Breakaway (Pro-U #1) (2 page)

Lucas

"William and Geoff, take center. Parks and Caleb, left winger. Jessie and Mark, right winger. I'll take goaltender. Don't fuck this up this time. Your only job is to work together to score on us." I pointed to Parks, Geoff and Jessie, who wore red jerseys to match mine. The other three guys were rookies, the new kids on the block. It had been a long fall season and where each of the newbies had great potential, none of them were ready for the playoffs. With only a few weeks in the spring season left, I was done getting my ass chewed off by Coach. Time to teach these idiots a few lessons.

"Oh, I'm gonna score on you. Take your lady too," William called after me, but I ignored him. The guy was far more fluff than he was worth most days of the week. Scary enough, he reminded me a lot of my older brother Bret. Cocky, funny as hell and headed for complete disaster. I wanted to save the kid, but it wasn't my place. I had my own demons to fight.

"He doesn't have a lady, you fuck-tard. You know Lucas rolls solo." A chuckle resounded among the guys as I pulled on my mask and turned to face them.

I hit my mitts together and shook my head. "Stop worrying about my nuts and come at me."

Geoff leaned over aggressively and dropped the puck. It was a sound I'd gotten used to hearing as it smacked against the ice and bounced. I'd been playing hockey since I was six years old. I didn't know another life, though I sure as hell wanted to.

The struggle between the players in front of me brought me calmness instead of the nervousness that should have filled me. I was at home on the ice and being great there was easy. It was everywhere else in life that was a struggle.

I prepared as they came close and clipped my knees together, blocking William’s first shot. "You play like a fucking girl."

He turned around and pinned me with a mean stare. "Then get your old ass out here and stop guarding the hole. You have the easy job."

I laughed and pulled off my mask as I moved toward him aggressively. He'd gotten too comfortable with stepping over the line, and I was done with it.

"Oh shit," Caleb yelled and threw down his stick and headed our way. I only had a few upperclassmen with me to keep things as focused as possible. The rest of the team would be wrapping up a long week and heading to the Ice House soon for our Friday night festivities. My second in command, Jayce Moore, would head that shit up. My focus was to break the cocky bastard in front of me.

"You talk a big game, Will." I tossed parts of my gear off to the side and met him with aggression as he wrapped his arms around me and tried like hell to knock me off my feet. A laugh bubbled up inside of me as I dug my skate into the ice and twisted hard, throwing the kid on his side. I moved down the ice and popped him in the face three times before Caleb pulled me back.

"All right. He gets the point." Caleb leaned around me as I panted, trying desperately to get air in my lungs. I was the old man on the team, and though I hated to admit it, I was only a few weeks out from leaving Providence and joining the pros - something I'd never wanted to do. The dream belonged to my father, and as a tribute to my older brother... I continued to live a life that belonged to someone else.

"Damn, Lucas. I was just kidding." He kicked at my foot, almost clipping my skate as he glared up at me with a busted lip.

"Stop dicking around out here, or you're off the team. Got me?" I leaned over him menacingly. "Now, get your pansy-ass up and let's go. You want a piece of me. Excellent. I'll teach you a few things, but try hard not to cry when you find more than your lip busted."

The guys laughed, and Geoff helped the kid off the ground, which was more than I'd planned to do. The look on Will’s face as he positioned himself in front of me in the center of the rink was priceless. He was determined to show me up, as if that would gain him the respect of our teammates and garner him the attention he wanted from Coach Billows.

"Drop it," he growled at me.

A smile lifted my lips and I chuckled before dangling it in front of him. "Tell me which girl you have your eye on tonight. I'm going to make sure to call you in the room when I have her on her knees sucking on my cock."

He tensed, and I couldn't help but love how much I had an effect on him. I wasn't the jerk I was playing to be, but the kid needed to learn to respect those of us above him on the team. One way or the other... I'd force that respect upon him.

