What Are The Odds?: A college hockey romance. (Phil-U Book 1)

Grace.

Ryker Richardson had just very publicly kissed me. That was taking a while to sink in. I turned back to the ice, uncontrollably blushing. Even as the camera transitioned to a different couple, and their kiss garnered a new wave of catcalls, my red cheeks didn’t fade.

“You all good, Grace?” Ryker asked, his dimple deepening as he grinned at me.

I opened my mouth then closed it quickly. My brain was scattered. No thoughts were forming at all.

“I’m not sure whether to take your loss of words as a good thing or not,” he teased.

I nervously chuckled. While the camera had been hovering in front of us, Ryker had pressed his lips to my ear and whispered, ‘I’m game if you are’.

I’d shrugged, mainly because I thought it would’ve been a harmless peck, not the type of kiss where he cupped my face, and danced his tongue with mine, and tangled his fingers in my hair. He clearly had a hell of a lot more confidence than me. With still red cheeks, I looked at Ava and Stella. Stella mouthed the word hot while Ava stared at me, jaw gaping. I guess it kind of was. Ryker certainly knew what he was doing. It had been a good kiss, I mean, in terms of how kisses ought to be. It had just taken me by surprise. After a short break, the teams returned to the ice. The camera was on Levi as he skated into position. I clapped along with the crowd as the referee signalled for the game to continue. Ice hockey hadn’t been what I expected. It was fast. And rough. And super exhilarating. How they travelled from one end to the other, changing direction and stopping abruptly, all the while passing the puck seamlessly to one another, blew my mind. It was a fun sport to watch. And something I would watch again. My brothers would love it as well. The atmosphere in the arena was electric. It’d gone through the roof when Levi got the first goal. It may have happened too quickly for me to keep up, but I’d kept my eyes fixed on the screens as they replayed it over and over.

Ryker leaned in to be heard over the crowd. “You’ll have to come to one of my games.”

I parted my lips to answer, but a collective gasp when one of our players was slammed into the wall drew my attention. I let out a sigh of relief upon seeing it wasn’t Levi. He was skating the puck towards our goal. He narrowed in on the net, Will and another player flanked on either side of him. He fired off the shot. I held my breath. The crowd groaned once more when the puck bounced off the post and into the possession of the other team.

“Jesus, Holloway,” a middle-aged man in front of me grumbled. “You never miss those.”

I kind of hated that ice hockey players wore helmets. They needed to, obviously, given how nuts the game was. But I missed seeing their expressions.

“We’re going to get a drink,” Ryker shouted over the crowd. “I’ll be right back.”

The moment he was gone, Stella clapped her hand in my face.

“What the hell, Grace?” she tsked. “You’ve been here for just over a month and already you’re living out the American fantasy?”

“Huh?”

“Kissing the hot quarterback. Come on. Please tell me you were as into that as Ryker was.”

My blush returned. “It was just a joke for the cameras.”

Ava shook her head. “I don’t think so, Grace. That looked like something else to me.”

“What was it like?” Stella pressed, eyebrows wiggling. “How he tangled his hands in your hair was, like, fire.”

“Um. Good.”

“Um. Good?” she parroted. “I’m disappointed in you, Grace.”

“What did she do now?” Ryker asked, falling back into the seat next to me.

This blush wasn’t going away anytime soon. He passed me two drinks.

“For Ava and Stella.”

Ava chirped excitedly before snatching the cold drinks from my hands. It was sweet he’d bought my friends something.

“And one for you,” he announced, passing another over. “You looked like you might need it.’

I smiled appreciatively. I think he was right. I took a large sip, downing half the can in the process. The crowd was getting rowdier, stomping their feet as they shouted abuse at the ice. As they all got to their feet, we were forced to do the same.

“What’s going on?” I asked Ryker.

Asking Stella or Ava would be pointless. They had no idea what was going on either.

“Fight by the looks.”

“Fight?”

“Between Holloway and the other player’s captain.”

“Holloway as in Levi?”

“Yeah.” Ryker pulled me closer, gesturing through the gap in spectators between us. “Look.”

I could just make out Levi and an opposing player dropping their sticks to the ground. I gasped as the opposition player charged at Levi. The other players circled the altercation, not joining in but not stopping it either.

“Is the ref going to do anything?”

“Nah,” Ryker said indifferently. “This is part of the game.”

“They can just fight? They don’t get in trouble?”

Ryker nodded. “Dumb, huh?”

