Wingmen are a Girl's Best Friend: Laketown Hockey

by A. J. Wynter

  Maria’s face beamed at her son. “I’ll show you the garden, Melissa. Come.” She picked up her wine glass and dragged my mom out to the backyard.

  Leo and I stood side by side, rinsed the dishes, and loaded the dishwasher. When he leaned to turn on the sink he grimaced.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I already have one mom,” he said.

  “What happened at practice?”

  “Gunnar,” Leo said. “He was out for blood.”

  “Leo.” I put down the tea towel. “Does Gunnar know we’re together?”

  “No. There’s no way he could know that unless you or Amber told him.”

  I thought about it for a millisecond. “There’s no way Amber would have told him.”

  “He’s not like that. It’s just hockey.” Leo sealed the leftover sauce into a glass container and put it in the fridge. “Maybe he doesn’t like his new nickname.”

  I had a text message in my purse that said otherwise, but something told me to keep that to myself.

  Later that evening, after I’d brushed my teeth and was getting into bed, another weirder text message arrived from Gunnar.

  Leo only cares about himself. He will always put himself first. You’ll see.

  He was wrong about Leo. I blocked Gunnar Lockwood.

  Twenty-Three

  Leo

  I felt like I’d been hit with a truck. And, that truck’s name was Gunnar Lockwood. Moofie nudged my arm with his nose and I groaned as I sat up. I’d hoped a good night’s sleep would fix my body, but it felt only slightly better than when I said bye to Faith and Mel D after dinner. “Okay, Moofie. I’m up.”

  Once we were walking, my body started to feel better. The big game was Saturday night and that gave me one full day to recover. By the time Moofie and I got home from our walk, Ma was already gone and she’d left a note on the table. It was the dentist’s phone number.

  Fix your tooth.

  A pot of oatmeal was left covered on the stove, and its lid was still steamy when I opened it. I knew that I couldn’t live with my mom forever. Having Faith over last night woke me up to the fact that I was twenty-three and still living at home. But so was she. Faith was a cool girl, but I knew having sex in the back seat of my truck was going to get old. My cock stirred at the thought, and I chuckled to myself. Backseat banging would never get old for me, but I was sure the novelty would wear off for her. But it was way too early to talk about moving in together.

  I scooped the oatmeal into my bowl and spooned some brown sugar on top. Moofie crunched his kibble while I ate my breakfast, thinking about Faith and how good it felt to have her sitting at the table the night before.

  My phone chimed with a text. Speak of the devil, I thought to myself. I knew that she had a big day of work ahead of her, but I still hoped I could see her at some point.

  She asked me to meet her downtown at the parkette at one. I typed back a thumbs-up emoji and then added a heart for good measure.

  Faith’s hair was blowing in the breeze as Moofie and I approached the bench. She stood as we approached and Moofie pulled at the leash to get to her. “Easy, Pal. Heel.”

  Moofie looked like he was annoyed but then fell into step beside me.

  “Hi, Moofie.” Faith bent to pet him and looked at me.

  “The dog gets the sugar first?” I smiled.

  Faith pressed her body against mine and squeezed me tightly. I wrapped my free arm around her shoulders and inhaled her vanilla scent. “I’ll never get tired of your smell,” I whispered into her hair.

  She squeezed me and smiled. “Hi, Leo.” She pressed her lips to mine and the world disappeared around us. Would kissing Faith ever feel normal? I wondered if there would be a time that her lips on mine wouldn’t get me rock hard.

  “Let’s walk,” she said.

  The sparkling lake and the sound of traffic came back to me and I slipped my fingers through hers as we walked down the main street of Laketown. Our first official outing as a couple.

  Faith giggled. “I wonder how long it’s going to take for the whole town to know about this.” She raised my hand to her lips and kissed it. My cock throbbed.

  “I give it two hours.”

  “You’re being generous.” Faith leaned her head on my shoulder. A car passed and the occupants craned their necks to look at us.

