My Hockey Romance

Chapter 4 - Luke

The wide-eyed way this girl stares up at me makes me feel like she's a helpless doe and I'm a wolf about to scarf her down.

It's impossible to place the thoughts whipping around in her pretty head, but I'm worried that I may have startled her. I sit down beside her, retracting my hands from her body so she doesn't think I'm trying to make a move - even though I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to. But I can't tell just how much she's had to drink, and I'm not about to act inappropriately towards her.

She's either intoxicated or just plain bizarre, I guess only time will tell.

Either way, she's gorgeous.

She looks a little familiar though I can't place where I've seen her face before. I figure maybe she's one of our fans and I've seen her at the games in passing. Maybe that's why she's looking at me in the peculiar way she is. She's just star struck. Can't blame her there. It happens with a few of our fans when they wait after the games to meet us sometimes. I'd like to imagine their meeting me is a highlight in their life. After all, I have carried the Pumas to at least one victory with my superior goalie skill. Or at least that's what I'd like to believe.

I wave over the waitress, intent on asking again for some more water.

"I swear, if you ask me for ten giant plates of nachos like your friend did earlier..." she trails off warningly, a stern look on her face.

I knew her good mood wasn't going to last. Good to know that Ben was eating at least, he'd need it to soak up some of that alcohol he was chugging down. Hopefully people have laid off the shots now. I hadn't seen him since he wandered off for a snack, but he's probably laying low somewhere in the crowd. Knowing him, he's falling asleep. One drink too many and that guy passes right out.

"Just a water, please, for the lady" I laugh, mentally reminding myself to leave the waitress a nice big tip that will take the edge off her evening.

I'll have to make sure both Ben and the mystery girl's tabs are settled before I leave as well. For Ben, because he's so drunk he might forget, and for the girl so that maybe she won't forget about me.

She suddenly sucks in a breath as though she's been underwater for some time, only just popping up above the whitecapped surface.

"You okay?" I repeat quietly, ready to leave if she asked me to.

I wouldn't go far though. I wasn't going to leave a potentially drunk girl stumbling around and confused.

"I'm fine, really. Just overwhelmed, I guess," she murmurs shyly, her voice soft and delicate and very sweet.

In fact, everything about her is soft and delicate and very sweet. Maybe that's part of what makes her so irresistible. There's an innocence in her expression that makes my molars grind together. At least she doesn't sound as wasted as I thought.

"Not much of a partier, are you?"

She shakes her head, fiddling again with the frayed edge of her skirt. She stands out amongst the other women in their uncomfortable stilettos and chunky necklaces and overdone hair and bright lipsticks. There's something naturally gorgeous about her, from her tantalizing Cupid's bow to her cinnamon freckled nose. I don't think she's even wearing any makeup. Unlike the gold diggers who follow myself and the rest of the team around all the time, she doesn't have that look in her eye like she wants something from me.

It's refreshing, and borderline irresistible.

"Actually, I don't ever do anything like this."

It's her turn to laugh this time, gaze skimming the faces of the other partiers before returning swiftly to me. Having her look right at me like this makes my whole body go warm, like I'm standing on a beach with a hot tide slowly washing higher and higher over me. It's then that I finally see it, that familiar gleam of an expression which indicates, in most women, that she wants something.