It was scary. Back home, both players would’ve already been fined and reported. You couldn’t just hit someone and get away with it.

“Well this just got interesting,” Ava said, pressing onto her tippytoes. “Levi is bad ass.”

Once Levi got the upper hand and knocked the other guy to the ground, the referees swooped in. Putting an end to it. One skated beside Levi, ushering him off the ice and into a weird box I hadn’t noticed until now.

“He’s been sent to the sin bin,” Ryker explained. “Power play for the other team.”

I wasn’t following. Those terms meant nothing to me.

“Pardon?”

“He’s been sent off,” Ryker translated. “We’re down a player for two minutes.”

“Oh.”

That didn’t sound good. And it wasn’t. The other team scored within the next thirty-seconds.

*

I shifted from foot to foot, watching the locker room as players filtered out. Even with the opposing team scoring a shot in the power play, our earlier three goals held them off and Will’s goal in the last minute cemented the win. The other team had showered and cleared out quickly, whereas ours was still celebrating. Loud music was coming from the closed door.

“Are we going to the after party?” Ava asked.

“Why don’t we see what Ryker and the football boys are doing?” Stella suggested.

Both were looking at me to make the executive decision. Before I could, Ryker appeared at my side, gently touching my elbow.

“Have you got a second?”

Ava and Stella shared a mischievous look. I fought to roll my eyes. They couldn’t be any more obvious. Ryker led us to the gap between our friends. It wasn’t overly private, but it was better than letting Stella and Ava overhear.

“About–”

“Hey man,” a male voice interjected. “Didn’t expect to see you at a hockey game.”

“Yeah,” Ryker laughed, returning the masculine hand gesture. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back to regular programming tomorrow.”

The guy continued on, pausing to chat to Ryker’s two friends.

“Sorry about that.” Ryker smiled sheepishly. “About the kiss.”

Here we go. The blush returned.

“Are you mad? You seemed a bit strange afterwards.”

“No,” I returned. “Of course not. It’s just, between the kiss and the game and the fight . . .” I trailed off, chuckling shyly.

Mad? No. Overwhelmed? Definitely.

Ryker laughed. “Got it. But we’re good?”

I nodded. “It’s forgotten. I know it was just for the camera.”

His forehead pinched. “Well, actually–”

“Hughesy!” Tripp bounded out the changeroom, dressed in dress pants, a white shirt, and his hockey jacket. He bundled me in his arms, squeezing tightly. “How’d you find it?”

“Intense,” I admitted. “That game is pretty bad ass.”

“Told you.” He smirked. “Tougher than your beloved AFL?”

“No way. You were decked in protective gear.”

“We’ll win you over, Hughesy.” He seemed to sober up, as though only just realising I was standing with Ryker. “What’s up, Richardson?”

“O’Connor,” Ryker clipped back.

My eyes fell to the locker room when Levi walked out. He was wearing a fitted grey suit with a Phil-U beanie. He looked different decked out in the formal clothes the team was required to wear. He looked . . . good. Really good. He was walking with Will, their faces close as they spoke. When he saw me, I offered him a small wave.

“You’re coming back to our house, right?” Tripp asked, nudging me. “I perfected the passionfruit daiquiri. The first one of the night belongs to you.”

I took a step back, shaking my head at him in disbelief. “What do you mean you perfected it? It was already perfect.”

“Nah. It needed way more alcohol.”

He ruffled my hair before slinging his arm over my shoulder, just as Levi and Will reached us. Despite the win, Levi didn’t appear as though he was celebrating. There was a permanent frown etched into his forehead.

“Good win, Rocky,” I jested, playfully tapping his chest.

He smiled, but it was half-hearted. His gaze travelled past my shoulder. To Ryker.

“Enjoy the pace?” Levi asked.

“I enjoyed the knuckles,” Ryker returned. “I thought you usually left the fighting to your lackeys.”

Levi shrugged. “Sometimes the fight’s worth it.”

Ryker nodded, as though he knew exactly what Levi meant. I was sensing a thick hostility between these two, which I didn’t know what to make off. They always seemed to be at odds.

“Can we get to the party now?” Tripp asked, resting his head on my shoulder.

Levi cleared his throat. “If you’re hanging with Hughesy, you and your guys are welcome, Richardson.”

“Um.” Ryker’s head whipped between me and his friends. “I’ll chat to Grace and the guys.”

“Cool.” Levi vaguely nodded in my direction before he backed away. “I’ll maybe see you later I guess.”