Luc
Luc drove his Porsche away from Mario’s. The cool fall air blew in the open windows. Kassie sang along to the rock song on his radio, her words slightly slurred, and she only got about half of them correct. She didn’t fool him; she was drunk. Or at the very least, tipsy. Nonetheless, he wasn’t going to leave her at the bar like that. Too many bad things happened to women when they were drunk and alone. And with Quinn leaving too, he had to make sure Kassie got home safely.
He sent his buddies home in a cab, fairly sure they were all going back to Quinn’s place.
“So, who were your friends, anyway?” Kassie slurred.
“Rookies. JJ and Travis. They’re good guys, but are young and really milking the whole I’m a hockey player pickup line. But they won’t hurt Quinn, I can vouch for that.”
“Luc, I’m not worried about Quinn. And she really doesn’t care what occupation the guy has. She’s not picky.” Kassie yawned. She made a cute little squeaky noise as she did. “Do you go to Mario’s a lot?”
“Enough.” It used to be his stomping ground for picking up girls, using the lame line that he was a hockey player. He wasn’t going to tell her that, not like it was relevant ever since he’d met her. No girl measured up to Kassie. Sure, some girls had one or two good features, but none were her.
“Huh, I’ve never seen you there.”
“Oh? You go dancing there a lot?” His curiosity was piqued. How did I miss her before?
“No, not a lot. I was very focused in school. Quinn always wanted me to go out. I only went a few times, but that was our favorite place to go.” Kassie yawned and relaxed back in her seat.
Luc knew she was too tipsy to remember any of this, which is what made it so much fun. “Did you have fun tonight, Kassie?”
She stared out the window as she calmly answered. “Yes. You are a really good dancer, Marcella.”
“Oh? You liked my moves, huh?” He knew he was being way too forward tonight, but he couldn’t help it. He had hated seeing her with that other guy, and that made him bolder. Plus, she didn’t seem to mind his banter.
“Yeah. Don’t know why you left just to take me home.” She moved her eyes to the floor and wrung her hands.
“Why’s that?” Luc found her a lot more honest in her tipsy state. This was fun. She didn’t have that wall that she kept up because he was on the same hockey team as her brother.
“You’re handsome. Don’t think I don’t know that you are well aware of it. I’m sure you wish you could’ve taken some cutie home.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I am.”
“Wha?”
“Well, sweets, here’s your stop. Do you want me to walk you to your apartment?” Their conversation was enlightening and amusing, but he knew better than to get too greedy.
Kassie bit at her bottom lip and paused before answering. “Um, no. I’m good. But thanks for the ride.”
“You sure?”
“No.” Kassie chewed on her bottom lip, and his heart seemed to pause in his chest, waiting for her next words. After a few moments, she opened the car door. “Goodnight, Luc.”
Luc hadn’t stopped thinking about Kassie since the night at the club. The way she had moved against him, with no inhibitions, it was hot. He wasn’t supposed to be drawn to her, but he was. If falling for your bro’s sister was a no-no, then falling for your teammate’s sister was like signing your death certificate. But he still didn’t care.
“Hey Rock-Star,” Kaden said beside Luc in the locker room. “I hear you were keeping an eye out on the young bucks the other night. They give you a run for your money?”
It was the second intermission of their game in New York. They were losing 2–0. Coach Walker only yelled for about two minutes and left them in silence for the rest of the break between periods. They knew what that meant. They were more afraid of him when he wasn’t yelling than when he was.
“They were fine. But they don’t really need a chaperone, what they need is a leash! Actually, they picked up a girl while they were there, and I was kinda off duty after that.”
“You mean they picked up some fangirls and went home with them? Nice.”
“No, they went home with her.” Luc was trying to be more specific without being too detailed.
“Hey ladies, enough of the chit-chat, time to get back out there,” Coach Walker announced, but aimed it at them.
Lining up to go back out on to the ice, Kaden nudged Luc’s shoulder. “You didn’t say if you went home with a hottie. Any bunnies from the Marcella fan club there?”
“Bunnies? No. And the chick that the rookies snagged wasn’t a bunny.” Quinn was more like the object of the rookies’ attention rather than the other way around.
The horn sounded and the music blared. Time to hit the ice.
“Third period, boys. Let’s do this!” Tyler yelled, trying to hype them up.
“Woo!” Patrick yipped as he skated around the ice. “Let’s get this party started! We only need two to tie this bad boy.”
