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The cursor on my computer screen blinked in rhythm, and I started imagining words keeping time with it. Send. It. Send. It.

But what if it wasn’t perfect? This was the biggest assignment I’d ever pitched for. A travel magazine was seeking queries from ‘experienced writers offering fresh takes on popular vacation destinations’. I was proposing a story about Ireland tailored to 20-somethings. Ten days of pub-hopping and majestic landscape-viewing. A dream assignment.

I’d written my query nearly a week ago, and now I was down to obsessing over it. Was that line funny or stupid? Too long? Too short? Overly confident? And even though I’d pored over the spelling of every word, I continued checking it again, just in case.

Was that line about getting lucky too cheesy? Getting lucky. That made me think of sex, which of course made me think of Niko.

I clicked on to my latest column, which I needed to get to Miranda by five. I’d written about my renewed commitment to yoga and pilates, and how no one could ever appreciate or care for my body as well as me. Not exactly the truth, since Niko had done things to my body at the bar the other night that I was still fantasizing about. What would it be like to turn myself over to him for an entire night, and let him do as he pleased?

I blew out a breath. That wasn’t an option. I had to finish this column and get to the arena so I could take Kyler off of Dell’s hands. There was a home game tonight, and he and I would be watching it from our usual seats.

It would be easy to send both of these things off right now. Close them and be done with it. I wanted to hold on to the query for another day or two, but why? Only because I was scared to send it. But it was as polished and professional as it was going to get. I sent my column to Miranda and then attached the query to an email to the editor of the travel magazine. Before I could lose my nerve, I hit ‘send’.

My stomach rolled with nervous anxiety. I got up from my desk and went to change clothes, deciding to put the query out of my mind.

I had my favorite jeans almost all the way on when I paused. Maybe I’d wear a skirt again. Not because I wanted to send some sort of message to Niko, just because I liked skirts. Right. I needed to wear skirts more.

I found a black one I liked, adding leggings, boots, a black V-neck shirt and a scarf. I grabbed my coat and slipped it on, stopping in the doorway. Perfume, maybe? And some lipstick? In a rush, I went to the bathroom to freshen my makeup and add some finishing touches. Now I was ready to watch hockey with my favorite six-year-old.

By the time I walked in to the arena, it was already buzzing with pre-game excitement. I felt a little of it, myself. The more I watched hockey, the more I liked it.

The usher recognized me and let me on the elevator that took me down to the locker room. I texted Dell that I was here and then stood in the hallway outside the locker room to wait.

Niko was on the other side of the wall, potentially only partially dressed. I bit down on my lip as I pictured him sitting on a bench in the locker room, shirtless. He was probably taping his stick, those gorgeous, dark eyes focused intently on it. That made me think of his hands, and the way he’d touched me at the bar the other night. No man had ever come on to me like that. Niko had shoved me against a wall in the back room of a bar and felt me up. And I’d been so turned on by the way he’d taken control of me, completely confident in his ability to get me going. Would he be going to Lucky’s again tonight?

“Hey,” Dell said, walking out of the locker room. I snuck a peek in the door as it closed, hoping for a look at Niko. Kyler came out next, his attention focused on a handheld video game.

“Hi,” I said. “Has he had dinner?”

Dell immediately looked guilty. “No. I’ve been crazy busy.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “We’ll get hot dogs and nachos. I haven’t eaten, either.”

“Yes, hot dogs!” Kyler said, glancing up at me with a grin. “Hey, why are you all dressed up, Aunt Sadie?”

“I’m not,” I said, a little too defensively.

“You do look extra nice,” Dell said. “Are you going out later?”

I shrugged. “No plans to.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had a date.” Dell looked at me through narrowed eyes.

I glared at her and hugged Kyler close. “The only date I have is right here.”

“Aunt
Sadie
,” he groaned, pulling away.

“What? Are you too cool for me all of a sudden?”

“The guys might see,” he mumbled.

I rolled my eyes at him and squeezed tighter. “Just tell ‘em I’m your girlfriend.”

“I need to get back to work,” Dell said, wrapping a ponytail holder around her long red hair. “See you guys in the meeting spot after the game.” She ruffled Kyler’s hair and kissed his forehead. “Be good.”

Kyler tucked his video game into his pocket as we boarded the elevator.

