Hooked: A Hockey Romance

by Abby Donne

  “That won’t do. Stay here during the whole game and I’ll teach you everything you’ll need to know.”

  Layla wanted to impress Tyson with her hockey knowledge, even if it was limited, and her neighbors seemed harmless so she gave a little head nod and a smile. “I’d appreciate it. Just a heads up, my friend also doesn’t know anything and she asks a lot of questions.”

  “It’s been a long time since we’ve got to teach anyone about hockey, right Eddie?” He leaned back and elbowed his silent partner. “We used to teach a youth league up in Buffalo way back when.”

  He launched into a story about their coaching days that she barely followed. It was interesting, really, but she couldn’t stop her heart from beating in sync with the timer counting down until she’d see Tyson glide out on the ice.

  Tyson was restless. So restless it bordered on nerves and he refused to be nervous going into this game. It was just another game. He’d played more games than he could count in his life, and this was one of them. All he had to do was go out and do what he did best.

  He was still trying to convince himself of that when he felt a hand come down on his shoulder. Blinking out of his weird stupor he looked up at Nate. “What’s up?”

  “Just checking to make sure you were alive,” He snorted.

  “Just trying to block out the image of your bare ass. Ever think about waxing it?”

  “Fuck off. Yours is just as bad.”

  “Don’t talk about my ass that way. It’s fucking perfect.”

  “I think chicks just tell you that so they don’t hurt your feelings.”

  “Whatever,” Tyson grunted. He crossed his arms. “Don’t forget to not be a sleaze ball after the game tonight. My family is in town. I don’t want them to show up tomorrow and witness a puck bunny walk of shame.”

  “Just in time to see you do the walk of shame back from Layla’s, though, right?” Nate teased, clapping Tyson on the back. Before Tyson could snap back at him Nate jumped up off the bench and started walking away. “Don’t worry, man. We’ll all be on our best behavior.”

  That’s what made him nervous. Their best behavior was still a little deplorable… not that Tyson wasn’t right there alongside them eighty percent of the time.

  Hearing Layla’s name brought a whole new wave of emotions he was trying to avoid. Things with her were more than good, which was kind of the problem since they’d only been sleeping together a week. God, that sounded so cheap. Calling her his girlfriend seemed wrong, too, but she was more than a quick fuck. No, when he got her naked it was anything but quick.

  Tyson clenched his fist and tried to steady his breath. So what if she wasn’t at his game? It wasn’t like it was important. Just another game. Just another opener. Just another night on the ice. It wasn’t like he could get mad at her for not making a commitment to show up. He knew she worked a lot, but he didn’t realize how much she worked until he was vying for a few hours of her time. Honestly, he didn’t want to spend every moment they had together fucking like rabbits. Well, he did. But she deserved to go out, and he wanted to show her off.

  That’s dating.

  He never said they weren’t dating, though, right?

  This is why Tyson avoided relationships, especially during the season. He didn’t need the stress of trying to please anyone. Except… he really wanted to please Layla.

  Ignoring all the red flags being tossed in his head he reached for his gym bag and dug around until he found his phone. He was just going to send her a quick message and let her know he was thinking of her. That would make her happy, right?

  He had a few unread texts. He always did on game days. None of them mattered except the one he had waiting for him from Layla. Tyson was pretty sure he stopped breathing for a second when he tapped her name and saw a picture of her in a standard purple Stanberry Tornadoes Hockey shirt so new the sleeves were still crisp with the interior of the arena behind her.

  Layla: This is better than work already. Good luck! Hopefully I won’t embarrass myself too much 

  He saved the picture and set it as his lock screen. Seeing her in a hockey shirt, cheeks pink from the cold, was way better than Royals logo he had before the switch. He loved the Royals, but Layla was pretty and gave good head so his mind was already made up.

  The tension in his ribs started to ease and he took a breath. He didn’t have a lot of time before he needed to put his shit away and get the last of his gear strapped on, but he wanted to let her know he got her message.

