Chapter 1

Have you read the 19k prequel yet? Although it's not needed to enjoy this story, it's a lot of fun! You can read it HERE .

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” I grumbled, wanting to push a hand through my hair but knowing I couldn’t because it had gel in it. I shook my head, feeling mildly disappointed that I let Scotty talk me into coming tonight, let alone style my hair.

What the hell was I thinking?

Scotty, my teammate, had a shit-eating grin on his face as he took me in because of course he would find this hilarious. I was sitting on the world’s most uncomfortable barstool, wearing his too-tight button-down shirt and a pair of jeans two sizes too small for my meaty ass. I looked ridiculous, and I didn’t need Scotty’s smug grin confirming it.

“Relax,” he drawled out as he clasped a hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “It’s just a little fun. You don’t need to take everything in life so seriously, Dash.”

Narrowing my eyes, I glared at him with enough fire to burn the entire place down.

Oh, he was loving every single second of this. I could tell.

He laughed again while I tried to think of a reasonable explanation for why a goalie would knock out the star center of his own team with a puck at our next game, but I came up short. Much like these pants.

“A little fun?” I grunted and clutched my beer tightly, pretending it was his throat. “A little fun to me is beating Erik’s ass on the Xbox while Alex watches and provides mildly entertaining commentary. A little fun is catching a baseball game with the guys during the offseason. A little fun is beating Southern Collegiate with little to no effort. This is a speed dating event disguised as a sports mixer that you forced me to come to because everyone else on our floor of the hockey dorm was busy.”

Scotty took a sharp breath and clutched his shirt in mock shock. He looked around the room and smiled at a few of the freshman players that he’d also managed to drag along before pinning his gaze back on me. “The Draft isn’t just a dating event.” He leaned in as if anyone could hear our conversation over the incessantly loud, sugary pop music blasting in the campus bar, Covey’s Cantina . “It’s the dating event at Covey U. Any athlete worth their salt would kill to be here because it means that the school is interested in them and their sport. That’s important to some people.”

I rolled my eyes because even the name of this thing was stupid. The Draft. It may have started out with good intentions twenty years ago, working as a meet and greet for students and players alike, but unfortunately, the event’s goals got lost in translation as time passed. Jersey chasers and puck bunnies figured out it was a pretty good way to gain one-on-one access to any athlete they were interested in earning an M.R.S. degree from. That was when the debauchery began. Players caught on pretty quickly and used it to their advantage too. Guys wanted to be part of it just for the easy access to women, but I wanted nothing to do with this mess. Quick lays and drunken nights weren’t things I was really into. I’d much rather Netflix and chill with one girl that I like than deal with people who only knew my name because of my NHL draft status. But, unfortunately for me, since I was single, I had no excuse to leave.

“Cade would have been a better choice for this. I’m sure he’d relish the attention. He always does. Even Erik makes a better first impression than me. I hate people.”

And I really hated this.

People were watching me, I could feel it, and I didn’t like being judged. That was why I was good as a goaltender. My mask was so big that I barely drew attention from girls. Having Mr. Hot Shot in the form of Scotty Hendricks on the team helped, too, because the minute girls found out he was from hockey royalty, they’d swarm to him like flies to shit. Not that he liked the attention.

Scotty dropped his head and shook it before looking back up at me. “Don’t you get it? That’s exactly why you’re the best pick for this.” He pointed to himself. “Everyone wants to meet me because they want to speak to the son of a Stanley Cup winner,” he said with disdain, and I got it. Everyone knew Scott Hendricks, and therefore the expectation of Scotty to be just as good, if not better than his father, was always there. Scotty flipped his finger over, so he was pointing at me. “You, however, are the biggest mystery of any player on the Covey Crushers. You don’t speak to people. You hardly leave the rink, and when you do, your hair is long enough that you can flick your bangs down and hide your face.”

“I don’t have bangs.”

“Would you prefer I call them curtains?” He pointed to the strands of hair at the side of my face, biting back a smile. Granted, my hair was longer than the boy band quiff he had going on, but it was nothing like that freshman quarterback we’d just recruited for next year. What was his name again? It was something that began with a T. Tanner, Tarzan, I didn’t know. Anyway, what that guy’s name was or what Scotty thought about my hair was beside the point. I was here, and I didn’t want to be.

“I’d prefer you never mention my hair again. In fact, if you could lose my number, that would be ideal.”

