by Aven Ellis
“I hope so,” Beckett says. “So much of it is chemistry. You don’t know until you get on the ice together if it’s going to work, you know?”
“Unlike us,” I say, touching his face.
Beckett laughs. “You didn’t feel chemistry when you first met me. You thought I was plotting a way to kill you.”
“Wrong. I thought you were hot. With potential to kill me, but hot all the same.” Then I prop myself up on my elbow so I could gaze down at him. “Hey, were you ever going to track me down if you hadn’t met me at ChicagoConnect again?”
Beckett looks sheepish. “Um, you have no idea how many times I actually took the elevator down to your unit, stepped off, got to your door then aborted the mission.”
“What?” I say, surprised. “You did?”
Beckett reaches for the pillow and puts it over his head, embarrassed. “Yes,” he mumbles.
I jerk the pillow off, delighted at this bit of news.
“Really? Over me?” I ask, incredulous.
“Yes, you, why do you sound so surprised? Come on. You’re beautiful and smart. And you’d probably have accused me of stalking you anyway,” Beckett teases, cocking an eyebrow at me.
“So what if we wouldn’t have crossed paths at ChicagoConnect again? Would we have ever happened?” I ask.
Beckett reaches for me and draws me to his chest, so I’m resting on top of him.
“It would have happened,” Beckett says firmly, raking a hand through my hair. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I would have manned up.”
I laugh, and he does, too.
Beckett’s warm lips find mine, and we share a sweet kiss. No, we would have found a way to see each other again, I think. I break the kiss and gaze into his beautiful eyes.
This is my man.
Beckett has changed me in the short time he’s been a part of my life and I’m changing all the rules for him. I’m learning to follow my instincts.
I’m following my heart.
I know, without a doubt, my heart is meant to be with this man.
And hopefully Beckett’s heart will find it needs to be with me, too.
Chapter 25
The Aubrey Rules To Live By, Rule #25: In my off time, I pursue the things I’m passionate about. Spending time with friends. Reading. Working out *I need to get better at this one.* If I’m dating someone, of course time with him is very important. But the activity must be mutually agreeable to both of us. So if he hates museums, we’ll go to a movie. Likewise, I won’t attend sporting events because I don’t understand the value of games played by overpaid athletes. Blech.
**Amendment** Okay, I completely undervalued the value of sports in culture. Sports provide lots of jobs for people. And sports can bring joy to fans. Give them something to be passionate about. Therefore, the rule is amended to reflect the value of sports in society.
**Note** I want the Buffaloes to win so badly against the Demons. No. Not win. Kick ass. I want my captain to kick Dallas ass tonight!
“Okay, I’m late to the party on this, but hockey players are hot,” Collins says.
It’s Tuesday night, and thanks to Beckett, I’ve treated Livy, Collins, and Taylor to hockey tickets to the game against the top-ranked Dallas Demons. I glance over at Livy, who is smiling at me. Collins and Taylor don’t know I’m dating Beckett. I’ve only recently met them through Livy, and it’s so important that my relationship with Beckett doesn’t leak out before I tell Tom and Mallory at ChicagoConnect. So only Livy—and now Landy—know about us.
Taylor looks up from her program. “Yeah, I’m a football girl, but this Nate Johansson guy is gorgeous,” she says, tapping her finger over his picture.
“I’m so glad you have this job,” Collins adds, tucking a lock of her long, chestnut hair behind one ear. “We have a ticket connection. On the glass. Don’t ever quit, Aubrey,” she teases.
The Dallas Demons skate out onto the ice for warm ups, and they are on the other end from where we are sitting, right behind the home goal.
“Damn it,” Taylor says, laughing. “I wanted to see that Nate guy up close.”
“The ginger Demon is hot, too,” Collins adds, glancing down at the program Taylor is holding. “Harrison?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll see both of them down on this end,” I say, taking a sip of my beer.
And hopefully they won’t be scoring a shitload of goals, I think, frowning.