  Tyson: I’m glad you’re here. Remind me to bring you one of my shirts. Yours is nice, but I have a long sleeve one that will keep you warm. Have fun. I will see you after?

  She read his message right away, like she was waiting for it. For a second he regretted offering up his clothes to her like it was a varsity jacket and they were in high school, but then he thought of nothing but Layla bent over her bed wearing his name on her back and forgot about how weird and tight his heart felt.

  Layla: Absolutely. You’ll like my victory gift.

  Tyson: Don’t jinx it.

  Layla: Not a jinx if it’s guaranteed.

  Tyson: Don’t give me a boner before I go out there. Hard to skate with them.

  Layla: Now that’s all I’m going to think about.

  Layla: Emma is with me. Can you tell Heath to text her tonight? Sorry.

  Way to kill a mood. He looked over at Heath, who was leaning back with his eyes closed and his earbuds in, before texting Layla back.

  Tyson: Yeah. I got to go, babe. Can’t wait for tonight.

  He locked his phone up so he wasn’t tempted to keep texting her. If he wasn’t grinning like a dope thinking of Layla victory gift he would’ve thought more about calling her babe. About how calm he was after talking to her, knowing she was there. Instead he walked over to Heath and nudged his skate.

  Heath tugged an earbud out and grunted, “Sup?”

  “Layla and Emma are here tonight.”

  “Good for them.”

  “Layla said to have you text Emma later.”

  “What are you, a middle man now? I know you’re pussy whipped but damn.”

  “What the hell is your problem, dude?” Tyson sneered.

  Artie peered over from his phone, eyes rolling. “Both of you need to chill out. If we lose tonight it’s on your bad vibes.”

  “We’re not losing tonight,” Tyson stated. He returned his attention to Heath and waited for a response. He wasn’t going to let him go out there being a little bitch. He’d let his head get to him before and it always screwed with their game. “Are you weirded out because of whatever happened Thursday with Emma?”

  Tyson still didn’t know what happened, really. Something about an ex, but he didn’t really see the significance. He didn’t like feeling left out, especially when it was something that affected two of the people he cared about the most, but they both claimed it wasn’t their story to tell and he sure as hell wasn’t going to walk up to Emma and ask her what was going on. She was a total stranger, for one. Plus he really was enjoying his time as Layla’s personal bed warmer. He wasn’t totally relationship competent, but he’d been around long enough to know better than pissing off your girl’s best friend.

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with Emma,” Heath hissed her name like it was poison. He pulled out his other earbud and tossed his phone in his bag. “I got a call from Jackson late last night. My dad is MIA. Didn’t pick him up from school, just fucking left him and is gone.”

  “Shit. Is he with your mom?”

  “Yeah but that’s not much better, and CPS is getting involved. My mom is a fucking mess. They’re going to take one look at her trailer and put Jack in a home.”

  Well, shit. What was he supposed to say to that? This was a whole new minefield, and Tyson was clueless as to how to navigate it. Heath kept tight lipped about his family shit. All Tyson knew was the divorce was messy, his parents were shit, and his brother was trapped in the middle of it all. Hones
tly, it was easy to forget Heath had so much weight on his shoulders. He was always cracking jokes, not walking around like a zombie.

  “Shit. I’m sorry man,” Tyson offered, clearing his throat.

  “Yeah. I know.” Heath scowled a little more before swiping at his nose. “Fuck it. Let’s get this shit over with. I’m ready to fight.”

  Trying to clear up some of the tension in the room because everyone was an eavesdropping dick Tyson smirked and bumped his shoulder. “Ready to win?”

  “What the fuck did you think I just said?” Heath huffed, his lips curling up just a little. Enough to make some of Tyson’s worries disappear. “We’re going to win and impress Wakeman and then you’re bitch ass is going to get a contract. What about that? Sound better?”

  A little cheer rang out in the room.

