Hockey Hookup: One Night with My Brother's Best Friend

i

the ice rink always had a wa

t wasn't

ting left winger, yelled as he fire

es into the ice, spraying a curtain of white frost as I pivoted past our freshman defenseman, h

out, skating past and giving my

posed to be setting the pace, but my mind was stuck in low gear. Every time I looked at Chase,

g his clipboard. "Good hustle today, boys. Lines are looking tight

ats echoing through the tunnel. By the time we hit the locker

joked Hudson, our goalie, as he unstrapped his massiv

aundry bin. I didn't need a reminder about my ex, Sarah. We had br

against his locker. "Speaking of move-in day... Chase, man, I saw your little siste

room went d

shoulder pa

ve fury as he grabbed the front of Miller's shirt, slamming him hard agains

s he bunched Miller's jersey in his fists. "You talk about

compliment!" Miller gasped, hands raise

ist back, complete

p, using all my strength to wrench him away from Miller. I got right between t

away train, his eyes wild. "He

aptain's tone. "Miller was being a dumbass. But we don't

replaced by embarrassed frustration. He ripped himself away from my grip and slo

er at Miller

" Miller muttered, looking genuinely apol

was pounding, and not just because of the near-fight. Hearing another guy talk about Ava like that

gym bag to pull out my phone. The screen lit

. No text, just an

I tapped t

e lights of the nightclub from last night were unm

me. A

r, her lips locked with mine in a frantic, devastatingly passionate k

u

tely cold. Someone

. Her hands in my hair. My mouth hungrily tasting hers. The exact momen

ely breathe. I clicked the screen off

tried to calm his breathing. His knuckles were still red from gripping Miller's shirt. This was a guy who would lay down his life fo

d I was his best friend. His roommate. The guy he tru

t, it wouldn't just be a locker room scuffle. It would destroy him. It would des

een of my phone, my thumb trem

d a single word, an

to do to me when he found o