"I heard he's after Jayce's fine-ass sister," someone mumbled behind us.

I dropped the puck and ignored the violent way my body reacted to the thought of Aubrey. There was no way in hell anyone was bedding her. Least of all me. She was too much woman for all of us. Even with me respecting her brother so much, there was no way I would defile her the way some of the Ice Queen's begged for us to. Those girls were whores, but Aubrey sat in a class all to herself.

I stole the puck and raced toward Caleb as he stood in the goalie box. My pulse spiked, not because of the physical exertion of kicking William’s ass without effort, but at the thought of getting to see our head Ice Queen later that night. Where I'd never in a million years ask her out, seeing her own the room with nothing more than a hard stare or sharp word left my cock hard and blood pumping.

Women were too much trouble, but some part of me wanted to break my own protective stance for Jayce Moore's twin sister. I still couldn't fathom how he talked her into running our support group. She wasn't at all the kind of girl who played groupie for a sweaty bunch of idiot guys, and yet, Jayce had her whooping our asses into shape. It was a damn shame that I was in my graduating year at Providence. I almost wanted to look into a master’s just to have more time to watch her blossom.

"Fuck!" William skated up next to me and closed his eyes. "Fine. You win. I hate you so damn much, but I love you too. Tell me how to get better, Lucas. I want to rule this place one day."

"Good for you. Earn it, bitch." I pushed his chest and moved toward the edge of the ice to find Coach Billows waiting on me. "Coach."

"Lucas. Good job this afternoon with these guys. Come talk to me." He turned and walked down the hall that led to his office.

I paused to take off my gear and shake hands with the other guys, promising to be at the party in a few hours just to shut them up. I hated the Ice House, and refused to stay there. It's where all shit went down. Only the wildest of the bunch lived there together in complete chaos. I went for parties and meetings, but that was about it.

"William's getting better. He's still emotionally a three year old, but I'm thinking I might take out my aggression on him and beat him every time he speaks this year." I glanced over at the coach and chuckled.

"We had to get Reggie to do that to your cocky ass too, remember?" He patted me on the back and opened the door to his office, letting me go in first. "Have a seat."

I dropped down into a seat in front of his desk and leaned back. There was no reason to be concerned. I kept my nose clean for the most part. If something was messed up it was because one of the guys on my team messed it up.

"I got a call from the head coach of the Washington Caps. He's an old friend of mine, so after shooting the shit a bit, he wanted to talk about players. One in particular." He sat down in his large leather chair and crossed his hands over his potbelly. His salt and pepper hair was thinning, and I had to think it was more to do with him having two teenage daughters at home rather than keeping up with us.

He expected me to have an emotional response to the idea of being drafted into the pros, but I didn't. It was my father's dream. My brother, Bret's, dream, but it wasn't mine. I was going, but only because it was the natural course of things to come. No reason to swim upstream.

"Oh yeah? Parks finally catch someone's eye?" I winked as he growled at me.

"You know they're all going to be looking at you. I want you to up your time in the weight room over the next two weeks. You need to be ready to take a beating at the Frozen Four, Lucas. They're going to come after us, and namely you, with a fucking vengeance. You're the best in the country. If they can take you out-"

"Who's they?" I gave him a cheeky grin. Coach had to be one of my favorite people in the world. He was far more of a father figure to me than my own dad. Maybe it was because there was something in it for him, but either way - I loved the guy.

"All right smart ass." He turned and looked up on his wall of fame where pictures of my older brother still hung. "You need to make sure of one thing."

"What's that, Coach?"

He turned back toward me and leaned forward. His expression softened. "That it's your dream to go to the pros. It can't be anyone else's dream. It's too hard. Too much is required of you."

"I get that." I moved to the edge of my seat, ready to run from the conversation before it really began. "It's my dream. I'd be a dumb-ass to have any other dreams, right?"

I stood and picked up my stuff from the floor beside his door.

"Not true, and you know it. Figure out who you are, Lucas. If not... they'll tell you who you should be."

