PUCKED Up (48 page)

Igor isn’t a very porny name.

“
Great. Thanks. We really appreciate it!” Sunny says. “And if we get too loud, and you can hear us through the walls, let us know!”

Nina’s boobs jiggle in tandem when she laughs.

“
It was nice to meet both of you! We should do coffee sometime.”

“
Definitely. Enjoy your rehearsal.”

“
Oh, I will.” She winks at Sunny. “Enjoy date night.”

“
Oh, I plan to.” Sunny laces her fingers through mine. “Come on, Miller.”

Sunny puts extra sway in her hips as I follow her down the hallway. She waits until the door is closed before she whispers, “Only you would have a porn star for a neighbor. Why are you such a lightning rod for slutty women?”

I lock the door behind me. “You’re not slutty.”

She raises a brow. “I had sex with you in a forest. Twice.”

I wrap an arm carefully around her waist and pull her against me. “That’s not slutty; that’s adventurous and a little exhibition-y.”

“
It was fun. The aftermath not so much.” She presses her hips into mine. “Your neighbor better not ask you to be in one of her pornos.”

“
If she does I’ll move.”

“
You’re ridiculous. And so are your neighbor’s boobs.” Sunny glances down at her own rack and frowns. “Mine are too small for porn.”

“
Your boobs are perfect. Just like the rest of you. And seriously, if she asks me to be in a porno I’ll put my condo on the market. I think the house next to your brother’s is for sale. I’m sure he’d love to have me for a neighbor.”

Sunny rolls her eyes.

“
You don’t think I’d do it? You gotta know by now you’ve got me wrapped around your finger.”

She smirks. “I kinda do, don’t I?”

“
Mmm . . . don’t look so happy about it.” I brush my lips over hers. “Maybe you have some parts you’d like to wrap around me, to make it fair?”

Sunny’s laugh is as warm as her name. We get back to kissing. “You should take me on that tour now,” she says with her lips still attached to mine.

“
My condo is pretty boring. I was liking the making out thing we’ve got going on here.”

“
Me too, but it might be nicer if we could do it lying down and naked.”

“
You have the best ideas.” I lead her down the hall, still half-kissing while I point out rooms. There aren’t many, so it’s a quick tour.

I open the bedroom door and realize we haven’t even had dinner. “Wait. This is a date. We’re supposed to eat food.”

“
We can do that later.”

“
But—”

Sunny pulls her dress over her head. I’m right. She’s not wearing a bra. She twirls around. She’s wearing a thong. Violet must have taken her shopping. “You don’t see anything you want to eat?”

“
Eat? No.” I give my head a slow shake. “Devour? Definitely.”

Goose bumps rise along her arms. She backs up until she hits the mattress and sits on the edge. Tucking her feet under her, she rises to her knees, motioning me closer.

Every part of me wants to tackle her and do exactly what I said,
devour
. But that implies quick and dirty. It’s been a week. I want slow and long right from the start. I sweep her hair over her shoulders and skim the length of her arm.

Starting at her shoulder, I follow the line of her collarbone to her neck with my lips. When I reach her jaw, I brush one nipple with the pad of my thumb. Sunny moans.

“
I missed that sound.” I circle her nipple to see if she’ll do it again. She does. Sunny grabs the hem of my shirt and pulls up. “Easy, baby.”

“
Oh, right. Your arms.”

I take care of getting my shirt off. It doesn’t feel good. My arms are red and sensitive.

Sunny smooths her hands down my chest and glances up, the tip of her tongue pressed between her teeth, when she reaches the waistband. She flicks open the button and pulls down the zipper, exposing the red underwear. The head of my cock is playing peek-a-boo. “Looks like someone’s excited to see me.”

“
We sure are.”

She strokes the tip with her finger. “What’s with the underwear?”

“
Tryin’ something new.”

“
Hmm. They’re a little inadequate, don’t you think.”

“
You wanna get a better look? Give me your assessment?”

She sits back on her knees. “Go for it.”

I drop my shorts. “I think they do a good job of highlighting my business.”

“
They’re way too small. You should take them off.”

“
Maybe you should do that with your teeth.” I tackle her to the bed and she dissolves in a fit of giggles. “I love that sound.”

Sliding an arm under her, I lift her and army-crawl us to the pillows. The comforter feels like sandpaper on the chemical burns, but everywhere else it’s soft skin against mine, so I’ll live. I kiss her chin before I take her lips again. I could spend hours with my mouth on Sunny’s. Eventually I move to her breasts and devote some attention there. I keep moving south, appreciating the hitch in her breath when I get below her navel.

I lift the waistband of her panties and take a peek inside, exhaling relief when I see the waxer left the landing strip. I sit up on my knees and pull the thong over her hips. The landing strip is an arrow.

“
Let me guess; Vi put you up to this.”

She grins. “I thought it would be funny.”

I slide the fabric down her soft, smooth legs. “I bet you did.” Holding up the material I ask, “And this?”

“
I wanted to try something new, too. It feels like a permanent wedgie, though.”

“
I vote no underwear forever and only dresses; then I can have cookie snacks whenever I want.”

“
Best idea ever.”

I spread her thighs and lower my head. “We’re gonna have so much fun this weekend.”

Sex with Sunny isn’t crazy or loud, but it’s fun and bendy and about more than just a trip to Orgasmia.

Later we have a shower and order takeout. I don’t bother putting clothes on, because screw that. Also, it’s a lot easier to have spontaneous sex when we’re already naked. Which is exactly what we do, several times.

I think Sunny’s passed out on my chest after I put on a movie, but she surprises me when she lifts her head. “Can I stay here tonight?”

