Off Her Game (20 page)

He waited as Val picked up her jacket before crossing back to her. Running his hands up and down her arms, he smiled at her. “Promise me you will be there.”

“Darren…” she trailed off, watching him with wide chocolate eyes. “I’ll be there.”

He grinned and swept her up in his arms, swinging her around happily. When he set her down, he kissed her.

The door to the locker room banged shut again, and they jumped apart as the thud of heavy feet echoed through the room.

Charbonneau came around the corner and froze, looking from Val to Darren and back again. He took in Darren’s lack of clothing, though luckily, he’d managed to cover back up in the towel when he’d heard the door slam open.

The older hockey player stepped more into the room, a frown creasing his forehead. “Moran…”

“John, have you met Valerie?” Darren cleared his throat. Panic slid through his veins like a sidewinder. “She’s the new family counselor.”

“We’ve met. Miss Chase.” He nodded briefly to her and turned back to Darren. “I didn’t think anyone would be here at this time, what with the game tonight and all.”

“I was on the ice this morning with some of the rookies.”

“Ah. Right.” Charbonneau looked from Val’s rumpled clothes back to Darren. “Um… so we’ll see you tonight.” Shifting from foot to foot nervously, Charbonneau turned away, back toward the door.

“Right. Tonight.” Darren stared at Charbonneau’s retreating back. A few moments later, the door banged shut, signaling the captain’s exit. That was an odd reaction from the man. He was sure Charbonneau would have said something. It was horribly obvious that something had been going on in there.

Val was the first to speak. “Well, that was awkward.”

He glanced to the side, surprised to see her standing next to him. “It was, wasn’t it?”

“What did he come in here for?”

Darren blinked. What has he come in for? He hadn’t gone to his locker. He had looked both surprised and nervous. It couldn’t have been Val that made him nervous. And then he’d turned tail and ran.

“I don’t know.”

***

Valerie looked up at the arena. The darkness of the sky made the lights of the Highlanders’ arena sparkle like sequins on a prom dress. The thud-thud of her heart against her sternum was almost painful, shooting nerves through her body.

What was she doing here? She wasn’t required to go to the games at all. But there she was. Why?

Because Darren had asked her too, and she had come to terms with the fact that she could not refuse him. Her body still sung from what they’d done in the locker room. If he hadn’t stopped, she’d have said damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead. But that wouldn’t have been a good idea, especially since neither of them had had protection, and hey, public…

She blew out a breath. The game started in five minutes. It was do or die time.

As much as she’d tended bar in the last few months and watched these games on the television, nothing compared to actually being at a game. The experience was completely different. The energy was infectious.

People wandered through the hallways of the center, their voices so loud and boisterous even there that they mixed into a constant buzz. The fans sported Highlander jerseys on all sizes.

One thing she had learned in the last few months was that Darren was a fan favorite and that was obvious as she walked through the hallways. His number plastered more than a third of the jerseys around. She recognized others: Ferrera, Baker, there were even a few Kozlov jerseys. Of course, the team captain, John Charbonneau’s name appeared on almost every other jersey she saw. Having been on the team for nearly fifteen years, he’d had time to accumulate quite the following.

It was strange, seeing all these people who knew her boyfriend’s face and followed his career with such zest. How many of these people had blogs and social media sites that they posted pictures of him on? How many of them knew how many goals he’d scored the previous year? Like that man in the bar who’d known Darren’s behavior during that game was odd. How many of them potentially knew him better than she did?

She slipped through the back and made her way down to the area where the team would walk through. She didn’t expect Darren to see her. There were dozens of reporters standing there, just waiting to catch the team as they headed out for warm-up.

She stayed near the back. She just wanted to see him before the game. She’d come see him after it was done. It was better that she not distract him anyway.

