Playing Hard_A Chesapeake Blades Hockey Romance Read online

  And then Sammie was there, pulling Taylor away, saying something to her in a low voice as she tugged. The ref skated away, getting into position for the next puck drop.

  Son of a bitch. He wasn't going to call it! Shannon bit down on her mouthpiece and got back into position, anger coursing through her veins.

  Brush it off. Focus. Get back into the zone.

  Her eyes darted to the board, noticed the time left on the clock. Twenty seconds. They could do this. Twenty seconds and the game would be over, and the Blades could put another point in the win column. No problem.

  Just breathe. Focus.

  The puck dropped again only this time, New York won the draw. Fuck! Shannon crouched lower, barely blinking as her eyes followed the puck. Close. Closer. She waited for the shot, watched as the puck was passed right in front of her. She moved toward it, realized her mistake and scrambled back. And shit, here it came, she wasn't in position—

  Shannon leaned backward, arching her back and stretching to the right, the muscles of her thighs and abdomen pulling…pulling. She threw her right arm to the side, reaching across the net with her stick, knowing it was too late, knowing New York had just tied the fucking game.

  Stretching more, her breath held, her thighs and abs burning, everything moving in slow motion as she reached…reached—

  The puck hit her stick and bounced out, away from the net and straight toward Rachel. Holy fucking shit, no fucking way! The other woman looked as stunned as Shannon felt.

  "Go! Go!" Shannon shouted at her over the background noise, breathed a sigh of relief when Rachel spun around and skated away from the net.

  Three seconds. Two. One—

  The horn blared, signaling the end of the game. Shannon collapsed onto her knees and bent over from the waist, her helmet touching the ice as she sucked frigid air into her lungs.

  Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.

  Hands reached for her, pulling her to her feet then gathering her in for a group hug. She heard excited voices and mingled words of congratulations and disbelief as she was pulled toward the bench. Coach Reynolds tapped her on the helmet with her ever-present clipboard as Shannon made her way back to the locker room with everyone else.

  "Holy crappola, you are the Limbo Queen!" Sammie pulled her into a big hug, bouncing up and down and nearly clipping her in the chin with the top of her head. Shannon laughed, finally extricating herself so she could start getting out of her gear.

  "I don't know about all that." She pulled her jersey off and tossed it to the side, then removed her chest and arm pads. She twisted, trying to see her lower back, then gave up and turned toward Dani. "Is there a mark there?"

  Dani leaned over, frowning as she traced a line on Shannon's back. "Yeah, you've got a nice welt going. It's not bleeding, though."

  "Well, that's something, I guess. I can't believe that dumb fuck didn't call a penalty on that." She dropped to the bench and removed the rest of her pads, then started unlacing her skates. "Taylor, did he say anything to you when you went over to talk to him?"

  "Yeah." Taylor's mouth thinned out and an angry blush stained her cheekbones. "He told me not to tell him how to do his job."

  "Are you serious?" Shannon yanked her sock off and tossed it to the side. "What an ass."

  "Don't worry, she got him back." Sammie dropped to the bench next to Shannon, a grin on her face. "Taylor told him that if he was actually good enough to do his job, he would be playing for us instead of wearing stripes."

  Laughter echoed around the dingy locker room. Taylor's blush deepened and she shrugged. "Sorry, but he pissed me off. The ass."

  Conversation dwindled to a low roar, then faded to nothing as Coach Reynolds came in to congratulate them and discuss what they needed to work on. Then it was time to hit the showers and head out to the bus for the long ride home. Shannon tossed her gear bag into the outside compartment then climbed onboard, wincing just a little when she took her normal seat in the back. Taylor and Sammie and Dani all frowned at her.

  "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah, just a little stiff. I stretched muscles I didn't even know I had."

  "I still can't believe you made that save!"

  "Yeah, neither can I. It was pure dumb luck, that was all."

  Taylor shook her head, contradicting Shannon. "No, that was pure skill."

