Red Hot and BOOM! A Sizzling Hot Collection of Stories from the Red Hot Authors

by Randi Alexander

  He had plenty of time since they both now lived in the area, or Mikael would as soon as he bought a house. Yes, she’d said she might have to live elsewhere if she wanted to keep playing, but at least he’d have a few months before any training camp began. As he settled down to take a nap, he felt his face stretching into a smile. The tournament sounded like a lot more fun now.

  Chapter Two

  Terri’s guess had been accurate. Karen texted him with the news their game the next day, July fourth, would be at one, and also that the Storm planned to put on a fireworks display after the last game ended that evening. She mentioned there was a rooftop garden on the hotel and that it might be a nice spot to watch them from. He thanked her for the information, even as his brain was already calculating how to get Terri up there with him.

  The tournament was already down to four teams in each bracket and, with four games today, there would be two left in each bracket for the last day of the tournament. Whichever teams came out of those with victories would play a second game to decide the championship, so Mikael had somewhere between one and three games remaining. It surprised him how much he enjoyed playing in this tournament. His teammates and most of the opposing players were good men, though Jordan hadn’t shut up the entire game. Mikael had a feeling that wasn’t unusual.

  He’d asked about the organization benefitting from the money, and also had handed over the check he’d promised, despite Paul’s protests. As Karen had said, one of the Storm players, Rob D’Amico, had begun dating a teacher from inner-city Buffalo and then set up a foundation to buy school supplies for all the schools in the area that needed them. Finland made getting an education a high priority and he respected Rob’s part in making sure these students had what they needed. The government paid for supplies in Finland but, as Mikael had found out over and over again, things were done differently here in the US.

  The next game was close. There were about eight minutes left in the third, and one of the Storm’s star players, Sebastian St. Amant, had just scored the go-ahead goal. Mikael looked down the bench. Sebastian was a dynamic player who could definitely be a game-changer and Mikael looked forward to possibly playing with him. Again in this game Mikael concentrated on passing the puck and had only taken one shot on net. But the competitive instinct came out in him and, when he jumped over the boards for his next shift, he streaked around the opposition defenseman and went behind the net. There he surveyed the location of his teammates.

  He could see no one in scoring position. The puck batted back and forth on his stick without him paying much attention as he assessed his options. Finally, when a player tried to dart around him and steal the puck, he pivoted the other way. The goaltender had no chance and Mikael went short side into a wide-open net. His team surrounded him. It was a tie game with a little over six minutes left to play.

  He and Sebastian shared a mutual glance of admiration as Mikael skated by the opponent bench on the way back to his. Mikael’s next shift came only a little over a minute later, since his team had begun to double-shift him. His centerman and both defensemen were battling against Sebastian and, with a little amused shake of his head at how Sebastian handled three players single-handedly, Mikael went to help out. Terri screamed at her teammates, both in warning and in encouragement, but Mikael tuned her out for the time being.

  After digging out the puck from the crowd around it, he passed off to the other winger and streaked down the ice in a give and go. The winger shoveled the puck back to him and Mikael one-timed it into the net. He felt a little bad about using a full slap shot against an obviously amateur goalie, but he wanted his team to win. Maybe the reason was selfish, because he looked forward to playing more with Terri. It didn’t really matter. He’d do what he could to win the game.

  His team managed to hold on for the win. After the handshake line had begun to disperse, Sebastian skated over. “I’m very much looking forward to us playing together. Jon has his own ideas about that, of course, but I think with you, me, and Ben, we could be a very good line.”

  He appeared to be a few years younger than Mikael and had an infectious grin. That kind of attitude could make a big difference in the locker room. Mikael recalled hearing about some scandal with him and one of the coaching staff, but didn’t know the details. Whatever happened didn’t seem to affect his play negatively. Mikael knew he was one of the top point producers for the Storm.

  Mikael nodded, smiling. “Sounds good to me. I am also excited about playing here.”