“Aunt Sadie, do you have a boyfriend?” he asked, wrinkling his brows at me.

“No, Ky. Why do you ask?”

He looked up at me, his hazel eyes wide. “I think Niko should be your boyfriend.”

I laughed lightly at his suggestion. “I don’t have to have a boyfriend. Sometimes people are in a relationship and sometimes not. It’s okay either way.”

He kept the pleading gaze up as the elevator opened. “But he’s really nice. He showed me how to make a wrist shot.”

I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face. “So you think he should be my boyfriend because of that? Your standards for me are pretty funny, kid.”

“He thinks you’re pretty.”

His casual tone made it clear this was a tiny detail to him, but my heart was suddenly racing.

“Why do you say that?” I asked. We’d approached the concession line, and Kyler was scanning the menu board.

“Can I get a slushie?” he asked. “A blue one?”

“Sure. Why did you say Niko thinks I’m pretty?”

“He said so.”

I told myself not to read too much into the words of a first-grader, but it was hard not to feel a little giddy. I knew Niko found me fuckable, but pretty?

“When did he say that? And how did he say it?”

Kyler scrunched his face at me. “He just said it. I don’t remember when.”

“But, were you guys talking about something else? How did it come up?” We’d made it to the front of the line and I had to order. “Two hot dogs, two nachos and two blue slushies.”

Kyler sighed as he thought about it. “Some of the guys were talking about who’s the prettiest girl they know. And he said you.”

“He did?”

Kyler nodded. “I told him you’re really nice and he said the best kind of women are smart
and
pretty, like you.”

“He really said that?”

“Yeah.” He took a big sip of his slushie. “Can we go sit down now?”

“Sure.”

I thought about what he’d said as we made our way to our seats. It made me warm all over and a little bit excited. This was the Niko effect. Usually I had to be in his presence to have this physical reaction to him, but here I was, breaking out in a sweat because he’d said I was pretty.

Kyler and I chatted about school, hockey and the new movie he wanted to see until the game started. As soon as the players skated out and I spotted the ‘Vereshkova’ jersey I was searching for, I realized it was time to stop denying it, at least to myself. I liked Niko, and not just in a one-night-stand kind of way. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d found a man so intriguing and sexy at the same time.

Hockey was so primal. Watching Niko throw down with players from the other team only added to my impatient desire for him. I found myself jumping up before Kyler did when our team scored. I was into this game, partially because I was so into one of its players.

Our team lost 2-1, and Kyler was downtrodden on the walk to wait for Dell.

“What do you want for Christmas?” I asked him.

He shrugged.

“Maybe more Legos?” I said. “So we can build taller castles?”

“Yeah,” he said, his tone sullen. I tried not to smile, but it was hard to take his sulking seriously when he had a bright blue slushie mustache.

Players had started funneling out to the parking lot, all dressed in well-tailored suits, and I tried not to be obvious about searching for Niko.

“I’m tired,” Kyler admitted, glancing up at me. “It takes Mom and Luke a long time to get ready to go home. Can I spend the night with you?”

“Sure.” A cold gust of wind blew through, and I bent down to wrap his scarf around his neck.

“Hey there.”

I knew that deep voice. It was the only one that made me melt into a puddle no matter what it was saying.

“Hi,” I said, standing up to smile at Niko. He grinned back at me boyishly. Did I have the same effect on him he had on me?

“You guys have slushies?” he asked.

My eyes widened and my hand flew over my mouth. Damn. Why hadn’t we used straws?

“Do I have a blue mustache?” I asked through my hand.

“Just a tiny one,” he said, his eyes sparkling with laughter. “It looks good on you, though.”

He’d already seen it, so I dropped my hand with a sigh. Way to impress him, Sadie. Sexy skirt and blue slush-stache. But the way he was looking at my mouth … his dark, bedroom eyes made my stomach twist with excitement.

“So, good game,” I said. Our eyes locked, and I wondered if he was thinking of our last encounter – against the wall at Lucky’s. I sure as hell was.

“Thanks,” he said dismissively. Like Luke, he apparently didn’t think it was possible to have a good game if his team didn’t win. “Hey, you coming out tonight? Want a ride?”