The PA announces the Chicago Buffaloes, and they skate out on our end of the ice. And even though I’ve now seen several Buffaloes games, my pulse still races whenever I see Beckett come out of the tunnel.
I can’t keep my eyes off him. Beckett is a big guy, but in his hockey pads and skates, he’s huge. He heads out onto the ice, and I know he’s going to glance at me. Beckett always does that first thing when he hits the ice.
He comes around the back of the net and his eyes meet mine. I smile at him while he goes by. I know he won’t smile back until we go public as a couple. He told me that. But his eyes tell me everything my heart needs to know.
Landy zooms around next, and his gaze scans over us as he does, his brow briefly creasing as he spots Livy.
“Okay, that Landon guy? Crazy hot,” Collins declares. “Did you see his tattoos peeking out in that gap between his glove and jersey sleeve? Whoa.”
“He’s gorgeous,” Livy agrees.
I glance at her. Her pale blue-green eyes are locked in across the ice right on Landy, who is taking shots next to Beckett.
She must feel my gaze, because Livy shifts her eyes to me. “I’m only appreciating him.”
I cock my eyebrow up at her, and Livy blushes.
“I know what you said,” Livy adds. “And he wouldn’t be interested in me anyway.”
“Mmmm-hmmm,” I say, texting her a message from my phone.
Yeah that’s what I said about Beckett. He’d never be interested in me. And now he’s my boyfriend. But that’s the difference between Beckett and Landy. Beckett wanted a girlfriend. Landy wants a hook-up.
Then I hit ‘send.’ Livy’s phone goes off, and she glances down at it. She grins and types back, and within seconds I get a reply.
Trust me, Landy had zero interest in me. He was making sure I didn’t get mugged in the parking lot. And that’s all he had on his radar as far as I go.
I laugh and Livy starts typing again.
Besides, I went down that road last year with Troy. I thought I was the one who could change him. I’m never going to be that girl again.
I read the message, remembering how awful her relationship with Troy was. Livy fell hard and fast last year for Troy Appleton, a star football player at UW. She resisted him at first, as she had heard the stories about him, being a partying womanizer. But her resistance only seemed to feed Troy’s interest in her. Once she relented, he swore Livy was the one for him. And it nearly destroyed Livy when she discovered it was all a lie.
I turn my attention back to Beckett, feeling so grateful that he is a stand-up man. I know I’m the only woman in his life. That he’s committed to me and to seeing where this can go. I feel good about us. About where this is going and what we could be.
But that’s the future. There’s a more pressing need in front of me right now.
And that’s seeing my man take on the Dallas Demons. Then I draw an anxious breath. And I hope he can be the one to slay the dragon tonight.
“Come on!” I yell at the glass. It’s late in the third period, and the Buffaloes have done a remarkable job of holding the score to 2-1 in favor of the Demons. Beckett was right-the tag team of Harrison Flynn and Nate Johansson was incredible to watch, and they hooked up on both scores tonight.
Now the Buffaloes are desperately trying to tie the game and force it into overtime.
Beckett is fighting Harrison for control of the puck, with neither captain giving an inch. Harrison works it away, sending it down the ice, but Landy is there and intercepts it, ripping it down the boards and toward the corner. Beckett and Harrison chase it into the corner at full speed, and they both collide hard into the glass. Bam! Beckett hits the glass so hard with his shoulder it shatters, and play is stopped the second the glass breaks.
My stomach lurches. Shit, he’s going to hurt himself hitting things that hard! But Beckett simply says something to the fans in front of the broken glass before skating away, completely unscathed by the incident.
“Beckett’s a beast,” Collins says. “First he punches the crap out that guy in the last period, now he’s shattered the glass!”
I bite my lip. But he’s not, I think to myself, watching as he skates over to the bench and grabs his bottle of Gatorade. Beckett is a fighter on the ice. He fights for his teammates. He’ll shatter glass and risk an injury if it means getting the puck away from Harrison Flynn and the Demons. He’s powerful and fearless. Intimidating. Forceful.
