When I was finally able to skate again, not only was hockey season over, but I also had graduated from college. I needed to find a team to play for.
Fortunately, my old high school coach had gotten a job coaching the Colorado Eagles, which was the local minor league team based in nearby Loveland. When he found out I was done with rehab and was looking for a place to play, he offered me a spot on the Eagles’ roster. It didn’t pay much – barely enough to cover my apartment and food – but it beat having to go back home and live with my parents. And it was hockey. A sport I hadn’t played seriously in almost a year. To tell the truth, I would’ve played for free.
One of my teammates, Garth Gannon, plopped down beside me on the bench, letting out a sigh.
“I needed that,” he grunted.
Garth had the unusual habit of taking a dump between periods. Both intermissions, every game without fail. He claimed it made him feel lighter.
Garth was pushing thirty, and though he’d never admit it, he was at the highest level of hockey he’d ever reach. At one time he’d been an up-and-comer too, but now he used his hands more for punching the other players senseless than for scoring goals.
“I don’t know how you do it,” I said. “Laxatives?”
He grinned. “Nope. Just natural body rhythms. My bowels have been this way since PeeWee.”
“Unbelievable.”
“Speaking of natural body rhythms, have you gotten laid recently?”
I laughed. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you haven’t scored in three games. Maybe your body fluids are backing up.”
I laughed again. “My body fluids are fine. And I feel a goal coming on in the third period.”
“I’m just saying. Did you see those three girls sitting a few rows behind the bench? They were calling your name.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I saw them.”
“And? You gonna go after that?”
“Garth, they looked kinda young. I’d say fifteen tops.”
“So. Old enough to bleed, old enough to breed. That’s my motto.”
“That’s sick.” Even sicker when I thought about his age, which was almost double that of the girls.
He grinned. “If they’re willing, then who am I to say no. What do you say?”
“Say about what?”
“They obvious want you, but there are three of them. Maybe you could bring me along and let me have the one you don’t want.”
I shook my head. “Not happening. There’s a reason they call it jailbait. And I’m too pretty to go to prison.”
“Who’s going to tell? Their teenage hormones are pumping, and all they want is to find out what a nice big cock would feel like inside of their tight little cunts. Why deny yourself that pleasure?”
“Knock yourself out,” I replied, “but don’t get me involved.”
“So the rumors are true?” he said, cocking an eyebrow in my direction.
“What rumors are those?”
“That you’re a cock-smoking fag.”
I rolled my eyes. “Nice try, Garth. That bullshit may work when you’re trying to get under the skin of the other team, but I’ve seen it all.”
He grinned. “I had to give it a shot.”
“Good luck with the grade-schoolers.”
He laughed and gripped his cup through his hockey pants. “Don’t need luck when you’re packing what I got.”
Forty-five minutes later I was enjoying the warm lather of soap on my body underneath the hot spray of the locker room shower. Life was good. Not only because I’d broken my scoreless streak, but also because I’d done it in spectacular style, getting a hat-trick in the third period to give my team a come-from-behind 6-5 victory. Hockey was beginning to feel natural again, like it’d been before my injury.
Because I’d done a few post-game interviews, most of my teammates were gone as I got dressed. Then I grabbed my duffle and headed out to the parking lot. I was driving my parents’ old SUV they’d handed down to me when they bought a new one.
But as I was about to put the key in the door, I heard something behind me, and turned to see what it was. My eyes focused, and I was surprised by the sight on the other side of the lot.
Three of my teammates were standing in a circle around a trio of girls, who I recognized as the ones sitting behind the bench. It appeared that they were trying to get out from the circle, but the guys were preventing them.
Part of me wanted to ignore it and just go home and get some well-needed sleep. After all, those girls were just getting the attention they’d been begging for, and they might learn a valuable lesson in the process.
But I knew I wasn’t built that way, so I shoved my keys into my pocket and headed over.
“Stop it!” one of the girls said as I approached, pushing a guy’s hand off her breast.
I recognized the guy as Garth, realizing he was carrying through on his promise.
“Come on, sweet thing,” Garth said. “I know you want it.”
“Leave us alone!” one of the other girls said, looking like she was near tears.
Matteo, our backup goalie spoke up. “Just imagine what you can tell your friends at school tomorrow. How you fucked some professional hockey players.”
He reached out towards the second girl, but she moved back, eluding his grasp.
“Fucking cocktease,” he muttered.
“Look,” Garth said, keeping his tone light, “we’re all alone here. So this is going to happen if you agree to it or not. So just say yes, and we can all have a little fun.”
“Fuck you, asshole”
That was the third girl, and her voice sparked a memory in me that I couldn’t quite capture.
“No, fuck you,” Garth replied, his voice becoming menacing.
I decided it was time to speak up.
“Are we having a problem here?” I said, walking up to the group.
Garth turned to face me, scowling. “You had your chance, superstar. Just go home, this doesn’t concern you.”
