Hat Trick

by Kristen Hope Mazzola

  Myla started to jog back over to us with the puppy in her arms. “Bray! She’s perfect.”

  “Awesome, sis. This was way easier than I thought it was going to be.”

  Karla started to go over the adoption paperwork with us and within twenty minutes, our new puppy was ready to head home.

  “Thanks!” Myla grabbed both Karla and me, squeezing the ever-loving shit out of us. “This is going to be the best ever.”

  I glanced down at Myla; the spark that had reignited in her had been long missed. “I’m glad you’re happy, sis. Now let’s get this little girl some fun stuff!”

  Karla was beaming, helping Myla put a new collar and leash on our puppy. “This will do just fine until you can get her something special. Do you know what you’re going to name her?”

  Biting her lip, Myla stood in thought for a second, tapping her finger to her chapped lips. “Oh, I know! Seven! After Seven James.”

  I furrowed my brow. “From a book?” It was the only explanation I could think of.

  Myla nodded. “From the Hers series by Dawn Robertson. Seven is a total badass with a huge heart. It’s perfect.”

  Karla nodded. “I can totally see Seven’s spunk in this little pup! Perfect name!”

  “You’ve read the series?”

  Karla’s smile widened. “Dawn Robertson opened my eyes to how awesome erotic romance can actually be!”

  Myla practically jumped with joy. “Oh man, me too! Did you hear that Ryker is coming out soon?”

  I let the girls chat about their smutty book obsession while I played tug of war with Seven using a rope toy Karla was going to let us take home. It was refreshing seeing Myla get excited about so many things in such a short period of time. I missed that side of my sister; usually she was excited twenty-four-seven, and hopefully this was the start of getting all that back.

  Chapter 10

  Myla

  Seven was sleeping at the foot of my bed and snoring softly as I pet her fluffy head with my big toe. I could hear Brayden’s shower running, which thankfully meant it was getting close to breakfast time—the noises my stomach was making sounded like a swamp thing had taken up residence in my gut.

  Right as I was about to roll out of bed, my phone dinged with a text.

  Adam: Good morning, beautiful.

  Seeing a man, I thought was way out of my league call me beautiful first thing in the morning was a thrilling feeling that I, sadly, had never felt before.

  Me: Morning. How’re you?

  Adam: Doing well. Just wondering when I am going to get to see you again.

  Me: My schedule is pretty wide open.

  Adam: Perfect. Dinner tomorrow night?

  Me: Sounds like a plan.

  Adam: Great. I’ll make reservations and give you the details later.

  Me: Awesome! Can’t wait.

  Adam: Neither can I.

  Seven started to whimper that the door. “Ok girl, let’s get you outside before you have another accident in the house and Brayden decides to make good on his threats to take you back to the shelter.”

  I threw my robe on and shuffled into my fluffy slippers, picking my new puppy up into my arms. The first week with her had been a learning experience for all of us—to say the least—but we were getting the hang of it. She was finally starting to listen to her name and picking up on my routine. Crate training wasn’t going well, but slow and steady was going to win that race for sure.

  Setting Seven down on the back steps that led to our small fenced yard, I heard Brayden tinkering in the kitchen.

  “Bray? Can you start the coffee?” I called through the screen door as Seven hopped down the wooden steps, rushing into the yard for her morning pee.

  “Way ahead of you!” Brayden replied, coming out to join me with two cups of steaming coffee in hand.

  The smell of pumpkin spice wafted into my nostrils. “You’re the fucking best, bro.”

  “Oh trust me, I know. Egg whites?”

  I licked the sweet coffee from my lips before responding. “Yes, please.”

  The rest of my Sunday was spent lazily reading on our back deck, letting Seven get all her crazy puppy energy out frolicking around the backyard. The crisp fall air caressed my body as I flipped the pages faster and faster. I needed to know if Nutter was actually as crazy as he seemed and if Bender was really going to be the hero he didn’t think he could be. I swooned at M. Stratton’s words as the hours ticked by. Right before I was about to hit the big climax that had been building for the last few chapters, my phone started vibrating in my pocket.

