PUCKED Up (17 page)

“
We’ve all known each other since high school.”

Something about the way she won’t look at me makes the time-out buzzer go off in my head. “Did you date him or something?” I mean it to come out sounding more like a joke than an inquisition.

Her eyes stay focused on her wiggling toes. “It was a long time ago.”

Sunny’s only twenty. High school ended for her two years ago. “How long is a long time?”

“
We broke up senior year. It was forever ago. He’s over it.”

There are so many things I want to say right now that I can’t. I need to call Violet. I can’t see the appeal in going on a trip with my best friend and her boyfriend and a goddamn ex. It would be insanely awkward.

“
Are
you
over it?”

This time she looks at me. “Of course! Why would you even ask that?”

“
Because you agreed to go on the trip when you were angry with me, and I can bet Lily was all about convincing you it would be a good idea. Does Alex know Corn Chip is going with you?”

“
It’s Kale, not corn chip, Miller. And yes, Alex knows, and he still thinks it’s a good idea.”

“
Of course he does!”

“
Why are you bringing my brother into this? He has nothing to do with anything.”

“
Yes, he does! You listen to what he says all the time, and he hates me. Of course he’s going to be all for you taking a road trip with your high school ex and Lily and her boyfriend.”

“
Kale and I have been friends for years.”

“
Who broke up with who?” I don’t have much experience with legit relationships. But if I know anything, it’s that guys can hold secret torches for chicks for years.

I saw it happen to Violet a couple of times when she was in high school. These guys would come over to hang out and get help with math, because Vi is ridiculously good at math. They were always jocks, and I was totally familiar with the game. Whenever she’d leave the room for a minute to get a glass of water, I’d tell them I’d break their faces if they so much as laid a finger on her. She’d always be oblivious to the fact that these dudes were drooling all over her rack.

“
It was mutual.”

“
Really? So at the exact same time you both decided you didn’t want to be with each other anymore?”

“
Well, I initiated it, but he agreed it was better to stay friends.”

“
You suggested you should stay friends?” I don’t care who the guy is, friends never works.

“
He’s Lily’s boyfriend’s best friend. We were going to see each other all the time anyway. We had to stay friends.”

All this information isn’t making me feel better about the trip she’s going on. I’d cancel the camp if I could and tag along on the soul-cleansing adventure, but I’d be disappointing way too many people. Myself included.

“
Does he have a girlfriend?”

“
He’s between relationships.”

“
What does that mean? Is it like being between jobs? He had one, and he’s looking for another one?”

“
She broke his heart. He’s not looking to get into anything serious right now.”

I’ve seen a couple of guys on my team go through the rebound phase. It’s one of the many reasons I haven’t tried to do the serious-relationship thing. It seems to be a six-month cycle. The girls they’re dating get all kinds of antsy. They call all the time, get clingy, and start making unreasonable accusations, worrying about what the guys are doing after the games and who they’re doing it with. Sometimes the worry is justified; other times it’s paranoia.

Playing professional hockey means a lot of traveling; sometimes we’re away for up to two weeks. It’s usually during one of these long stints that the call comes: She can’t take it. It’s too much. It’s her, not him. Then the rebound bunny-pucking begins. The guy goes home with a slew of new bunnies, hoping to sex out the feelings or whatever. It never works. They mope around and get into fights on the ice. I don’t want to end up being one of those guys.

“
So he’s on the rebound?”

“
He wants a break. He sees her all the time since they work for the same not-for-profit organization. They were supposed to go on this trip together, but obviously that’s not happening, so I’m taking her place.”

“
Lily must love this.”

“
She’s looking out for me, Miller. She’s been my best friend since first grade. She’s only met you once, and she doesn’t know you apart from what she sees on social media. Most of that isn’t very positive. Maybe if you were more open about all the good things you do outside of hockey, and parties, and going to the bar, people would have something else to focus on besides all the hooker bunnies.”

I sigh and lean back in the chair. I feel a lot like the squirrel sitting on the telephone wire, waiting to be electrocuted. This conversation is on the road to becoming another fight.

“
It’s complicated, Sunny. If people know where I’m going to be, it floods programs with kids who don’t need the support.” As it is, I usually have a campaign set up to fund the highest-need families. I get Amber and my dad to go through the applications first and pick the top five. I find it too hard to choose on my own. And I make sure any promo stuff happens after the fact, so the camps are full for the following summer.

I wrap my arms around Sunny’s waist and pull her against my chest. I need to work this from a different angle. Playing the possessive boyfriend isn’t a good idea. I need to be understanding. “I get that you made these plans with Lily, and you don’t want to back out of them. You’re a good friend. I don’t want you to bail on your friends for me.”

I need to focus on making the most of the time we have left together and make sure I secure more sooner rather than later.

“
September is coming fast,” I continue. “You’ll be back in school, and I’ll be in training. Then the season starts, and I’ll be traveling a lot. I want more than a couple of days here and there.”

“
I want that, too. I like being with you.”

I kiss her shoulder. “So it’s cool if I come out there and do the drive back with you? Maybe I can get Lily to warm up to me.”

“
That’d be nice. She’s a great friend.”

“
Will I get to meet this ex of yours before I leave?”

“
That’s the other thing I was meaning to tell you . . .”

This doesn’t sound good.

“
Lily is picking me up tomorrow morning.”

