Hating the Rookie: Laketown Hockey Series Read online

  BRIANNA WAS SNUGGLED into my chest. Her breaths had deepened just as the rising sun cast a glow over the hospital room. I didn’t dare fall asleep. I was so afraid of rolling or moving the wrong way and hurting her.

  “Good morning.” A peppy nurse pulled back the curtain but stopped halfway when she saw me in the bed. “Oh.” She stopped and closed the curtain. “You can’t do that,” she hissed through the curtain.

  Brianna’s eyes opened and she smiled. “You rebel,” she whispered. She kissed me and squeezed my ass at the same time.

  “I’m moving,” I said loud enough to be heard through the curtain, but Brianna wouldn’t let go of my butt. “Let go, Nurse Ratched is going to kill me.” Bree giggled and then kissed me again.

  “I’m waiting.” I could see the nurse tapping her foot under the curtain.

  I grabbed Bree’s face and kissed her deeply then groaned as I straightened my legs and hoisted myself over the bars to the floor. I pulled back the curtain and the nurse walked in and shot me a dirty look.

  “I’ll be right back.” I headed to the bathroom and then to the cafeteria for coffee and the snobbiest tea they had in the hospital. It was a generic Orange Pekoe.

  I set the steaming Styrofoam cups on the nightstand and waited for the nurse to finish poking and prodding at Bree.

  “The doctor will see you shortly.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  She pursed her lips and shook her head.

  “The rules are there for a reason Mr. Bishop. Even if you are an Otter.”

  Bree clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh as the nurse left the room. “I’m dating an Otter,” she said. “Does that make me a puck bunny?”

  “You’re the total opposite of a puck bunny. You’re more like a puck rabbit...”

  She raised her eyebrows at me.

  “No.” A few more options ran through my mind, all of them sounded much worse than puck rabbit. “You’re you. I’m Brianna Corbett’s eye candy.”

  She grinned. “I’ll take it.”

  Doctor Stapleweed stepped into the room. “Good morning you two. How did you sleep, Brianna?”

  “Great,” she smiled. “Brodie woke me up every couple of hours to make sure I wasn’t going to turn into Sleeping Beauty on him.

  “Good.” She picked up the chart. “I’m going to release you. That’s a nasty bump on your head, but you don’t have any water in your lungs. Usually, with lake drownings, it’s the infection that gets people – and it looks like we don’t have to worry about that with you. Someone got you out of the water fast enough that you should be on your feet in a few days.

  Brianna sat up in the bed and hopped down on the floor. She pulled the heart rate monitor off her finger and reached for the outfit her mom had left hanging on the back of the chair.

  “Or within the hour.” Doctor smiled. “I know you won’t listen, but you need to take it easy.”

  The doctor turned to me. “Try to keep her quiet for at least the rest of the day.”

  I laughed. “I’ll break out the Scrabble board.”

  The doctor smiled and squeezed my arm. “You’re a good boyfriend. Good luck with the exhibition game. The whole town is talking about it.”

  With everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, I had completely forgotten about tomorrow’s game.

  “Thanks.” Then I switched into hockey player interview mode. “It’s going to be a challenge, but the guys have been training hard. We’re all looking forward to getting out there and doing our best and having a little bit of fun.”

  The doctor smiled and handed Brianna a prescription. “Come back if you have any of the side effects we talked about yesterday.”

  Brianna was already dressed and slipped the paper into the pocket of her jeans. “Let’s go, Mr. MVP.”

  She grabbed my hand and together we left Laketown General. I helped her into the passenger seat of the Jeep and we headed home.

  “Can we stop for smoothies,” Brianna asked.

  “Sure babe.” But as I replied, I saw Jenna and Greer walk into the smoothie shop.

  Chapter 21 – Brianna

  BRODIE VEERED THE JEEP onto the sidewalk and into a parking spot directly in front of Squashed Berry then jogged around to the passenger side to help me out of the car. He gripped my hand hard as we walked into the noisy sweet-smelling shop.

