Falling for the Backup (Novella): The Assassins Series (4 page)

Sheesh, he was hot.
 

“He is a hockey player! He’s the backup goalie for the Assassins.”

Aynslee was even more confused. The sweet, socially awkward guy she had shared a plane ride with was a hockey player? Weren’t hockey players assholes that loved to fight and beat people up? She always thought most of them didn’t have any teeth. Didn’t they have females at their beck and call?

“Really?”

“Yup, he used to be Phil’s favorite player but then Odder was brought up when Ryan was hurt so now he is an Odder fan. Ryan hasn’t been the same since the injury.”

“Injury? When was that?”

“Like two years ago? He has been filling in while Odder had some family stuff going on, I think his girlfriend was hurt or something, I don’t know, I’m not obsessed like Phil is, I only watch hockey for the hot guys. Have you seen Shea Adler or hell even Jakob Titov? Holy mother of hot hockey players. Our defensemen are gorgeous!”

Aynslee looked up at her friend, confused.
 

“Not only do I have no clue what you are talking about but I had no idea you loved hockey so much.”

Sadie laughed.

“Oh yes, hockey is a part of life.”

Aynslee shook her head.

“I always thought hockey was a violent sport, for violent people.”

Sadie put her hand on her chest, obviously offended by Aynslee’s words.
 

“Hockey is violent but no more so than football and besides the guys are amazing. The Assassins are very involved with our community. They came to the school last year and did things with the kids and they hold events for disadvantaged children too. They are awesome guys, I mean look at Aiden Brooks?”

“Yeah?” she said knowing that Sadie was talking about one of Aynslee’s third graders.
 

“His dad is a forward for the Assassins, he is a hockey player.”

Aynslee was completely shocked.
 

“Really?! He is such a sweet guy. Nice to look at
 
and he has all his teeth too.”

“Right! Told you! Jeez, Ayns, I am totally offended that you are so clueless about this.”

Aynslee laughed as she said, “My mom never let the girls watch many sports, she said it was too much for our sweet minds.”

“This is the very first time I do not agree with your momma, hockey is amazing and the men are hot to boot. I think I need to give you a
hockeymacation
.”

Aynslee couldn’t stop laughing.

“Hockeymacation?”

“Yes, I am going to educate you in the art of hockey and you are in luck. Phil can’t go to the game tonight. I was going to take my sister but this is an emergency, we are going together.”

“What?! Seriously?”

“Yes, you need to be educated.”

Later that night, Aynslee found herself in a hand me down Jordan Ryan jersey in the middle of Luther Arena. In her hands, she had the hockey fan essentials, according to Sadie anyway.
 

Beer and bacon on a stick.
 

It was completely mind blowing to her that she’d spent three bucks on bacon on a stick, but Aynslee had to admit, it was pretty damn good. Sadie had the same snack, but she drank water and wore an Adler jersey with a number six painted on her face and a foam sword that said Nashville Assassins on it. She looked like a complete dork waving her sword in the air, screaming at the players as they warmed up on the ice, but then again, Aynslee probably looked crazy just sitting there inhaling a piece of bacon. On a stick.
 

Once the players were back on the ice after the opening ceremony, Sadie finally sat in her seat and looked over at Aynslee.

“Ready for some hockey?!”

Aynslee threw one hand in the air.
 

“Whoo!”

“That’s the spirit.”

“Where is Jordan?” Aynslee asked searching the ice. He wasn’t in the goal thingy, and she didn’t see him on the bench.
 

“He’s right there,” Sadie said pointing right in front of them.
 

When Aynslee found him sitting in the entranceway at the end of the bench her heart skipped a beat. He looked so freaking good in a dark purple jersey, all padded up, making him much larger than she remembered. He didn’t have his helmet on, only an Assassins ball cap that hid his eyes. His mouth was set in a straight line while his eyes, presumably, were on the ice. Beautiful.

Sadie nudged Aynslee’s thigh, bringing her attention back to her.
 