  Tyson was going to win tonight for his team. He was going to win for Wakeman. For his family. He was going to win for Layla. He was going to win because losing was never an option.

  chapter fourteen

  She was going to puke. Nerves tingled all the way from her toes to her fingers. The last time she was this nervous she was flying down the highway back towards Cleveland Heights in her rattling old Honda after running off to spend four days trailing Wade’s band. No, she was more nervous now. Definitely more nervous now. All her parents did was yell at her. Fiddling with the hem of her shirt she forced herself to take a breath. If this went bad there would be no yelling, and she’d lose a little more than her pride.

  “Hey.” Tyson’s low rumble drifted across the center console. His hand went to her thigh and he squeezed. She looked over at him. Now was not the time to get horny, especially since they had a quickie before they left her apartment. Grinning like he knew exactly what she was thinking, he said, “It’s just lunch. No biggie, okay?”

  No biggie? She was meeting his parents! Tyson was calm and collected while she sat there mouth agape in a constant state of freak out. He’d told her he didn’t date basically ever in school, so maybe he didn’t realize how big a deal it was to meet someone’s parents. Especially if you’ve only been sleeping with that someone for just over a week. Layla bit the inside of her cheek. That felt cheap. They were doing more than sleeping together, right? Even if that’s all it felt like they were doing. They were busy, and she knew what she signed up for. There wasn’t even a commitment that they were exclusive. He wouldn’t take a side piece out to lunch with his family, though, right?

  “Layla,” Tyson said her name firmly and squeezed her leg again. She looked over into his worried eyes. They weren’t moving anymore. Shit, they were at the restaurant. “What’s wrong? If you’re really that freaked out about this I can drop you off at your place.”

  Groaning, she tilted her head back until it thudded against the seat. “Don’t hate me for being such a needy chick –”

  “Stop that. Just talk to me.”

  “Did you tell them you were bringing your girlfriend or just a friend?” She asked in such a rush she wasn’t sure he heard her.

  When she mustered enough nerve to look at him she half expected him to be annoyed. Instead he was fighting a little laughter. He pulled the keys from the ignition and leaned over to press a quick kiss to her cheek. “My girlfriend. Sorry in advance if my mom gets a little crazy. I haven’t had a girlfriend in a long time.”

  Layla’s nerves eased just a bit, but even with butterflies swarming her stomach with the confirmation that they were dating for real she still was experiencing some OMG meeting his parents! gut waves. As soon as Tyson jumped out of his Land Rover, courteous of his dad, Layla whipped her phone out of her bag and texted Emma.

  Layla: Do you think they’ll judge me if I order a cocktail with lunch? I’m still freaking. Help!

  And then Tyson was there, pulling her door open and helping her down despite her protests. She thought he was going to drag her up to the restaurant but instead he pressed her against his car and leaned into her, giving her a proper kiss that had her knees wobbling.

  She didn’t even care about her lipstick when he pulled back. He was wearing a sleepy smile, one that reminded her of their morning. The Stanberry Tornadoes won, of course, and they were up late so she could give Tyson a few victory laps. Apparently winners didn’t like to sleep in because she woke up to the sound of her crappy coffee pot at six am and a sheepish looking Tyson trying to make breakfast. They ate in bed watching Shameless and somehow managed to not get syrup all over her sheets.

  “What was that for?” She muttered. Meeting his parents horny was just as bad as nervous, right? She smoothed her top out when he stepped back.

  “You’re overthinking this. It’s kind of cute, honestly.”

  “It’s a big deal,” She countered as they started walking up towards The Westside Market. It was a cute café on the townie side of Stanberry. She rarely dipped outside the five mile radius that surrounded the school, and when she Googled the market she was surprised she’d never heard of it. It was a little brick building with a vintage vibe that served only breakfast and lunch. Right her speed. Layla could go to town on some waffles. Even now after her carb filled breakfast in bed. “The last time I met a boyfriends parents they found his hands in my pants.”

  Tyson’s hand tightened around hers so tight she almost yelled. Despite the ferocity of his hold and the rough noise he made, there was a twinge of laughter in his voice when he said, “There’s a story in there I need to hear.”

