Offside Hearts (Love and Hockey Book 1)

Driving home, I get lost in the memory of last night.

I can still feel Noah’s hands all over my body, and I know if I close my eyes, I could probably feel him deep inside me once again. Not only have I not gotten laid in a while, but the sex last night was also by far the best I’ve ever had. Nobody has ever made me come as many times as Noah can, and all I can think about as I park outside my apartment building is when and how we’re going to be alone together next.

He said I’m addicting, and that’s the perfect word to describe how I feel about him.

I’m addicted to him, and I don’t even care.

I love the way he kisses me, the way he touches me, the way he somehow seems to know my body even better than I do. But it’s the little things too, the stuff he does outside of the bedroom, like when he looks at me with such intense focus that it makes me feel like I’m the only person in the world. Or the fact that he woke up early and made me breakfast, how he bought oat milk to go in my coffee, and how he let one of the pancakes burn because he couldn’t keep his hands off me.

He’s sweet and sexy and goofy, and not what I expected him to be at all.

But somewhere between arriving back at my apartment and hopping in the shower, I force myself to focus on other things besides Noah. I have a busy week ahead of me at work, and since the whole point of keeping our relationship a secret is so that I can keep my job, it would be a real shame if I got fired for something Noah-related anyway. Like being too distracted by thoughts of him that I can’t even get to work on time.

Once I’m out of the shower, I fix my hair and change my clothes, then head into work with just five minutes to spare. I check in with Ted at the arena, and he tells me that Reese’s friend Callie Marshall will be coming around later in the morning with her elementary school class.

“That’s perfect!” I beam excitedly. “That will make great content. Where are they going to be?”

“I told them to meet me in front of the main doors in about half an hour.”

“Great. I’ll run up to my office and get a few things together, then meet you back here so that I can film them showing up at the arena.”

He nods, and I rush to gather my things. When I get back, I’m just in time to see the school bus pull up outside. I get some footage of the kids stepping off the vehicle and taking in the sight of the Denver Aces home arena. It’s a massive building covered with glass and draped in banners to promote the team, as well as a few dedicated to individual players. Noah’s banner is up there, and I find myself lingering on his face as I pan upward to get a shot of what the kids are seeing.

“Margo!” Callie greets me as she steps off the bus at the back of the line, her red hair flashing in the sunlight. “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” I say, hitting stop on my camera and walking over to her. “I wanted to show off the next generation of hockey fans.” Then I notice that one of the little girls is wearing a jersey and a plastic helmet with the Aces logo on it. I smile at her as she runs past me and add, “And the next generation of hockey players, it would seem.”

“That’s Maria,” Callie tells me. “And she really is a hockey player.”

I raise a brow. “For real?”

“Yup.” Callie’s hair is done up in a messy bun, and she brushes a few loose tendrils of it back as she nods. “Last year, her mom tried to get her into figure skating, and on her first day at the rink, she saw some other kids playing hockey and fell in love with the game. Her mom is now working on trying to get a girl’s league going with some other parents at the school.”

“What a cute story. I’d love to talk to her, if you think she’d be willing.”

“Are you kidding me?” Callie laughs, a bright, friendly sound. “Maria’s basically the most outgoing kid I’ve ever met. Chances are, you won’t even have to seek her out. If she sees that you have a camera, she’ll come right over and insert herself into the action.”

“Like any good hockey player would,” I joke.

Callie and the other teacher who came along to help chaperone herd the kids inside, and Ted takes them on a tour of the whole arena. I follow along and record the whole thing, stopping every once in a while to take a close-up shot of one of the kids if they’re doing something cute.

I’ll have to ask Callie for contact information for all the parents, to make sure I have permission to put their kids’ faces on the social media page. I’m sure some of the parents will be apprehensive, but maybe if I put together the video ahead of time, I can send it along with the permission request so that they can see there’s nothing to be worried about.

“That’s it for the tour,” Ted says after a bit. A couple of the kids seem disappointed, but then he claps his hands together and grins. “But don’t worry, the fun isn’t over yet. How would you all like to go to the rink and watch the Denver Aces practice for a while?”

The kids all cheer, and I’m so glad I got it on camera. They follow their teachers out into the visitor stands of the practice arena. The players are already out on the ice, and a few of them wave to the students.