The refs waited for them to line up, then dropped the puck. Patrick smashed a New York defenseman into the boards, stole the puck, and took off down the ice towards New York’s net. Their defense must not have thought Pat would get near the puck, because they were covering Tyler and Kris.
Pat had the space to score, but their goalie wasn’t having it. He stuck out his glove hand and deflected the puck into the left corner. Tyler hurried after it, deked out of the way of a New York forward, and went straight for the net, burying the puck.
GOAL!
Luc glanced around, but no one was celebrating.
“Okay guys, we need one more to tie it. Then we can celebrate,” Coach Walker called out from the bench. He waved for Luc to come off the ice. “Torin, Moose, Kris. You guys are up. Let’s tie this thing up.”
Sitting on the bench, Luc was tired. Everything ached, and sweat dripped down into his face. But he wanted nothing more to be back on the ice. He squirted a bit of electrolyte drink into his mouth and watched the boys go to work.
It wasn’t long before Tyler was on the ice again and had another one in the back of the net. Coach Walker was not pleased that they seemed to be relying on their captain tonight to get the job done. Sure, Tyler was as talented as they came, and he was no doubt a star. But he wasn’t here to carry the team.
“No one man should be out there working! Now get your shit together, and get this done! I don’t want to be back for overtime!” Coach yelled.
“We don’t, either,” Dom mumbled from the bench.
But things weren’t going as planned. Patrick was tripped by an opposing player and fell exceptionally hard, leading to a diving penalty on the Renegades.
Kris was in the corner trying to fight for the puck and got speared in the stomach with a stick. Obviously frustrated, he shoved the guy, not once, but twice, before he fell to the ice. Kris ended up in the penalty box also, for roughing.
Taking advantage of their power play, New York scored again.
Once Kris and Pat were back on the bench, Coach gave Teagen and Walsh a chance, and after two turnovers and another bad penalty, there were just two minutes left in the game. New York led 3–2. Tyler had played most of the game, and Coach was doing his best to light a fire under the others. “Marcella, Lafleur, Dubois!”
Luc leapt off the bench and over the wall onto the ice. The Renegades had just taken the puck back to their end so the players could change. Tyler was exhausted, and as much as he protested to stay on the ice, Coach wasn’t having any of it.
Kris took control of the puck as Walsh and Teagen jumped onto the bench. Kris took it wide around their net, then quickened his stride towards center ice. Tossing the puck to Luc, he fell back into his defensive position.
Seizing the opportunity to have a chance at the net, Luc flew down the ice with the puck. He knew no one was on his heels, yet. They would be, soon enough. One minute to go. The horn sounded, and the crowd grew terribly loud, cheering on their home team. The upper right side was his chance; the goalie had been sloppy covering that tonight. Taking a hard wrist shot at the net, he held his breath until… “Fuck!” The frozen rubber disc bounced off the post and right to a New York player.
“Fucking post! Dammit!” Luc muttered to himself, as he took large, hard strides in an attempt to catch up with him.
The New York player shot the puck towards Kaden, who caught it in his glove hand, but it was too late. The buzzer sounded, and the game was over. They’d lost.
“Hey Rock-Star, go grab us another pitcher of beer for the table,” Patrick called over the loud music. He did the universal sign for drinking with his hand to his mouth, miming it, and pointed to the empty pitcher. The one they had been drinking was empty, and after that game, they were in desperate need of more alcohol.
Luc was tired of correcting the guys when they called him Rock-Star. How long is it going to take these guys to embrace Puck-Star? He was tired and still pissed that he missed that shot. “Why don’t we just order it? Where’s the waitress?” He looked around, but the place was packed, and their waitress was nowhere to be found. She’d been MIA for the last half hour.
“What’s the matter, Marcella? Still pouting over your missed shot? I think the whole arena heard that one ring,” Tanner remarked.
Luc took a deep breath. “I need more alcohol. Where is that damned waitress?”
“Just go get a new pitcher! You missed the shot, you go get the booze,” Torin said.
“Just go, Luc. I’m sure you’ll come back with a fistful of numbers. Maybe it’ll lighten your mood,” Patrick teased.
There were plenty of girls around the bar, but none caught his eye. He looked them all over from where he sat, but still nothing. He didn’t want to go get any of their numbers. And the guys were starting to look at him oddly, because they needed more beer.