  There wasn’t, really. Her sophomore year at Stanberry she dated a guy she met on Tinder who lived not too far out of town. During one of the weird two day academic breaks they got he proposed they head to his house since his parents were out of town. The first day they visited all his little hometown spots and met up with some of his friends. The second day he was fingering her in the kitchen when his parents walked in. Awkward. Layla at least had all her clothes on, so she had that going for her at least.

  “Um, no. Never,” She said with a nervous laugh.

  The market was busy, unsurprisingly since it was a Sunday lunch. Tyson greeted the hostess and scanned the room before grinning and tugging Layla along as he crossed the restaurant. She took one last breath, put on a smile, and faced his family.

  His mom was out of her seat before they even came to a full stop. She dragged Tyson into her arms for a hug like she hadn’t seen him the day before. Layla couldn’t blame the woman; he was an utter treat to hug. In the span of two seconds she found herself in his mom’s arms for a quick squeeze.

  “Give her a few minutes before you attack her, Mom.”

  “You’re so embarrassing,” Tara grumbled from the table.

  Being the total creeper that she was, when Tyson friended her on all the appropriate social media sites she spent a little too long paging through all his pictures and statuses. That meant, by extension, she did a little tip toeing around his family’s profiles. Like any dude Tyson wasn’t super active on anything, but Tara had quite a busy Instagram. So when Tyson pulled Layla into his lap that morning and started thumbing through family pictures she had to act like she hadn’t totally stalked him and seen all the pictures already.

  While Layla’s family was choppy and held together with some long red strings Tyson’s seemed All American. He tabbed through an album on his mom’s Facebook from their last big family vacation, they spent a week in Poland exploring their family roots a few summers back, and grinned as he told her story after story. Snuggled up to him, she laughed and listened along, wondering when exactly she went anywhere with her whole family. Wade was always so busy and seemed to have zero interest in family vacations. Before she decided to stay in Stanberry year round her parents took her to New Orleans one summer for a few days, but her brother was notoriously absent from all the pictures she showed Tyson when she started going through her own vacation pictures.

  “This is Layla,” Tyson announced. Like a perfect gentleman, he pulled her seat out and finished his introduction. “Tabby, Tara, my mom and dad.”
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  “Lisa and Henry,” His mom supplied. She had a beautiful smile; there was no questioning where Tyson inherited his from. Her chocolate locks were cropped into a chic and mature looking bob, and she didn’t bother hiding her freckles and wrinkles behind any makeup. “It’s so wonderful to meet you.”

  “I’m glad I could make it,” Layla said honestly as she scooted into their table. As soon as Tyson took his spot next to her he reached over and rested his hand on her thigh. Blushing she tried to wiggle it off, but he wasn’t having any of it.

  “Sorry I didn’t hang around too much last night. I was whooped,” He apologized. Before heading to Layla’s he’d gone to his family’s hotel room.

  “Sure,” His dad drawled, smirking over his drink. If Layla wasn’t blushing then she sure as hell was now. “Was Jordan supposed to be at your game last night? I spotted him, but I didn’t get a chance to make it over to chat.”

  “He didn’t say anything to me. I can give him a call later on. Did you see Wakeman?”

  His dad shrugged. “No clue what he looks like, but Jordan wasn’t alone.”

  “That’s so exciting,” His mom gushed.

  “Zane says you’re too good for The Royals,” Tara said matter-of-factly.

  Tyson’s gaze narrowed across the table. “Who the hell is Zane?”

  “Her boyfriend,” Tabby sang. She lifted off her seat a little, eyes bright and excited.

  “Zane Dibrowksi,” His dad grunted. He obviously wasn’t pleased with the kid, whoever he was.

  Tara added, “He’s in my grade. He’s a D-man for our team. He wants to try out for Liberman’s team next year, though. He didn’t make it this year. He’s still super awesome though.”

  “Yeah, I bet. If he can’t make Liberman he really doesn’t have any place talking about where I should and shouldn’t be drafted.”