He tried to hide his amusement at just how uncomfortable I was finding all of this, but it didn’t work. “You do realize that I have never used your number, right? Kind of unnecessary when we all live on the same floor.”

It was the sad reality of my life and the problem with playing hockey at Covey U. We ate, slept, and played together, and any potential privacy was long gone when Cade punched a hole through my door in a rage against a loss to our biggest rival, the St. Michael’s Storm, a couple of weeks ago. The guy had a serious anger problem, but I considered him a brother, so I couldn’t stay upset. Next-door neighbors and teammates since we were ten, to say we were close would be an understatement. He was my brother for all intents and purposes.

“Come on, Sasquatch.” Scotty shook my shoulders, flashing me his perfect smile again. It was his defense mechanism when he didn’t want to get too deep with anyone. “It’s not all that bad. When was the last time you went on a date with anyone besides your foam roller?”

I glared at him because, yes, my foam roller and I might have had a close relationship since I had to be able to perform the splits at a second’s notice in the middle of a game, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed being taunted about it.

Scotty was unfazed by my stare and waited for my response, so I thought about it for a second. Who was the last girl I slept with? I raised my brows and blew out my breath, remembering that my last relationship was in high school with some hardly memorable chick named Amy. Kind of sad to think about, considering I dated her for two and a half years. She cheated on me because she thought I was too serious. Joke was on her, though. I only dated her because she bared a striking resemblance to…never mind.

“Exactly,” Scotty said sharply, as though my facial expression was all the answer he needed. “You’ve not let a single girl put their hands on you since you arrived at Covey U two years ago. Your dick is probably ready to fall off. Why not loosen up a little and let yourself have some fun?”

Flat-lipped, I responded, “Because I’m not interested in having that kind of fun.”

“You won’t know you’re not interested until you try.”

I rolled my eyes at the sentiment, even though he might have had a point. Unfortunately for him, it was lost when he winked at a girl passing by. Shaking my head, I grumbled at his antics. He was always trying to keep up this playboy fa?ade, but it was so easy to see through it when you knew him. “That’s rich coming from a guy who’s obsessed with some girl he met on the internet before he even started here.”

His smile fell. “Laura is not some girl on the internet.”

“Maybe not, but she’s definitely not interested in you.”

“Yet. ”

“If those viral videos of you humping the ice didn’t do it for her, I’d expect nothing will.”

“I was stretching, and it was taken from the stands, so I’d watch out because I’m pretty sure there are some viral videos of you just waiting to be released.” He smoothed down his black button-up, completely unfazed by my surliness.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

“And that’s my cue.” Scotty smirked and adjusted his tie before standing. “Good luck fending off all those puck bunnies.”

“I think that’s more your issue than mine.” He saluted me and walked over to the table set up for him. There were at least sixty athletes in here, all of whom had their own table with their name and sport listed on a piece of paper in front of them. That was it. The bar didn’t need to put any effort in to make this event a success, the jersey chasers did that for them.

Looking down at the only beer I allowed myself to have tonight, I blew out an exasperated breath.

This was going to be a long night.

I hung my head in shame and pulled at my…curtains? Was that really what they were called? If so, I needed to rethink this cut. Then I growled at myself because this whole thing was stupid. I shouldn’t be sitting here thinking about my hair. Scotty was already charming some puck bunny, and as the room filled, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I had no choice but to engage in conversation with someone. I didn’t like to talk at the best of times, and this was possibly the worst.

Screw It. I’m leaving.

My chair screeched across the floor and I winced because it drew the attention of the surrounding tables. Way to be subtle.

“Where do you think you’re going, Big Man?”

Big Man?

I stopped moving. My feet touched the ground, but my mind was reeling because that voice had haunted my brain for nearly ten years.

“Madison? What are you doing here?” I tried to sound unbothered, but that was impossible when I was in the presence of Madison Bright. The girl who had no idea she held my heart in a viselike grip.

When I looked up, I swore I was having palpitations because she was dressed to kill, and my initial reaction was to go on a murder spree and slaughter every single man in here for merely being in her presence. I’d start with Scotty because, even though I knew he wasn’t interested in his teammate’s little sister, he deserved to die for dragging me here and making me see her in that tight, black dress which dipped painfully low at the front.

