Pucking Only (Night Hawks Hockey #2)

Chapter One Goals

GRACE

“Spring Break, bitches! Woohoo!” Skyler exclaims.

I flinch, quickly looking around to see if anyone stares at us as we walk into our hotel lobby. Thankfully, there appear to be enough college-age partiers making fools of themselves that we just blend into the rest of the crowd. Still, I elbow my best friend and hiss, “Would you chill? We haven’t even had any drinks yet!”

Grinning, Skyler tosses her dirty-blonde ponytail over her shoulder, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief behind her glasses. “ You haven’t had anything to drink yet,” she corrects. “ I had three vodka cranberries on the plane. No… make that four. Five? No, five is too many. Rylee! How many vodka cranberries did I have on the plane?”

Rylee, my tall blonde bombshell of a friend with the most strikingly intense blue eyes, shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t even remember how many rum and cokes I had.”

“Me either,” the fourth member of our group, Sutton, adds, her words slurring ever-so-slightly. “The flight attendant was super cute and might have overserved us just a smidge.” She holds her thumb and forefinger in front of her face, the space between them minuscule. Her brown hair flops over her forehead, the vibrant pink streaks and shaved sides giving her punk rock glamor. She is always changing her hair color and trying bold new styles, in sharp contrast to her usually shy, reserved personality.

I’d met Sutton and Rylee at the beginning of the school year at Carlisle Tech University in Northern Florida. The four of us live right next to each other in the dorms. Skyler and I grew up together and have been best friends since kindergarten, and we bonded with Sutton and Rylee pretty much right away, forming a ride-or-die friend group that I was confident would last throughout our four years of college.

My jaw drops as I look between the three of them. “Wait a minute! I didn’t know you guys were drinking on the plane. What the hell?”

Skyler giggles and loops her arm around my shoulder. “Of course, you didn’t notice. You had your nose buried in a book the whole flight!” She pinches my cheek and I swat her hand away.

“You guys are ridiculous,” I sigh, but I can’t help the grin that tugs at my lips.

“Don’t worry, sweet cheeks,” Skyler says. “We’ll get you caught up… maybe. How many shots can you do before you start puking?”

“Okay, gross.” I shrug out from under her arm and turn to face all three of them, giving them my arched brow look of disapproval. “You three lushes stay here. I’ll go get us checked in. Try not to get in any trouble until I come back, all right?”

Skyler and Rylee salute me as Sutton says, “Yes, Mom.”

“Yeah, don’t love that,” I scold her, even though I am feeling very much like I’m in mom-mode as I gaze at their goofy expressions. “Just stay put. Good girls.”

Skyler lets out a bark as I turn and march toward the reception desk. As I draw near, one of the receptionists looks up and gives me a bright smile. I’m impressed that she looks so put together and unfazed by the chaos going on in the lobby around us. Her black vest and jacket are pristine, and her makeup doesn’t have a single smudge. She’s cool, calm, and collected. This is clearly not her first Spring Break.

“Hello,” she says, right as I reach the desk. “Welcome to the Royal Miami Hotel. How can I help you?”

“Yes, uh, checking in,” I tell her. “Gracelynn Monroe.”

The receptionist nods and looks down at the computer screen in front of her. Her fingers fly over the keyboard for several moments before she looks back up at me.

“One room, two queens, and six nights, correct?” she asks.

“Yep,” I confirm. “That’s right.”

“Alright, Ms. Monroe, I have you all set up in room 305. If there’s anything else you need, don’t hesitate to ask,” the receptionist says with a polite smile.

I thank her and grab the keycards before turning back to find my friends. As I make my way through the lobby, I spot them at the bar, already with drinks in hand and deep in conversation with a group of guys who look like they walked straight out of a frat house.

“Oh no,” I mutter to myself, quickening my pace. I reach them just as Sutton is about to down a shot that one of the guys is handing her. What the hell? Since when does shy little Sutton take drinks from strangers? That’s much more of a Rylee move.

“Whoa, hold on there!” I exclaim, snatching the shot glass from her hand. “We just got here and you’re already making poor life choices?”

Sutton pouts playfully while Skyler and Rylee burst into laughter. The guys chuckle too, looking slightly sheepish.

“Sorry about that,” one of them says, running a hand through his tousled hair. “We just wanted to welcome you ladies to Miami.”

I eye them warily for a moment and then sigh. I return the shot glass and raise an eyebrow at my friends.

“One drink each, then we’re heading up to our room.”

“Thanks, Mom!” Skyler exclaims as the guys finish passing around the shots.

I roll my eyes at Skyler's quip and take my shot. The liquid burns down my throat, but I refuse to show any weakness in front of the frat boys. With a smirk, I set the empty glass back down on the bar and shoo my friends away from the group of guys.

"We're off," I announce firmly, herding them towards the elevators. The guys call out goodbyes, but I ignore them, focusing on guiding my inebriated friends to our room.