“Now listen up. We have five on five hockey here unless there is a penalty, then it would be four on five. The only way there is a penalty is if someone does something wrong and if that happens, those guys in the white and black will call it and then the player will go into the box….”

Aynslee felt like she was listening to the teacher on the Peanuts cartoons, ‘wa wa wa wa wa’. She didn’t understand what Sadie was talking about, but surprisingly enough, she was enjoying the game. She had no clue what the hell icing was or why Adler got a penalty for tapping some guy with his stick, but apparently it pissed Sadie off. She was usually such a sweet girl, but Aynslee figured all bets were off when it came to a hockey game. She was screaming louder than most of the men and using language that would make a sailor blush.
 

Everything was so confusing but by the end of the second period, she not only knew what icing and hooking were, but she was quickly turning into a hockey fan. The rush of the game was unbelievable, she loved it! The only thing she wished was that Jordan was playing. The Odder guy hadn’t let one goal in, but she wished she could have seen Jordan play. He looked as if he was sleeping but when a puck flew into the bench, everyone hit the deck all except Jordan who caught the puck with his big glove and handed it back to the coach. He moved like a ninja and she’d bet he was the same way on the ice. Or in bed.
 
Sigh.

“I wish he was playing.”

Sadie shook her head, “Nah, we are playing the Wings, we need Odder in the goal. We can’t lose, and like I said, Ryan isn’t the goalie he used to be.”

“That’s so sad,” Aynslee said, her heart breaking for him.
 

Maybe that was why he walked away from her. Why he was so closed off. She wanted nothing more than to close the distance between them, and tell him that even though she didn’t know him that well or know how he played, she thought he was awesome anyway. Aynslee shook her head, she couldn’t do this. It didn’t seem right to watch him from afar when she knew that something had been between them. There had to be a way to meet up with him again.
 

“Do you know where they practice?” she asked suddenly.
 

“Yeah, they are leaving for a road trip tomorrow, their next home game is next week, Saturday, and there is a practice that Friday morning.”

Aynslee thought for a moment.

“Isn’t Friday a holiday?”

“Yup, wanna go?”

“Yeah,” Aynslee said with a nod. “And I’m gonna get that man’s number.”

“It’s thirty.”

Aynslee looked over, ready to smack Sadie but she was grinning at her and all Aynslee could do was laugh.
 

Shoving Sadie’s arm, she said, “Shut up, you know what I mean.”

“And you thought that when you Googled him, you were stalking him,” Sadie said still laughing.

Yes, it was a little stalkerish to show up at his practice, at the place he worked but she had no choice. Surely when he saw her, he would know that he couldn’t walk away again. Maybe he thought about her as much as she thought about him. She wondered if he went to sleep at night wishing she was there. Or maybe he was fucking anything with tits and had completely forgotten about her. It was a possibility but Aynslee couldn’t give up, not yet.
 

***

With a huff, Jordan ran his hand through his hair as he waited in line at Starbucks. He hated waiting in line and if he hadn’t had time to spare before going to the airport to leave for South Carolina, he would have been irritated, but he had a good hour and half before he had to leave.
 
He was not excited about this trip at all, another game where he would keep the bench warm. He wished his body ached, that he had the bruises that Tate had after last night’s win, but instead, he had nothing. He may have jammed his finger when he was putting on his pads, but other than that, nothing.
 

Jordan had planned on getting a coffee and relaxing in his favorite chair just to pass time and to get ready for the meeting he had later that afternoon with the IceCats. He hoped to God they liked him and wanted him, he was tired of not playing and with each passing day, he was becoming increasingly bitter. He was never like this, and he knew something was really off. He couldn’t blame it on the fact that he wasn’t playing though, because that had been going on for months. Recently there was a new loneliness and there was only one reason why he would feel like that. Or better yet, one person.
 

Aynslee Shaw.
 