  I cleared my throat before answering the call. “Hey, Simon. How’re you?”

  His flamboyant personality rang in his voice through the phone. “I’m great. Want to grab a bite after work tomorrow? I feel like we haven’t had a date night in forever.”

  “It’s been too long! But I have an actual date tomorrow night with Adam. Rain check?”

  His voice hit an entirely new octave as he shrilled. “You what? That is so fantastic!”

  I bit my lip; I was starting to get nervous about the entire thing. “Simon, I just don’t know if I should go out with Adam.”

  I heard a heavy sigh come from the other end of the line. “I thought you liked him. I could tell he was totally into you.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to, I’m just nervous.” I got up from my chair, starting to pace around the backyard as Seven trotted behind me.

  “Nervous? You two hit it off so well the other night. You’ll have a great time.” Simon started to chomp on something crunchy in my ear.

  “Eating celery again?” It was Simon’s addiction and it was so freaking odd to me. How can someone eat celery all the time? Gross.

  “Don’t change the subject. Why are you nervous, my dear?”

  “Ugh. He’s just so much older than me, probably way more experienced. What if I disappoint him?”

  “Oh, honey, no one is telling you that you have to sleep with him on the first date. Go to dinner, enjoy yourself a bit, get dropped off, and go in for a goodnight kiss like a normal girl.”

  A gentle tap came on my hotel room door. I checked the clock—it was already well past our lights-out time. With having a competition in the morning, I was reluctant to answer the door, but I had a pretty good feeling who it was going to be.

  Tommy was standing in my doorway with his goofy ass smile and thick-framed glasses, making me melt within seconds. “Come on, My, just let me in for a bit?”

  Whispering, I moved out of the way so he could enter my hotel room. “You know if Ms. Riley catches us we won’t be able to skate tomorrow.”

  Breaking the rules had never been a strong suit of mine.

  Sitting down on the end of the bed, Tommy looked up at me with his crooked smirk that made me weak in the knees. “Is it a crime that I want to spend a little bit of time with my girl?”

  I had never been anyone’s anything before—cue the swooning feels and butterflies crashing.

  “No, I guess not.” I took a seat next to him, fixing my gaze on the blank television screen as my nerves started to get the better of me.

  “Are you ready for tomorrow?” Tommy put his hand on my knee. “You looked awesome today during practice.”

  I turned to him. “You really think so?”

  He scooted a little closer to me, close enough that I could feel his hot breath on my shoulder. “Yeah. You’re going to kill it tomorrow.”

  And with that our lips were touching. I had never even really been alone with a guy that wasn’t family. A rush came over me that I couldn’t explain at all. I was a mess of excitement, nerves, flutters, and jitters all rolled into me having no idea what the fuck to do. Being seventeen and completely inexperienced wasn’t unheard of in the competitive sports world, but I was still embarrassed by it.

  Tommy’s hand started to travel its way up my thigh while our lips were still locked together.

  “Tommy, I don’t know if this is a good idea.”
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  He put a finger over my lips, shushing me. “Don’t worry babe, I’ll be gentle.”

  Within minutes, we were both naked under the covers with his hard cock pushing into my stomach as he kissed down my neck. “You’re so beautiful, Myla. Since the moment I met you, I’ve been thinking about this happening.”

  Tommy’s hot sticky body was making it hard for me to breath as he slowly started to rub the head of his dick over my clit.

  “Do you have a condom?” I breathed into his ear, trying to make it sound as sexy as possible.

  Reaching over, he grabbed his jeans and pulled out a small wrapper. “Of course, babe.”

  He put on the rubber and slid his slender manhood into me without warning. Euphoria was as far from the truth as I could ever imagine. He thrust a few times, moaning loudly as I pretended to enjoy the encounter.

  No more than a minute or two passed before Tommy was shuddering on top of me, dripping with sweat and panting. “Oh God, Myla. You felt amazing.”

