Lucky Shot (Moonshot Hockey, #1)

by Rebecca Jenshak

“I think I’m going to head out,” Penn says. He stands slowly, aiming a smile at Ruby. “Good luck with everything.” “Thank you.” “You’re coming back next summer, right?” Trav asks, voice almost a whine. She laughs. “I just might.” “I hope so,” he says. “Me too,” Penn adds. She gets up to hug the big goalie and that sets off a chain reaction. Shep and D-Low say their goodbyes next, then Trav. “I’m going to text you the next time I’m in Arizona,” he says, rocking side to side as he hugs her way longer than necessary. “You better,” she replies. When he pulls back, my best friend looks almost as heartbroken as I feel.

Aidan’s smile drops and he moves over in front of Ruby. She squats down to his level. “Thanks for being my writing soundtrack all summer. I couldn’t have finished the book without you.” His smile lifts back in place. “Thanks for teaching me how to make cookies and being so funny on the ice.” I fight a laugh, but one slips free from Ruby’s lips. “You’re welcome.” He steps forward until his body is nuzzled against hers, and she hugs him around the waist. My throat closes up and I swallow thickly.

“Better take off that jersey too, Red.” “Why? I think I look cute.” “Fine. Don’t, but be prepared to crawl on your hands and knees later when you’re begging me to fuck you.” “Ooh. I pick option two.” Fucking hell. She tosses a sassy smirk at me as she swivels around, practically prancing toward the cabin.

“I’m sure I’ll love them too,” I say, and what I mean is I’ll love them because I love you. Is saying the words before she leaves cruel or romantic? I can’t decide.

“For starters, take off this fucking jersey.” I fist the material in one hand. With a playful smirk, she lays a hand on my chest and pushes me back. It catches me off guard and I fall back onto the chair. My grip on her jersey loosens and she steps back a foot, then two more.

There’s a glint in her eye that tells me she’s up to something, but before I can ask, she lowers herself to the floor on her hands and knees. Fuck me. Slow and deliberate, she crawls to me. My dick presses against my zipper, eager as he’s ever been. When she reaches me, she sits back between my spread legs. “Now what?” I grip her chin between my thumb and finger. “Take my cock out and wrap that gorgeous mouth around it.”

“So many inside thoughts,” she says, gaze locked on my dick. “What’d I tell you about those?” I pull off her shoes, then her shorts and panties. “Sometimes I can’t believe you’re real.” “I’m real and I’m about to fuck you so hard you can’t look at this jersey without thinking about me.” I move onto the bed over her.

I push into her tight pussy, just the tip. Holding back is probably torturing me more than her. I keep it up, giving her just enough to have her climbing toward an orgasm but not enough to get there. “Nicholas Galaxy!” She screams my name more like a threat than a beg, but it gets my attention. “There you go, Red.” I drive into her. “Really? Your name was the magic word?” She starts to laugh but when I push fully inside her, the sound is lost to a whimper. “Needed to make sure you knew which hockey player you were fucking.”

I get up and go to the bathroom, then come back with a washcloth to clean her up. When I’m done, I untie her hands and throw Trav’s jersey in the direction of her suitcase. I probably just guaranteed she’ll wear it again, if only to get a reaction. That’s fine. I’d gladly fuck her wearing every single one of my teammates’ jerseys to get the message across. She belongs with me.

I’m grateful that Travis doesn’t pepper in more fun facts because the few words I’ve said already have me feeling unsettled. Look, I’d love to shout about her from the rooftops, tell everyone about her and how fucking great she is, let them and her know how goddamn in love with her I am. But I can’t tell them before I tell her.

I push everything else aside and pick it up. I recognize Ruby’s handwriting even before I see her name in the left-hand corner. My pulse picks up as I flip it over and rip it open. I pull out a heavy stack of papers. A yellow Post-it note is stuck to the first page. Nick, Thanks for being my inspiration and my muse. If you hate the ending, then just tell me the package must have gotten lost in the mail. xo, Ruby

Smiling, I flip the page. To my favorite grumpy hockey player. I can already hear Trav giving me so much shit, but I can’t stop smiling.

After I read the last line, I sit there in stunned awe. All the sadness I’ve been keeping at bay this past week hits me hard. She’s fucking gone, and I should have told her I loved her or asked her to stay an extra day or a week or forever. “Did you finish?” Aidan asks. I blink away the haze and look over at him. “Yeah.” I set the pages down on the table in front of me, gaze catching on her handwritten note again. “Was it good?” “Yeah, it was really good.” I nod. “Figured,” he says. I huff a small laugh. “You did, huh?” He shrugs. “Ruby’s smart.” “That she is,” I agree. “You miss her, don’t you?” he asks. The question knocks the wind out of me. I’ve tried my best to show up for him the best I could this week despite the way I was feeling, but I guess that tells me how well I pulled it off. I nod. “Me too.” He looks down at his guitar. Fuck. All this time I was wallowing alone, not thinking about how he might be feeling. I cross over to him and pull him into a hug as I sit next to him.

