Hockey Christmas (A Holiday Sports Romance Love Story) Read online

  “I’m good,” I grinned at him. “Thank you so much for inviting me, because this is incredible!”

  “Honestly, Sean and Ally did most of it,” he admitted bashfully. “And yeah, they made the place look phenomenal. I wish I could have done this, but I’ve had practice all day.Unfortunately, we have a game tomorrow.”

  “Is Marek here?” Cynthia asked totally un-coolly, interrupting me before I could ask any details about the upcoming game he had. “Can you introduce us?”

  I rolled my eyes behind her back, but followed them as they walked into another room. I wasn’t looking forward to getting ditched the second that Cynthia finally met the man that she’d been raving about ever since I arrived in Minnesota, but at the same time I now wanted to spend more alone time with Miles.

  I couldn’t help it, being around him made all my wall just collapse. All my resolve simply fell apart as I got closer to him, and all I found myself wanting was his lips on mine once more.

  I gazed at him lovingly as Marek and Cynthia were introduced, wishing that things could be different and a whole lot easier between us. It was just such a shame that we lived so far apart, because if we didn’t, I could have really allowed myself to feel what I so desperately wanted to, and I could have acted on it too. I could have just fallen happily into Miles’s embrace, and waited to see where it would take us.

  God, I want him. I want to be with him so damn badly. Gone were my mantras, and all I was left with was a clawing need inside of me.

  Miles moved closer to me as Marek interacted with Cynthia in a cocky, arrogant way that I wasn’t sure I totally liked, and he wrapped his arm tightly around me. As Cynthia laughed and giggled at Marek’s far too crude comments, I snuggled against the guy that I was supposed to be keeping away from. He made me feel special, he made me feel loved, and that was very dangerous.

  “Watch her with him,” he whispered quietly into my ears. “He isn’t the best.”

  My heart sunk sadly as he said that. It didn’t matter that he was warning me now when it was far too late to do anything about it because I knew what Cynthia was like, and I knew that she wouldn’t have cared at all. She was so infatuated with Marek that she would have wanted to come and spend time with him, even if he was the worst person in the world.

  Just as I was about to reply, Sean came over and pulled Miles away to start cooking the food, leaving me as a bit of a spare part. At first I stayed where I was, standing awkwardly besides them, but after a while, their flirting became too intense and far too dirty for me to continue listening to, so I made my excuses to leave.

  “I’m just going to the bathroom,” I told Cynthia. Then I pulled her in for a hug to whisper my warning just to her. “Just be careful with him, okay? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I know who he is,” she replied just as quietly. “I’m only in this for a good time; I’ll be fine.” She pulled back to give me a look, showing me how serious she was, and I nodded happily – glad that she was aware of what was probably going to happen.

  As I left, I span back to send her a smile, but what I saw was them kissing each other with all the passion of two horny teenagers that had finally been given a moment alone to give in to their hormones. Only they weren’t teenagers, and they weren’t alone. They were in a room of people who were becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

  I shook that image from my mind and wandered over to the bathroom, quickly spotting the massive line that I really didn’t need to deal with when I didn’t actually need to go. So I actually ended up making my way aimlessly around Miles’s apartment, remembering the last time I was there.

  God, that night was a whole load of fun. Now that I was back there, with the same emotions flooding through me, a big part of me wished that I hadn't run away and that I’d stayed behind to see what could have happened the next day. Maybe we would have made love again, maybe we would have spent the day together on a date, maybe our relationship could have progressed into something more.

  There was a massive smile on my face by the time I spotted Miles stood by the grill, and I couldn’t resist going over to have a little chat with him. He was just so gorgeous and adorable, and I honestly could no longer understand why I was so intent on avoiding him and ignoring his advances.

  He likes me, and I like him…why does it need to be more complicated than that?

  “Hey, Miles,” I said a little shyly. “Do you need a hand with anything?”

  “I don’t,” he placed a really sweet kiss on my lips, causing my smile to widen even further. “But you can stay here and keep me company.”

  “I really like your girlfriend,” Sean suddenly interjected, popping his head into the conversation. “She’s hot and seriously cool.”

  I glanced over to Miles in a panic, wondering how badly he was going to freak out about the fact that I’d just been referred to as his girlfriend, but he looked totally relaxed about the whole thing. In fact, he simply shot me a grin and leaned in for another kiss, which I reciprocated happily.

  If he didn’t want to have a meltdown, and to put his friend right about our relationship status, then I wouldn’t either. To be honest, the way we were behaving and the way he was making me feel was very girlfriend like anyway, so why not play that role tonight? We could act like boyfriend and girlfriend for this one event; that wouldn’t cause anyone any troubles, would it?

  “Is this the girl you’ve been talking about nonstop?” another guy, clearly one of the hockey players, jumped in, obviously wanting to embarrass his friend. “She’s cute.”

  “Yeah, well she’s mine, Gaz,” Miles joked, pulling me in closer. “So back off.”