Noah smiles at one of the boys who’s clearly enthralled by his surroundings, then he shoots me a quick look and gets back to practicing. Callie and I sit in the row behind the kids, and she sighs as she lowers herself down onto the seat.

“Whew,” she says. “You have no idea how chaotic it is to start your morning off with a bus full of excited elementary school kids.”

I shoot her a sympathetic glance. “Sounds like it would wake you up faster than coffee.”

“I actually don’t even drink coffee. I’m a tea girl.” Her green eyes glimmer with amusement. “And let’s just say it’s a good thing the arena isn’t far from the school, because there are only so many times you can hear ‘are we there yet’ before you start to wonder why you got into teaching in the first place.”

I laugh. Despite her soft voice, Callie clearly has a sharp wit and a good sense of humor—which doesn’t surprise me, since she’s good friends with Reese. “Well, on behalf of the entire Denver Aces team, let me be the first to say just how much we appreciate the effort you put in to get here.”

“Nah, it really wasn’t much trouble.” She waves a hand in the air. “I love these kids. I just need to remind the parents not to send juice and candy as a field trip snack, because I’m the one who has to deal with the kids right when they hit the peak of their sugar rush.”

“At least they were well-behaved on the tour,” I say, smiling. “Honestly, they were perfect. I’m telling you, this is exactly the kind of stuff I’ve been wanting to highlight on our social media pages. We’re trying to shift the narrative, you know? Some people stereotype hockey fans as the sort of drunk, frat-boy types who just like the sport because they think it’s cool when the players get into fights. But there’s a lot more to it, and I’m hoping to show a different side of the game.”

“I love that.” Callie grins, her gaze scanning her students. “I’m lucky I have a connection to an NHL player. I’m hoping to get Reese to come talk to my class one of these days too, to tell them a bit about what it’s like to play for a professional hockey team.”

“I bet he’d do it. He seems like the kind of guy who would do a favor like that for anyone, but especially for a friend.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he would,” she agrees. “I just have to find a time to make it happen.”

“I’m sure Noah would be willing to come talk to them too. He started playing pretty young, so he knows what it’s like to be a kid falling in love with hockey.”

Callie glances at me, a flicker of surprise passing across her heart shaped face, and it occurs to me that maybe I spoke too familiarly about Noah. I shrug, shifting my attention back to the ice as I add, “I interviewed all the players when I first started working for the Aces, just to get a better sense of who they are as players and people. He mentioned it then.”

“Ah.”

She nods, seeming satisfied by that answer, but my heart is racing at my near slip-up.

I have to be more careful. Especially at work.

All it’d take would be one person with a big mouth finding out about me and Noah, and that would be it. A rumor like this will spread like wildfire, and there will be no reigning it back in once the spark is lit. I have to stop sneaking glances at him and smiling every time his name is brought up.

“How long have you and Reese been friends?” I ask, pivoting the conversation away from Noah.

“Since right after high school.” Her gaze tracks him as he skates across the ice, moving with the same agility that always leaves me in awe when I watch Noah. “We met as counselors at this summer camp in the Rockies. We’ve been best friends ever since. Sometimes I forget that he’s a huge hockey star now,” she adds with a laugh. “I know him too well.”

“I get that.” I chuckle. “It’s probably good for him to have people in his life that aren’t impressed by his fame though. Keep him humble, and all that.”

“Oh, I definitely do my part to keep him humble,” she says with a wicked grin, and my chuckle turns into a laugh.

I get the feeling that she busts Reese’s balls regularly. She might have a slightly innocent appearance, with her pale skin, vibrant red hair, and curvy figure, but there’s definitely a lot more to her than that. I’m glad she hangs out with the team fairly frequently, because she’s someone I could see myself becoming good friends with.

When practice ends a short while later, I get my camera back out and begin filming the kids’ reactions to the players coming off the ice.

Reese, Noah, Zach, and a forward named Maxim Fedorov all come over and start talking to the students, signing autographs and giving them souvenirs. Noah spends some time talking to Maria, the girl in the helmet, and I wonder whether she’s telling him that she too is a hockey player.

He puts his fist out for a bump, and I get the interaction on camera. It’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen, and not only will it make for an amazing end shot to the video I’m planning on making, but it also melts my heart a little.

Good lord. Could he get any hotter?