My heart sank. I wanted to go out with him so damn bad, blue-stained lip and all, but I couldn’t.

“Ky’s really tired, so I’m taking him home to bed,” I said.

Niko nodded. “You guys need a ride?”

I thought of the kind of ride I really wanted from him, and my cheeks warmed despite the chilly night air. “I drove, but thanks.”

A couple teenage boys stood off to the side, waiting for Niko.

“Next time, maybe?” Niko asked me.

“Yeah. Next time.”

He held my gaze for a couple more seconds. “Okay. ‘Night, Sadie.”

“’Night.”

He looked at Kyler. “Get some sleep, winger. I heard you’re coming on our road trip tomorrow.”

“Can I sit by you on the plane? Will you teach me more Russian words?”

“Da,” Niko said, arching his brows.

Kyler looked up at me and grinned. “That means yes.”

“And how do you say ‘no’ in Russian?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“You’ll never want to say that word around me,” Niko said, winking. He turned to the waiting fans and I told my heart to stop racing. It didn’t listen, though.

Niko

Even through my dress shirt, I felt the tight nipple of the woman pressing her body against my arm. Did she even have a bra on?

I took a bite of my steak, and she moaned in my ear and started chewing on my ear lobe while I ate. Christ, I didn’t even know this chick.

I pulled my shoulder away from her, but she clung to me.

“Uh … I’m just gonna eat,” I said. “I need my other arm.”

She gave me a pouty face. “You’re no fun.”

I ignored her comment and turned away. Would I ever adjust to this lifestyle? Playing hockey had always given me an advantage with women, but playing at the highest level was a whole new ballgame. After our last game in Nashville, a woman had walked into the men’s room and taken her shirt off when I was taking a piss at a restaurant. She’d dropped to her knees, leading to an awkward conversation where I turned down her offer of a blowjob.

These women weren’t into me – they were into bagging an NHL player, and I wasn’t flattered by it anymore. They were annoying and had no self-worth. In college, yeah, I’d have done them. Or even in the minors. But getting called up to the big league had also been a call into adulthood. And now, nothing turned me off like a woman who thought so little of herself that she’d do shit like flash her tits at a stranger in a public bathroom.

“Would you like to switch seats?” the woman next to me asked. When I’d gotten to Lucky’s I’d sat down by two teammates, but our table was now overrun with others – mostly women.

“That’s okay, thanks,” I said. “I’m just gonna finish eating and leave.”

“The attention’s kind of overwhelming, isn’t it?” she said. “I’m Taryn, by the way. I’m a friend of Vic’s wife Dawn.”

Her dark hair reminded me of Sadie. But Sadie’s was longer and shinier. And Sadie had some curves, but this woman was stick-straight. A waif, really. She wasn’t even a hundred pounds, I could tell. I wished Sadie had been able to come tonight. Even if I didn’t get to be alone in the back room with her again, just sitting here with her would’ve been good. I missed her sexy laugh and sharp comebacks.

“I’m Niko,” I said, nodding at Taryn.

“I know. I’ve watched you play. I usually have performances on game nights, but I come to all the games I can. I’m a big hockey fan.”

“Performances?”

“I’m a ballerina.”

“Cool,” I said, turning back to my plate. I wanted to finish eating, go home and get some sleep. I shoved in the last couple bites, finished my beer and stood up.

“Have a good night,” I said to Taryn.

“I’m going too, actually,” she said. “Share a cab?”

She stood, waved at Dawn across the table, and followed me.

“Uh, I drove here, sorry.”

“Oh. Could I trouble you for a ride?” She batted her eyelashes up at me.

I didn’t let my annoyance show, but
fuck
. This must be what hot women felt like at a bar. I was like a piece of meat. Taryn was more subtle than the braless woman, but her intentions were clear.

“I would, but I’m beat,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “And I’ve been drinking. I hate to give anyone else a ride when I’ve been drinking.”

That was bullshit. I’d had one beer. But if I let this woman in my car, I’d never get rid of her.

Taryn followed me out the front door of Lucky’s.

“Sure, that’s fine,” she said. “If you ever want to hang out, Dawn’s got my number. I’m not looking for anything serious.”

Translation: you can fuck me anytime you want. But that didn’t appeal to me. I nodded and gave her a half-hearted wave before turning in the other direction.