As soon as we're inside and the door clicks shut behind us, I turn to face them with a stern expression. "Okay, ladies, time to rally. We didn't come all the way to Miami to get wasted on the first night."

Skyler lets out a groan and flops dramatically onto one of the beds. "But Gracie, it's Spring Break! We have to live a little."

I shake my head with a smile and start unpacking my suitcase. "Living a little doesn't mean blacking out every night, Sky."

Rylee collapses onto the bed next to Skyler, her words slightly slurred. "But you're always so responsible, Grace. Let loose for once!"

“Letting loose is exactly what I’m going to do!” I assure them. “I just want to actually make it to the pool before I black out.”

Sutton slinks up to me and gives my shoulder a playful shake .

“Oooooh, is the bookworm going to go Girls Gone Wild ?” she asks, her eyes sparkling. “Please, please, please say yes!”

I shrug out of her grip and shake my head. “I’m not going to flash my boobs at a crowd or anything, but… I do have a few goals for this week.”

My friends all groan.

“Not goals!” Rylee exclaims, rolling off the bed. “Always the goals!”

I scowl at her. “Having goals is not a bad thing!”

Sutton moves closer to Rylee and links arms with her. “Boo, goals! Booooo!”

I scowl and wave my hands at them as if swatting a fly away.

“All right, enough out of you two,” I grumble. “Go get your swimsuits on. I don’t want to waste another minute of pool time locked in this room with you drunks.”

Rylee and Sutton giggle as they each salute me and move to the other side of the room to dig into their suitcases. As soon as their backs are turned to us, Skyler slides along the bed until she’s right next to me as I dig through my own luggage.

“So, you’re going to do it?” she whispers, her eyes wide. “Really?”

I shoot her a look and nod. “Yeah, why not? I’m tired of waiting. This is the perfect opportunity to do it and get it out of my system so I can focus when we get back to school.”

Skyler frowns and her brow furrows in clear concern. “But, Grace… this is your virginity we’re talking about. Do you really want to give it to some random stranger? Don’t you want your first time to be special?”

Releasing a long breath, I sit on the bed next to her and pat the top of her head.

“I just want to get it over with,” I tell her in a soft voice. “I already feel so behind when it comes to life experiences. Growing up, my brother was always there, scaring off any potential boyfriends and overshadowing me with his popularity and charisma. Not that I really minded, but I’m finally on my own, and I just want to be a normal college girl for once. I want to party and hook up with some hot guy, then I can go to college and return to my regular life and my studies and not have to wonder what it would be like to actually be with a guy.”

Skyler stares at me for several moments and then arches her brow. “So, what you’re saying is that you’re a horny little gremlin and you can’t concentrate on being a smarty-pants because you’re always on the verge of humping the tables in the library. So, you’re going to get dicked down by some beef-head you meet here and then go back home to resume your Mother Theresa schtick. That about right?”

I burst out laughing, and I shove her shoulder. “I guess that’s one way to sum it up.”

She falls back on the bed and chuckles before she gasps, a wide smile curling her lips.

“What if you meet a hockey player?” she asks, a teasing lilt in her voice.

I tense up. “What?”

She sits back up. “Seems like you’re throwing out all your other rules. What about rule number one? Thou shalt not dateth a hockey bro?”

I clench my teeth, a shiver of annoyance passing through me. I quickly shake it off, though, and reply, "I've spent all my life around players. Literally and figuratively. And while I have all these rules about refusing to be in a relationship with one, this week is not about that, because once it's over, we won't ever see each other again. So why bother even worrying? Besides, the chances of the guy I meet playing hockey are slim to none, so there's no point in even considering the possibility."

Skyler held up her hands, as if in surrender. “All right, all right…I just don’t want you limiting your pool of suitors because of your weird prejudices against hockey.”

“They’re not weird,” I grumble. “If you’d grown up with Carson as your twin brother, you’d probably hate hockey, too.”

Skyler rolls her eyes playfully. "Fine, fine, I get it. I’m just saying, you’re looking for a good time, so you shouldn’t shoot down a hot guy who wants to bang you into next week just because he can skate and hit something with a stick."

I nod, conceding her point. "Okay, fine. I'll keep an open mind this week, but let's get one thing straight — this is just a fling. I'm not looking for anything serious or long-term."

Skyler grins devilishly. "Got it. Just a casual, fun time in Miami with a hot stranger. I can get behind that plan. I’ll wingman for you!"

“Perfect,” I reply, pushing back to my feet. “Now, come on. Get your swimsuit on so we can get down to the pool. I’m not going to find my hot guy fling in here.”

“You got it, boss!” Skyler exclaims, standing as well. “Operation Lost V-Card is underway!”

“Grace is losing her V-card?” Rylee cries out in excitement, rushing out of the bathroom with just her bikini bottoms on.

“I want to help!” Sutton follows close behind, though she’s thankfully fully dressed in her suit.

I groan and drop my head into my hand in exasperation. I need to start drinking, right the hell now.