A round of cheers went up in the rink beyond them as the announcer began his nightly ritual of introducing the game. A moment later, the team started filing from the double doors that led to the Highlanders’ locker room.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the concrete wall behind her. Internally, she named off each player, her personal challenge to learn all their names. Darren took her breath away when he left the locker room, looking so much more imposing with the added inches from his skates and the bulk from his pads. He was laughing and talking with Cody beside him but stopped when he saw her.

Reporters shoved their phones at him, shouting questions when he stopped, grasping at the chance to talk to him. His eyes locked with hers, a gorgeous toothy grin on his face as he pushed past the barrier of reporters to stand in front of her. She straightened, dropping her hands to her sides.

He smiled down at her. “You came.”

“I did.” What else could she say?

“I’m glad.” Then his lips descended on her, and the world dulled to just the two of them. Beyond it, she could hear the click of camera phones and the shouts of questions, but really, none of it mattered. Darren’s lips on hers, all warmth and strength, had all her attention.

When they separated, Darren didn’t release her right away. He grinned at her. “I’m going to win today.”

“You’re so sure of yourself.”

“Because of you. You’re my good luck charm.” He kissed her again, this time a slight peck on her lips. “Be here after the game?”

“Well, I will have to clear it with my other boyfriends.”

“Oh, hush. Just be here. Love you.” He tapped her nose with his finger and followed his team out. Val stood there, stunned as he walked away to rejoin his teammates on the ice.

Love. Darren Moran loved her.

The game was fast-paced, making her wish she’d followed the sport better because it wasn’t long before she was lost. By the third quarter, she relied on Joey Baker’s observations to help her muddle through. Joey stood and cheered loudly as Darren sailed past on what she called a breakaway. The goal buzzer a few seconds later had the crowd on their feet.

They sat down as play resumed. Joey turned to her. “You don’t watch hockey much, do you?”

Val shook her head. “This is my first live game.”

“Hockey is definitely a dish best served alive and kicking, that’s for sure.” Joey smoothed a few flyaways of her blonde hair and grinned. “I love coming to the games. So much energy when the Highlanders win. It really pumps up Cody’s mood.”

“How long have you been married?” Val asked.

“Three years and some change.”

“That’s… awesome.” Valerie couldn’t imagine it. Marriage had never been on her radar.

“I won’t lie. It’s hard. But so worth it.” Joey’s eyes had distance in them, her thoughts so clearly a world away.

Chitchatting with Joey during the game made the new experience much more settling, more fun. By the end of the game, the score clearly had the Highlanders breaking the losing streak that had plagued the team.

If she was impressed by the energy prior to the game, the way the crowd was after the game blew her away. Darren’s name was on everyone’s lips. The audience was talking about how his game had changed overnight, how he’d improved, how he was on the way to being the next John Charbonneau.

That was why when she came down to the media room, she just watched again. Darren had been named the star player of the game so he was already deep in interviews when she showed up.

“You’re under a lot of pressure to play well for the Texas Highlanders, so tell me how you’re feeling?”

“Uh, well, sure it’s a lot of pressure, but I love this game. We were tied up for the first period, and it was lucky we were able to break away like we did in the second to score the next two goals.”

“What does this game mean for the Highlanders?”

Darren chuckled. “It’s a win. That’s what it means. And a win is all we can hope for. I think this game was exciting. As you can see out there, the fans are very passionate, and I don’t think that I’ve ever heard a crowd in the building as loud as it was when we scored that last goal. As players, we feed off the energy in the arena too. We love it when the crowd is excited.”

“You had a rough couple months near the beginning of the season.”

Valerie cringed. They’d started seeing each other at the beginning of the season. She hated to think that she was responsible.

“What worked for you tonight that didn’t in the September games?”

Darren’s eyes lifted and locked with hers. Her breath hitched and the moment seemed to stretch on forever. Then he broke away and focused back on the reporter who’d asked the question. “You know, I’m not sure. We scored a couple big goals tonight, we were resilient, we battled for it, and played as a team to win. That’s all we can ask for.”

“Now, let’s talk about that scorching hot kiss at the beginning of the game.”

