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Years ago, my dad had set up an indoor practice area in the garage. The floor was covered in a special white plastic that mimicked the feeling of ice, and the walls were protected by thick plywood panels, allowing us to shoot the puck without worrying about causing any damage. In the centerwas a regulation-size net, where Marcus was currently knocking targets down one after the other.
“Heard anything from Samantha?” Marcus asked, not looking up from what he was doing. Samantha was a regular puck bunny who’d been chasing me for the last two months. Too bad for her I wasn’t interested. Like at all. Don’t get me wrong, she was hot, but she’d also fucked pretty much everyone on the team, including Jax and Marcus. I wasn’t going to take on these guys’ leftovers, and they fucking knew it, giving me shit whenever they could.
Jax sat forward, the change of topic catching his attention, and a wicked grin lifted his mouth. “Fuck, man, you’re missing out. She gives amazing head.”
Marcus laughed, resting his stick on the ground in a casual pose. “I forgot about that. She does that twist-and-lick move.”
Jax groaned and tipped his head back.
I choked out a laugh. “Fuck you guys.”
Jax winked. “Come on, man. What’s a little gossip between friends? Plus, since when have you been picky?”
I didn’t want to answer the question because I knew what would happen. They’d want to know how I had gone over a year without having sex. I hadn’t exactly lied to them, but I let them believe what they wanted. The truth was that no one had caught my interest after Piper had walked into her backyard in a pink string bikini. It barely covered her ass. I had to pin my aching cock under my swim shorts’ waistband before Marcus killed me for looking at her that way.
I spent the next two weeks fantasizing about her, palming myself to images of the way her bikini top had pulled tight and shifted to the side, revealing the soft pink edge of her nipple. It was a memory that would be burned into my mind forever.
Marcus clapped his hands together, and a mischievous smile took over his face. “We should start the Hunt.”
“Fuck that,” I protested, crashing onto the couch, and tried to keep my body language relaxed despite feeling anything but. There would be no hiding my situation if we started that shit up.
Jax choked on a laugh and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Are you kidding me? You’ve won the last two in a row. Don’t pussy out now.”
I couldn’t argue with him without giving myself away. We’d played some variation of this game since tenth grade, after Marcus had gotten his first handy. Now it was a kind of summer tradition, one that had escalated every year until it was definitely out of control. But I couldn’t tell them that. They were more than happy to fuck around. “Whatever, man,” I muttered.
Marcus searched my face and tilted his head a little to the side. He knew me entirely too well. “It’s settled. We need some new rules. It’s getting too easy” He crossed the room to a giant whiteboard and wrote down our names in columns. “For every chick you nail, you’ll get a mark. Whoever has the most marks by the end of July wins.”
Jax took a long swig of Gatorade from his white hockey bottle. His T-shirt was plastered against his skin, and the ends of his shaggy hair were damp with sweat from taking countless practice shots. “New rule. Hookups only. No double-dipping. Doesn’t matter how many times you fuck her. One girl only counts for one point, assholes.”
I let out a sigh and ran my palms over my face. “Fine. Anything else? Before I beat your asses.” I tried to sound as confident as possible, even though I knew I was already losing this game.
“Yeah, no overnights,” Jax added, and Marcus burst out laughing. That was no surprise. Marcus was known to sneak his share of sleepovers, butJax had a thing about girls staying over. They didn’t. Ever.
“What if I like to cuddle?” Marcus replied, but I knew he was fine with the rule. Cuddling meant the girls got too clingy, and no one was down for that.
Marcus’s expression turned serious. “Last rule. Stay the fuck away from my little sister.”
“As much as I’d love to see the look on your face, none of us see your sister like that, so relax, man.” Jax smirked.
I nodded when Marcus’s gaze shifted to me. “Stakes are the same. Winner always gets to ride shotgun. Losers buy drinks for the rest of the year.”
We took turns practicing trick shots for the next hour, until I was drenched in sweat. I removed my shirt, but it didn’t do enough to cool me down from the summer heat. I had gotten particularly good at the Michigan shot, where you flip the puck up onto the flat edge of your stick and flick it into the net over the goalie’s shoulder. Since you use it when you’re coming around from the back of the net, the goalie doesn’t stand a shot at blocking it.
I tipped my Gatorade back, taking a long pull, and watched the guys shoot it out. They were both forwards, and their skills were killer. As a defensemen, I practiced more on positioning and reading the play. That didn’t stop me from coming out here and fucking around with them though.
My phone buzzed, and Piper’s name flashed on the screen. What the hell was she doing calling me? I glanced at Marcus, then headed toward the door entering my house. “I’ll be back in a minute. Gotta run and grab milk for my mom.”
Neither of them responded, still busy with their competition.
Shutting the door behind me, I answered Marcus’s sister’s call.
“Killer?”
THREE
PIPER
“Killer?”Lucas’s familiar voice filled my ear, and all the emotions I’d been holding back slammed forward, and a small, pained sound escaped my mouth before I could stop it. Turned out I wasn’t unaffected; I was just really good at compartmentalizing. I blinked back the burning in the back of my eyes, refusing to cry over that man.
