Total pages in book: 14
Estimated words: 13963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 70(@200wpm)___ 56(@250wpm)___ 47(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 13963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 70(@200wpm)___ 56(@250wpm)___ 47(@300wpm)
I’m now attracted to bear an uncanny resemblance to the hot hockey player?
That’s not necessarily a problem, is it?
All right, so maybe it is.
Don’t worry…I have a plan to put the kibosh on the inappropriate fantasies rolling
around in my head. It involves going out with someone who’s the opposite of my bestie.
Except…the date turns out to be a total disaster.
And who’s there to laugh it off with me later that evening?
You guessed it—Riggs.
It only takes a little game of truth or dare to realize that nothing will ever be the
same between us again.
*This is a Christmas Novella in the Western Wildcats Hockey Series and is 12,500 words*
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
RIGGS
Stella drops her floral duffle in the corner of my room. “Are you sure you don’t mind me staying for a few days?”
I roll my eyes.
Why is this girl even asking?
She has to know that whatever she needs, I’m here for her.
“Hell, no. I already told you—stay as long as you want. It’s not a problem.”
She tilts her blonde head just a bit before searching my face. “You don’t mind sharing your room with me?” There’s a slight pause as she shifts. “The last thing I want to do is get in your way. What happens if you want to bring a girl up here and…you know…” Her voice trails off.
It’s steadily that I hold her gaze. “Trust me, you don’t have to worry about that.”
When she arches her brows as if encouraging me to explain, I clear my throat and steer the topic in a different direction.
It takes effort to lighten my tone. “If you’re not comfortable sharing a bed, I can always bunk with one of the guys or on the couch downstairs.”
Her face scrunches. “Eww. That’s disgusting. I wouldn’t make my worst enemy sleep on that couch.”
It’s no secret that the oversized piece of furniture in the living room has seen way too much action over the years. Some of which has probably been embedded in the fabric for all eternity.
“It’ll be like when we used to have sleepovers,” she says. “Remember?”
Of course I do. Stella and I have known each other since elementary school. Her house was situated in back of mine and it didn’t take long for us to become thick as thieves. And nothing in all these years has altered that.
All right so maybe that’s not a hundred percent true. It was sometime during freshman year of high school that my feelings for her began to change. They’ve slowly deepened, growing into something more.
Have I ever acted on them?
Hell, no.
Are you kidding me?
Stella doesn’t see me as anything other than her bestie.
How do I know this?
Because she has absolutely no problem talking to me about all the dates she goes on.
FYI—that girl goes through guys the way some people go through underwear. I’ve had cartons of milk sitting in my fridge that have been around longer than some of her so-called boyfriends.
I force a smile before shoving those thoughts away. “Sure do. Don’t worry, it’ll be fun. Just like old times. Did I mention that the guys are throwing a party tonight? We can hang out and have a few drinks.”
And I’ll do my damnedest not to obsess about what it’ll be like to have her all to myself in my bed.
A frown flickers across her expression. “You should have said something sooner. I already made plans for the evening.”
Everything inside me nosedives as I attempt to keep my response casual. “Oh?”
With a shrug, she swings away, squatting to rifle through her duffle bag. “Yeah, someone I met on the Western U dating app.”
I cross my arms against my chest and grit my teeth so tightly that it feels like the molars are in imminent danger of shattering. It takes a concerted effort to unlock my jaw. I fucking hate the idea of her going out with another dude.
Especially when she’s coming home to me at the end of the night.
I straighten to my full height as another thought slams into me with the force of a two-by-four. “You’re, ah, planning on sleeping here…right?”
If she doesn’t, I’ll—
She tosses a mischievous glance over her shoulder before flashing a sly grin. “I’ll let you know if things go really well, and I spend the night elsewhere.”
What?
Oh.
Hell.
No.
A tortured groan escapes from me at the idea of her having sex with someone else when her ass should be in my bed.
Her brow furrows as she sends another glance over her shoulder. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”
I clear my throat. “Just that you should bring him by afterward.”
So I can pummel his ass.
With her clothes for the evening in hand, she pops back up before swallowing the distance between us and pressing a light kiss against my cheek.
“You’re the absolute best, know that?”
Unfortunately for me, the absolute best apparently isn’t what she’s looking for.
Before I can suss out the situation any further, she disappears through the bedroom door and into the bathroom to change.
STELLA
The front porch of the hockey house is strung with colorful lights that blink in the darkness, giving the dilapidated old Victorian a festive appearance. There’s a six-foot evergreen shoved in the corner. It’s decorated with pucks and white hockey stick tape. Upon closer inspection, there are also metal beer caps with holes punched at the top and threaded with string that dangles from branches.
Even though the windows are closed to keep out the frigid air, music pours from the house. It could be heard from down the block where we parked. Riggs wasn’t kidding when he said the guys were throwing a party. From the looks of it, half the university showed up to help celebrate how well the team is doing this season. Everyone’s excited for them to make it to the Frozen Four and bring home another championship title.