I ignored him and looked at the girls. “Do you have a ride home?”
The first girl spoke. “My sister is coming to pick us up. She’s running late.”
I stepped closer to Garth. “I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” I said. “My teammates here just wanted to make sure you were safe until your sister arrived. Isn’t that right, guys?”
Garth glared at me. “Do you know how bad I can hurt you?”
I gave him a smile. “Any time, asshole. I don’t need your protection on the ice, and I certainly don’t need protection from you now.”
He sneered. “You’re nothing but a pussy.”
“Like I said, any time.” Although he was stockier than me, I had several inches on him. I didn’t think it would come to it, but I was confident I could take him. But then again, it was three against one.
I turned to my other two teammates. “Garth’s career is pretty much over, but you two still have something left. How do you think Coach is going to react when he hears about this?”
They both held up their hands defensively. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Matteo said. “Like you said, we were just hanging out with them until their sister showed up. Making sure no one messed with them. That’s all.”
I smiled and turned back to Garth. “Is that right, Garth? Is that what you were trying to do?”
He glared at me a long moment, but I guess he realized he no longer had the advantage of numbers. Finally, he muttered, “Yeah, that’s right. Just trying to help out.”
“Tell you what,” I said, “if you all go away, I’ll forget this ever happened.”
The three of them looked at me sullenly.
“Now,” I said.
The other two began walking, and Garth stared at me a moment longer before following. “Fucking putz,” he muttered as he went.
I watched them go, and when they got to Garth’s car, they climbed in and drove off. I turned back to the girls.
They were al
l looking up at me with wide eyes.
“Thanks,” said the first girl.
“No problem,” I said. “You should all be getting home.”
“Hi, Luke.”
I turned to look at the girl who spoke. She was the third one, who’d said, “Fuck you, asshole,” earlier. The voice that’d sounded a little familiar.
I stared at her closely. She was tall and thin, but with all the right feminine curves in all the right places. Her red hair was cut short, highlighting her wide green eyes and full lips. She was beautiful.
Suddenly, it clicked.
“Sarah?”
She grinned wide.
“Is that really you?” I said. “Holy shit, you look different.”
Her smile widened even further.
“I didn’t even recognize you,” I said.
“I know,” she replied.
“Who are your friends?”
“This is Angela,” she said, indicating towards the first girl, “And this is Mallory.”
“Nice to meet you, Angela and Mallory. So your sister is on her way?”
“Yeah. She should be here pretty soon.”
“You had a great game,” Sarah said.
“Thanks. I got lucky at the end there.”
“I’ve seen you play before,” Sarah said, “and luck had nothing to do with it.”
“Have you heard from Tyler?”
“Yeah, we talk on Facebook all the time. He signed on with the Bruins as a free agent and is playing in Providence.”
I nodded. “Good for him.”
“I cried when I heard about your injury.”
“Thanks. Just a setback.”
“Maybe you could drive us home.” This was Mallory talking, a cute little blonde.
I turned to her. “I thought Angela’s sister was coming.”
Mallory looked uncomfortable. “Well, I just thought, you know, since my parents weren’t home tonight, you’d like to come to my house.”
I stared at her. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
The other girls snickered.
“Mallory,” I said firmly, “tell me the truth.”
The girl frowned. “Okay, I’m fifteen. But–”
“No, Mallory,” I said, cutting her off.
“I’m almost sixteen,” Angela said hopefully. Her hair was dark and cut short like Sarah’s.
“And I’m twenty-two,” I said. “You girls should be having fun with guys your own age.” I pointed at Sarah. “Except for you. No fun for you.”
They all giggled.
An SUV pulled up next to us and the window slid down. A stunning brunette looked out at us.
“Move along, mister,” she said, eyeing me suspiciously. “They’re too young for you.”
“Nicole,” Angela said, “you have it wrong. Luke saved us.”
Nicole got out of the SUV, and the three girls proceeded to tell her about what’d happened. When they were done, Nicole looked at me.
“Luke Stratton. I thought you looked familiar.”
I smiled. “Have we met?” She was really beautiful, an older version of her little sister, with a body that looked amazing in her distressed jeans and white blouse. Her full breasts stretched out the material into wonderful curves.
“Not officially. I’m Nicole Eggar. I was a sophomore when you were a senior. You probably didn’t know I existed.”
Nicole Eggar. I dredged through my memories. Then one came to me. “Yeah, I remember you. You dated our backup goalie for a while. Brian Laxton.”
She grinned. “Wow, you do remember.”
“I always remember a pretty face.”
She beamed widely, and I noticed the younger girls rolling their eyes, including Sarah.
Nicole stepped closer to me and said in a low voice. “After I drop the girls off, I’m free. Maybe we could do something together.”
I smiled. “Sounds like fun.”
“Give me your address, and I’ll come on by.”
Still smiling, I gave her the address of my apartment.
Her eyes traveled down and up my body. “I’ll be there.”
