensation to shoot through me.

The truth is, in this position, I would’ve agreed to anything she asked for. No questions asked. Maybe this is just today, but whether she wants me to or not, I’m going to want her tomorrow, too… and maybe forever.

I’ll wait until later to bring that up, though.