  “I’ll ask Karen to give me your cell phone number and I will call you soon to see if you want to work out. A bunch of us stay in the area. Of course, I’m getting married in a month or so, which means I have to be around. Sarah, my fiancée, says it is important for me to make decisions.” He rolled his eyes and Mikael chuckled.

  “Good luck with that, and yes, I would very much like to work out. I am hoping to buy a house within the next week or so. Then I could easily be in it by training camp. Until then, I am not sure where I’ll live. Karen said they can make arrangements.”

  “Karen’s great. Be nice to her and she’ll do anything for you. I bring her flowers every month or two.” Sebastian grinned.

  “Maybe she likes balloons,” Mikael mused. “Because I can’t bring her the same thing you are, right?”

  “Why not? Rob stole the idea from me so it would not be the first time.”

  “That woman must get a lot of flowers, then.”

  Sebastian laughed. “And she earns every one of them. I’d better get home to decide if we want purple cocktail napkins or white cocktail napkins with purple writing. And no, I am not kidding.”

  “Have fun and great game.”

  “You too. Good luck tomorrow.”

  Mikael made sure to skate over to Terri. “Are you interested in an early dinner? Now I am hooked on your company.”

  Terri snorted. “Sure you are. You just don’t want to be alone.”

  “Meet you in a half-hour by the doors to go outside?”

  “See you then. I’ll use the time to figure out which restaurants serve the best salmon.”

  “If I keep eating it I will turn into one.”

  She pretended to assess him. “Gills would not be a good look on you.”

  “Gills?”

  Terri indicated her neck. “Those little flaps fish breathe through.”

  “Oh. Yes, probably not.” He felt his face grow hot, but one corner of Terri’s mouth kicked up and she didn’t say anything else. They left the ice and went their separate ways, meeting up to grab food afterward.

  *****

  Once they’d finished another excellent meal, Mikael debated how to bring up the idea of Terri watching the fireworks with him. They’d been out twice alone and he hoped she considered those times dates, even if they’d never said so out loud.

  He cleared his suddenly dry throat and took a drink of water. “So, um, Karen, from the Storm? She told me there would be fireworks tonight out on the harbor and that the hotel has a rooftop garden where I might like to watch them from.” Taking a deep breath, Mikael asked, “Would you like to go up there with me? I know it is still a few hours until they begin, but we could go for a walk or something now.”

  She cocked her head. “You do realize that even though the fans try to leave the Storm players alone, if you’re out walking anywhere there’s a crowd you’ll probably be approached, right?”

  Mikael shrugged with one shoulder. “That’s fine with me, as long as it doesn’t bother you. It would be nice to see a little more of downtown. Karen mentioned some of the guys live on the waterfront too, so maybe I could see those places?”

  “Um, sure. We could do that.”

  “Are you also agreeing to the fireworks?”

  He smiled, knowing his face was flaming. Mikael was a lot of things, but a ladies’ man wasn’t one of them. His old teammates in Minnesota used to tease him about how shy he acted around pretty women. He’d always been that way. His stammered wor
ds, especially in a language he didn’t speak as a native, most likely didn’t impress many women. And he also had never been a fan of casual sex, though he’d done it some when he got horny. Though it had never been a problem finding someone to have sex with when he wanted it, Mikael knew being a professional athlete helped that cause immensely. It always felt so empty to him afterward. He preferred having a girlfriend.

  There’d been a few in Minnesota, but no one he’d wanted to propose marriage to. And not that Mikael thought he needed to hurry up and start a family, but it would be great to have someone to come home to after a long road trip; someone to call at night. Maybe that made him a romantic sap, but that’s the way he felt.

  “Yes, I’ll go for a walk and then stick around for the fireworks.”

  The way Terri phrased that sentence made him wonder if she figured he’d expect her to spend the night. While the idea held some appeal, and he’d never felt very casual about Terri, he didn’t want to rush into sex and make her think that’s all he wanted. He could take things slow, though he had every intention of at least kissing Terri before the night ended.

