Slap Shot (D.C. Stars, #3)

by Chelsea Curto

The best part of my job is being in charge of entitled men who think they’re better than me because they have a dick.

A week of job searching has left me empty-handed and on the brink of joining OnlyFans.

“You’re okay, right? I don’t need to grab a lamp and use it as a weapon, do I?”

“Did you set me up on a blind date? My shirt has a hole in it, Piper. That’s not how I make a good first impression. And I didn’t bring wine. Flowers. Anything.”

“Thank you?” “Sorry. I’m not a fan, to be honest.” “Of blond hair?”

“She’s like Gordon fucking Ramsay. The chicken curry she made for dinner the other night was the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.” “Wow, man.” Maverick smirks. “If that’s the case, you need to get out more.”

drink. “What was with the penalty you got earlier? I saw you chirping that dude.” “He liked one of Emmy’s photos on Instagram last week, and it pissed me off. The hit was worth the two-minute timeout I got in the sin bin.” “You’re joking.” “Nope.” “You might be the most deranged man I’ve ever met.” “Nah. Just an idiot in love.”

“Okay, wow. This is not how I saw my night going, but I guess crying in your kitchen is on the agenda.” “Piper cries in the kitchen all the time,” Liam adds, and that makes me laugh.

“Using humor is a coping mechanism for me, and these are dire times, Piper.”

The pickings are slim.” I stare at the stove that has a burner missing, and I can’t help but laugh. “And slim left a while ago. If he’s smart, he’ll never come back.”

“We all know Hudson is a please and thank you kind of man, even when he’s fu⁠—”

grins. He gives me a wave and flips his hat backward before walking toward us. Jesus Christ. Shit like that should be illegal for men to do in public.

“How do you take it?” he asks. “Pardon?”

Madeline lifts her chin. “You noticed that?” “I notice a lot of things.”

I’m staring at him like I haven’t been fed in goddamn years, but I can’t help it.

“How did you not like the story?” Ethan asks. “It’s about a basketball player pretending to date his best friend’s sister. And she says she doesn’t like him. It’s gold.”

Oh you KNOW its the right move

“The car scene.” Ethan slaps the table. “That was hot.”

“We need to make him watch the ‘Juno’ positions clips and figure out which ones he likes.” Grant drops to the floor and thrusts into the rug. “Have you ever tried this one, Hud?”

There are a lot of men in the world, but I’m learning there’s only one Hudson Hayes.

I angle my phone and take a photo of her from the side. Lucy climbed into my lap ten minutes ago and is leaning against my chest. Her eyes keep closing, and I adjust my position so she’s comfortable. I send the picture to Madeline, and I only have to wait ten seconds before I get a response.

You’re doing so well.”

“When I said green, I meant that exact shade. You in that outfit, really.” His cheeks are flushed, and his Adam’s apple bobs. “No other variation is ever going to do.”

“They’re drawings. Of you and her and the dogs. Of you and me at the stove while she watches us make dinner. Of you playing hockey,”

“You want to kiss me because you want good luck?” “Yeah. But I also want to kiss you because I’ve been thinking about it for weeks.”

“What else have you been thinking about?” “You,” I say. “In every way I shouldn’t want you. In every way I can’t have you.”

I’d rather be a sinner with her than a saint with anyone else.

“Next time you come to a game, don’t show up in someone else’s jersey.” His fingers trace the outline of the letters spanning across my shoulders. They dance down my spine, and my eyes flutter closed. “I’ll buy you a hundred jerseys with my name on them so you never run out.” “And if I don’t want to wear your jersey?” I ask with a hint of defiance. He brushes a strand of hair away from my neck so he can whisper in my ear. He’s not touching me, but it feels like he is. “I might be nice, Madeline, but I can also be very persuasive.”

The other part of my brain is telling me to walk her backward until we reach the island. To lift her onto the countertop and touch her however I want.

“Tell me again how nice I am, Maddie. I can’t wait to fuck that word right out of your mouth.”

“Maddie.” Hudson smiles. Brushes his thumbs along my ribs and drums his fingers against my skin. “This right here—being with you? Touching you? Breathing the same air as you?—is good enough for me. Everything else is a bonus.”

“It’s mine,” he says. “You’re wearing my number.”

His mouth stretches into a grin, and I give him one right back. “My name looks good on you, Galloway.”

“I’ve got my girls in the crowd wearing my jersey, Galloway.” Hudson’s face shifts from playful to something soft. A truth he’s declaring in the middle of the sold-out arena. “I could miss every shot I take. We could lose by twenty, and it’d still be a damn good night.”

“Come on, man.” He holds out his hand, and I pull him to his feet. “Do you really think I’d let you visit her by yourself?”

:')

“You have some strong legs,” I point out. “Maybe I can put them around your head when we get home,” she tosses back nonchalantly, and I blush.

“Who gives a shit if she doesn’t want to get married? Look at me! I was so against monogamy, and now I’m wondering how I can order a fucking casket that fits two people so I can hold Emmy’s hand when we’re dead. Marriage isn’t the only path for relationships. You don’t need a piece of paper to love her, do you?”

“Because y’all are mine.” I tuck a loose piece of hair behind her ear. “And I protect what’s mine.”

“You have to be quiet, Maddie.” He moves the hand not between my legs up to my neck, covering my mouth. “I don’t want my teammates to hear you. They don’t get that privilege.”

“Thirty-one,” I say and sign back, and Madeline lets out a choked sob. I jerk my neck up to look at her, and she covers her mouth. She shakes her head and sniffs. “I think I made your mom sad,” I tell her.

But I can be good. I want to be good for you, Maddie.”

“You can’t be down here, man,” I say. He rolls his eyes and tries to get around me. “I’m just asking about my daughter. Relax, man.” “Back up,” I tell him, and when he doesn’t listen, I throw off my gloves and shove him against the wall. “I said back the fuck up.”

“You don’t get to talk to her.” I keep my arm against him, and that’s when I see the first moment of panic in his eyes. “Don’t look at her. Don’t talk to her. You go through me, buddy, and guess what? I don’t want anything to do with you. After the shit you pulled? You can burn in hell.”

“Let him go. I don’t want Lucy to see you like this. It’s not who you are.” Lucy. “I’m sorry.” I drop him from my hold and take four steps back. “I didn’t⁠—” “I know.” Her smile calms me down. It makes me take a deep breath, and I huff. “You protect what’s yours. I remember.”

“It gives me hope. It tells me my heart has healed. That I could…” The sentence hangs between us, unfinished. Love you. Spend the rest of my life with you. Be with you until my dying days.

I’m the luckiest guy to have such amazing girls. Get me a pen and let me sign. I would’ve said yes on day one.