I nodded and walked out the door. It was a little late for the pep talk.
They
had already spoken, and I was exactly what they wanted me to be - a College All-American hockey icon.

"Awesome," I whispered sarcastically under my breath before walking out to find my bike. I needed the freedom it alone could offer.

Aubrey

"There you are." Layla lifted her head as I walked into the doom room. She was laid out across the couch with her bare feet bouncing in the air as music blared from the T.V.

"Hey. You going to the party tonight?" I locked the door and moved over to sit down on my bed. The open-floor studio dorm room we shared was far too small for one woman to live in comfortably, much less two.

"Yeah, I guess." She sat up and ran her hands through her long blond hair. "How was practice?"

I pulled off my sandals and lifted my legs so I could study my feet. My toes were black and blue with tears along the side from where I'd overdone it - again.

"It sucked. McCraven called me out in front of everyone, but what else is new?" I glanced over at my best friend, grateful that she'd been able to pull a few strings a few years back in getting us an upperclassman dorm together. Eighteen more months and we'd graduate and be on to a totally different life, but for now, we had each other. It was enough - more than enough most days.

"What kind of call you out?" She stood and lifted her arms to the ceiling before walking over to sit down on the edge of her bed. "Like the rude bullshit she pulls, or are you talking about when she makes an example of you because you're the best dancer this school's ever seen?"

I rolled my eyes, dropped my feet and laid back as a long sigh left me. "I'm not sure my feet are going to hold up much more. She knows that we should be rotating through dance styles so that we don't fuck up our toes from our pointe shoes, and yet she's still weeding people out. It's survival of the fittest in there."

"Crazy. I swear you guys have it worse off than the boys playing sports." She scooted up on her bed and laid on her side, propping herself up on her elbow. "Speaking of boys... is Lucas going to be at the Ice House tonight?"

"No clue, nor do I care. The last time I tried to talk to him about upcoming events, he was in a shitty mood and blew me off. I think he forgets that without us raising money for their escapades, they would be playing cards and drinking water on Friday nights."

"You don't mean that. You're just pissy that he's not offered up the ‘D’.” She laughed as I let out a yelp and threw my pillow at her. “We both know you’re in love with him.”

"Are you fucking kidding me right now? I don't want his dick. He can keep it to himself." I rolled over, putting my back to her to hide the smile that was plastered across my face. We did both know good and damn well that I was in love with him and would trip over myself to see his dick.
Pathetic.

"I heard it's a monster." She laughed and moved over to my bed, bouncing next to me and tickling my side.

I turned over and grabbed her, rolling and pinning her to the mattress as we laughed.

"And who would have seen Lucas White's dick beside the inside of his hand?" I dropped down next to her on the bed and laughed again.

"I think Lizzy is trying hard to get a peek at it. Should I tell her to back off of your man?" Layla turned to face me and brushed my long brown hair off my face. "He's the one for you, you know."

"He's not my man, and he's not the one for me either. You're just a love-sick junkie with a dream." I turned to face her and closed my eyes, feeling the rightness that came with being around her.

"How can he not be the one? He's the only guy you've emotionally invested in over the last three years since getting here. He's definitely the one. And I've seen how he watches you when you're not paying attention."

I opened my eyes and let out a snort. "Please. He's waiting to see if I'm going to roll down the stairs or twist my ankle like I did twice last year. I'm only a klutz around him." I rolled back over and stared at the ceiling as visions of the handsome hockey captain rolled through my mind's eye. "You remember when we decided to join the Ice Queens and he and I almost kissed at the Spring Bash our freshman year?"

Warmth filled me at the memory of the event. Jayce had quickly busted up the moment, to which I would forever hate him for, but for a moment I thought maybe. Maybe turned into a whole lot of nos and nevers, but it was nice to dream.