“It’s cool if you date or whatever. Grandpa has already talked to me about the birds and the bees.” He groans and makes a face that tells me how much he disliked that conversation. “Oh god, not the birds and the bees. Did he actually call it that?” Aidan’s wide-eyed, disgusted face remains. “I got the same talk when I was your age,” I tell him. “You’d think he would have come up with something better by now.”

“And for what it’s worth, I’ve done my share of projecting my feelings and fears in maybe less than productive ways.” I run his cryptic words through twice, but still can’t make sense of them. “What do you mean?” “Over the past few years, I’ve thought about it too—what it’ll be like for you when I’m gone. I want you to have someone in your life. You deserve that.” “The constant matchmaking,” I say as I finally understand his meaning. He nods. “Losing your mom was tough, but I felt some solace knowing I was here to help you navigate hockey and school, then becoming a dad. I’m so proud of the man you are, but the things you’ve been through made you put up a wall too. You’ve let few people in outside of your family and teammates. And I guess I selfishly thought if you had someone like I had your mother, then life would be easier when that time comes for me.” It’s a simple answer to his behavior that I never considered.

There is truly nothing better than chatting with readers. I love fangirling with them over our shared favorites. After all, I was a reader before I was an author.

The clover necklace I gave him hangs around his neck. “You’re still wearing it,” I say, motioning with my head to his chest. He looks down and then back to me. “Of course. It’s my version of sleeping in your jersey.”

“I wish you could stay longer. I hate not seeing you every day.” “That’s partly why I came,” he says. “What do you mean?” He pauses, staring into my eyes as his teeth work over his bottom lip. “I love you, Ruby.” Of all the things I thought he might say, that hadn’t been on the list. “You do?” “Yeah, Red. I do. I should have told you before you left, but I kept telling myself we hadn’t known each other long enough for me to feel the way I do about you. But a week without you and I know I wasn’t mistaken. You stumbled into my life and I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you right then and there. I was scared. I’m still scared. I’ve never wanted anything more than I want this.”

“I don’t know what it looks like, but I want to make this work. I’m in. All the way. Whatever you want. I’ll figure out how to visit you on every off day, though I’ll be honest, those will be few and far between for a while with the season starting. You can come stay with us whenever you want too. Any time you want. For as long as you want. Or I can get you tickets to games and fly you out to watch or if you are sick of hockey, then we can spend every night on the phone, and you can tell me all about your day. And after the season is over, Aidan and I can come stay with you for the summer. I need you too, Red.”

“You have so many incredible opportunities coming your way with the book. I’m so fucking proud of you and I want you to enjoy all of that. And your sister is about to have a baby. I know how much she means to you and you’re going to want to make her a priority too. Maybe jumping into things right now is too much for you and that’s okay.”

“I almost forgot.” He pulls a black box from his pants pocket and hands it to me. “What is it?” “Open it.” I flip the top of the jewelry box to reveal a stunning gold necklace with a diamond encrusted hockey stick charm. “Aidan helped me pick it out.” The tears are back. “I miss him too.” “Same. He’s working on a new song for you.”

I get to my feet, still not quite sure that I’m not dreaming. “Thank you so much.” “No need to thank me.” “You took a chance on me when no one else did.” Her lips twist into one last smirk. “And every other publisher will spend the rest of their careers regretting it.”

Travis waits like he’s hoping for more. Actually, his head looks like it’s going to explode. “Is she coming back?” he asks finally. “She said she wants to visit, yeah. And I’ll try to visit her too.” “Oh.” A deep crease forms between his brows. “Don’t look so happy for me.” My tone is dry, and another laugh slips free. “I’m sorry. I am happy for you, but…I miss her too. I was hoping you’d convinced her to pack her shit and come back for good.”

I should be touched, I suppose. “Aidan’s at his mom’s tonight. Do you want to grab a drink after practice?” “And brainstorm wild, extravagant, over-the-top gestures to convince her Moonshot is the best place in the universe and you’re the only man she wants to sleep with for the rest of her life?”

Her smile is back and filled with sass. “Also, I was thinking…Since I’m going to be writing nonstop and Hotel Fourteen is uninhabitable, maybe I could stay at Chalet Galaxy. You know, if it’s available.” My smile spreads as wide as it’s ever been. “For how long?” “Three books, inevitable writer’s block…It could take a while.” She smiles back, mirroring my happiness. “I haven’t worked out the details yet. I want to visit my family as much as I can and be there when Olivia has the baby. Then there’s the tour coming up and…I want to stay indefinitely.”