  And that was when I learned what a two-pump chump really was.

  Chapter 11

  Gavin

  “So, my mom told me you were the captain of your team. Is that like, a big deal, or somethin’?”

  I tried to not roll my eyes. The chick clearly wanted to be there even less than I did, and that was a freaking shock. I needed to stop letting my mother set me up on blind dates with the pretentious daughters of her tennis friends from the country club.

  “Yes. I am the captain of the Otters. And what is it that you do for work again?” I continued pushing the pieces of lettuce around my chilled plate.

  My date was pretty enough, way better than any of the other women I had been set up with over the last year. Her huge tits—which had probably been a college graduation present—were popping out of her low-cut blouse as she twirled a long curl between her fingers.

  “I’m a paralegal working for my father’s firm. It boring, but temporary.” I couldn’t help but stare at the bright pink lipstick that was clinging to her front tooth. I knew I should say something, but it was more entertaining to see how long it would last there; I had to have some form of fun on this crappy date.

  “Why temporary?” I had never been great at small talk; if the conversation didn’t flow naturally, why force it?

  She slurped her chardonnay, making me want to yell Check! at the top of my lungs. “I’m planning on being a housewife.”

  There we have it ladies and gents, the deal breaker of the fucking century. I was all for my future wife staying home if that was what she really wanted to do, but for it to be an ambition in life was just plain irksome.

  The rest of the evening was as painful as the beginning of the date was. The only win was her going home in her own cab, leaving me to head to the bar for a nightcap with Sean and Jordan.

  “Here’s to another epic fail in Mrs. Hayes’ matchmaking career.” Sean raised his glass to mine and Jordan held her stomach from laughing so hard. “At least this one had a nice set of twins on her.”

  “Sean, don’t be gross.” Jordan shot a sharp look over at him before turning to me. “You know, Gavin, one of these days you’re going to have to tell your poor mom to just cut her losses and realize good breeding isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” Jordan was completely right, but I just didn’t know how to say no to my mother. She had this weird way of being able to talk me into anything.

  I glanced around the restaurant bar that Jordan was guest bartending at for the next month. “How’s it been going at this place?”

  Jordan was barley tall enough to reach over the whole bar. She started shaking a drink over her shoulder. “They’re paying me well to get their staff in shape, so I can’t complain. I like the change in pace.”

  “Hey McBee! Over here!” Sean started waving to a chick I had never seen before.

  “Who’s that?” I pointed over at the semi-tall chick with an awesome rack and bouncing maroon curls that was waving back at Sean as he walked over to greet her.

  I looked over at Jordan, who gave me a quick shrug. “Fuck if I know.”

  “Guys, this is Jessica, my new partner.”

  Her bright blue eyes lit up as she shook our hands and took a seat in between Sean and me.

  We all made small talk for a while, getting to know Sean’s new partner.

  “You know; this is the first time Sean has introduced us to someone he works with.” I took a long gulp from my Manhattan.

  Jessica’s face lit up and she nudged Sean’s arm with her elbow. “I guess I made a good first impression.”

  “You ain’t half bad, rookie. First partner I have had that is at least entertaining to talk to.”

  Right then my attention was diverted to the door as it was opening. A well-dressed guy was holding it for one of the most gorgeous women I had ever seen in my life. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew her from somewhere. Her long blonde hair was bouncing with loose curls as she glided into the restaurant on heels. Her legs went on for miles, leading up to an ass that was perfectly sculpted in a tight pencil skirt that was about to make my heart stop.

  As I picked my jaw off of the floor, Jordan threw an olive at me. “Hey, creeper. See a ghost or something?”

  The woman gave me a quick knowing smile as her date guided her over to the host stand with his hand on the small of her back.

  “I feel like I know her from somewhere. Did she go to school with us?” I couldn’t look away. I watched as her hips swayed all the way to the white linen-covered table. Her date was good, even pulled out the chair for her.