  "No, it was luck. If I hadn't been out of position, I wouldn't have had to stretch like that. My mistake."

  "You're being too hard on yourself. Trust me, it was a beautiful save. Keep playing like that, and we're going to give the Banners a game they aren't expecting."

  Dani spun around in her seat, leaning over the back to stare at Taylor. "You're delusional if you think we can beat them. We don't have an ice cube's chance in hell."

  "Why not? We're good. There's no reason we can't beat them."

  Sammie raised her hand then quickly dropped it. "Um, hang on. Isn't this supposed to just be a charity game? You know, for fun?"

  "Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't win."

  "Taylor, you're delusional. Just like Dani said."

  "What is with you guys? Why so negative? Why so convinced we're going to lose?"

  "Um, let's see. They're bigger. They're faster. They're more experienced—" Shannon started to say more but her phone began vibrating. She pulled it from the front pocket of her slacks and glanced down at the screen, then bit back a smile when she saw the text notification from Caleb. It was just a simple text, there was absolutely no reason for her heart to be dancing in her chest the way it was. That didn't stop her from smiling when she swiped the screen and brought the text up.

  Awesome save. I'm impressed.

  He watched the game? But how? The Banners were on the road this weekend, playing in Florida then in Nashville. The only way he could have watched the game was if he had been streaming it on his phone through a social media app, because it sure as hell wasn't playing on any of the networks.

  Her fingers flew across the screen, typing out a reply.

  Thanks. It was nothing but luck.

  I think skill might have had something to do with it. Did you hurt anything?

  No.

  Too bad. I was going to offer to kiss everything to make it better :)

  Shannon bit back a grin and wondered if her face was as red as it felt. Probably. Yes, she knew it was silly. Not silly—stupid. They hadn't done anything except kiss…which sounded so juvenile, it was almost embarrassing. But it had almost become a game now, one filled with teasing suspense, all leading up to Sammie's wedding next week.

  And God help her, but she was enjoying herself. Yes, she was going to sleep with him—although she really hoped there wasn't much actual sleeping involved. Was it a smart move? Maybe. Maybe not. But she didn't care. She liked Caleb. She enjoyed hanging out with him, enjoyed their bantering and teasing. She didn't think he was playing her, but if he was…so what? Maybe she was simply playing him, too. They were both having fun, not looking for a relationship. Her heart wasn't involved, not even close. As long as she kept that in mind, she'd be fine.

  No response, huh?

  She looked back at her phone, realized she'd been sitting there for several minutes without saying anything. She bit back a smile and typed back.

  I'll hold you to that next weekend.

  There was a slight pause before her phone vibrated again. She opened the message and almost laughed out loud at the gif of a bottle of champagne being popped and exploding everywhere that flashed across her screen. Yeah, that could definitely be taken in more than one way.

  Gotta run, time to get ready for game. I'll text later.

  Shannon replied with a quick ok then tucked the phone back into her pocket…and looked up to see three sets of eyes staring at her. "What?"

  "Who was that?"

  "Why do you have that shit-eating grin on your face?"

  "Yeah. And holy crappola, why are you blushing like that? I've never seen you blush like that before."

&nb
sp; "I am not blushing."

  Sammie reached over and placed the back of her hand against Shannon's forehead. "Yup, you're definitely blushing. And your face is hot. I'd almost think you had a fever but I'm a mom and know better. Okay, out with it. Was that Caleb?"

  "He just—"

  "Are you seriously still hanging out with him?" Taylor's voice was flat, a little impatient. "Shannon, did you not listen to anything I told you?"

  "Yeah, I did. I'm ignoring it."

  "You need your head examined."

  "We're just hanging out. Having fun. There's nothing else going on."

  "Wait. Aren't you still bringing him to the wedding? Or did something change? Because I thought you said—" Sammie's mouth snapped shut under Shannon's glare. She dropped back into her seat with a little bounce, a bright smile on her face. "So yeah, anyway—"

  "You're bringing Caleb as your date?"

