Chapter 7
Austin
Knowing what the Snow Pirates were about to face out on the ice made sitting in the stands more than a little uncomfortable. It felt downright wrong. Artemis had offered Austin a seat in their family’s box, but he couldn’t bring himself to accept.
He ached to be on the ice with the team, shoulder to shoulder, ready to fight for the Snow Pirate’s honor – and, far more importantly, tacos.
Playing for the big leagues was fun albeit tough, but the gritty, hard fought wins of college hockey surrounded by your brothers in arms was truly something else.
He needed the Snow Pirates to know that even though he’d graduated, even though he no longer wore their uniform, that he was still on their side, still a Snow Pirate at heart. And accepting a box seat felt like disloyalty to his chosen family.
It was bad enough that the brothers had followed through and left him a de la Peña jersey like they’d promised. The bag at his feet burned through his pant leg. But he knew Lincoln would lead the team with confidence and they were more than capable of pulling a win out of the bag.
Austin shifted in his seat half-wishing Mackenzie was by his side in the stands. He’d dropped her off for the game and given her a good luck kiss, but she had been every bit as nervous as he was feeling. Perhaps, though, for different reasons.
It was just a simple wager between – well, not friends, exactly, but friendly rivals. But it was also preseason. And preseason set the tone for the rest of the year. A loss, no matter how inconsequential in league terms, could bed itself into the player’s minds and fester.
Champions had no room for negative thoughts, and the only festering allowed in the Snow Pirates locker room was Séb’s playoff socks. Austin had never met a more superstitious goaltender in all the years he’d played hockey. And for that he was pretty damn glad. He wasn’t sure he could have withstood the overwhelming stench of some of their socks had they not changed them for the duration of the playoffs.
Playoff beards were one thing. But decomposing, sweat drenched socks were a whole other problem altogether. He scrunched his nose up at the memory.
As people milled into the stands around him, he pulled out his phone. Something about the de la Peña’s behavior at the restaurant the previous evening was still bothering him, tickling at the edges of his awareness.
He’d forgotten to follow up on his instinct after dinner, too busy being distracted by teasing orgasm after orgasm from Mackenzie’s beautiful, magical pussy. He shifted in his seat again, his dick twitching to life at the memory of making her come for hours on end until neither of them had any energy left for more.
They’d watched the sunrise over Cedar Rapids with McDonald’s breakfasts and OJ before he’d given her one last bone melting orgasm and taken her back to the hotel for a few hours of pre-game sleep.
Ignoring his phone for a moment, he slipped his hand into his jacket pocket and wrapped it around the small, velvet box. He’d been carrying it around for far too long and needed to get out of his head and give it to her. He had no idea why he still had it. But it filled him with more fear than hockey, or fighting at the cages ever had.
Turning his attention back to the phone, he pulled up a search engine, and typed Guac ‘n Roll into the search bar. A couple of seconds scrolling later and he found a news article that made him shake his head and grin.
As it turned out, Guac n’ Roll was a family owned small business going back decades. That part was unsurprising, when you make food as good as they did, people would return time and again. The more interesting detail was that Daddy de la Peña himself had bought over the restaurant and franchised it as part of his ever growing empire.
The de la Peña brothers had made a wager where they knew they wouldn’t lose anything because even if they lost the game, they could easily comp the Snow Pirates meal rather than footing the bill themselves.
Man, he hoped the Snow Pirates wiped the floor with their smug, conniving, model-esque faces. His lips twitched as he envisioned Mackenzie naked, and on her hands and knees between the twins. She was 27 to their 19, as far as he was concerned, not too old for them at all.
He’d had it on good authority that the twins had shared women before – he’d heard the locker room talk which made it even easier for him to imagine. It would be the first time she’d been spit roasted while he watched and it was something he greatly looked forward to both of them enjoying.
“Is this seat taken?” Claudia’s bubbly voice pulled him from his heating thoughts.
He canted his head. “You wish to be seen cavorting with the enemy?”
“I don’t know about cavorting, but I saw you sitting way up here by yourself, and I thought you might melt the ice if you scowled at it for much longer. So I thought I’d join you.”
“Your boys are cheaters. The restaurant is their family business.”
“Not admitting something isn’t the same as lying about it.” She gave a small smile.
“This is true.” He nodded. “But that bet was made under the guise of being honorable. What else have they not admitted to?”
The woman shook her head. “Nothing. That’s it. Their father owns the restaurant. Actually I think their mother owns our location, the original one. It was his gift to her.” She sighed a dreamy sigh. “Anyway, I just hope my boys win. They need it.”
At the quirk of his brow, she continued. “They didn’t have the best season last year. They’re hoping to improve.”
Austin hummed noncommittally, and Claudia giggled. “I know, I know. You’re cheering your beloved champions.”
“Yes, ma’am. They need it too.”