"I do remember it well. You need to flirt with him. I swear the two of you are impossibly stiff around each other. I'm sure it's your name he moans when he masturbates at night." She rolled over the bed as I turned to tickle her again.

"You assume that's what he does. I'm sure he has a line of women waiting for him no matter how long he's been gone from their beds." I rolled over and sat up as my body ached for something that would never be. I hadn't been with a guy in over two years, namely because it didn't seem right. Lucas was the only man I wanted in my bed, which was a fruitless endeavor, but maybe Layla was right. I wasn't really trying anymore. It was pointless. The Ice Captain was his title, and it was fitting in more ways than one.

"Come on. Get up and get a shower. Let's braid your hair and let me do your makeup." She tugged at my legs.

"All right, but I'm not trying to win over anyone tonight. I'm coming home with you and that's it." I got up and tugged off my sweaty t-shirt as I walked toward the shower.

"And why would you think that I plan on coming home alone? Maybe I need a long night of moaning some guy’s name." 

I turned as I opened the bathroom door. "If that's the case, find another room. I'm not listening to you fake another orgasm."

She laughed loudly as I closed the door behind me and finished stripping.

I had a full weekend away from the dance company, and I planned on taking full advantage of it. I needed to catch up on some homework, figure out the details to a large biology project that was going to make or break my semester in that class, and catch up on Downton Abbey.

Dance would be the farthest thing from my mind, and it was a good thing - my feet were fucked up immensely from once again proving myself to McCraven.

After a long shower, I let Layla braid my hair and do my makeup as promised. I couldn't argue with the simple fact that the girl knew what she was doing. I looked far less like my twin brother and more like a girl who was almost dateable. Almost.

"Wear this." Layla walked out of the closet holding up a t-shirt dress that would barely cover my ass.

"Um, no. Jeans and a t-shirt will be fine." I rolled my eyes, plucked the dress out of her hands and tossed it at the T.V. "You wear it."

"I'm wearing a dress tonight. I'm tired of lamenting over Seth. He's moved on. It's time for me to do the same."

"I agree. He's an ass. I hope the next girl he dates smashes him into pieces." I pulled down a pair of skinny jeans and a white t-shirt. "You think I should wear a cardigan or a sweater?"

"Sweater. What are you, ninety?" She stopped behind me in the small closet and pulled down a light grey Pro-U sweater. "This one. It makes your boobs look bigger."

I laughed and grabbed it from her. "From what my dance professor said today, that's not a problem I have. I'm rather large for a dancer, and my boobs take center stage."

"She's jealous," Layla huffed. "They all are. You're not skin and bones, and yet you're the best one on the team."

"You're a little bias, my friend." I walked out into the living room area and pulled the sweater over my head before searching for some comfortable shoes.

"Wear your flip flops and let your feet breathe."

"What? Hell no. Can you imagine if anyone saw how ugly my feet were?" I cringed at the thought. Especially if Lucas saw them. They were... disfigured, bloody, bruised.
Ugh. Sick.

"Stop it. You're being a douche. No one would say anything to you. That would be like giving the hockey guys hell for a black eye or swollen knuckles. It's all part of the package, Aubrey."

"Maybe, but I'd rather have a beat up guy than a beat up gal." I stopped by the mirror next to the kitchenette and checked my teeth. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Is Jayce picking us up or are we walking?" She moved up beside me and put her arm over my shoulders. She'd decided on the light pink t-shirt dress, and to say she was rocking it would have been an understatement.

"He should be-"

A knock resounded at the door and we both laughed. My brother was punctual if nothing else.

"That's only one of the many things I like about your little brother." She smirked and grabbed her purse.

"Don't call him little. You know how he feels about that. He came out four minutes later."

"And we should remind him of that." Layla opened the door and stopped in her tracks.

I glanced over her shoulder to find Jayce dressed up and looking like a million bucks. They liked each other far more than they would let on to anyone - including me.

Only a matter of time.
I darted out into the hall around her in an effort to not break up the moment. They were too few and far between.