He raises his hand. “I’m only here for her to throw a drink in my face.”
“Which I’m not going to do,” I chime in and earn his attention. Big mistake having those dark eyes on me again.
His shoulders fall. “You have to. If you don’t, I won’t be able to score tonight.”
I laugh. I understand superstitions—I’ve had my own throughout my life—but this is way out there. “I thought you didn’t believe in superstitions?”
Tedi grabs her chair and wheels it over, getting comfortable, sitting with her legs crossed.
Aiden looks from her back to me. “I didn’t until that game. Everything about my life was normal until the night we met.”
“You should’ve slept with him. Imagine what would’ve happened then,” Tedi says.
“I’m going to put duct tape across your mouth if you don’t stop talking,” I warn her.
She raises her hands, smiling. “I’m just saying, then you’d have to sleep with him before every game. I bet you’re good in bed. I mean all that training… the stamina you must have.”
Aiden’s mouth opens and shuts as though he has no idea how he should answer. “I do all right.”
Even I know he could probably press me to a wall and fuck my brains out until he had no choice but to lay me down to recuperate.
Tedi laughs and says nothing.
“The drink in the face means nothing,” I say, hoping to end this.
“What do you want in return? Season tickets? Done.”
“I don’t watch hockey.”
Tedi raises her hand. “I’ll do it for season tickets. I’m your biggest fan.”
“Clothes? A shopping spree?” he asks.
I cross my legs. “You’re not going to buy me anything. I’m not looking for a sugar daddy.”
“I’ll give you anything, just name it. A date with me?” He winks.
I hope he’s joking. “Let’s remember, I’m kind of dating your agent.”
His smile falters. “Come on. I’m begging. Do you want me down on my knees?” He moves to stand, and I put up my hand.
“I’ll gladly go down on my knees for the season tickets.”
“Tedi!” I screech.
She knows me well and can see I’ve reached my limit, so she stands and wheels her chair away. “I’ll just go mind my business over here. But I gotta say, you might as well experiment. See if it works this time. Maybe it was a fluke, but you won’t know until you do it another time.”
I narrow my eyes at her while Aiden points at her. “She has a point.”
I groan and put my head on my desk. Why am I really arguing this? He’s not asking for anything more than a drink in the face.
“Fine.” I pick up my head, grab the bottle, and pour a glass.
“Really?” Aiden stands. “Should we mimic the way we were standing?”
“How were you standing?” Tedi asks as if it’s a juicy piece of gossip.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” I say, picking up the glass and tossing the wine in his face.
His eyes widen in shock and his tongue slides out and licks his lips. “I’m not much of a wine guy, but I’m starting to enjoy the sweetness.” He winks. “I’ve got a game in two nights. I’ll be back.” He grabs a piece of paper and scribbles down his number, pushing it my way. “That’s my number if you need me.”
I stare at it for a moment, then catch Tedi’s eyes widening, her mouth ajar.
“Thanks, Saige. This means a lot to me.”
His sincerity hits me right in the chest and a warm feeling radiates outward.
“I’ll put two tickets at will call under your name for tonight.” He picks up one of my business cards and twirls it in his fingers. “And remember when I shoot that goal, it’s all because of you.”
Then he’s out the door. I slump back into my office chair to calm my breathing.
“Oh yeah, I can totally see that you’re not interested in that guy,” Tedi says, shaking her head.
I have to tread carefully here because Tedi’s right. But things could get out of control fast with a man like Aiden Drake, and I swore a long time ago that I’d never date a professional athlete again.
Been there.
Done that.
Shattered heart to prove it.
Chapter Three
Aiden
“So tell me you did her?” Ford asks the minute I step foot in the locker room.
I narrow my eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“The blonde. New Year’s Eve.” He undoes his tie, following me to my locker. “You nailed her, right? So we should expect Shamrock on the ice again tonight?”
Ford means well, he really does. He’s just spoiled and lives a privileged life. But I have no doubt the day is coming when some woman will get him on his knees, begging.
“No, it’s not like that.”
Despite me assuring them I slept alone after the party, my teammates think I ghosted them on New Year’s Eve because I was getting laid. In their minds, I slept with Saige, and so in order for me to have another great game tonight, I have to sleep with her again.
“Let’s just say it’s taken care of,” I say like a fucking weasel. I feel like I’m back in high school, except I never had time for girls in high school because I was always training and working on my game. But I don’t want to lie about Saige and me. She’s no puck bunny, that’s for sure. “But I didn’t sleep with her.”
“Sure, you didn’t.” Ford pats me on the back, practically jumping up as we enter the changing area. “No worries, guys, our captain did his duty!”
A roar of applause and shouts ring out from everyone.
I shake my head and sit in front of my locker.
Maksim joins me on my other side. “I’m so fucking excited for tonight now.” He unclasps his slacks. “We’re gonna kick the Sharks’ ass,” he says in his Russian accent.
Another roar from our team. Everyone is in good spirits. I don’t think that telling them that the superstition might be a woman throwing white wine at my face will crumble their spirit, so I promise myself I’ll tell them after the game. Definitely after we come back with a win. Of course, if I don’t score, then it was all for nothing anyway and my last game was just a coincidence.
Ford gets everyone hyped up, playing his hip-hop, and dancing as he changes into his gear. The man loves to party. I keep to myself and change into my pads.
“Did you hear? I hired the blonde yesterday,” Maksim says, lacing up his skates.
“For your social media?”
He nods and smiles. “I hate that shit. I can’t stand seeing all the shitty comments. Messes with my head.”
“You could forgo social media,” I tell him, and he balks.
“You might get away with that because you’re Aiden Drake, but for a lot of us, it’s how we gain fans and get sponsorships.”
“But now the blonde is doing your posting.” I quirk an eyebrow.
He laughs. “True, but she said I could post anything as long as I clear it with her. She gave me some great tips on how to keep stalkers away. She’s gonna be like my fairy godmother. Well, a hot fairy godmother.”