  The three bunnies ahead of us turned in unison but didn’t say anything. I could feel my hand trembling in his. These girls had been so cruel to me in high school, but I was tired of hiding from them. Facing them with Brodie made me feel strong.

  I squared my shoulders and as Brodie and I studied the chalkboard menu above the smoothie bar, I could feel the girls shooting glances at us and then whispering amongst themselves.

  We both ordered the Fake it Till You Make it, a layer of spinach topped with a strawberry raspberry combo.

  The trio of bunnies had to pass by us to leave the shop and as they did, Greer smiled. “I know who’s getting a blow job today.”

  “Greer,” Brodie growled. “Brianna is my girlfriend. If I ever hear any of you disrespecting her again, you’re finished in this town. Do you hear me?”

  Greer took a step back, her grin faltered, but then returned. “It was a joke, Brodie. Brianna, you know that right?”

  “That joke’s not funny anymore.”

  Brodie squeezed my hand.

  Greer shrugged and took a sip of her smoothie, then led her followers out of the shop.

  “Are you okay?” Brodie whispered.

  I was surprisingly okay. It wasn’t a movie ending where the mean girls get their comeuppance, but it felt like a win for me. I wasn’t going to live my life avoiding all the small-minded people who were cruel to me.

  We got back into the Jeep and I kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for standing up for me. You didn’t have to do that.”

  “Yes, I did.” Brodie glanced over at me while he drove over the bridge. “That’s something I should’ve done years ago.”

  He threaded his fingers through mine. “Home?” he asked.

  “Home.”

  The sun was shining, and the warm breeze felt good against my skin.

  Brodie parked in front of Cabin One and we sat on the porch to finish our smoothies. It was still early in the morning, and for the first time since I’d been home, it wasn’t oppressively hot.

  “What do you want to do now?” Brodie asked. “I told the doctor you’d take it easy today, so I’ll play Scrabble or whatever nerdy game will keep you still.”

  “What I want to do isn’t doctor approved.” Bree tugged at my hand and pulled me into her bedroom. It didn’t seem fast; this moment had been years in the making.

  “I’ll be gentle,” I whispered as she fumbled with the string on my board shorts.

  “Don’t you dare.” She nipped at my bottom lip.

  I pulled her t-shirt over her head. I was already at half-mast with her seduction, but when I saw that white lacy bra with the pink bow, my cock throbbed with desire. I kissed her shoulder as I undid the clasp on the bra, then I slipped the straps down over her shoulders, letting the bra fall to the floor.

  “You’re so hot, Bree,” I whispered into her chest then kissed the mound of each breast. Her nipples puckered as my five o’clock shadow skimmed over her tender skin before I took the right one into my mouth. Bree arched her neck and I could feel her hair cascading onto the hand that rested on her lower back, while the other cupped her left breast.

  I kissed across her collarbone, up her neck, and she moaned as I made my way along her jawbone before taking her earlobe in my mouth.

  She arched her chest against mine and then pulled at the hem of my t-shirt with both of her hands. I stepped back and raised my arms over my head to let her pull it off. She ran her hands down my chest, her fingertips tracing each of my abs as they worked their way down to the waistband of my shorts. The string had already been undone and Bree tucked her slender fin
gers into the back, cupping my ass and pulling me tightly to her. That small move was so hot, I almost blew my load right then and there.

  She squeezed my ass and kissed me, her breathing was fast, and my heart was pounding. “No undies, Brodie?” she asked, with her lips still on mine. She kissed me again before I could respond, then stepped back and slid my shorts down. My cock got caught up in the fabric and when she tugged a little harder, it sprang free and slapped my lower abdomen. The shorts fell to the ground and I stepped out of them.

  There we were. Brodie and Brianna. I was naked and she was in those cute white panties. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.” I looped my arms around her waist. She draped her wrists over my shoulders and gazed up at me. “Make love to me Brodie.”

  “You don’t have to ask me twice.” I scooped her up into my arms as gently as I could. “Is that okay?” I asked as I carried her into the bedroom.