  “I give it one hour.” I winced as the laugh hurt my side.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  “I’m fine.” It was just a little lie. I was fine, just sore as hell. “Where are we going?”

  Faith let go of my hand and skipped to the doorway of the vacant shop. She spun the combination on the lockbox and held up a key. “I want to show you something.”

  I tied Moofie to the parking meter at the front of the store and followed Faith into the empty building.

  She twirled in the middle of the room. She looked radiant in her jeans and a t-shirt. “Welcome to the new retail location of Mel D Designs.”

  “That’s awesome, Faith.” The space was right in the center of Laketown. “You will get a shit ton of walk-in traffic here.”

  “I know,” she gushed. “But that’s only part of it. This is what I wanted to show you.”

  She led me to the back of the space and up a narrow staircase.

  “Ta-da.” She opened a door and we stepped into a bright, empty apartment. “Welcome to the new home of… I mean, my home,” she giggled. She was the happiest I’d ever seen her.

  I picked her up and twirled her around. “I’m so happy for you.” As I let her down I almost dropped her. I felt like I’d been stabbed in the back.

  “Leo?” she looked at me with concern.

  “It’s okay,” I said through a deep breath. “I’m okay.”

  “You don’t look okay.” She put her hand on my shoulder and held my gaze as if she were daring me to lie to her.

  “I’m a little sore,” I admitted. “But fine.”

  “Does Coach know?”

  “No,” I said quickly. “And he doesn’t need to know; none of the guys need to know.”

  Her lips formed a line and she lifted the back of my t-shirt. “It’s purple.”

  “That’s good.” I pulled my shirt down. “That means it’s getting better.” She gave me a look that said she didn’t believe me. “Tell me what you’re going to do with this apartment.”

  The sparkle returned to her eye. “Mom told me not to get excited yet. We’re still in negotiations.”

  “That makes sense.” I was glad Mel D was keeping Faith grounded because I sure wasn’t. I had already imagined pressing Faith up against the exposed brick wall or bending her over the kitchen island. I could see into the bathroom and imagined…

  “Leo?”

  “Right, yes.” I cleared my throat. “Not getting too excited. I’m listening.”

  Faith proceeded to walk around the apartment and show me exactly how she’d design it – which walls she’d move, where she’d put a chandelier. I loved that she was so excited.

  “And this is the best part.” She pulled me into the empty bedroom and opened the closet door. “Look how huge it is!” She stepped inside the walk-in closet and did another twirl.

  “Girls and their closets,” I teased.

  Her lips formed a closed smile. “This…” she gestured to a section of the closet “is for you. When you’re in town, you can leave your clothes here.”

  I took a step back. Was this happening too fast? We had gone from friends to closet space within the span of a day.

  Her smile faltered. “Leo.” She grabbed my hand. “I’m not asking you to move in.”

  “Oh.”

  She tilted her head. “I’m just telling you that there’s room for you here in my life.”

  Part of me was relieved, but another part felt disappointed. What was wrong with me?

  “If the deal goes through, we’ll take possession in July.”

  “That’s soon.”

  �
��I’m officially moving back to Laketown, and I need my own space. As much as I love living with my mom, this is what I need right now.”

  “Won’t she miss you?” As soon as I said it, I realized the question was more for me than Faith. I couldn’t live with my mom forever either.

  Faith laughed. “I think she’ll be glad to have me out of there, but just down the road.”

  I pulled Faith in for a hug. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thanks, Leo,” she whispered into my shoulder.” She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck and it sent a shiver through my body. She nipped at my earlobe and that shiver turned into a full-body chill. I responded by pressing her against the wall and kissing her lips, then her jawbone, and when she tilted her head back, I kissed the soft spot where her neck met her collarbone. She giggled and shifted beneath my lips. “That tickles.”

  Faith squeezed my ass and I pressed my body against hers, knowing that she’d be able to feel my excitement through my jeans. Her body responded and she arched her back, pressing her hips into mine.