“I see about three hotties I’d like to take back to my room,” Torin said, drooling. “If Rock-Star is asleep at the wheel, I’ll go get the beer and get me a girl or two.”
Before Luc could answer to save face, Torin was already halfway to the bar.
“What’s up with you, Marcella?” Kaden cocked his head at Luc. “Problems making it stand at attention? It’s okay, you can tell us.”
The whole table laughed at Kaden’s remarks.
“Ha ha, you think you’re so funny, K-man. Nah, nothing like that. I’m just pissed about the game. Screw it. I’ll go get the beer,” Luc said through gritted teeth.
“You gotta leave that shit on the ice, Marcella,” Tyler said. “Torin got the beer, so don’t worry about it. But the next one’s on you. Hey, I think that blonde at the bar has her eye on you.”
Luc shook his head. He knew these guys better than anyone, and the torment wasn’t going to stop. He didn’t care about the blonde. There was only one girl on his mind, and she was back in Pittsburgh.
Torin returned with a pitcher of beer, a tray of shots, and three room numbers. “Drink up and eat your heart out, bitches! Guess who’s getting lucky tonight?” He tossed back a shot and released an evil laugh.
“Three numbers, huh? Way to go, big shot.” Kris poured himself a glass of beer and pushed the shot aside.
“Well, two numbers for me, which ensures quite an exciting night. But one specified our man Luc, here.” Torin handed Luc one of the room numbers, along with a shot.
“Oh, yeah, awesome. Thanks,” Luc said, with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. He had no interest in whoever this was. Downing the shot of tequila, he ignored the burn in his throat and waited for it to go right to his head, which was just what he needed tonight. “Which one is 2200?”
“She’s the blonde, the one who’s waving now. See?” Torin answered. He leaned over to Luc and lowered his voice. “And she’s ready whenever you are. Go get her, tiger.”
All eyes were on him, especially Kaden’s. This must be what’s referred to as taking one for the team. If he didn’t react in his normal puck-bunny-loving way, they would certainly question him. He didn’t quite know himself why he was acting the way he was. It was just easier to lie. He had zero interest in her, but he had to make it look good.
He took another shot, knowing full well that Kris wasn’t going to drink one. After all the beer he’d had already, and lack of food, so many shots may have been a bad idea, but maybe not. After that game, alcohol was just what he needed. Especially if he was going to make it look like he was picking this chick up, he needed to be convincing.
“All right guys, I’ve got this. See you all in the morning. Don’t wait up, Morris!” Luc called over his shoulder and made his way towards the bar. He was going to go up, grab a shot, make some small talk, and then, once away from the guys, let the bunny down easy.
Saddling up to the bar, he ordered a shot of tequila. After downing it, he raised his finger to the bartender for two more. After three shots of the nasty alcohol just at the bar, his anger over the game had fizzled enough for him to push it aside. Then a woman’s voice whispered in his ear.
“Hey there, hot stuff. Did you get my message?” It was the girl who’d sent her number over with Torin.
The bartender delivered him one more shot at the bunny’s suggestion, and she handed over the money for it.
Sweeping his arm around the nameless girl, known only by her room number 2200, he said, “Let’s boogie, baby.” He knew he was being watched, so he led her right out of the bar and to the elevator. His gait was wobbly, and he needed to be wrapped around her to keep steady. So much beer and so much tequila had his head spinning. “So, what’s your name, 2200?”
“Kelli, with an I,” she said, as they stepped into the elevator.
Either the walls of the elevator were melting, or he’d had way too much alcohol. He forgot where he was or where he was going, but the Kelli girl held him tight.
She ran her hands all over him as the elevator closed. They were only going up one floor, but the elevator felt like it was crawling, inch by inch. Kelli’s hands went lower, below his belt to be exact. Forgetting everything, including why he wasn’t interested in the bunnies tonight, he realized he had a lot of pent-up sexual energy. He hadn’t been with anyone for a while, and Kelli was making those alcohol-induced feelings rise to the surface.
As soon as her hand cupped his dick, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. She abandoned feeling him up and led him by the hand to her room. Kelli giggled. “I never do this sort of thing.”
Sure honey, sure you don’t. “Uh-huh.” The room was spinning, as though he was on an amusement park ride.
“Make yourself comfortable on the bed, and I’ll be right out,” Kelli said, before disappearing into the bathroom.
