The Shots On Goal Series Box Set

by Kristen Hope Mazzola

  Crosby

  I couldn’t believe it—I was actually lip-locked with Jordan. About damn time. I could hear everyone clapping and cheering behind us, but I didn’t give a shit. They all needed to mind their own business when it came to my love life.

  Panting, I pulled away from her. “Wow.” I searched her eyes as she let her head fall back and rest on the bricks behind us.

  “You can say that again.” She had the cutest closed-lipped smile perking up her cheeks as blush dusted over them.

  “A good wow.” I kissed the tip of her nose, tightening my grip around her waist.

  “An incredible wow.” She breathed out a sigh, resting her head on my shoulder.

  I didn’t want to let the moment end, but being in a packed bar with our entire group of friends, I knew it was going to have to end sooner rather than later.

  “Drink?” I asked before kissing the top of her head.

  She nodded into me. “Something with tequila in it.”

  “Oh trust me, I know.” Grabbing her hand, I walked back over to the bar to order us a round.

  Myla popped up next to us. “Just so you know, I am extremely happy right now.” She kissed both of us on the cheek and then scampered away to be engulfed by the hoard of people.

  “This is going to turn into a big thing, isn’t it?” I asked Jordan as she sipped her Paloma Brava.

  “Everyone is drunk, so I’ll be surprised if half of them remember they were here tonight, let alone what friends drunkenly made out in the back corner. People are self-absorbed for the most part.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I didn’t know how to take her comment. Friends drunkenly made out. Does that mean I was right this whole time—she didn’t feel the same as I did? I became even more self-conscious when she hopped off her stool and left me to go talk to Myla some more.

  Jordan

  “Holy fuck!” I yelled into Myla’s ear as she squeezed me.

  “I am so happy for you girl!” She shrilled almost spilling her water from her excitement.

  I wrapped my arm around her waist, walking with her toward the bathroom. “I just don’t know if it was a drunken make out between friends or if it’s the start of an actual thing.”

  “Kiss him,” Myla whispered as we got close to where Crosby was talking to Harding and Griffin.

  “What?” I stopped us short.

  “Kiss him on the cheek as we walk by. If he seems happy about the affection, then it isn’t just a drunken hookup.”

  I did as she told me to, just swiftly pecking his scruffy cheek as I hurried by. I was still holding Myla’s hand as Will’s eyes locked with mine and he gave me a quick wink. Flutters consumed my body as I giggled the rest of the way to the restroom.

  “See! I told you!” Myla said excitedly as she jumped up and down in the bathroom.

  I put my hand on her shoulder. “You, little momma, need to calm your tits—if not for my sake, for little baby Hayes, who is getting a rollercoaster ride in that tummy of yours.”

  “I just can’t help being excited for you guys. I mean, how long has it been?”

  I splashed water on my face while Myla peed in the stall behind me. “About ten years.”

  She exited her stall with her mouth hanging open. “You’ve had a thing for Will Crosby since he and Gavin were rookies?” I couldn’t believe that it has been that long since Gavin introduced Crosby to me when they first became Otters. It felt like a lifetime and a blink of an eye all at once. Where have the years gone?

  “Jordan! You came!” Gavin wrapped me in a bear hug as I made my way into the dimly lit bar.

  “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world! Celebrating with my best friend after his very first win! I mean, you got your very first professional goal tonight. I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

  “Come here, I want you to meet the team.” Gavin took me by the hand and started introducing me to all the Otters players I didn’t already know.

  “And lastly, this is Will Crosby. He’s a new guy too.”

  Will took my hand. “Jordan, a pleasure.”

  I was in awe from the second our skin touched. His dark green eyes, tall, broad build, all the tattoos, his crooked smile and perfect teeth—I was a goner right then and there.

  “I’ll be right back. Anyone else need a drink?” Gavin inquired, and we both asked for new beverages.

  “So, what position do you play?” I I asked trying to keep the conversation moving. I needed to get to know this guy, he was a goddamn dream boat that I wanted to take for a ride.

  “Goalie. I wanted some ice time tonight, but Fisher was on fire and I didn’t blame Coach one bit for keeping in him for that shutout tonight.”

  “It was a pretty awesome game. I got to watch most of it while I was working.”

  He leaned against the high-top table behind him. “So, Gavin and you are childhood friends?”

  I nodded. “How’d you know?”

  “Gavin was so excited for you to come hang out tonight. His girlfriend couldn’t even be bothered, so good job cheering him up.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, Marsheila can be a little self-absorbed.”

  He scoffed. “Just a little. I’ve been hanging out with Gavin since we both joined this team weeks ago and I have yet to even see her call him, let alone meet her.”

  “You know how snobby actresses are—can’t be bothered with much other than what will benefit their careers.”

  “Actually, I have no idea what A-listers are like. I’m from a small town and this is all new to me.” He twirled his finger around while flashing a killer smile at me that made my knees weak.

  “How are you liking the big city so far?”

  “My girlfriend is liking a hell of a lot more than I am.”

  Girlfriend – fucking fantastic. Why do all the hot ones always have someone?

  “I’m sure you’ll end up loving it. There is always something to do and somewhere to go.”