  Shannon thought about denying it, but why? It wasn't like Sammie hadn't already told them. And it wasn't like they wouldn't find out anyway, especially since they were all sitting together at the small reception.

  "Yes, I'm bringing him." She pointed a finger at Taylor, stopping the other woman before she could say anything. "And I don't want to hear another word about it. Besides, I thought you liked him. You said he was a nice guy."

  "Yeah, I did. I do. He is. But not to date. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

  "I'm not going to get hurt."

  Taylor opened her mouth, hesitated, then closed it. She looked around then finally shook her head. "I just hope you know what you're doing. I mean, you do realize you're now sleeping with the enemy, right?"

  A short burst of laughter escaped Shannon. "We're not sleeping together—"

  "Yet."

  "—and he's not the enemy. Why would you even say something like that?"

  "Because he plays for the Banners. And we're going to be playing them. That makes him the enemy."

  "You're crazy, you know that, right? Abso-fucking-lutely crazy."

  "No, I'm desperate. We can beat them. I know we can."

  "Shannon's right—you're crazy." Dani leaned further over the seat, then leaned up and swiped the bright red hair from her face. "You're beyond crazy—you're obsessing. And I'm starting to worry about you."

  "I'm not obsessing. Don't you guys realize how much is at stake with this?"

  "Taylor, it's a charity exhibition game. There's nothing at stake!"

  "Yeah, there is. Think about it. Do you have any idea how much publicity we would get if we go out there and kick their asses? People would finally notice us. Ticket sales would go up. The team would make more money. And if the team makes more money, we make more money. People would start to take us seriously."

  Silence followed Taylor's passionate speech, a silence filled with thought and consideration. Dani finally broke it with a small sigh. "More money would be nice. I'm getting tired of working extra nights just to pay my rent."

  "Yeah. And it would be nice if we didn't have to keep buying our own gear. I broke two sticks last week at practice." Shannon held up two fingers. "Two. That adds up real quick."

  "See? I told you, there's a lot more to this than just a charity exhibition game. We need to really wow everyone. And we can do that if we beat the Banners."

  Sammie sighed, the sound filled with quiet desperation. "I still don't see how we're going to do that."

  "It's not impossible. We just need to come up with a game plan."

  "Fine. You're the Captain. How do we come up with a game plan?"

  "We need a team meeting. And not one at the rink. There's always some team or another playing or practicing there when we're not."

  "So why not just have it after practice? There's nobody there that late."

  "No, we need somewhere else. Someplace big enough for everyone so we're not standing on top of each other."

  "Then ask your parents. Their place is huge."

  Taylor frowned, her head tilted to the side as she considered it. "No, I don't want to do it there. I don't want Uncle JP hearing about it and trust me, as soon as the twins overhear any little thing, they'll be running off to spread the news to everyone."

  Sammie raised her hand, kept holding it up until Shannon reached over and forcefully lowered it. "You need to stop doing that."

  "Sorry, force of habit." Sammie leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "We could have it at the warehouse."

  "What warehouse?"

  "Jon and his buddies just leased a new space for everything and the place is huge. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we used it for a meeting."

  "Don't they have, I don't know, top secret shit and everything hidden there?"

  "No, of course not. It's just stuff for the security business. And all that would be locked up anyway."

  "You don't think they'd mind?"

  Sammie shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to ask."

  "Okay then, now we're getting somewhere." Taylor held her hand out, palm down, then looked at each of them, waiting. Shannon rolled her eyes, watching as Dani placed her hand on top of Taylor's, followed by Sammie's.

  Taylor turned to her, an expectant look on her face. "You know you want to. We can do this. I know we can."

  Shannon laughed and rolled her eyes. "You're all crazy but fine, I'm in." She placed her hand on top of Sammie's. "Here's to fighting like a girl."

  Chapter Fourteen

  Caleb frowned at the phone, surprised to see a blank screen staring back at him. It wasn't completely blank, of course—the icons for the dozens of different apps were still there, along with the phone icon and the message icon. It was that last one that had him frowning: it was empty. Zero messages. None. Nada. Zilch.