“
Morning? I thought we had the day together.” Randy sent me his flight details. I don’t have to get him from the airport until five in the evening.

“
Lily said eight, but she’s always late, so probably closer to nine or ten.”

“
Why so early? Can’t you leave in the afternoon?”

“
It’s a long drive. We need to be there before dark so we can set up camp; otherwise we’ll all have to sleep in the trailer.”

The idea of Sunny sleeping in a trailer with her ex-boyfriend definitely makes my rage meter spike.

Sunny’s voice softens as she explains. “I made the plans before you showed up—after I saw all the pictures and couldn’t get a hold of you. I didn’t think you were coming. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to see you, and then there you were, knocking on my door at two in the morning.”

I trace the edge of her jaw with a fingertip. I’m pulling out all the stops. “You don’t have to explain. It’s my fault.”

“
It was a misunderstanding.”

“
Because I’m an idiot.”

“
No, you’re not.”

“
Sometimes I am.” I kiss the bottom of her chin and the tip of her nose, hovering over her lips. “You wanna go inside?”

“
Inside?”

“
I feel like I should apologize.”

“
And we need to go inside for that?”

“
I like to demonstrate how sorry I am with actions, not words.”

“
What kind of actions?”

“
The kind that result in multiple orgasms.”

“
Oh. Well, we should definitely go inside then.”

CHAPTER NINE

SNEAK ATTACK!

Sunny and I spend the afternoon in bed, working up a serious appetite while I discover exactly how bendy she is. By the time we’re done, she’s had four orgasms, I’ve had two, and we’ve had sex in positions I’d never considered feasible.

“
I’m starving.” I’m still between her legs, enjoying the feel of Sunny’s hands running up and down my back. The come-down from my orgasm lingers. It’s an incredible feeling, second only to winning a hockey game.

“
I don’t think you need any more cookie today.”

“
I haven’t even eaten—” I lift my head from her chest. She’s got the cutest look on her face, all wide-eyed and pleased with herself. “You being funny, Sunny Sunshine?”

She grins.

“
I can always eat more cookie.” I start kissing a path down her stomach, but she grabs my head in her hands.

“
If you go down on me again you’re either going to have a callus on your tongue, or I’m going to have one on my cookie.”

I laugh and kiss my way back up to her mouth. “I need to eat some real food anyway. Let’s put clothes on and go out. I wanna take you somewhere nice.”

“
Oooh! I know the perfect place. You’re gonna love it!”

Sunny pushes on my chest and rolls out from under me, hopping to her feet.

Half an hour later we’re dressed and in downtown Guelph. My idea of the perfect place to eat isn’t the same as Sunny’s. We’re at a vegan restaurant. I’m not knocking the food. Plants are actually pretty tasty. I just know I’m going to be hungry by the time we get back in the car. Still, she’s excited, so I order half the menu and stuff my face with food that’s never canoodled with a cow or even a fish.

I falsely believe that no one who works here can possibly watch hockey. They all have dreads and wear shoes made out of hemp. But I’m dead wrong about the hockey thing. The guy who seats us knows exactly who I am, and he can’t stop talking about how much he wishes I’d been traded to Toronto.

Sunny must come to this place a lot, because the wait staff seem to know her. She introduces me to a bunch of people, but I can’t keep their names straight, and my usual nicknames don’t work since they’re all the same variety of granola. She also doesn’t call me her boyfriend. She doesn’t call me anything other than my name, but we sit on the same side of the table instead of across from each other, and she snuggles into my side. That says a lot more than a title.

Later, when we get back to her house, we watch a movie. Naked. Well, there isn’t much watching after the first fifteen minutes, but it was fun while it lasted, and even more fun afterward. When Sunny falls asleep on the couch, I raid the fridge. I don’t find much aside from healthy options and rice or almond milk. I think I’ve hit the jackpot when I check the freezer and find it full of baked goods. Sadly, all the lids have those red circles with the line through them covering the face of a stick man eating the contents. There’s also a pot leaf on there. It must be Sunny’s dad’s research. He works for a medical marijuana lab, perfecting strains. He’s insanely smart. Apparently Sunny likes to help with the baking part of that. I call a local pizza shop and order myself a snack.

Sunny wakes up as I’m polishing off my midnight meal. A pile of cleaned-off chicken wing bones sits next to the Styrofoam container. Sunny stretches, and the blanket I’ve covered her with falls so her nipples peek out.

“
What’re you doing?”

“
Staring at your boobs.”

She blinks blearily, pulling the blanket up to cover the goods and leans forward to inspect what’s in my bowl. Her nose crinkles in that cute way that tells me she’s grossed out. “Your bowl is an animal graveyard.”

“
It’s delicious, though.”

“
You like a box of death for a snack?”

“
It sounds way less appealing when you say it like that.”

She stands, dropping the blanket on the floor. “I’m going to bed.”

I drop the last bone in the bowl. “Hold on. I’m coming, too.”

“
You can’t leave those there.” She points to the death bowl. “Andy will eat them and be sick.”

I rush to clean them up as she heads for the stairs.

Tonight’s the last night we get to sleep together. Tomorrow morning she’s leaving on that stupid road trip. I need to make sure I’m on her mind while we’re apart. I don’t try for sex again; I go for a snuggle instead. Sunny falls asleep wrapped around me, her warm cheek on my chest.