She flicked her sleek, blonde ponytail over one side and smiled as she lifted her shoulder flirtatiously. Then she winked and blew me a kiss as she sat down. My jaw clenched, and I drew my hands into a fist as I tamed my reaction because this wasn’t the first time she’d acted like this. Madison was a heartbreaker. Had been one ever since her first boyfriend cheated on her. From that moment forward, she put on this flirty, dumb blonde persona which she was anything but. The girl was a valedictorian for crying out loud. I could easily see through it. She only did it because she didn’t want anyone to think she was hurt by the entire situation. But I saw it. Every time she winked, giggled and shook her shoulders. I could see the hurt hidden behind the act. She didn’t notice me watching her though, much like how she had no idea how her flirting specifically affected me.

“Mhm,” she hummed out. “I think the more interesting question is, what are you doing here? Because I know for a fact, you’d rather be watching Cade scrub his dirty boxers than talking to a bunch of girls about what lurks in yours.” Her gaze flicked down to my chest as she rested her chin in her hand. “Although, wearing a shirt that emphasizes your broad shoulders and hulking chest isn’t going to make the jersey chasers leave you alone, you know?”

I grumbled out an incoherent response because I didn’t like the way her compliment affected me.

Madison brought her hand to her ear, smiling. “What’s that, Big Man? I can’t hear you over all that discontent.”

“Scotty made me do it,” I said a little more clearly while adjusting my puck cufflinks. They were a present from Scotty during his freshman year, and I always wore them for good luck.

She dragged her eyes to my teammate who was now animatedly talking to some guy about hockey and the Stanley Cup, no doubt. “Ah, now that I can believe. Scotty’s the life of any party without even trying.” She pointed her finger at my chest. “You, however. Not so much. I thought you voluntarily coming to a dating event seemed like a stretch.”

“It’s not a dating event.”

“Then what do you call this portion of the night?”

She waved her hand at the rest of the room. Everyone else was laughing and having a good time, drinking away as they got to know each other. As much as I wanted to enjoy myself, this wasn’t the place for me to do it.

“Suffering.”

“Sounds about right for you.” She giggled, and I hated the way it made my chest constrict. She was just so damn cute. “Ooh, is Scotty speaking to that girl he’s interested in?” Her perfectly manicured nails came together, and she looked over at him with interest. “What’s her name again? Laurie? Lana? Luna?”

“Laura,” I corrected. “And I doubt she’d come to something like this. From my understanding, she has no interest in athletes, especially ones who play hockey and happen to be named Scotty.”

“That’s what they all say,” she muttered, and when she noticed I’d heard, she squared her shoulders, owning the response. Unfortunately for me, it also emphasized her perfect breasts, which made it harder to concentrate. “Everyone says they hate an athlete until one with smoldering eyes and abs to kill pays them the smallest ounce of attention. Then it’s game over. The athlete’s already won.”

“Is that why you’re here?” I raised a brow and clenched my jaw harder than I liked to admit because even though Madison was off-limits, and she had been since I met her, I still hated the idea of her being interested in anyone else but me. “Because you know Cade will kill you if he finds out his baby sister is at a dating event.”

It was a twisted kind of torture I put myself through when it came to Madison. She was the girl I’d always want, but I’d never be allowed to have because her brother was my teammate and had been since we met in middle school. I may be taller than Cade, but I’d seen him take on the biggest motherfuckers in high school, and he’d win every single time. So instead of working against him, I found myself working with him and blocking any guy who tried to date her because if I couldn’t have her, then no one else could either.

“Remember what happened with Henry?” I said with warning in my voice.

She groaned and covered her face with her hands. Sure, it felt a little shitty to be bringing up something that happened three years ago, but it was the easiest way to get her to drop her sunshiny, flirty act with me.

“Did you have to mention him?”

I smiled because I felt no remorse for bringing up that asshat. The guy cheated on her with my girlfriend. He’d technically done me a favor and given me an excuse to break up with Amy, but that wasn’t enough to save him from a broken nose, which I inevitably gave him because he deserved it for cheating on Madison.

“I’m just looking out for you. Cade wouldn’t want you here.” I didn’t want her here either. She was too good for any of the dirty athletes at this school—including me.

“Glad to see you’re still doing my big brother’s bidding,” she joked, but it wasn’t funny because we both knew it was kind of true. I would do anything for her brother, and that included doing anything for his little sister. “Honestly, Cade needs to get over himself. I’m nineteen now, which means I can do what and, more importantly, who I want.”