Darren grinned, that boyish mischief dancing in his expression. “I would, George, but one, I don’t kiss and tell, and two, I’m going to leave you guys now, to get another one.”

Ignoring the way they protested, he pushed past the barrier of reporters. Her eyes widened as he approached her in front of the world. Her blood pounded through her body, like a bass drum in a marching band. He stopped in front of her.

“Hi, Darren.”

“Hi, Val. You can’t run right now. You’ll make me look bad in front of all these people who want to see a kiss.”

She giggled. “I’ve no intention of running. And no pressure there, you ass.”

He leaned over her, his lips inches from hers. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

“I don’t know why you’re still talking. It’s—”

He cut her off, pressing his lips to hers. His hands cupped her face, holding her still so he could kiss the hell out of her. Her breath vanished, her body melted away.

When they separated, a score of cheers and catcalls went up around them. He didn’t seem fazed at all. He ran his thumbs over her cheekbones, seemingly fascinated by the smooth texture of her skin. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” The admission was surprising. It wasn’t something she’d planned, or controlled. It had just happened. She was starting to think that maybe that was okay.

“Come home with me tonight?”

She glanced around for the first time since he’d touched her, the reporters had gathered around them. A blush crept up over her cheeks. She could feel the burn.

“Darren…”

“Forget about them. This is about us,” he said. “I have to go to dinner with the guys tonight, but I want you to come home with me.” He paused. “You could come. They like you. They tell me you’re good for me and that I’m an ass for letting you go in the first place.”

She watched his dark orbs as they darted from one side of her face to the other. “All right. Let’s go to dinner.”

He snorted. “Nice deflection, Miss Chase.”

“You wouldn’t love me if I didn’t fight you so hard.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” He took her hand, his attention wholly on her, and dragged her through the media shouting questions all the way back to the locker room.

Val stopped, covering her mouth and nose. “I’m not going in there. It stinks out here already. I can’t imagine how bad it is in there.”

He laughed. “Coach Rogers’ office is down the hall. Why don’t you wait for me there?”

She wrinkled her nose. “As long as it doesn’t smell like this.”

Darren chuckled and sent her down the hall to the coach’s office. It was quiet here, the reporters all staking out outside the locker room, but at least she could still see the commotion from where she sat.

Darren’s high spirits were infectious, filtering to everyone he came in contact with. He deserved to win games, some happiness in his life. Hockey gave him that. She only hoped that she could give him that too.

***

In watching Darren as he handled the media, Val suddenly realized that she’d never seen this part of him. She’d seen the angry drunk, the gentle lover, but never the professional hockey player. He handled the crowd with more finesse than she’d have given him credit for.

“Hey, Val.”

She turned at Gavin’s voice as he plopped on the bench next to her. He had taken off his gear, leaving him in the tight under armor and his hockey shorts. She was surprised that he’d gotten by the media without getting stopped, but they seemed enraptured by Darren. The stench of sweat and exertion wafted from him, but it wasn’t as bad as the locker room, thankfully..

“Hi.”

“Did you enjoy the game?”

She smiled. “Yeah. It was fun. Darren played pretty good. Actually everyone was good..”

“Probably his best of the season, actually. That’s why the media’s all after him right now.”

“He did do well, didn’t he?” Pride clutched at her heart.

“Yup.”

Gavin cleared his throat, catching her attention.

He was a special case, this one. He played that tough guy exterior to the extreme. Val recognized the signs, though. There was something damaged in him. It made her want to draw it from him.

“Gavin, how are you?”

A smile snuck up on his face, making her think that maybe he didn’t mean it. “Good.”

“Liar.”

“What would you like me to say, then?” A smirk came over his face.

“You know, I don’t just talk to families,” she said. “If you’ve got something to say, I can listen.”

Gavin laughed. “Are you trying to shrink my head or something, Val?”

She shrugged. “Would I do that?”

“Yes.”

“You think so little of me, Gavin.”