  Oh God, my heart fluttered excitedly. It’s going to be so hard to keep away from him. I honestly don’t think I can do it. But as I swigged my drink, and I received another sweet kiss from Miles, I realized that I didn’t actually want to anymore, not at all. There was no point in keeping up the pretense any longer; I liked him a whole lot and I really wanted to go for it, and to have more fun with him again.

  It can just be a fling, I lied to myself. No one has to get too involved. It will be fine.

  I wasn’t sure if I totally believed myself, but my mind no longer cared. I was in it now, for tonight at least, and that filled me with excitement.

  Chapter 17

  Miles – Wednesday

  Once everyone had eaten and the party atmosphere had kicked up a notch, I decided to take everyone outside to try and spread people out a bit – more people had come than was expected – so it seemed like a good idea. But because everyone was in summery clothes, and it was seriously freezing, I decided to make a big fire on the deck to keep everyone warm.

  As I was doing that, someone brought the music system outside and a loud, upbeat tune started to play. Luckily, because it was New Year’s Eve, and everyone surrounding us was partying, there was no one to complain that we were causing a disturbance, so I let it fly. I was good, it kept the fun rolling, and everyone having a good time was the pinnacle of a good party.

  Although the most important person to me was definitely having a good time – the smiles she kept sending me were enough to show me that much. Her being happy was enough to have me really enjoying myself.

  “What am I supposed to do about that?” Danielle murmured against me, indicating towards her sister furiously making out with Marek in a way that was definitely leading somewhere. It made me really uncomfortable to see, especially when I knew for a fact that it would only end up going badly, but at the same time, I selfishly didn’t want Danielle to get too wrapped up in them, forgetting about me.

  “You warned her, didn’t you?” I asked, and she nodded seriously, biting on her lip. “Well then, there’s nothing more you can so. She’s a big girl; she can look after herself.” But she still didn’t look convinced. “I’m sure Marek won’t be the first frog she’s kissed,” I joked. “And she probably won’t be the last either.”

  “True,” Danielle shrugged her shoulders,
turning back to me. “Is that what you are?” She asked. “Are you nothing more than a heartbreaking frog?”

  “Honestly,” I pulled her in towards me, wrapping my arms around her. “Is that what you think of me? Because if so, I’ve been going very wrong.”

  I kissed her lightly, and she placed her hands on my cheeks, responding very enthusiastically. As we got lost in one another for a few seconds, it was as if the rest of the world had simply melted away. For that second, I wished that I could kick everyone else out, and enjoy a night in alone with Danielle instead; that was probably what I should have done in the first place.

  “Come on,” I tugged on her arm grinning, wanting to keep the good mood going. “Let’s go and dance.”

  A few people had started randomly dancing on the deck, making something of a dance floor and that was perfect for what I wanted. I needed to have a bit of fun with Danielle, whilst also being able to see more of her. She followed behind me happily, and instantly began swinging her hips in time with the music which had me feeling more turned on than ever before.

  She was sexy as hell, that was so obvious, but there was a deep, inner beauty there too, and I could see that coming out as she let her guard down and started to act a little freer. I moved closer to her, holding my hands on my hips, hearing my heart pound in my chest, and I tugged her towards me for yet another kiss. This girl was intoxicating, addictive, and I never wanted to let her go.

  “You’re beautiful,” I murmured against her lips. “I’ve never seen anyone as gorgeous as you before.”

  “I can’t believe that,” she replied, gigging bashfully, and I pulled back quickly to see her face flame with embarrassment. I couldn’t help but grin to myself, admiring just how adorable she was when I paid her a compliment. She wasn’t like the over the top, confident women that hung out in bars, waiting for the next, rich sportsman to cross their paths. She wasn’t flirtatious and in your face; she was cute and kind.She was different in the best way possible. “I’m sure you’ve met hundreds of beautiful girls.”

  “I haven’t,” I replied honestly. “There’s something really special about you; in fact, I might have to come and visit you in California at this rate.”

  Oh God, did I just say that?

  I couldn’t believe that in the heat of the moment, I touched on the one subject that we had been pointedly ignoring – the future. But luckily, she smiled at me and giggled once more.

  “Will you be able to handle the heat?” she teased. “The sun might burn your precious, fragile skin.”

  Just as I was about to make some sarcastic retort back, Sean called for everyone’s attention and announced that he was about to start setting off the fireworks. We all gathered around excitedly, and I stood behind Danielle, wrapping my arms around her, and I buried my face in her hair. It felt like a really couple-like way to be behaving, but at the same time, it also felt right. In a weird way, it felt perfect for us, like it was the way that we were always supposed to be.

  It was amazing to me how quickly I’d gone from being all messed up by Hailey, to ready to move on. I guessed the time must have been right for me, and now that I was about to head into a new year with another amazing woman by my side, I felt an intense sense of happiness, like everything was right with the world.

  As the sky exploded in some of the most amazing colors that I’d ever seen, I gazed on happily, enjoying the warmth that was emanating off of Danielle’s body.