  “Yeah, I am slowly figuring that out.”

  “Is this guy bothering you?” Gavin teased as he us again and we went on talking about the game and the team.

  As Myla and I went back out into the bar, something felt off. We went over to where Sean and Jessica sat with Griffin and his face said it all—he was panicking about something.

  Within minutes we were closing out our tabs and piling into taxis to go to the hospital. Once Will and I were crammed into the back seat with Gavin and Myla, she explained, “Griffin’s girl, Olive, was in an accident. It was really bad.”

  That was all she had to say. We were all a big family, and family sticks together through thick and thin.

  Griffin and Gavin went straight to the nurses’ station to find out where Olive’s room was.

  “Did anyone get ahold of Shaw?” Griffin asked as we squished into the elevator to head up to her floor.

  Myla whipped out her phone. “I’ll call Simon right now.”

  Apparently, while I was intoxicated by Crosby in our love-drunk display of public affection, the two GBFs had been hitting it off back at Simon’s apartment.

  Myla left the details of the situation on Simon’s voicemail. “I hope he checks it soon.”

  “Keep trying him. Olive has a dog that needs to be taken care of.” Griffin was a wreck, and his hands were shaking quite a bit.

  After finding her room, we congregated outside, none of us too sure what we should do. We didn’t know Olive well, but she was important as hell to Griffin, and he was practically my little brother. I wasn’t going to leave his side until he told us to get the hell away from him.

  A young doctor came up to us. “You all must be Olive’s family.”

  Without even missing a beat, Jessica responded, “Yep. Can you tell us how she’s doing?”

  “She is definitely banged up from the accident. She’s kind of out of it, but you are more than welcome to wait in her room for when she wakes up.”

  We all funneled into the tiny space, most of the guys t
aking seats by Olive’s bedside with Griffin. Myla, Jessica, and I all huddled in the corner, trying to keep ourselves warm.

  “Why are hospitals so damn frigid?” Myla complained, pulling her jacket tighter around her middle.

  “Holy crap!” Shaw burst into the room with Simon right on his heels, and both of them were out of breath.

  Griffin got up to explain to them what had happened. I could not imagine what either of them was going through. Griffin had just found Olive, and now he had to watch helplessly as she lay in bed, bruised and broken from an accident she’d gotten in after leaving him. Shaw seemed to be as close with her as Gavin and I were, and I could totally empathize with him. If I got news that Gavin had been seriously injured, I would go fucking ballistic.

  Shaw and Griffin left the room briefly to get more information from the doctors and so Shaw could fill out some paperwork for Olive’s insurance. Once they were back with coffee for all of us, we hunkered down to wait.

  After about an hour, I heard Griffin’s soft voice coo, “You’re awake.”

  Myla’s head was resting on my shoulder as she snored softly while I continued to eavesdrop on Griffin’s conversation.

  “What happened?” Olive coughed.

  I watched as Shaw sank down on the foot of her bed to explain. “You fell asleep at the wheel and hit a tree.”

  Olive gasped and said, “Oh fuck.”

  Griffin grabbed her hand as a tear rolled down his cheek. “Other than a beat-up car and a dislocated shoulder, you’re all right. The doctor said if you had been going any faster, you might have really done some serious damage. Thank God you’re okay.”

  “Otis!” Olive was in a panic about her dog.

  Shaw patted her leg. “Rhonda has him. I called her right when Griffin got ahold of me.”

  “Thank you.” She looked at Griff, who was wiping his eyes.

  “Anything, babe. When you didn’t call, the gang sprang into action and got here as they were doing their initial tests.”

  Olive sat up as much as she could to look around the room. “You guys didn’t have to come here.”

  Myla rubbed her sleepy eyes, pulling away from my shoulder. “You’re part of the family now, Liv. You better get used to having us around. For better or for worse, you’re stuck with us.”

  Griffin kissed the back of Olive’s hand. “That is, as long as you’ll have us.”

  It was the sweetest sight I had seen in ages and my heart was bursting with the love that was palpable in the room. It all sank in so hard—we truly were a family. Blood or not, we were all there for each other no matter what.

  Chapter 7

  Crosby

  Talk about a long ass night. Once we knew Olive was going to be all right, our group groggily parted ways, each of us heading to our respective homes. With the craziness of everything that had happened, Jordan and I didn’t have a chance to talk about anything. I hated feeling like we were in such limbo, but I didn’t want to seem too eager or pushy during a crisis situation.

  Sitting at my dining table, I picked at the eggs and bacon I had just made. Completely consumed with what my next move should be, I stared at my phone, barely able to eat a damn bite. I didn’t know how it was all supposed to work. If I called her the morning after, would that be too soon? Would a text be too informal? I was a ball of nerves and utterly shameful of my actions.

  Kissing Jordan Bates was something I had thought about countless times over the years, and drunkenly forcing her against a wall in front of my entire team and all of our friends had never been one of the scenarios my brain conjured up.

  I had always pictured us going to a hole-in-the-wall bodega or something of the sort, drinking sangria and talking about books and movies for hours on end. I knew how cheesy that sounded, but I craved the chance to sneak away with her. I longed for companionship more than anything else, and I’d realized it was something I hadn’t truly had even when I was married.