  “More than okay.” She leaned her head against my chest.

  I eased her onto the bed. The wild man in me wanted to throw her down, flip her over, and take her from behind. But with Bree it was different. I wanted it slow. I wanted passion. Being gentle with her was only getting me more and more turned on.

  I pulled down the crisp white sheets and crawled into bed beside her.

  “Have you got a condom?” she asked.

  Shit.

  “No, not with me.” When I came to Casper Cove the night before, the last thing I expected was that I was going to be in Bree’s bed the next day.

  “What about in your car, in your cabin?” she writhed against me. Her hands explored my lower abs but skirted around the main attraction. God, the woman knew how to tease.

  “Bree, I don’t.” I couldn’t believe this was happening. “You don’t have any?”

  “No.” She whispered. “The only thing on my nightstand is books.” I glanced over and sure enough, each of the nightstands was stacked with more books than I’d read in my entire high school career.

  “Dammit.” I dropped my forehead onto her chest, and she played with my hair. I looked up at her. “We don’t need one.”

  “What?” she knitted her brow at me. I pushed down on her chest with one hand, carefully avoiding her ribcage. “The doctor told you to relax. I’m going to make you the most relaxed you’ve ever been in your life.” I held her down with one hand while I kissed between her breasts and down the center of her belly. She kept her fingertips in my hair and her eyes stayed with mine as I worked my way down her body. I finally broke eye contact when I spread apart her thighs to kneel between them, kissing each creamy inner thigh working my way to where they met in the middle. I slid those sexy white panties down her legs and kissed back up them. When I reached her sex I paused, letting my breath do the work. Brianna squirmed underneath me and her gentle fingers grabbed fistfuls of my hair.

  “Brodie.” Her voice was the breathiest I’d ever heard. “That feels so good. Oh my God.” She started rocking her hips while my mouth and fingers explored the parts of Brianna I’d only ever dreamed about. It didn’t take long before she was bucking beneath me. She screamed out as she came and then collapsed beneath me. “That was incredible,” she gasped.

  I moved from between her legs and gently laid down beside her. My cock was throbbing so hard, going down on Bree had brought me right to the edge of my orgasm.

  “Your turn,” she smiled, but when she tried to shift onto her side she yelped in pain. “You’ve got to rest.” I eased her back down onto her back and pulled the sheet up over her bare chest.

  “But what about you?” she asked.

  “Don’t you worry,” I whispered in her ear. “We’ve got plenty of time for you to rock my world.”

  She slowly turned on her side and nestled in under my arm, her cheek resting on my chest. “We could’ve been doing that for years.” She traced her fingers over the top of my pecs. “What a waste.”

  I caressed her silky hair. “Don’t think of it like that. It wasn’t our time. Now it is. And we’re damn well going to make up for it.” I kissed the top of her head. She slid her hand down my abs, but this time didn’t skirt around my cock. She took it in her soft hands.

  “There’s no way I’m leaving you in this condition,” she said and started stroking slowly. “Show me how you like it,” she whispered.

  “Really?” I asked.

  She nodded, her chin digging into my chest. I wrapped my hand around hers and it didn’t take long, and because I was so worked up, it didn’t take much pressure either. With her hand in mine, sliding up and down my shaft, it was like nothing I’d ever felt before. “Oh, Bree.” I was guttural as my orgasm took over - my whole body tensed, the pleasure ripping through me like a hurricane.

  Chapter 22 – Brianna

  I SQUINTED THROUGH the curtains, surprised that the sun had passed its zenith. I guessed that it was two o’clock. I turned to ask Brodie, but he was gone. I reached for my phone and remembered that it hurt for me to move too quickly. My underwear was lost in the sheets somewhere and I kicked around with my feet trying to find them.

  My beach coverup was hanging on the back of the door, so when I couldn’t find my panties, I just slipped into the long tie-dye dress. A slip of paper on the kitchen table caught my eye.

  It read: Get back in bed. B.

  Instead of getting back in bed, I poured myself a glass of water and headed to the porch. The blue Jeep was in front of Cabin Three, so I slipped into my Birkenstocks and headed out to find him.