I glanced over at Sarah, who was pouting as she watched my exchange with Nicole.
A half our later, Nicole was in my bed, naked and riding me as she ground her pussy down onto my jutting cock.
It was good to be a hockey player.
Chapter 6
Age twenty-five
The doorbell rang, and when I opened the door, there was my best friend grinning at me.
“Hey, Tyler,” I said with a smile, pulling him in for a hug. We embraced tightly, and I wondered if his mind was getting a flood of memories of growing up together like mine was.
“Dude,” he said, “you’re huge now.”
“Yeah, I’ve been working out. You’re looking good too.”
“Alexis keeps me in shape.”
We moved apart, and he turned to the girl he’d brought with him.
“This is Alexis,” he said. “Alexis, this is my best friend Luke.”
I offered my hand and she placed her small one in it.
“Hello, Alexis. I can see my best friend still has impeccable taste in women.”
She smiled. “Tyler never told me you were so handsome.”
I grinned. “He never tells his girlfriends that.”
She lifted her other hand, showing off a glittering diamond ring. “I’m more than his girlfriend.”
I stared with wide eyes, then turned to my friend. “Holy shit, you finally pulled the trigger.”
He chuckled. “Yep. Proposed to her last week. I’m finally strapping on the ball and chain.”
“Hey!” Alexis said, slapping him playfully on the shoulder.
I hugged him again. “Congratulations to both of you.”
Tyler had been playing with the Boston Bruins for the past two years, beating me to the NHL. I’d finally gotten my ticket punched to the big show last summer, when a scout for the Avalanche who'd seen me playing for the Eagles called me up and invited me to training camp. To everyone’s surprise, I made all of the cuts and remained with the team.
This was the first time the Avalanche and Bruins were playing each other this season, and the Bruins had flown into Denver two days early to get used to the higher altitude of the Rocky Mountains. He’d spent the first night with his family, and tonight he and I were going to have dinner together so we could catch up on what’d been going on with each other.
“Come on in, Lori is almost ready.” I said, holding the door open so they could step into my living room. Even rookies in the NHL were paid pretty well, and I was able to rent a nice house in the expensive part of town.
Lori was my current girlfriend. We’d met about three months ago at a Denver nightclub, where she invited me home to spend the night with her. She was a few years older than me, but I accepted, and she was great in bed, both enthusiastic and skilled. She waited two weeks before letting me know she’d been married briefly, and had a child – a three-year-old red-headed son named Tobias. I had no problem with that, and the kid was fun to hang around with.
Then a month ago, she was tossed out of her apartment for inability to pay the rent. She told me her ex had raided her bank account, which she forgotten to take his name off. Feeling bad for her, I told her she and Tobias could live with me until she got her feet back under her and could find her own place. And to tell the truth, it was kind of nice coming home from road trips to a house with a family, even if it wasn’t my own. Having Tobias around made me realize I wanted a son of my own someday.
I could hear Lori talking in the kitchen, and went in to see what was going on. She was on the phone, and didn’t look too happy.
“That’s not my fucking problem,” she said to whoever was on the other end. “You promised to be here.”
My eyebrows rose slightly. Lori had a mouth on her, but this was the first time I’d seen her talk this way in front of her son, who was sitting at the kitchen tabl
e watching his mother with wide eyes.
I got Lori’s attention with a wave, then put my finger to my lips before pointing at Tobias, letting her know little ears were listening.
She just rolled her eyes at me and said into the phone, “Listen, bitch, I don’t want to hear your excuses. Get over here.”
I stared at her with a puzzled expression. Who was she talking to like that?
“You’re a babysitter! You’re supposed to be babysitting!”
I gaped at her in surprise. Was she actually talking to Mandy, the babysitter who lived right down the street?
I stepped closer and held out my hand. “Give me the phone.”
“I’m handling this,” Lori replied.
“Give it to me,” I said, letting her know I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“Fine,” she said, and slapped the phone into my palm.
I held it up to my ear. “Mandy?”
I heard sniffling, then the girl started talking fast, and I could only make out some of it. “Mr. Stratton… sorry… cheerleading…school… can’t… sorry…”
“Slow down, Mandy. Take a breath.”
I heard her inhale and exhale a few times, then she said, “I’m so sorry. It’s not my fault. I can’t babysit for you tonight.” She sniffled.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
I noticed Lori frown at me, but I turned my back and ignored her.
“The cheerleading coach called a special practice. I can’t miss it.”
“Then you should go to cheerleading practice. I’m sorry if Lori upset you.”
She sniffled. “She’s so mean.”
“Don’t let it bother you. Have fun at your practice.”
“Thanks. Does this mean you won’t hire me again?”
“Of course not. You’ll be first on our list, I promise.”
“Thanks, Mr. Stratton. You’re nice.”
“Have fun at practice, Mandy.”
“Thanks. And good luck in the game tomorrow. I hate the Bruins.”
Growing up with the Sitter Page 3
