Page 6 of Puck Me Harder
That’s why I know Kai is circling near us on purpose. He’s putting on a show, letting me get a good look at what he can do.
“Eyes on the biscuit, Mita!” Coach Wallace shouts from the sideline before throwing a furious glance our way.
Okay, I get it. We’re distracting the players. But that’s not our fault.
Isn’t it, though?
I still can’t believe what happened yesterday. Somehow, I let my guard down enough to kiss an athlete on the job. I wish the butterflies in my stomach would stop getting so excited at the memory.
“Grumpy old hasbeen.” Sofia grumbles from beside me. “No wonder no one likes him.”
She’s particularly annoyed with the Snowhawks’ coach today. Sofie packed more cameras than shoes for this assignment—which is saying something for a girl who named her cats Salvatore, Manholo, and Jimmy. Wallace only allowed her to bring one to the practice rink today. He says it’s because he doesn’t trust us not to leak information to other teams. As if I would ever risk my professional reputation by doing something as stupid as that.
I think the coach is just being difficult after Sofia and I turned his ass down.
Luckily, Sofie can do wonders with any camera. She won her first photography award with a disposable Kodak.
I smile, leaning over to nudge her shoulder with mine before turning back to the notebook in my hand. The pages are filled with wild shorthand and potential questions, but it makes perfect sense to me.
Parker Knight, the Hawk’s rookie forward, pushes past Kai and Sofia nearly climbs out of the box to catch the shot.
“Parker is going to be giving Emerson a run for starter at this rate,” I watch him fire off another shot on the goal.
“Yeah,” Sofia whispers. “He’s incredible out there.”
I’ve never heard my best friend sound so passionate about any sport before— much less hockey. Something tells me there’s more to her sudden change of heart than Parker’s snipes and killer wrist shots.
I peer over her shoulder, watching the digital screen as Sofie thumbs through her last few photos.
“Lots of footage of Parker in there Sof,” I lean in close. “Any of those for personal use?”
Sofia is the only person I know that can audibly harrumph.
“He’s a rising star,” she sniffs. “Besides—”
Sofie never looks away from the ice, but I don’t miss the way her mouth turns up in a Cheshire Cat grin.
“You’re one to talk. Three-quarters of that spiral notebook is filled with interview questions for Kai.”
She breathes the name like a schoolgirl doodling her crush’s name on the inside of a geometry textbook. Which, to be fair, isn’t far off.
“Boss told me to focus on him,” I deflect. “Just doing my job.”
“Mmhmm,” she elbows me playfully in the side. “Since when do you listen to him? Time to change your name from Dakota to Cairo, because girl you are in De-Nile.”
She cackles at that, impressed by her own terrible dad joke. I laugh along, but something unnamable catches in my throat. Sofie turns from practice, pinning me in place with a look I know too well.
Shit.
“Wait. Wait.” Her eyes are wide. “Did something happen between you and Kai Mita, hockey sex god?”
I feel my cheeks heating up and bury my face in the notebook. Maybe the answer to this whole mess is hidden in there somewhere. But too many of my reporter instincts have rubbed off on Sofie over the years. She puts a finger under my chin, tilting my head up to meet her eyes.
“Dios mío,” Sofía gasps, crossing herself. Then she narrows her eyes at me. “Stop holding out, bitch. Give me details. When did you even have time? How’s his stick work?”
I laugh, raising my palms to stop the onslaught of questions. Sofie and I both grew up in a house full of boys. Over the years, we’ve become more sisters than friends. It’s rare to find someone who always has your back.
“Well,” I blow out a breath. “He might have maybe kissed me last night.”