  Both of them were wearing comfortable shoes and strolled toward the waterfront from the arena, which was situated not far away. On a gorgeous holiday weekend, the area teemed with people and Mikael found himself grabbing Terri’s hand to steer her through different places and then wishing he didn’t have to let her go after he’d done so, but he felt too shy to keep holding it. After one such occasion, Terri grabbed his hand in one of hers and threaded their fingers together, without looking up at him. If she had, the goofy smile plastered on his face probably would’ve made her laugh.

  “Okay, so this is mostly new stuff—all these restaurants, the beach. For a long time there was all this waterfront area, but nothing had been developed. Within the past three years or so, they’ve been building everything up slowly, adding things piece by piece. I know the vision is to make it a year-round destination people will come to even in the winter.” She pointed toward a couple of high rises and then some connected townhouses. “Those are probably where the Storm players Karen mentioned live. I think the high rises are condos, but I’m not sure. They’re pretty far out of my price range, so I’ve never paid much attention.”

  “I am not sure I would want to live way up high,” Mikael admitted. “I am not afraid of heights, but I do not like the thought of being so far off the ground all the time. Hotel rooms freak me out enough without adding to it.”

  “I know many players live in a suburb called Clarence, too. Those tend to be the guys with families. The younger, single guys live downtown from what I’ve heard. There are other beautiful apartments and lofts in the area. I’m sure if you go to a real estate agent they can give you much more information than I can.”

  As she spoke, her fingers kept steady pressure on his, holding his hand against her waist. Mikael found he rather liked the idea that she consciously made the decision to encourage him to keep her close. They continued to walk and ended up near the end of the harbor area, on a piece of land which jutted out into the water. Benches were placed throughout and Mikael drew Terri down to sit on one.

  “We have plenty of time.” Mikael smiled, but looked down as he said, “I’m wondering something. Maybe you can tell me why I think it’s so sexy when you make a great save.”

  A laugh burst forth from Terri. “Wow. I don’t think anyone’s ever called my playing style sexy.”

  Now he forced himself to look up and meet her gaze. “It is. You make it hard, um, difficult to concentrate on the game sometimes. I like watching you.” He pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and her eyes searched his. Going for broke, he said, “I want to kiss you.”

  Her eyebrows drew down for a second, but then she said, “We don’t know each other very well.”

  “That’s why we’re here talking, right?” He went for a teasing tone, hoping Terri would relax, as she’d tensed up some when he’d said he wanted to kiss her.

  Terri bit her lip and then nodded, looking out over the water as Mikael played idly with her hair. “True, you have been. You’re very attentive.”

  “I like listening to you. And watching you play.”

  She turned back to him. “One kiss. We’re in public.”

  “One kiss,” he repeated. For now.

  Leaning toward Terri, Mikael took a gentle hold on the back of her head. Keeping his eyes open and focused on her face, he brushed his lips over hers. One of Terri’s arms crept around him, stopping when she had a grip on his hip. That encouraged him to keep going, despite what she’d said. After all, technically speaking they were still engaged in only one kiss.

  He tilted his head and increased the pressure. Terri responded immediately, moving her hot, yet soft lips over his. Taking a chance, Mikael opened his mouth. He just needed a taste. One taste of that sweet mouth. When his tongue swept over her lips, she opened and Mikael dipped inside. Even though he could’ve happily stayed on that bench kissing Terri as people strolled by, he couldn’t be sure who would recognize him, or her, for that matter. Maybe a lot of people in Buffalo knew Terri. They should. If they didn’t they were missing out. With reluctance, he pulled away, staring down at her and trying like hell to keep his breath under control.

  “When you promise one kiss, you give it your all,” she squeaked out, and he smiled, pulling Terri’s head into the crook of his neck, where he felt her sigh more than heard it.

  “I do not do anything without giving one hundred percent,” he murmured into her hair.

  Terri leaned back and looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “How very...professional athlete of you.”

  Because he didn’t know Terri that well, Mikael found it difficult to know what she meant. Was she joking around or did that comment make her angry? Finally, she grinned. Then he returned the smile. “How do you think I got where I am?”