Luc sat down and leaned back on his hands. He closed his eyes, and the room spun even more than it did with his eyes open. He used to be very familiar with doing this stuff. He was drunk and horny, and maybe this was best. This was what everyone expected out of him. He shouldn’t be considering breaking the code with—
Kelli emerged from the bathroom in a sexy see-through nightie. Don’t tell me this wasn’t planned. “Hey there.”
She climbed onto the bed facing him and sat on his lap. Her lips met his, and she pushed her tongue right into his mouth. Luc had to stop his gag reflex. She was sticking her tongue so far down his throat, it was like she was an alien from one of those movies, and he was being probed. Who enjoys this gross attempt at seduction?
Even being as drunk as he was, he was still repulsed. Top it off with her tasting like stale cigarettes. She was just lucky he was as drunk as he was. Luc closed his eyes and tried to enjoy her hands running over his abs and unbuckling his belt and pants. He was doing okay until she decided to talk.
She moaned. “Oh, Lucky…”
Lucky? It shook him out of his drunken stupor a bit. He considered not correcting her, but it was his name. If she recognized him from hockey, how did she not know his name? Okay, I’ll give her a pass on the first name; the last name is what I’m known by. “Uh, it’s Luc, actually.”
“Oh, right, Luc. I knew that.” She kissed his abs, one of his best qualities, and made her way down to his groin. She didn’t even comment on his tattoo. Her hand went down his pants and around his awaiting dick. “Mmm-hmm. Mama Mia, Luc Macaroni.”
Macaroni? What the fuck? The moment she butchered his last name—not even close—he went soft. He was drunk, but not that drunk. “Okay.” He pushed her away, just before she went to deep throat his dick. “This just isn’t working for me. Sorry.”
“What?” Kelli looked up at him with wide eyes and smudged lipstick.
It was as if he’d become instantly sober. He didn’t want to be here with her, and he had no idea how he even got here. But it was going to stop now.
“Yeah, sorry. You don’t even know my name, for fuck’s sake.” He pushed her away from him, stood up, and buckled his pants and belt. “I’m sorry, Kelli. It was the alcohol talking, and I shouldn’t be here.” Still fumbling with his belt, he knew how this looked, and it looked bad. And he felt just as bad, until she spoke again.
“Honey, your name doesn’t matter so much to me.” She never lost the seductive look on her face as she continued. “It’s just another notch under the Renegades column for me. Now c’mon, let’s finish what we started.”
“I should’ve never come up here.” He didn’t want some cheap piece of ass, no matter what anyone thought of him. Had he not sobered up, he would’ve made a terrible mistake, and possibly lost his chance at someone like Kassie. This time as he spoke, bitterness filled his words. Girls like Kelli enjoyed being labeled home-wreckers and being the top story on TMZ. He wasn’t going to let it happen to him. “I’ll give you some money if you want, for your time?”
“Get out.” Blonde Kelli pointed angrily to the door.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” He felt bad, but not bad enough to care. Not to mention, he knew girls like Kelli. She’d be back out after fixing her makeup, picking up some other drunken loser. Probably not a Renegades player, though. These girls never hit the same bar twice in the same night.
“Sorry,” he yelled again, even though he really wasn’t, as she slammed the door on him.
Looking at his watch, he saw that it wasn’t that late. He was quickly sober, and now missing the only girl he cared about. The only girl he wanted to be with. I’m in no mood to go back to the room yet. Better off waiting till Morris might be asleep so there’s no explanation needed.
The guys were still in the bar, so he avoided that as he jumped off the elevator and hit the streets of New York. The city that never sleeps. There’d be no problem finding a coffee shop here to hang out in for a few hours.
Luc jammed his fists into his pockets and walked a few blocks. The air was cold and the wind colder, as he walked through the city. His face was wind-burnt before he finally ducked into a little hole-in-the-wall coffee shop. The desserts in the window were what really caught his eye; the warmth of the little shop was what kept him there. After ordering a coffee and cupcake, he sat down and just tried to straighten shit out in his head.
The pathetic interaction he’d just had with Kelli proved that Kassie O’Conner weighed heavily on his mind. He wasn’t supposed to be thinking about her. But he was. He also decided it was best to stay away from the shots for a while.
Grabbing his cell phone, Luc pulled up Kassie’s number. It still baffled him how easily he got her to give him her number. This couldn’t possibly get me in any trouble, could it?
Luc: Kassie, hey. How are you feeling today?