God, he’d
 
fucked up. He should have tried to get her in bed, at least get laid, but he knew that it wouldn’t end like that. She the kind of girl he could fall for and even marry. Jordan didn’t understand the instant attraction or the need he felt for her, but for the last five days all he did was think of her. Even when he was on the bench the other night, acting as if he was watching the game, he scanned the stands for a fiery redhead, but knew he would never find her. Jordan never regretted anything, but he regretted just walking away.

But he had no choice.
 

She wasn’t be someone he could leave behind and with the uncertainty of everything in his life now, there was no way he could get into a relationship with her. Even if she made his heart want to come out of his chest and beg her to love him. Nope, he had to keep that shit locked up. Things were too complicated. In a perfect world, things would be simple and he could pursue her, but his world wasn’t perfect.
 
Not even close.

Letting out another huff Jordan started to wonder if the person at the front of the line was ordering for their whole office, what was taking so long?
 
Jordan pulled his phone out of his pocket. As he looked down, he noticed that the woman in front of him had red hair and it made him smile. He wondered what Aynslee was doing. She was probably at school, teaching young minds. He wondered if she thought about him, why that mattered made no sense to him, but he still was curious if she did. He also wondered what it would have been like to peel that pink dress off her and bury his face between her fantastic set of breasts. Just thinking of her tits had him rocking back on his heels as his dick twitched to life. Man, why couldn’t life be a little steadier for him right now. If that was the case, he’d have her flat on her back in no time.
   

When the line finally moved, Jordan let out a thankful sigh as the redhead reached the counter.
 

“Can I have a tall vanilla Frappuccino?”
 

Whoa, he knew that voice.
 

“Yup, name?”

“Aynslee,” she said before looking down at her phone.
 

He couldn’t believe it. His heart started to pound and without really thinking he said, “Hopefully I don’t spill this cup on you too.”

Looking over her shoulder, her confusion was replaced with a wide grin. Turning to face him, he noticed she must have been heading to work. Dress slacks and a purple blouse
 
that gave a nice view of her cleavage. If his third grade teacher had worn something like that, he was pretty sure he would have started liking girls at a much younger age. “The last time that happened, I had a wonderful trip home, Mr. Ryan.” Among other things.

He chuckled before he looked up at the barista and ordered a mocha Frappuccino. Paying for both their drinks, he said, “This one is on me, just in case I spill it again.”

She smiled up at him as they moved to the other end of the counter to wait for their drinks.
 

“This is a welcomed surprise,” she said looking up at him, her eyes searching his. She looked so good that he wanted nothing more than to get her tangled up in his sheets. Her hair was curled around her face, her makeup bright, matching the purple of her shirt. Her lips were glossed and her smile was unstoppable. He couldn’t believe how good he felt being around her.
 

Nodding his head, he said, “I was thinking the same thing.”

She looked away, her cheeks full of color as she asked, “How have you been?”
 

“Good,” he said with a nod as he reached for their drinks, “Are you staying here?”

“Are you?”

He nodded.
 

“Then I am too.”

They shared a smile as he led her to the back, by his favorite chair. He loved this Starbucks, it was only a mile from the airport the Assassins used. Sitting down across from her, he smiled before taking a sip of his coffee.
 

“Are you skipping school?”

She laughed as she shook her head.

“No, we are on break. Today is in-service day.”

“Cool, I always loved in-service days.”

“Me too, when I was kid, now I hate them!”
 

They shared a laugh before Jordan stopped to take a quick drink. Looking over at her, he saw that she was watching him, a small smile playing on her lips.

“I bet,” he said looking down at his cup. Nothing was said for a moment and then he asked, “Did you burn the dress I ruined?”

She shook her head, before pushing her red locks off her shoulders.
 

“I couldn’t burn it.”

“No?”

She smiled as she held his gaze, “No, it’s in my closet and every time I look at it, I smile at the memory of how I got those brown spots.”

He looked away feeling a blush creeping onto his cheeks. She was flirting with him, and
 
he liked it. He wanted to flirt back, lean across the table and tell her how beautiful she looked, but he held back.