The guys came in waves and some of them were in pairs. Hockey players were known for being ritualistic creatures and being ones of habit, so I wasn’t not surprised when they didn’t seem to miss a beat as they all walked past me.
A group of four all came walking in and you could feel the air leave the building as their presence consumed the entire hallway. They were walking in pairs, with two in the front and two behind. I couldn’t see the two in the back as they were a few feet behind them and I needed to move to get their pictures too.
I swallowed nervously and continued to take my shots as they were laughing about something. One of the players in the front was wearing a suit that needed to see a dry cleaner to get it pressed. His white dress shirt was wrinkled and so was his suit. His tie was cocked to the side and it made my eye twitch from wanting to fix it for him.
Rising to my feet, I went to move to the side, but the one in the wrinkled suit stepped in front of me. His brow furrowed together and he cocked his head. “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before, but not here.” His bright blue eyes were shining as his lips pulled into a smirk. “What’s your name?”
“Harper,” I told him, my voice soft. “I’m not sure that we would have ever met before. I just moved here.”
“I’m Wes,” he said as he tucked his hands in the front pockets of his disheveled dress pants. His lips parted and he was about to say something as someone ran directly into his back. “Shit, Cirone,” he mumbled as he stepped out of the way.
The air left my lungs in a rush and my eyes widened as his gaze collided with mine. I watched the recognition pass through his expression and my brain tripped over itself as it quickly tried to connect the dots. I didn’t make the connection until now. He looked older and different than he did in his rookie picture.
Which is probably why I didn’t realize it sooner.
Nico from the club was Nicolai Cirone. One of the star up-and-coming centers for the Orchid City Vipers.
“This is Harper,” Wes said to him with a smirk.
Mischief danced in Nico’s dark eyes. “Hey, Harper.”
I nervously pulled my lip between my teeth and watched his eyes drop down to my mouth. Instinctively, I released it and smiled at him. “Hi, Nico.”
Wes lifted an eyebrow at me and I instantly regretted not addressing him by his full name instead. Wes glanced over at Nico. “She’s new to the city. Maybe we could show her around sometime…”
His jaw tightened and a shadow passed through his expression before he grabbed Wes’s shoulders and swiftly turned him around, giving him a light shove in the back. “Let’s go. We’re going to be late.”
Wes glanced at him over his shoulder with his eyebrows together. “For what, exactly?”
Nico glared at him but didn't bother responding to him as he directed him away from me. Somewhere within those ninety seconds of interaction, my stomach must have fallen onto the ground and my camera wasn’t where I needed it to be.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath as a few more players came in. I quickly got back into position and the shutter of the camera clicked as I snapped some shots.
My phone vibrated in my pocket and when I had another short break, I pulled it out. My heart pounded erratically in my chest as I saw I had a text message. It was a number that wasn’t saved in my phone, but I knew exactly who it was.
Nico Cirone.
CHAPTER TWO
NICO
Nico
Are you busy after the game?
My mind was still reeling after seeing her. Harper. I didn’t get her name that night, but now I knew it and it was stuck like glue to the insides of my brain. Wes was rambling on about something beside me, but my eyes were cemented to my phone as I watched the three small bubbles appear and disappear.
“Yo, are you even listening to me?” Wes said as he obnoxiously snapped his fingers in front of my face.
I lifted my gaze to his, my eyes narrowed. “I’m a little busy, if you can’t tell.”
His eyebrows scrunched together. “Who could possibly be more important than me?”
I snorted and shook my head at Wes just as my phone vibrated in my hand. “Your ego is borderline suffocating.”
Wes chuckled. “You’d be lost without me, Cirone.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re right. What ever would I do without Weston Cole?”
I’m looking back at my phone as he directed his attention to Lincoln and some of the other guys. They were lost in conversation and I was lost in my mind as I read the message Harper sent back.
Harper
Who is this?
I bit back a smile and I shook my head to myself. She knew damn well who it was and I wasn’t here to play games with her. I wanted answers and I wanted to know when I could see her again.
Nico
Don’t fuck with me, pretty girl. You know exactly who this is.
I waited for a few beats and stared down at my phone. Watched as it went from saying delivered to saying read. And those damn bubbles didn’t bother to appear. She left me on fucking read.
“Cirone, let’s go,” Mac called over to me from where the guys were standing with a soccer ball. We always had to do some type of off-ice warm-up before getting on the ice. Soccer was the most recent choice, along with some stretching. They were all already dressed in their warm-up gear and I still had my suit on from when I walked in.
“I’ll meet you guys out there in, like, two minutes,” I told Mac as everyone began to file out of the locker room. Mac nodded but didn’t speak another word as he followed out after them.
As I rose to my feet, I opened up our message thread again and typed another out to Harper.
Nico
What do I have to do to get you to meet me somewhere?
I set my phone down and quickly stripped down to my boxers before pulling on my matching t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I sat back down on the bench to tie my sneakers as my phone vibrated again.
Harper
For starters, you can tell me why you didn’t inform me that you played professional hockey for the Orchid City Vipers.
At the time, it didn’t feel necessary. A lot of girls acted differently as soon as they found out you played a sport professionally. I didn’t know her well enough and I didn’t feel comfortable telling her. The same went for her though—she could have easily disclosed what her photography job entailed instead of being vague as fuck about it.
Nico
Meet me after the game and we can talk.
“Cirone, hurry the fuck up!” I heard Weston’s voice from the hall. A sigh escaped me and I shook my head. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking or doing. This was a waste of my time. She was just a random hookup and here I was overthinking it all.
The guys were already waiting for me and I left my phone on the bench in an effort to try and forget about the sexy photographer who was in the same goddamn building.
There was something about her that lingered with me after that night at the club. I gave her my number and didn’t hear from her. If I wouldn’t have ran into her tonight, there was a possibility that I would have been able to forget about her, but not now. Now she was fresh on my brain and right in my damn face.
After we finished our off-ice warm-ups and as I was tying my skates, my phone vibrated from where it was still sitting. My heart pounded erratically and the adrenaline was already fucking with my system. The energy in the room was electric and the boys were ready to go.