But off the ice he’s my Beckett.
He’s the shy captain who was intimidated to approach my condo and ask me out. The one who lives for Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. The one who gets so serious in front of a camera he can’t relax or show his fun side. The one who gets embarrassed and blushes when I tease him. The one who holds me and kisses the top of my forehead when we’re watching TV. The one who found the best fries in Chicago simply because I love French fries. The one who has a secret smart ass side he only shows to me. The one who can reach me and calm me down when I’m upset.
The one who makes me break all my rules.
That’s the Beckett I know—and love.
But right now, I need for my captain to take over this game and get a goal for the Buffaloes.
Once the glass is replaced, the game starts back up again. Beckett is back on the ice, and he’s in the circle for the face-off. Beckett wins, getting the puck straight to Pierre Gaudet. Pierre moves it around to his left, and I see Beckett get over to the front of the net. Pierre passes to Landy, who passes back to Pierre, who then zips it to Beckett, who takes a shot on goal. The Demons’ goaltender goes to make the save, but the puck shoots right over the top of his outstretched glove and sails into the back of the net.
“Yes!” I scream, leaping up from my seat as the goal horn sounds.
Everyone in the arena is going crazy, and the Buffaloes’ goal song blares through the arena. Beckett is surrounded by his teammates in a hug, and I see a big grin on his face.
This moment is huge for him. If they can somehow win this game against the strongest team in the league, it’s a turning point for the Chicago Buffaloes.
Nobody sits down for the face-off. There’s three minutes left, and the Buffaloes can’t let their guard down. Not with Harrison and Nate back on the ice. I don’t know much about hockey, but I have no doubt Harrison is just as passionate about winning as Beckett is, and he will want to end this game now.
This time Pierre takes the face-off against Nate. Nate wins it, and my nerves shoot through me as Matt Rhinelander, their other big offensive player, takes off down the ice with it.
Don’t score, don’t score, don’t score, I nervously will the Demons.
Matt passes the puck to Harrison, who takes a shot, and it hits the post. Gah! I put my hands over my eyes, this is too nerve-wracking. Nate recovers the puck and he takes a shot. Deflected!
“One minute left in the period,” the announcer says.
“Get it out of there!” Livy yells.
Finally, Landy gets the puck along the boards and clears it down the ice.
Beckett gets off the ice and other Buffaloes jump onto it, ready to try and score.
I bite down hard on my lip. It would gut Beckett to lose this one. Not after tying the top team in the league. He’s so close to pulling off the upset, and there’s nothing I want more for him right now.
The horn sounds, and we’re going to overtime.
“Argh, I hate overtime,” I wail, sinking back down into my seat.
“They’ll still get a point if they lose, Aubrey,” Livy says.
“I have no idea what that means. All I know is that they need to win.”
Five minutes is put back on the clock for overtime. I swear I’m about to start biting my nails, and I’m not a nail biter. This is so stressful. I have no clue how Beckett deals with this. I’d be a wreck.
But Beckett jumps over the boards and skates onto the ice, his expression nothing but serious. I see the focus in his eyes. And this is why he’s a leader. He’s calm under pressure.
And determined to win.
Beckett enters the face-off circle to go against Matt Rhinelander. Beckett wins this one and the puck goes out to Pierre. He passes it back to Beckett. Gah, stress, stress, stress! I bite my lip.
“Shoot it!” someone screams from behind me.
Beckett moves around the back of the net with the puck. Harrison crashes into him, slamming him against the glass. Beckett pushes him back and works the puck out to Landy, who takes the shot.
And it hits the post.
GAH! That clank jolts straight through me. Pierre goes after it, fighting with Nate for control.
“Get it!” I scream. “Come on, Pierre!”
Nate clears the puck out, but Landy intercepts it. Geez, no wonder why Beckett loves Landy so much. He’s obviously a gifted defensive player.