Don’t break the glass. Don’t break the glass.

My brain was repeating the mantra as I stared at my beer because if I thought too hard about what she was implying with that statement, I’d probably break the table too.

“And yet you’re sitting with me. A guy you’ve known since you were in braces. I’ve gotta wonder how that’s working for you.” I played it cool, like I always did when it came to her, while I eagerly awaited the name of the guy she was trying to impress tonight. Once she told me, I’d warn that idiot off on Cade’s behalf because I was a good friend like that.

“Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. If you must know, I just met Brandon Gold from the baseball team.” She tipped her head to the dudebro in a hat.

With tanned skin and an incredibly white smile, I could see the appeal. I could also see why he’d now made his way to the top of my kill list. I supposed Scotty could live another day. “He was nice,” she drawled out and licked the corners of her lips.

I swallowed hard because there were so many things I wanted to say and do but couldn’t.

“Careful,” I warned, taking a sip of my beer.

That made her cackle. “Relax, Big Man. I’m not here for him. Or you, for that matter.”

I sputtered out my drink and could feel the sweat dripping down my…curtains. “Me?”

She rolled her eyes and surveyed the room. “Don’t get me started on my favorite book trope.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Brother’s best friend,” she said dreamily. “After you knocked Henry’s lights out, I always thought something might happen between us.” I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. “But alas, my dreams were dashed—no pun intended—the day you looked at me like you’d rather kiss Sidney Williams than be in the same room as me.”

“Sidney Williams? The girl in my class who picked her nose and ate it?”

“Yeah, her.”

My brows furrowed as this girl who I’d never thought about came to mind. “Wait a minute, are you talking about that time we played Spin the Bottle in high school?”

She nodded her head proudly. “I’m surprised it’s not a core memory for you like it is for me.”

I blew out a breath, not sure how to answer that. “All I remember about that night is that you were sixteen, and when the bottle landed on you, your brother was staring at me like he was ready to tear my limbs off if I so much as thought about touching you.”

“Careful, D. You’re making it sound like I still might have hope.”

I pursed my lips, and I bit my tongue because I couldn’t respond to that. Not without lying to her and to myself.

“Anyway,” she continued before I had to answer. “I’m here for them.” She pointed her pink-tipped finger at the three football players in the corner.

Wearing their Covey Wildcat jerseys, they had hordes of people waiting to speak to them. I rolled my eyes and held back a groan of annoyance because of course she’d want to shoot her shot with the football team. They were considered the crowning glory of Covey U sports. But I couldn’t be angry about that fact. I knew this was a football college before I picked it, and honestly, that was part of the appeal. I kind of thought it meant I could play hockey and get out of stupid things like this. Apparently, I was wrong.

“Aiden Matthews, Adam Hartley, and Devin Walker,” Madison said with a dreamy wistfulness in her tone.

Okay, now the football team was on my hit list, too, but I’d have to take them out individually since they’d likely win if I tried it any other way.

“I can’t decide which one I want to try my luck with first.” With her fingers tickling across her chin, she pursed her lips and smiled as she looked at me. “Mhm. As teammates, they’d be used to sharing, right?” I didn’t like where she was going with this. “Maybe I could be the cheese in their why choose sandwich.”

“Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t be the meat. They’d be the ones bringing that.”

“You’ve got no shot with Aiden Matthews,” I said sharply and then tried to tone down my annoyance. “The only thing I know about him is that he called dibs on his next-door neighbor the minute she moved in and he likes to remind everyone of that fact on a weekly basis.”

That made her smirk fall and blow out a breath that sounded somewhat similar to a deflating balloon. I didn’t mean to crush her dreams, but I couldn’t deny I was happy about it.

“Okay. Well, that makes it a little easier, then. Devin or Adam? Adam or Devin?” Madison raised her brow. “Devin and Adam.”

I closed my eyes, breathing in deeply, cursing Scotty under my breath again for being the reason I was suffering through this conversation. “Madison. Can we please talk about something other than your desire to have a threesome with the football team? It’s getting tiresome. No one is going to play into your deluded fantasies, especially not a couple of guys that are roommates.”

She dropped her shoulders. “All right. I get it. You still think of me as Cade’s kid sister, but you don’t have to get shitty about it. I’m just trying to do what any girl in my situation would, and even though you may not think it, I’ve been told by a few guys that I’m cute.”