  I felt completely inexperienced when it came to dating someone I actually cared about. I had been with Mindie for so long, and then after her I had causally dated—well, more like slept with—a few women, but that was really it.

  Deep breaths.

  Just do it.

  You can do this.

  After a few long minutes of psyching myself up—getting my head in the game, so to speak—I picked up my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I came to her name. What do you have to lose? I felt like that was a loaded question to ask myself; there was a lot at stake. What if she was embarrassed from the public display and didn’t want to pursue things further? Though she had seemed happy when she’d quickly kissed me on the way to the restroom with Myla… I knew I was overanalyzing all of it to death, but I simply couldn’t help it. I was scared of losing her as a friend altogether.

  With one more deep breath, I tapped her name, letting my phone start dialing Jordan’s number. There’s no turning back now. My heart pounded and my hands started to shake. I couldn’t believe how nervous I was to even talk to her.

  “Hello?” The sound of her voice sent chills down my arms.

  “Hey Jordan, its Will.”

  I could hear her yawn and I glanced up at the clock next to me. Fuck, it’s eight in the morning. I felt like a jerk waking her up when she was probably going to be working a late shift that night.

  “Hey! I’m glad you called.”

  “Oh really? I’m sorry it’s early. I didn’t realize the time.”

  “Yeah, how could I not be? And don’t worry about the time—I need to get up anyway. We didn’t get a chance to really say goodbye last night.”

  “It was a crazy night, to say the least.”

  “I just hope Olive is all right. Have you heard anything?” The concern in her voice was so endearing.

  “I haven’t, but I’m sure Myla and Gavin will keep everyone in the loop. You know how Myla is.”

  She laughed a little. “You’re very right on that one.”

  “Listen, the reason I called is because I want to take you out.” The words came out before I was ready for them to. Take you out—who the fuck talks like that?

  “Is that so?” I could hear her smile in voice.

  “How about in a few days? We get back from Boston on Tuesday, so are you free Wednesday night?”

  She giggled, and I could picture her sleepily smiling while lying in her bed all cuddled up in her pajamas. “Wednesday is good for me. It’s a date.”

  I just about leaped out of my seat to jump for joy. “Perfect. I’ll send a car for you at seven if that works for you.”

  “Pulling out all of the stops, Crosby?”

  “I just want it to be perfect,” I admitted.

  “Well, so far so good. I’m excited.”

  “So am I. Once I figure out where I’m taking you, I’ll let you know the appropriate attire.” I felt so debonair.

  “I’m looking forward to that. I have to run and get in the shower because I have a meeting with the bar owner I’ve been working with in an hour and I’m running late as it is. Thanks for waking me up, Will. You’re a lifesaver.”

  “Glad I could help. See you soon.”

  “Bye.”

  Jordan

  Is this real life?

  I sat in the bottom of my shower letting myself take a few minutes for the conversation with Crosby to sink in.

  “Am I really going on a date with Will Crosby?” I mumbled to myself as I shaved my right knee.

  My cheeks were starting to hurt from the complete elation consuming my face and entire body. I’d felt every cell buzzing with excitement from the moment his name scrolled across my phone screen only a few short moments before.

  After toweling off and getting dressed, I started to walk toward the restaurant for my exit meeting with Vince and his partner, Vito.

  It was a gorgeous morning—spring was just about to be in full swing and the brisk air wrapped around me as I called Myla.

  “Hey girl hey!” Her cheery voice b
oomed into the phone.

  “Hi! You’re never going to guess what just happened!”

  “Well, don’t keep me waiting. Please tell me it has something to do with Crosby.”

  “It definitely does!”

  “Oh my God—you slept with him, didn’t you?”

  I laughed. “No. I shared a cab with you last night, silly. You of all people know I went home alone.”

  “Oh right, sorry, I haven’t woken up completely yet. You know how badly I need coffee in the morning.”

  “Yeah, I do. Anyway, Will is taking me on a date when the guys get back from their game in Boston.”

  “Eeeeeeekkkkk!” I had to pull the phone away from my ear as Myla screeched. “This is the best! I can’t wait. I want all the details. Where is he taking you?”

  “He hasn’t told me yet, said he still has to pick a place, but he’s sending a car for me at seven on Wednesday and that is as far as the details go.”

  “Oh, please let me help you get ready!”

  “But of course!”

  “We can make a little girls afternoon out of it! I’ll see if Karla and Jessica are free.”

  I bit my lip, pausing outside the restaurant. “I just don’t want to make too big of a fuss out of this. What if we end up not working out?”

  “Oh fuck, Jordan, stop overthinking this. Just enjoy it.”

  “Yeah, okay. You’re right.”

  Chapter 8

  Crosby

  The days seemed to drag on, the anticipation of going out with Jordan all-consuming. We texted a little back and forth over the days, but with her busily trying to finish out her guest appearance at her last place and me practicing constantly, we didn’t get too much time to chat.

  Right as I got into the locker room, I rattled off a text to her.

  Me: Can’t wait for tomorrow.

  Jordan: I’m counting down the minutes.