Maybe Sam was right. Did I need to find someone who only had eyes for me, and not because I’m a hockey player? He’d been used for the “notch on the bedpost” more often than he’d like to think about. But wasn’t that what he deserved? He wasn’t relationship material. He couldn’t say he hadn’t used any of those girls, either.
Obviously, Kaden had nothing to worry about when it came to Kassie. She’d never fall for someone like him. Growing up, he had no strong role model for relationships. With all the testosterone in his house, he grew up only knowing how to be a macho ass. He was good at sex, and maybe being arm candy. His hockey player status was why the girls wanted him, but there was always another waiting in the wings, so he had no reason to keep one around for too long. None of them ever made him feel the way this sassy brunette did.
He was well aware that there were other girls out there. There had to be someone for him, like Sam said. Sam was one of the lucky ones, found a great girl who wanted him for him and not his status. Trina stood by him through thick and thin, no matter what. She was his rock. And she was a pretty cool chick too, and an awesome mom.
Luc took a sip of his coffee. The caffeine was much needed to get him out of the alcohol-induced stupor from this evening. Kassie O’Conner obviously knew better than to get mixed up with someone like him. But that didn’t keep him from trying. He knew the truth, that it was already too late for him. He was fascinated with this girl.
Even though they hadn’t spent much time together, he couldn’t deny that there was something there, stronger than just physical attraction, that he wanted to dig deeper into. He’d never felt like that before about any other girl. Maybe he could’ve stepped back and tried to forget about Kassie, but last night she proved she was interested in him, too. Although whether she’d admit that when she was sober was another question.
When his phone buzzed, and he saw the text was from Kassie, he coughed and choked a bit.
He didn’t know why he couldn’t get her out of his head. Thinking again about last night, he brushed any concerns he had away. He never really had issue with the ladies. This shouldn’t be any exception.
But, Kassie was an exception. She was an O’Conner. She must know the unspoken rules between the players about dating their sisters. If she didn’t, he was positive Kaden would tell her. Luc was positive that was why she was standoffish, at least while sober.
Kassie: Yeah, woke up with a nice headache. Hope I didn’t say anything too embarrassing last night.
Luc: You don’t remember?
Kassie: Some. Not everything. But Quinn said you drove me home. Wouldn’t let me take an Uber. So thanks, I guess.
Was this girl worth ruffling feathers within the team? Was she worth the camaraderie he had with Kaden and the other guys? He was just starting to fit in with the major leaguers. He had a pretty decent friendship with Sam now, and was making progress with the rest. Was any girl really worth that?
Luc: No problem. Just wanted you to get home safe.
Absolutely worth it.
Kassie: So, what’s up?
He had no good reason for texting her, except he missed her, and no other woman would do right now. He’d proved that earlier.
Luc: You watch the game?
Kassie: Some of it.
Kassie: Shouldn’t you be off trolling for bunnies? It is the city that never sleeps, so I assume that goes for the bunnies too?
This girl had sass. Even after his pathetic attempt to kiss her the other night, and everything that happened at Mario’s, she still thought he was out here cruising for bunnies.
Luc: No bunnies. Just hanging in a hole in the wall coffee shop with a hot cup of coffee and a cupcake.
Luc turned the camera on his cell phone and quickly snapped a selfie of him and his cupcake. After sending it off to Kassie’s phone, he typed a new text message.
Luc: I like cupcakes.
I like cupcakes? Who says that? But as she responded to his ridiculous text, he felt his cheeks warm and his lips curl up into a smile. She was sitting there carrying on the worst conversation with him of small talk in the history of small talk. Yet she was still responding.
Kassie: I do too.
Kassie: So no bunnies. Shouldn’t you be out with the guys, then? I know there’s post-game drinking.
Luc: I was. Got bored.
Kassie: You’re bored so you’re texting me?
Luc: Appears that way. Seriously though, I wanted intelligent conversation and you can’t find that in a bar.
Kassie: Guess not.
Kassie: As thrilling as this conversation is, I need to go. Some of us have to go to work in the morning.
Luc: Right. Tomorrow is Monday. Okay, good night. Sweet dreams.
Luc: Maybe I’ll see you soon?
Kassie: Don’t hold your breath.
Luc: That wasn’t a NO. Which is positive. I’ll take it.
Kassie: Good night.
He was no longer questioning if she was worth the trouble. Luc was positive she was. Once Kaden found out Luc was hot for his sister… Well, Luc was going to be in a shitload of trouble, and yes, even knowing that, she was definitely worth it.