  “You’re so fucking hot,” I raked my fingers into her hair and whispered in her ear.

  She tucked her fingers into the waistband of my jeans and flicked the top button open. Her hands pressed into my abs and raised my shirt as her fingers explored my chest.

  “Ah.” I winced as they pressed a little too hard on my back.

  Faith pulled her hands from my body like I’d burned her. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  I rested my forehead on her shoulder and took a couple of breaths. “You won’t. But maybe we should save this for when you actually own the place.”

  “Maybe.” Her steps echoed through the space and then turned the deadbolt on the door. “But I think this is appropriate.”

  “What is…” I didn’t have time to finish my sentence. Faith gently pushed my back against the wall. Her lips were on mine and she fumbled with the buttons on my 501s.

  I couldn’t believe what was happening. My pants fell to the floor and my cock strained at the fabric of my boxer briefs. Faith trailed her slender fingers along the waistband before pulling them down. She looked up at me with a devilish smile as she maneuvered my underwear to free my manhood and my dick slapped against my lower abs.

  “Faith.”

  “Shut up.” The blue in her eyes flashed as I felt the softness of her hands on my shaft. That softness was followed by the warmth of her mouth. “Oh, God.” My legs buckled as Faith stared up at me while giving me the best blowjob of my life. I rested my hands in her hair and watched her moving in front of me. It was too fucking hot. I squeezed my eyes shut and looked up at the ceiling, hoping it would distract me. “Oh, God.” It didn’t.

  Her cherry-colored lips smiled with my cock in her mouth. “I’m going to come, Faith,” I groaned.

  She winked at me and upped the intensity. It was more than I could bear and my entire body shuddered. “Faith. Oh. My. God.” I pressed my hands into the wall – without it I wouldn’t have been able to stand. She kissed my abs and then pulled my boxer briefs and jeans back into place. I still hadn’t caught my breath but helped her to do up the buttons on my jeans.

  “I should get back to work.” Her smile was a mixture of coyness and seduction.

  “Who are you?” I grabbed her hand and kissed her hard.

  She gave me the same smile. “Your girlfriend.”

  Life couldn’t get any better. Faith was beside me on our beach towel, reggae music played off the distance, and the lake sparkled in front of us. Moofie was getting better at bringing back the sticks once we’d thrown them into the lake. After the best blow job of my life, Faith had gone back to work, but only after promising me that we could hang out when she was done. It was rare that I had an evening off, and relaxing with my girlfriend was the way I wanted to spend it.

  I felt Faith’s voice vibrate in my chest as she leaned against me. “I feel guilty about enjoying life with Dad out there somewhere. Every day I wake up and feel like we should be doing something.”

  The same thought had been running through my mind. “We talked about this, Faye.”

  “I know,” she sighed. “We could go up there right now and just start asking if anyone knows an old guy named Slim.”

  “It’s not Laketown, there are thirty thousand people in Corstead.”

  She sighed. “I know.”

  “Faith, if there was even a small chance we could go up there and find the guy, you know I’d be there. We’ve got the best lead that there’s been in a year. And, Reggie is committed to the outcome too. We’ve bonded over sandwiches.”

  “I heard.” Faith stroked my arm. “But what happens if the guy doesn’t show up? How long do we wait?”

  “He’ll show. I have faith.” I already had a plan if Slim didn’t show up in the next week. It wasn’t a good one, so I hoped to hell that the guy visited Reggie soon.

  Her cheeks were cherub-like when she smiled and I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her face.

  The box of pizza between us was half-eaten and we were drinking gin coolers out of thermal mugs. Faith was one of those girls who was beautiful when she was wearing makeup, but stunning when she was bare-faced. Her cheeks were sun-kissed, and after swimming, her hair was messy and wavy. She leaned against me and her damp hair tickled my bare chest. I draped my arm over her shoulder. The heatwave hadn’t eased up and we spent the rest of the evening alternating between cooling off in the lake and lounging on the blanket. We cuddled until the heat became too much and we reluctantly peeled our bodies apart.

