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She had no idea what even compelled her to do such a thing. She usually would’ve laughed at him and walked away. But for some reason she agreed, and way too easily. What was she thinking?
But then again, why did it matter? Phone number or no phone number, she didn’t date athletes. Period. And Luc was no exception.
***
CHAPTER FIVE
Luc
There was no game tonight, and the Renegades were given a day off from practice. Luc slept in—which was welcomed, since his brain wouldn’t stop while he tried to sleep. Kassie invaded his thoughts. After a late morning trip to the gym to meet up with Sam, the duo ended up back at Luc’s.
Luc grabbed two beers from the refrigerator, while Sam made himself at home in the living room. His friend was recovering well from the hit he’d taken last season, and Luc was glad. Sam had suffered minor lingering headaches from the concussion all summer. He started back on the ice during training camp, and had worked his way up to practicing with the team, but was still in the no-contact jersey. Luc was sure he’d be back in the game in no time.
He knew that sitting on the sideline killed Sam inside. But after almost losing his family, by putting the game first before them or his health, Sam finally had a grasp on his priorities. Even though not playing was difficult, he was determined to heal and get back on the ice, but he was now doing it the right way.
“Did you give any thought to what we talked about at O’Conner’s party the other day?”
Luc took a long drink of his beer. He had been dreading that question. What did Sam want him to say? He flopped down in an armchair beside the couch where Sam sat. “Sure.”
“So, you’re going to keep your distance? I mean, it would only benefit you. It’s bad enough I’m married to Tyler’s sister. But I wasn’t a Renegades player when that all happened. Plus, he and I go way back. Things were a little different for me than the situation you’d be facing. And don’t forget, you don’t have the greatest rep, ya know?”
This bad rep that Sam was talking about was a joke. Guys liked to talk, and girls liked to talk even more. Somehow, somewhere down the line, a single one-night stand had turned into him being the league’s most well-known swinger and party boy. He was the eligible bachelor who had no plans of slowing down. Every girl wanted him, and every guy wanted to be him.
Except for the fact that none of it was true. Sure, he liked the ladies. He liked all kinds of ladies. And they really liked him. He did have the occasional one-night stand. Didn’t everyone? But he wanted what everyone wanted, someone to call his. He wanted someone to come home to, someone to lean on. Yep, he wanted love.
No one wanted to hear about that, though. That wasn’t exciting or scandalous enough. Because of that, he’d become the team’s playboy.
But right now, he didn’t want to discuss this with Sam, or at all, really. No one needed to know that he had run into Kassie O’Conner the other day, or that he’d gotten her phone number. The less everyone knew, the better off he was. “Don’t even worry about it, dude. I didn’t know who she was. Now I do. It’s over and done with. It’s not like I plan on dating her.”
But it was all lies. Except his last comment: didn’t plan on dating her. That was slightly true. He had no intention of it, yet. At least not right now. He wasn’t dumb enough to break the code. Or was he? He’d never met someone he’d be willing to break that code for, until Kassie. And that was his biggest problem.
“Good.” Sam’s expression relaxed a bit. “Happy to hear it. So, what’s the plan, back to the bunnies?”
He had no intention to get with bunnies, either. But that’s what they all thought he did. Setting them straight was more trouble than it was worth. Maybe he was better off keeping up the charade of always showing up with a girl on his arm. It would be easier than having to answer questions about why he was ogling Kaden’s little sister. “Sure.”
“Luc, don’t you think it’s time you began to grow out of that phase of your life? You can’t tell me that a one-nighter is really enough. If you want, I can see if Trina has any friends. I’m sure the girls know some single ladies who’d love to date a hockey player.”
Of course he’d thought about settling down, having the same girl on his arm at every event, having a real relationship like so many of his teammates did. But he wasn’t interested in who Trina could set him up with. His mind was only on one girl.
Luc really didn’t want to talk about this anymore. If he said any more, it would only get him in hot water. “Enough of this girly talk.” Luc grabbed the remote and turned on SportsCenter. “Let’s watch some sports talk.”
Luc tried to take a nap after Sam left. As he lay in the dark, quiet room, the only things that ran through his brain were long dark hair, and captivating brown eyes. Shaking his head and rolling over, the same thing happened for an entire hour, until he was so tired that he finally dozed off. But visions of her haunted his dreams. It was nothing specific. A replay of her spilling the iced tea on him. But this time, she was the one peeling his sweatshirt off him. Then she disappeared into the fogginess of the alternate reality. After searching through all of the abstract things and people in his dream, he found her again. But each time, she was just out of his reach.
Just like in reality.
Being startled awake by nothing, he looked blurry-eyed around his dark room. Kassie wasn’t here. No one was. His gut felt like he’d been chasing after her all night. Rolling over, he sighed heavily. Now wide awake, he stared at the blank wall.
He was thinking about Kassie again. He never had any intention of starting something with O’Conner’s sister. Yet he couldn’t keep her out of his mind. His stomach growled with hunger and twisted uncomfortably each time Kassie crossed his mind. Rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling, he knew sleep was useless. There was no way he was going to finish his nap now, so going for a sandwich was the next best thing.
Walking in to the local sub shop, he was immediately ambushed by three young women who knew exactly who he was. Their squeals and giggles were almost annoying, since he wasn’t quite awake yet. But being the polite guy that he was, he allowed a few photos with each of them. The blonde tore a paper in half and asked him for his autograph.
She swooned. “Make it to Cece.”
After Luc handed her the paper and pen, she scribbled something on the other half of the paper. She thanked him as her friends walked away. Cece winked and shoved the paper in his back jeans pocket before she left.
This sort of thing happened all the time to him. And normally, he’d be all about this chick, Cece, and her hand in his back pocket. She certainly is my normal target, er, type. She had bleach-blonde hair and stripper heels. Everything in between was either spandex or so tight it looked like it was painted on. Yep, exactly what he always went for. But nothing he was interested in today.
He ordered his sandwich and sat down at a table, the piece of paper still in his pocket. As he ate, he pulled it out. Written on it was Cece’s name and phone number. Luc sat staring at the paper as he ate. He had never paused to contemplate calling a bunny before, because that’s what Cece was, a bunny. He’d never given it a second thought before he met Kassie O’Conner. But today for some reason, looking at that phone number only made him think of Kassie. She was stuck in his head.