Landy comes back up and rips a shot to Beckett. I hold my breath as Beckett fires a shot on goal.
And it flies right past the goaltender and into the net.
“Goal!” I scream, leaping up out of my seat.
All of us are screaming now. The goal song is going off again, and Beckett is being mobbed by his teammates. He has the biggest smile on his face, and I know I do, too.
“Goal by Number 17, your captain, Beckett Riley!” the announcer booms. “Assist by Number 94, Landon Holder.”
The crowd goes wild all over again.
I stand next to the glass, cheering like crazy. I’m so proud of Beckett. And I know what this victory means to him.
And being seen in public together be damned. We’re going out to celebrate this turning point win tonight.
Chapter 26
The Aubrey Rules To Live By, Rule #26: An evening out should be fun. If it involves my friends, conversation, and music I know I’ll have a blast. And because I’m living in Chicago, I definitely want to take advantage of all the new bars and hip meeting spots the city has to offer.
**Note** I hate bars now.
**Note #2** Okay, if I had timed this I swear it only took 20 seconds for hot girls to start hanging all over Beckett. Wait. I can time it with my phone. I’ll try again with the next girls that walk up.
**Note #3** Crap, really? 11.5 seconds?
**Note #4** I’m recording my time at being mortified and pissed off officially at 11.6 seconds.
**Note #5** I don’t think any of these girls have eaten fries in their entire lives. Tragic. I should feel sad for them.
**Note #6** I’ve eaten enough for all of them. I’m sad for me.
**Note #7** BECKETT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS NICE TO ALL THESE . . . THESE . . . groupies.
**Note #8** He is so getting a piece of my mind. And it’s not going to be pretty.
“Cheers to him,” Livy says knowingly, lifting her glass of beer to mine in a toast.
I grin happily and tip my glass against hers as we make a toast to Beckett and his huge win tonight. After the game, Livy and I parted ways with Collins and Taylor and made plans to meet up with Beckett and some of the Buffaloes after the game to celebrate his huge win. Beckett was surprised by my request, as so far we hadn
’t done anything like go out to eat or to a bar in public, but I told him his victory wasn’t going to be uncelebrated. And as his media consultant, showing him celebrating was a good thing.
Beckett and Landy had to do a radio show first, so Livy and I went to the stadium club and took some pictures of them doing that, which I posted to his public social media pages. Then, when they went to the locker room to shower and change, Livy and I headed to a popular bar in River North so we could snag a table for us.
“Cheers,” I say, taking a sip of my frosty beer. I put my glass down on the coaster, seeking our server. “Do you want something to eat? I’m starving.”
Livy tucks a lock of her blond hair behind her ear. “I’m guessing they don’t have kale chips here, right?”
I shoot her a look. “Livy, I’m going to dare you to split some French fries with me.”
“Ugh, no, you know I have to stick to my clean eating plan,” Livy says.
I frown. Okay, I should totally be about clean eating like Livy, but I’m famished. And yes, probably the flat bread pizza would be a more inspired choice, but I’m celebrating tonight. Which totally calls for fries.
And extra time on the treadmill tomorrow.
I flag down our server and place my order for French fries with black truffle oil, and then I notice Harrison Flynn on the TV monitors around the bar. He’s giving a post-game interview, which is closed-captioned on the TV so I can read it. Excitement fills me when I realize that he’s talking about Beckett.
“He’s a great leader. He’s getting the guys to believe they can win. He believes they can win, and that’s what leaders do. Inspire their teams to play to the next level,” Harrison says, raking a hand through his curly, ginger locks. “My hat is off to him tonight.”
Happiness fills me. Beckett deserves this so much. He’s suffered through losing seasons and awful coaches and now the puzzle pieces are coming together. I know he’ll blush as soon as he sees Harrison’s comments, but knowing that the captain of the world-champion Dallas Demons is saying that about him will make him happy.