“
You can stay here all weekend. The right side of my bed is yours whenever you want to use it.” I kiss the top of her head.

“
Speaking of bed, I’d like to go there now.”

“
You tired, sweets? You wanna go to sleep?”

“
No. I want you to love me.”

“
You’re not tired of being loved yet?”

She touches her lips to mine. “Never.”

EPILOGUE

WALKING ON SUNSHINE

Three Weeks Later

I scan the packed arena, satisfaction and pride making me feel invincible. We’re up two-one against Waters’ team. He’s pissed. It’s awesome. The game’s supposed to be for fun, but you can’t pit a bunch of professional hockey players against each other and expect them to ignore their competitive edge. With only three minutes left it’s unlikely Waters team will make a comeback. Unlikely, but not impossible.

Waters and Randy face off against each other. He’s going to give Waters a run for his money this season. He’s fast and aggressive on the ice. The only thing Waters has over him are experience and all those years of figure skating.

Michael’s on the bench beside me, bouncing with excitement. There’s a check for fifty thousand dollars ready to be handed over at the end of the game. Things are looking up for him. Chemo and radiation, while shitty, are proving effective. If things keep going the way they are, he’ll have surgery before the holidays. The prognosis is positive, which is good, ’cause I’ve gotten attached to that kid, and so has Sunny.

She stands behind me with her hands on my shoulders. The contact is as welcome as it is distracting. She’s been fantastic these past few weeks, helping make this whole event come together and spending time with Michael when I can’t. She’s way more organized than I can ever hope to be. We make a good team. A great one, even. I love her more every damn day. It’s terrifyingly awesome.

My dad stands beside her, his arms crossed over his chest, a small, smug grin tugging the corner of his mouth. The puck drops, and Balls snatches it from Waters, shoulder-checking him out of the way as he flies down the ice. I can’t wait for training to start next week. I’m ready for this season. I’m ready for a lot of things.

Shift change is coming. Before I get back on the ice to finish off this game I lift my cage and turn to Sunny. She’s wearing a hockey jersey, her cheeks and nose are red from the cold, and her eyes are bright with the same excitement that makes the crowd buzz. I tap my lips with my glove. “I need some luck, Sunny Sunshine.”

Her smile is soft as she plants a chaste one on my lips. “Kick my brother’s ass. But not literally.”

I drop my cage, locking it in place, give Michael props, adjust my gloves, and skate out onto the ice, replacing Lance. We knock gloves as we pass, and I zip down the rink toward our goalie.

I deflect a goal, and Randy scoops up the puck again, shooting off down the ice toward the opposing net. The seconds are counting down. With less than a minute to go, Waters’ team gets control of the puck.

Waters is on it, barreling down the ice with the grace and speed that helped us win the Cup this year. I position myself so getting to the goalie will be next to impossible. We both know the turn Waters makes is too tight as he aims the puck beyond me. My options are limited—get out of the way and let him score, or try to make the save. I go with option two, even though I know I’m in for a serious hit.

One second I’m defending my goalie, the next I’m slammed into the boards by two hundred and twenty pounds of Waters. We both scramble, grabbing each others’ jerseys to keep from going down. There’s a whole lot of noise from the crowd. I drop and take Waters with me. My head hits the ice; thankfully the helmet does what it’s supposed to, but the impact still stuns me. I try pushing him off, but he’s heavy, and I don’t have much leverage, ice being slippery and all. Finally he rolls off and gets to his knees.

“
Miller?” Waters drops his glove. For a second I think he’s going to hit me. Then he snaps his fingers in my face. “You all right, man?”

I give my head a shake. “I’m fine. Just don’t go punching me in the face again.”

I grab his jersey instead of his hand, and he loses his balance again. A whistle blows, and the buzzer sounds.

“
Stop trying to make out with me and give me your hand, Butterson.”

I drop a glove and manage to take his outstretched hand this time. “Stop trying to hump me on the ice.”

He grunts as he pulls me to my feet. Then he laughs and keeps a solid hold on my jersey until I have my balance. “You were supposed to get out of the way so I could score.”

“
Fuck that.” I butt my head against his. “I wanna win more than I want you to like me.”

He raises my arm in the air, boxer style. “Nice save. Next time you won’t be so lucky.”

It’s then that I realize stopping the goal won us the game.

It’s a whirlwind of excitement and activity as players flood the ice. The high is almost as good as when we won the Cup. I skate over to the bench and get Michael out on the ice. We carry him around on our shoulders like he’s the Cup. In a way he is. He’s the reason we all came together for this—and the reason things just keep getting better between me and Sunny.

She’s waiting for me when I step off the ice, looking adorable in her too-big jersey. There’s local media waiting to interview me. I haven’t prepared a damn thing, and Amber wanted it that way. They can wait, though, because Sunny’s more important. She’s my best everything.

As soon as I drop my gloves and helmet, she takes my face in her hands. Her nose scrunches. “You’re sweaty.”

“
I’m gonna kiss you anyway.”

She laughs when I grab her around the waist and lay one on her. Cheesy music from the eighties blasts through the speakers about walking on sunshine. The flashing cameras don’t ruin the moment. Not for me, anyway.

“
What is this?” she asks against my mouth.

“
It’s our song now. I thought it was appropriate and way less depressing than You Are My Sunshine. Waters isn’t the only one who can pull off cheesy moves.”

Her smile is all the best sunrises put together. “I love you.”

“
I love you back.”

There are no refunds and no exchanges with love. It comes with flaws and imperfections. It’s raw, unfiltered, and sometimes it isn’t easy. But I’ve found the best things in this life are the ones I’ve had to work hardest for. Especially Sunny.