Pucked Up

I alternate between watching her reflection and appreciating the curves of her body. I’ve been with a lot of women. I’ve seen a lot of bodies. I’ve been with models and those waif types who look like they should probably score a few meals at an all-you-can-eat-buffet. Su

“You coming back to bed so we can snuggle?” I hold my arms open.

She turns off the light in the bathroom and climbs up beside me. “For a big bad hockey player, you’re kinda a softie, you know that?”

“Don’t tell anyone. You’ll ruin my reputation.”

Su

I lift her chin so our noses touch. “I’mma work on trying to make that happen, ’kay? Just give me some time.”

She presses her lips to mine. “’Kay.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

UNFORESEEN THWARTS

It takes me a good thirty seconds to orient myself when I wake up. The bed is unfamiliar, but the smell of the sheets isn’t. It’s a combination of sex and Su

Even if I invite her up to visit, we won’t have much in the way of alone time. She’d have to stay in a cabin with other people. I’ll be in with the male counselors. Sex would be off the table. There’d be zero privacy, and humping on her in the forest, while fun, could prove problematic. There’s no coed business going on at camp since the junior counselors are usually a bunch of horny almost-adults.

When I went to hockey camp as a teenager, I always had the most insane hard-ons. They were a pain in the ass to get rid of, until I became a senior counselor. Then I got to break all the rules I made everyone else follow. Nature makes me wa

The sheets tent at my waist thanks to my reminiscing. It would be nice to have Su

After last night, it’s go

I’d tell Randy, but he might slip up and tell Lance, and Lance can’t keep his mouth shut about anything.

I want to tell someone, though. I find my phone, which ended up on the floor a long ways away from my pants. Cuing up my contacts, I call Violet. It’s after eleven, so she’s definitely awake. Sadly, it goes to voice mail.

“Hey, sis. Call me when you get this. I hat tricked last night, and my hat trick kicks Waters’ hat trick’s ass.”

My phone rings in the middle of my message, so I end my call with Violet to answer the one coming through. I can tell it’s my PA by the ring tone. I get it before it goes to voice mail.

“Hey, ’sup, Amber? How’s the portage trip going? You do battle with any bears yet?”

“No battle of the bears, thankfully. We got rained on last night. We’re taking a break for lunch. I thought I’d call you since we have decent reception on this leg of the trip. I’m so sorry you missed your flight. I thought I’d put enough reminders in your calendar, and then Violet told me you mixed up the times.”

“It’s cool. It’s not your fault. My phone died, and I had it in my head that I was leaving at nine, not six. You know how I am.”

“I should’ve been on top of that. I feel awful. I saw the social media insanity. How much trouble are you in with Su

“We’re good. We got things sorted.”

“Talked your way out of it, did you?” She doesn’t sound all that surprised.

I think about all the ways I made Su

“So you found the box of condoms in the bag of gifts, then?”

“Box of condoms?”

“I got you two, in case you were extra busy.”

“No shit. You’re the best, Amber.”

“Remember that when the bill for my birthday present comes in this year.”

I don’t think she’s joking. “You’re always saving my ass, so you deserve whatever you choose—as long as it’s not a car.”

“Well, there goes that plan.” She sighs dramatically. “So I wanted to talk to you about the camp and some possible promotion opportunities.”

“You know how I feel about that—”

“Hear me out before you say no.”

I sigh, but give her the chance to try to sell me on whatever she’s pla

“I think it would be a good idea for you to let one of the local papers come up and interview you.”

“You know I don’t do well in interviews.”

“You don’t do well in scripted interviews. You’re fine when there aren’t any lines to learn. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, just a few questions about your role at the camp.”

“It’ll be a circus.”

“It won’t. It’s small town out there, Miller. It’s not like being in Chicago where everyone goes crazy over you guys.”

“Okay. I’ll think about it. Oh, hey, Randy emailed me something about a car wash fundraiser out near the camp. I’m probably going to go with him if the timing works out.”

“Do you know who’s hosting it?” Amber asks.

“No. Some guy Randy knows from when he played for Toronto. Randy says he puts on a lot of events.”

“What’s the charity? Can you forward me any information?”

“It’s for breast cancer. And sure, I’ve got an email I can flip you.”

“Okay. Sounds good. I’ll make sure it’s on the up and up.”

Any cancer fundraiser gets me, and Amber knows it; so does Vi. “Okay. Yeah. And I’ll check with Balls.”

“Great. Perfect. Don’t forget you’re picking him up from the airport, either. I’m sending you his flight details. You’ll have time to co

“Yeah. Of course.”

“Just checking. You might be busy blowing through all those condoms.”

Amber has a sense of humor. She has to if she wants to work with guys like me. “Ha ha. I’ll take a ten-minute break to deal with details.”

“Have fun with Su

“I plan to. Repeatedly. Enjoy the bears.”

“Fuck you, Miller.”

I get a dial tone and smile. Amber’s an awesome PA.

Before I go looking for Su

I’m not as hairy as Vi makes me out to be with her mythical fur-covered creature comparisons. Some of the guys on my team are way hairier, especially around playoff time when the beards are in effect and the neck hair meets the chest. Being blond means I can get away with a little less in the personal grooming department than the average guy.