  She pretended to look offended. “By kissing people with a hundred percent of your energy and attention? That’s an odd way to get a spot on a team.”

  He pushed her gently. “You know what I mean.”

  “I do, yes.” Turning away some, she looked out over the water again. “This place, even when it’s crowded like today, is still one of the most beautiful areas in Buffalo. I love it here.”

  He let the subject drop. “I can understand why. That was one thing I missed when I played in Minnesota. I like having water near me. It’s what I grew up with.” He waited a moment and then asked, “So where do you think I should live? Down here by the water with the single guys or in, where did you say, Clarence? With the family men?”

  Terri gave him a look out of the corner of her eye. “You make ‘family men’ sound like a disease.”

  “No, not at all. I would like to have a family. But will they let me buy a house in Clarence without a wife and children?”

  She shook her head, chuckling. “You are a very strange man.” Then she asked, “What do you think? Maybe a little snack in the hotel bar and then fireworks?”

  “If you’re hungry again, sure.”

  “I figured you would be, Mr. Big-Time Professional Athlete. All I did was stand mostly in place and put my heavily padded body in front of frozen rubber disks.”

  Mikael snorted. “Yeah, right. We both know goaltending is much more than that. But speaking about food, I hope the Storm moves me to a hotel with a kitchen soon. I haven’t been making my protein shakes the past few days and when I stop for too long I lose weight. I will ask Karen about that.”

  “I can bring you a shake tomorrow. I have the powder at my house since I can’t keep weight on when I’m playing a lot. All that equipment is heavy to lug around, you know.”

  “You don’t have to do that for me.”

  “I don’t mind. Right now I’m not using them, since I’m not really competing, but I understand their value, believe me. I’ll make up a batch so you have enough for two shakes. Maybe that will help keep the weight on.” She grinned, with a glint in her eye.
“And the kind I have tastes like a chocolate milkshake.”

  “Oh, yum.” Mikael took the opportunity to sneak another quick kiss. “Thank you. I very much appreciate it.”

  “No biggie.” She stood and held out her hand. “Shall we head back?”

  “Yes. I am suddenly hungry.”

  Terri rolled her eyes. “I bet.”

  *****

  Later that night, Mikael caged Terri in between him and the railing as they waited for the fireworks to start.

  Terri faced away from him, her gaze settled on the harbor in front of them. “This is going to sound silly, but I don’t think I’ve ever been cuddled by a man who resembled a brick wall. Remember how you said watching me make saves was sexy?” He made a general agreeing sort of noise in her ear. “Being surrounded by you is pretty sexy. All those hard muscles are a turn-on because I know how hard they are to achieve.”

  “I am happy to hear that.”

  “I have a confession.”

  “Oh? Tell me.” Curiosity had him leaning closer.

  “When you dumped that jerk into his own bench, it was way hot. And you made it look so easy.”

  “Like someone said, I probably have thirty or forty pounds of muscle more than that guy. A good hip check did the trick.”

  “Make light of it all you want. And you in the penalty box? No idea why that’s sexy. Maybe I have a bad-boy complex I didn’t know about.”

  “I hope not. I only had sixteen penalty in minutes all last season.”

  “Seriously? Did you get nominated for the league award for sportsman-like play?”

  “No, but that’s fine. I go out, I play my game, I do what I have to do to help my teammates win, and I go home. I don’t need to be in the spotlight. I don’t even like it. I know it’s part of being an athlete, but I prefer to just hang out and relax.”

  “Works for me.”

  Mikael was definitely getting Karen something nice for suggesting this spot. Only a few other people occupied the large space and, since the fireworks hadn’t begun yet, he gently turned Terri in his arms and then kissed her again, quickly taking it much deeper than the first they’d shared. Mikael battled to keep his hands on the railing, to no avail. They crept up her back as their tongues dueled, first one chasing the other and then the opposite. Yes, he could easily get used to this.