  He opened the app and checked his last incoming message from a few hours ago. More than a few, actually—it was right before the game, when he had been texting Shannon.

  I'll hold you to that next weekend.

  A flare of heat tightened his groin at the underlying meaning in that message. At least, he hoped there was an underlying meaning to it. And how big of an idiot was he, to send his lame ass response? That popping champagne bottle followed by a stupid, casual text.

  Gotta run, time to get ready for game. I'll text later.

  Nothing since then. Fuck.

  "Something wrong with your phone?"

  Caleb glanced over at Logan Simms, relief pushing away his worry. That had to be it: something was wrong with his phone. That was why he wasn't seeing any messages from Shannon.

  "Yeah, must be. Can you send me a quick text?"

  Logan pulled the phone from his pocket, his fingers flying over the screen. A few seconds later, Caleb's phone beeped and he looked down at the notification signaling the incoming message, frowned when it popped up on his screen.

  Asshole

  "Nice. Real nice."

  "Whatever." Logan pocketed his phone then reached up and undid his tie, pulling it off and tossing it onto his bed. "Your phone works. Now come on, let's go. The guys are waiting."

  "Yeah, okay. Coming." Caleb pushed off the bed, still staring at the phone, still wondering why he didn't see any messages from Shannon. Maybe they got jammed somewhere along the line and just hadn't come through yet.

  He paused in the middle of the room and dashed a quick reply, then muttered a curse when Logan's phone beeped in response. Well shit. He didn't have any problems getting a text from Logan or sending one to him. So where were all the other texts?

  Unless Shannon hadn't sent him one.

  No, that couldn't be right. Of course, she'd send him at least one. Wouldn't she? The bus ride from New York to Baltimore didn't take that long, she had to be home by now. Actually, she should have been home to catch at least the last ten minutes of his game. Wouldn't she have texted him to at least congratulate him on that game-winning goal?

  Yeah, of course she would have. Which meant his phone had to be acting up or something. That was the only thing that made sense.

  "For shit's sa
ke, Johnson. Are you going to be glued to that thing all fucking night?"

  "Hm? Hey! What the hell?" Caleb jerked back in surprise as Logan snagged the phone from his hand. "What do you think you're doing? Give that back to me."

  "Not happening." Logan jammed the phone into his pants pocket then yanked open the door. "You can have it back later. Right now, the guys are waiting. And babes. Lots of babes, all ready to do their part in congratulating us on kicking Florida's ass. Now let's go."

  Caleb hesitated, no longer in the mood to head down to the lobby bar. Hell, he hadn't really been in the mood earlier, either. No way in hell he could tell Logan that, though—he'd never hear the end of it. And he couldn't exactly make a grab for his phone, not without Logan laughing his ass off after pummeling him.

  Okay, fine. He'd go down for one beer, get his phone back, then come back up to the room and—

  And he didn't know what. Try texting Shannon, maybe. It wasn't that late, not really, and it was a Saturday night so she should be awake. Unless she was out somewhere—

  "Johnson! Let's go."

  "Yeah, fine. I'm coming." Caleb reached behind him, making sure he had his wallet, then stepped out into the hallway. Logan pulled the door closed with a loud bang then led the way down the hall to the elevators. And shit. Just his luck, because Christian Harper and Jacob Riley and Hunter Billings were standing there, holding the elevator doors open for them.

  Caleb bit back a sigh of frustration and piled into the elevator with everyone else. One beer, he told himself. One beer, and then he'd call it a night.

  Hunter leaned his shoulder against the back wall of the elevator and pinned Caleb with his dark, penetrating gaze. "Why the hell do you look so grumpy? I figured you'd be downstairs already, celebrating with a hook-up."

  "I'm not grumpy."

  A chorus of rough laughter echoed around him. Caleb bit his tongue, refusing to take the bait. If he showed any annoyance at all, they'd pounce on him and give him shit.