  “Gavin, she’s a little younger than we are—though I’m sure you would have hit that in high school anyway.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe she just has one of those faces.”

  Myla

  Adam had me swooning from the first moment I met him in front of the restaurant.

  He helped me out of my cab and I realized I was fifteen minutes late. “I hope you haven’t been waiting too long. Brayden was being a pain in my ass with his whole big brother needs to ask a million questions about what his little sister is doing going out all dolled up bullshit.”

  Adam just gave me a little grin while opening the door for me. “You’re well worth any wait, my dear.”

  Walking in, I couldn’t help but get a rush of excitement; it was my first real date, after all. The décor was impeccable, from the white linen tablecloths to the marble flooring and the servers wearing bowties. It wasn’t that I wasn’t used to going to nice restaurants, it was just a really exciting moment for me—everything seemed so much fancier with me on Adam’s arm.

  He was dressed to kill in a charcoal gray blazer, blue button-down that brought out his eyes, beard perfectly trimmed, and hair pulled up in an adorable mun—it was perfect.

  As we were being escorted to our table, I could feel that someone was staring at me. I squinted over at the bar on the far side of the restaurant to see none other than Gavin Hayes posted up with a few people, glaring at me with a dazed and confused kind of look.

  Adam pulled my seat out for me. “Do you know him?”

  I peeked over my shoulder at Adam as he put my napkin in my lap for me. What a freaking gentleman! “He’s one of my brother’s friends. He probably doesn’t recognize me; we’ve only met a few times.”

  I hadn’t told Adam about my brother being a player for the Otters; I wanted him to like me for me, not because my brother was kind of famous.

  “Ah, I see.” He took his seat across the table from me.

  Our server was tableside within seconds. “Can I start you two off with some beverages?”

  Adam handed the man the wine list. “Bring us a bottle of the BV Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and sparkling mineral water to start.”

  Our server came back with the bottle and filled both of our wine glasses for us. I whispered, “Adam, you know I’m only twenty.”

  He rolled his eyes and a little smile flashed on his lips. “One gla
ss isn’t going to kill you. Besides, for your first drink, it should be something this perfect.”

  “What do you mean perfect?” I pretended like I knew what I was doing, swirling the wine in my glass and smelling it, like I had seen in the movies. I felt like a low-class fool trying to pull the wool over Adam’s eyes, but he seemed too wrapped up in explaining the wine to me to notice.

  “This wine is my favorite because it boasts exceptionally powerful yet elegant flavors. The highly saturated aromas and expansive, richly textured zests brim with deep blackberry and cassis expression. Layered nuances of espresso bean, crushed anise seed, bay leaf, violet, and toasted oak contribute complexity to the sumptuous dark-fruit character.”

  Well, la di da.

  He’s a nice guy that likes wine, not a complete snob, right?

  I was hoping Adam was just trying to impress me—and in a way it was working—but I couldn’t help but have an overwhelming urge to roll my eyes at him.

  “I didn’t realize how complicated wine flavors could be.” I took a sip and wanted to vomit right on the spot. Apparently, I did not like red wine at all.

  “My father owns a vineyard in Millbrook. I grew up on this stuff. Most of the time I think it’s ostentatious, but I do love a good cab.” Adam swirled his wine, taking a deep breath in. “There’s just something so sexy about the way the flavors play on your tongue. You probably think I’m crazy.”

  I took another sip, trying my best to not purse my lips at the bitter, strong flavors. “No, I think it’s good to be passionate about things you enjoy.”

  Adam reached across the table, taking my hand in his. “I am really glad we’re doing this. It’s been a long time since I met a girl I really felt a connection with.”

  Melt. Swoon. Cue the violins and flying doves.

  After Adam ordered for us and we did the basic small talk, I was at a loss for words. It wasn’t that the night wasn’t going well, I just realized how little I had to talk about.

  “I feel like you’ve lived this incredible, exciting life and I am just so boring.” I took a bite of my herb-crusted salmon, trying to think of something else to talk about.