  Twenty-Four

  Faith

  McManus Place was filled over capacity. A sea of Royal Blue jerseys filled the stands in the arena. Otters’ fans packed the seats and crammed into the standing-room-only section. I handed Amber a plastic cup of draft beer and we each took a sip.

  “Do you think Leo’s nervous?” Amber shouted over the blaring sound system.

  “I asked him.” My shoulders were sunburnt from our beach date, but I didn’t care. We had alternated between serious heart-pouring conversations and light-hearted joking ones. “He said he doesn’t get nervous anymore.”

  “Well, Dean sure is,” Amber laughed. “He’s still terrified of getting fired at any second.”

  “Even though the team made it to the playoffs last season?”

  “I know. It seems crazy.” Amber was wearing a Laketown Otters baseball cap and jersey and looked like a die-hard fan. “I wonder if that will ever go away?”

  “It’s got to be stressful.” I scanned the arena, studying the VIP boxes. “Where do you think the scouts are sitting?”

  Amber pointed with her plastic cup. “There.”

  They looked like ordinary fans; although when I took a closer look, unlike the rest of the arena, they weren’t wearing Otters paraphernalia.

  We had gotten to the arena early, but it was already buzzing with excitement, and Amber and I had to shout to each other. I took out my phone and showed her the two texts from Gunnar.

  “Wow.” Her eyebrows raised. “I thought that he was a good guy.”

  “Me too. Dumb, but good.”

  Amber waved it off. “His ego is a little bruised, that’s all.”

  “He smashed Leo’s tooth out at practice.”

  Amber grimaced. “Really?”

  I nodded. “Really. I’m worried about him doing something dumb tonight.”

  Amber shook her head. “He might be jealous, but if there’s one thing that guy cares about, it’s his career. He wouldn’t risk jeopardizing it, especially with everything that’s on the line tonight.”

  I hoped that Amber was right. I hadn’t shown Leo the text messages; I wanted to deal with the Gunnar issue myself. I knew that if Leo saw them, he’d lose his mind. And that wouldn’t be good for anyone involved.

  The lights went down in the arena and the announcer introduced the Bobcats. The opposing team stepped onto the ice to relative silence. There were a few red jerseys
in the nosebleed section that cheered them on. The announcer turned up the volume and Thunderstruck blared through the sound system. As the guitar riff picked up its intensity, the announcer yelled with an intense amount of enthusiasm. “Ladies and Gentlemen, your hometown LAKETOWN OOOOOOOOOOtters.”

  The audience erupted and joined in with the cheers. Jake McManus spared no expense when it came to his NHPL team, and the team burst onto the ice amidst a cloud of dry ice and pyrotechnics. If the audience was already at a level ten, the sea of blue and white jerseys took them to an eleven.

  I had been to Otters games before, but my heart had never been in my throat like it was that night. Leo was easy to pick out; his golden hair flowed from beneath his helmet. He scanned the audience and I wondered if he was looking for me.

  Gunnar was also easy to pick out. His stride was powerful and focused, and he was a little bigger than everyone else on the team.

  The audience hushed as the teams settled onto their respective benches and the referee dropped the puck at centre ice. Gunnar won the face-off and the decibel level of the cheering fans went off the charts.

  “They’re dominating them already.” Amber leaned against me and yelled so I could hear her.

  “When did you turn into a sportscaster?”

  “Are you kidding?” she shouted. “It’s all Dean’s been able to talk about for the last month. This and the skills competition tomorrow.”

  We had just settled into our seats but had to jump to our feet almost immediately. Leo had a breakaway. His hair flew behind him as he dangled the puck and then launched a rocket at the goalie. The puck hit the crossbar behind the Bobcats’ goalie so hard it sounded like a gunshot before it dropped to the ice in the net. The foghorn wailed and the red goal light flashed.

  Leo raised his hands, and from where I was sitting, I could see the huge missing-toothed grin on his face.