Trav falls in beside me. “She stole my thunder. How am I going to top that?” Laughing, I punch him in the shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

“I’m not hiding you from him. Plus, he already knows we had a thing this summer.” “He does?” I ask, then wince at the implication. “Yeah, I mean, we weren’t that subtle, so I guess I’m not shocked that he saw us making out at the rink.” “Oops. Your fault. All that padding really does something for me.” He leans forward with both hands on the mattress to kiss me again. “Better for him to see his dad acting like a horny teenager in love than wondering if he’s taken a vow of celibacy.” “Did you say love?” My smile widens. He’s already told me he loved me once, but I’m dying to hear it again.

“Yeah, Red. I’m in love with you.” I pull him back onto the bed—or most likely, he lets me pull him back onto the bed. “I love you too,” I say between kisses, sliding my hands under his shirt.

Behind me I hear Mike say, “That’s what I thought.” “Ruby-Doo!” Travis’s big, booming voice comes next. He walks in, carrying more boxes. Conrad, Danny, and Penn follow after him. “You recruited my friends to help?” Nick asks his dad. “I’m not as young or as strong as I look.” Mike winks at me. Travis puts down the box then wraps me in a big hug, lifting me off the ground and stealing all the breath from my lungs. “Need air,” I wheeze. He sets me down but keeps his arms around me, rocking side to side. “So fucking happy you’re staying with us.” “Us?” Nick mutters. I laugh. “Me too.” Danny is the next to hug me. “Congrats on the book deal. If you need a beta reader, let me know.” “I do and you’re hired.” Penn leans down to give me a quick side hug. “Glad you’re back.” “Thanks, Penn.” Conrad shuffles forward with a shy smile. His hair looks like it’s been cut since the last time I’ve seen him and it’s out of his eyes, which makes him look even more like he stepped off a runway. “Hey, Ruby,” he says as I wrap my arms around his shoulders. “Congratulations.”

“It’s Travis,” I say, looking at the screen. Nick and I share a concerned look. I accept the call and put him on speakerphone. “Hey, Trav. Everything okay?” “Yeah, yeah. I have a quick question for you.” “Me?” I ask. “Yeah.” “O-kay.” “Is love at first sight a thing?” “Excuse me?” Nick groans and falls back onto the couch beside me. “You’re an expert on love and romance, so I trust your judgment,” he says as if that explains this bizarre phone call. “I don’t know about love love, but yes, I think you can have chemistry with someone from the moment you lock eyes,” I say. Nick’s lips pull up at the corners. “Me, right?” he whispers. I’m transported back to the airport, me babbling and him with his grumpy, stoic expression. “I definitely felt a spark of something,” I whisper back, then lean forward and press my lips to his. “Why?” I ask when Travis falls silent on the other end. “Because I just met my new neighbor and I’m pretty sure I’m in love.”

When I pull back, she has a devilish glint in her eyes. “Maybe the two of you should hang. Boys’ day.” “Are you trying to get out of skating on the lake, Red?” “It’s so cold out there.” Her voice is part whine and part laugh. “I’ll keep you warm.” She groans but then a smile tips up the corners of her mouth.

When Aidan’s friend says he needs to get home, we say goodbye to him and then it’s just the three of us. Aidan strums lightly, not seeming as interested now that he’s alone. “Did you learn that new song we talked about?” I ask him, breaking the silence. My breath is visible in the air. He grins and nods his head rapidly. “Another one?” Ruby asks, looking amazed and impressed by my son. “Can I hear it?” Aidan looks to me for permission. I had a slightly different plan, but this feels right. Just the three of us out by the lake, stars shining above us—and don’t tell Ruby I said this—but even the bite of cold in the air is perfect. It guarantees she’ll snuggle closer. I give him the nod of approval and Aidan gets settled with his guitar in his lap. Ruby sits forward, giving him all her attention. I love how much she supports him and cheers him on. She’s been good for all of us.

As Aidan gets to the chorus, Ruby’s eyes light up. “Oh my gosh. I know this one!” She hums along to “Is this Love.” That night in the truck is burned into my brain forever. Just like a million other nights. I don’t want to forget any of them. And I want to make a million more memories just like it. He gets to the end and Ruby claps so enthusiastically that Aidan looks bashful. He flicks his hair out of his eyes and then looks to me. Ruby elbows me and shoots an outraged glare in my direction. “Why aren’t you clapping? That was so good.” Then her gaze drops to my hand. I have the ring between my thumb and pointer finger. Her eyes go wide, and she gasps. “Oh my god. Nicholas Galaxy, are you proposing to me while I’m wearing long underwear and mittens?!” I chuckle. “I had planned to do it at Christmas, but I can’t wait.” Her eyes well with tears. “You want to marry me?” “Yeah. I want to marry you, Red.”

She nods and I slip the ring onto her finger. She’s silent, staring at it for so long I’m not sure what to make of her subdued reaction. Then all at once, she jumps up from her chair and throws her hands into the air. “We’re getting married!” Her voice echoes into the night. She yells it again and again. Laughing, I stand and circle one arm around her waist. “I think they heard you.” “I get to marry you,” she says quietly. Aidan starts playing the wedding march and I hug her to me. “And I get to marry you.” How lucky am I?