  “You traitor.” I smiled as Buddy whacked his tail on the porch boards. I knocked on the screen door and peered inside my old cabin.

  “Come in,” Brodie said.

  Inside the cluttered cabin, Brodie was hunched over the kitchen table, the screen from his face aglow from the glare of his laptop.

  “Hi.” I pulled out one of the chairs and sat down.

  “Hi.” He stood up and kissed me and held my hand while I eased into the chair. “Have you seen your parents yet?” he asked.

  “I just woke up.”

  “Your hair looks sexy, Bree.” I glanced at my reflection in the window, my hair was big like a lioness. He looked around and then said quietly. “That’s sex hair if I’ve ever seen it.”

  Except for my ribs, I felt like I was walking on a cloud. Like a sunbeam had shone down on me, and only me, and was following me everywhere I walked. If this was love, I could be an addict - all I wanted was more.

  “I’m almost done.” Brodie stuck a pencil in his mouth while he pounded at the laptop with his giant fingers.

  “They should make a special keyboard for guys like you – guys with big...hands.” I couldn’t help but smile. Even though I was a virgin, I wasn’t an idiot. I knew Brodie’s cock, and the fact that I could barely wrap my fingers around it, was definitely not average.

  He smirked. “It looks like you’re feeling a little better.” He closed the laptop. “I’ve got the proposal done.” He slid a memory stick across the table. “We just need to find a place to print it.”

  “Really?” I held up the thumb drive.

  “When did you have time to do this?”

  I skipped a few parties and I got everything I needed from your parents. He smiled. “Hey, Bree. I want to ask you something.”

  I set down the stick, his voice sounded serious.

  “Okay...”

  “I know that you’re not a hockey fan, but I was wondering if you would come to my game tomorrow night. It’s a big one.”

  “The exhibition game against the Thunder?”

  “You were paying attention.” He pointed at me and laughed.

  “It’s all anyone can talk about – even the damn doctor.”

  He stood up and held my hand. “Will you come and watch?”

  Tears brimmed in my eyes. “I can’t believe that you have to ask me.” A tear slipped out and he wiped it away with his thumb. “Brodie, I’ll be at every game you play until...”

  His lips narrowed
and we both looked to the ground.

  “Until you leave.” He finished my sentence. I held onto his wrist while he held my cheek. “We didn’t really think this through, did we?”

  “Can we not right now?” I asked.

  “Not think about the fact that you’re leaving at the end of the summer?” It was actually two weeks before the end of the summer, but I didn’t feel like the minutiae mattered at that moment. I took his hand from my face and kissed his palm. “Can we just enjoy this right now?” I rested his hand on my chest.

  He opened his mouth like he was going to say something and then closed it. His hand slid into my hair and he kissed me. “We can enjoy this right now. But Bree, we are going to have to talk about it at some point.”

  “I know,” I sighed. “Just, not right now, okay?”

  “Okay.” He seemed reluctant but agreed.

  I slipped the thumb drive into the pocket of my dress. “I’m going to go lie down again.”

  I turned and he held onto my fingertips as long as he possibly could. “I have to do some painting this afternoon, but I will come and check on you before practice.

  The door slammed behind me and I made my way back to Cabin One. This time Buddy trailed along behind me. I eased onto the porch swing and Buddy sat at my feet. I was going back to school, hundreds of miles away. Brodie was staying in Laketown, traveling for hockey, and probably going to the National League in a few years.

  The wind shifted to come from the north and I shivered.

  Could we make this work? Or were we just kidding ourselves?

  Chapter 23 – Brodie

  THE NERVES I FELT BEFORE my first practice with the Otters was a cakewalk compared to the churning in my guts the night of the exhibition game. Tickets had been sold out since the announcement, and Thunder Fans from across the state had congregated in Laketown to see the pros play the Otters. McManus Place felt alive and electric as the announcer warmed up the crowd and the stadium sound system blared out all the classic hockey tunes.