  I liked her, so damn much, and I was starting to feel like I wanted her too. I hadn't invited her here with the intention of hooking up with her again, but my brain had fixated on the idea, and now it was all that I could think about.

  Not yet, I warned myself. Not while everyone is here.

  But that was advice that I really didn’t want to listen to.

  I wanted to take her upstairs to my spare bedroom that I had in the attic – that was actually almost as amazing as my own room. I wanted to slide off that top and get another feel of the wonderful breasts that I knew lay underneath. Then I wanted to flick that skirt up and to have a feel of the hot, wet desire that I just knew would be there once more.

  I wanted to explore Danielle, to get to know her body even better, and that was what I fully intended to do by the time this night was up.

  “It’s almost midnight!” someone yelled, completely distracting me from my dirty thoughts. “Let’s get ready for the count down.”

  “Ten… Nine…”

  I span Danielle around, staring deep into those beautiful eyes.

  “Eight… Seven…”

  I sent her a grin, which she responded to happily. I felt like I could see a whole range of emotions swirling behind her eyes, which made me extremely happy.

  “Six… Five… Four…”

  “You’re gorgeous,” I whispered, snaking my arms around her waist. There was just something so perfect about sharing this moment with Danielle, the girl that I could definitely see myself falling for, even if our future was a little uncertain.

  “Three… Two…”

  “You’re not too bad yourself,” she replied cheekily, making me blush too.

  “One… Happy New Year!”

  I pulled Danielle in for a deep and passionate kiss, allowing all of my feelings to roll to the surface. It might have been the booze making me act a little crazy, but I liked it. I enjoyed everything about the way that Danielle made me feel, making our deep connection even stronger.

  “You know, whoever you kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve is the person you’ll spend the rest of the year with,” she murmured against my lips.

  “I’m okay with that,” I told her honestly, really wishing that we didn’t live so far apart. If Danielle didn’t have her life in California, and I didn’t have mine in Minesota, maybe there would be a way to make that happen, but that was a pretty huge hurdle to overcome. “Hey,” I knew that I probably shouldn’t be asking this question, but I really, really wanted to, “do you want to come upstairs with me?”

  An involuntary groan escaped her lips, causing my cock to stand to attention. It made me even hornier to know that she wanted this just as much as I did, despite the huge number of people surrounding us.

  “Upstairs?” she gasped, leaning close enough for me to feel her breath against my cheek. “There isn’t an upstairs here, is there?”

  “Actually, there’s a small attic area that I had converted into a spare bedroom, but it’s never actually been used. When Sean crashes here, he normally passes out on my couch.”

  “So we could christen it?” Her eyes lit up with excitement, but then she glanced around at everyone else.

  “No one will know what we’re doing,” I reminded her. “We’ll just discretely slip away.”

  Giggling happily, she slipped her hand into mine and allowed me to take her up into my attic. Luckily, the doorway leading to it looked like a cupboard door, so it wasn’t the sort of thing that could be opened by mistake. I had a lock too, which could give us a little privacy.

  If things happened in the way that I wanted them too, it would be the best of both worlds – the privacy of being alone, with the illicit thrill of being caught.

  “This is amazing!” Danielle gasped, taking a look at my spare bedroom. “This is better than most people’s main bedrooms.”

  “I guess when I moved in here, I had a vision for the future,” I told her honestly. “I never grew up with much, so I wanted to get everything in place early in case my funds ran out. It’s never something that I want to rely too heavily on, you know?”

  Danielle nodded and grinned widely at me. “You’re not the person I expected you to be when we first met,” she told me. “You’re sensible and smart; it’s really refreshing.”

  “Did you expect me to be dumb as a bag of rocks?” I exclaimed, acting like I was hurt. “Do you lump all sports players in the same box?”

  “No, no, not at all,” she laughed, sensing that I was only joking. “My best friend at college is with a footballer
player, and he’s a really nice guy.”

  “Urgh, icy hockey players are much tougher than football players!” I insisted, flirting and moving closer to her. “We’re on another level entirely!”

  “Yeah?” she asked. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been with a football player before.”

  I leant forward and kissed her passionately, wrapping my arms tightly around her. There was nowhere else in the world that I would rather be. There was an amazing party going on beneath us, filled with all my closest friends, yet I was already with the only person that I wanted to be with – the girl I’d met only a few weeks before.

  “You don’t want to,” I replied huskily. “After being with an ice hockey player, you’ll never want to be with anyone else again.” In a crazy way, I was already certain that this was the girl that no one else would ever compare to. It is just a real shame that realistically it can’t last too long, because if everything were different, I could really see this as the girl I ended up falling in love with.

  “I already feel that way,” she moaned as a reply. “After you, I don’t think anything will ever be the same again.”

  Chapter 18

  Danielle – Wednesday

  My breaths became short and ragged as Miles sent a crazy bunch of emotions floating right through me. He was making me feel like I was special, amazing, and for someone like me who had spent their entire life being put down, that was addictive.

  I really liked him, far too much, but in that moment, it didn’t even matter. I was pulsating too powerfully for him to care.