Get Pucked

10. romeo and juliet

DAKOTA

"Happy game day!" Ellie struts into my room, having been in a great mood since becoming a single woman.

It's been a week since my date with Parker, and five days since Ellie broke things off with Josh. She didn't let me come with her obviously but said that he took it surprisingly well, not really saying much, just nodding his head until she walked out.

It probably helped that Connor was standing just outside of the front door in case he needed to intervene. The boys have all been a little on edge considering the lack of reaction from Josh, especially since they left on a road trip the day after.

Brooks gave us tasers last Christmas, though, so we're basically ready for anything.

I haven't seen Parker since our date, wanting to make sure I was here supporting Ellie through the breakup. We facetime before every morning skate and after every game, and when Brooks and Connor don't interrupt, we spend most of the time talking about our childhood and lives back at home.

"Are you wearing Brooks' jersey?" I laugh, referring to the jersey swallowing even her 5'10" body.

"Yep! He said now that I'm free from my shackles I can rep the best player on the team." Her happiness is so contagious that all my nerves about seeing Parker melt away.

I quickly throw on Connor's jersey and grab my purse before we head out the door.

~

"We'll do two lemonades and nachos please," I swipe my card before Ellie and I happily take our food and head down to our seats.

Warmups are in full swing, and I quickly spot my boys laughing together while stretching. Parker glances in my direction as if he is looking for something and does a double-take, locking eyes with me. I shyly wave and he sweetly smiles while shooting me a wink, making my stomach erupt with butterflies.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't notice Lincon standing by the bench. Judging by the way he's looking between Parker and me with a weird face, he definitely saw our little interaction. I pull my eyes from him quickly, not wanting Parker or the boys to notice.

After warmups end and all of the guys come to the bench, Connor stands in front of me while lightly tugging his jersey and pointing at mine. He's done this before every game of his I've been to, a silent thank you to me for coming to support him.

Parker scored the winning goal in overtime and I may have thrown the rest of my nachos in celebration. Ellie and I just laughed before grabbing onto eachother and jumping in the air like little kids.

Now that we're standing in the tunnel, though, I'm back to freaking out. "Ellie, seriously what am I supposed to do when he comes out? Am I supposed to kiss him or just give him a quick side hug?" My hands are waving around wildly while I speak.

"You better decide quick Kota because he's right behind you," she starts laughing quietly.

My eyes widen as I turn around slowly. Sure enough, Parker is standing a short foot away with a humored smile on his face, obviously having heard our entire conversation. "Oh hey," I draw out the word. "Ni-nice goal out there," I sound like I've never strung a sentence together in my damn life.

Parker chuckles as he steps forward, wrapping his big hands around my waist and placing a sweet kiss on my unsuspecting lips. He rests his forehead against mine while speaking, "I missed you this week, Kota."

I remain speechless as he releases me, grabbing Ellie and pulling her into a quick hug while whispering a quick, "proud of you," this being the first time he's seen her since the breakup. None of the boys know the full story as to why Ellie broke things off, both of us knowing that they'd go nuts if they knew what Josh had said regarding me.