She was a hell of a lot more than cute, and I felt a little bad that she’d taken my words to heart. The reality of seeing a girl I thought was perfect have her confidence throttled by a guy like Henry was rough because he was so undeserving of the status she gave him. She apparently dated that dirtbag for at least six months in secret since Henry was on the hockey team and he convinced her that it was best no one knew about it. What an idiot. If I managed to get a girl like her, I’d be shouting it from the rooftops. The only reason the school found out about them was because I’d broken Henry’s nose after catching him with my girlfriend.

I still remember that day like it was yesterday. Henry was slumped against a locker, holding his head while the foam roller I hit him with was lying on the ground next to him. It was only after I heard Madison’s meek voice say, “Henry,” and I saw her trembling chin and wide eyes, that I knew he’d done something to hurt her. It gutted me because she was so innocent, and perfect. It was in that moment that I’d made a vow to myself that no one would hurt her again.

The satisfaction of hearing his nose crack when I punched him was good, but it wasn’t enough to make up for her tears. I might have gotten a one-week suspension out of it, but it didn’t really matter for me. I just missed the last few classes of my senior year. That was it. The thing that really got me was that I never got to make Henry pay for his mistake on the ice.

Yet. I should say. I’d heard he’d made an impact at one of our main rivals, Southern Collegiate, in his first few weeks there, which meant there was a possibility I’d finally see him on the ice this year.

“You are cute.”

Oh, damn. There it was again. Madison’s overeager smile. The one that crushed any barrier I tried to put between us.

“You think so?”

“Yes,” I croaked out, immediately regretting it. “But that doesn’t mean I think it’s a good idea for you to speak to those guys.”

I was ready to give her a lecture on athletes and their intentions, but I could already see she was rolling her eyes.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

With a bright smile, Madison jumped from the stool and sang, “Welp, I guess you can’t stop me now. ”

“Madison, wait.”

Ignoring me, she made her way to the football team, shaking that pert little ass of hers on the way. Fine. If she wanted to play dirty, I was willing to go over there, drag her out of here, and lock her in her dorm if I had to.

I shut my eyes, trying to stop the thoughts running through my head at the mere idea of locking her in my room.

I pushed back my stool, ready to haul her over my shoulder and kill anyone that got in my way, when a short brunette barged in front of me.

“Dash, it’s so nice to finally meet you. My name is Sienna Lawrence.”

All of my hopes were crushed when she pushed her hand in my direction because I knew immediately who she was. The communications major who was taking her job as a hockey broadcaster a little too seriously for a freshman.

She was glaring at me from over her black-rimmed glasses, pouting her red-lined lips as though I’d ticked her off because I was breathing. With long, dark hair, Sienna was a beautiful girl, but unlike most of the women here, she wasn’t looking for a date.

She wanted a story.

And for some reason, she thought that I was the answer to it.

For weeks, she’d been trying to secure a time for an interview, and I’d spent just as long ignoring her, but she wasn’t taking the hint.

As I accepted her hand with a shake, she somehow lulled me back to my table and onto my seat.

“You’re a hard man to get a hold of,” she said with a flirty edge, but I knew she had no interest in me. This was all business. Sienna pulled out her notebook and clicked her pen on before she scribbled my name across the top line of the paper.

“So, Dash. That’s an interesting name. I assume it’s not short for Daniel, so where did it come from?”

I glanced over to the football table, and Madison had yet to make her way through the throng of jersey chasers waiting for their chance to talk to the football team. Strangely, the minute she took a step toward them, the crowd parted like the Red Sea as though it were her destiny to have an orgy with them .

Un-fucking-likely.

Her perfect ass did another perfect wiggle, and I was ready to lose my mind.

“Daniel?” Sienna’s piqued annoyance brought me back to her.

Sighing, I said, “Don’t call me Daniel. No one has since I was ten. Dash is my name, and it started as a joke because I’m the slowest guy on the team.”

“Interesting.” It was so interesting that she didn’t bother to write it down. My plan was working.

Grumbling, I made myself comfortable in my seat because I was almost certain that if I left, Sienna would write about what an asshole I was, and I didn’t want that kind of attention. So, I was left with only one option. I had to sit with this woman and talk nonsense while I watched Madison try her luck with the football team .

Dammit.