The Muse and the Fairy Tale (New Hampshire Bears #1) (3 page)

Chapter F
our

Kyson

I pushed my arms through the brown sleeves of the New Hampshire Bears jersey. I hated the shit brown and piss yellow colors of the team, but I was a member; these were my colors now. What I did love was when my blades hit the ice; it was greatest sound. I skated around twice, listening to the roar of the crowd.

Opening night.

It was the best night because it meant a new season had begun. This was going to be my year. I felt it in my bones.

Remington Rosin, my new line mate, bumped my shoulder. “Are you ready?”

I liked him. He was a couple years older than I was and he’d been traded to the Bears shortly before I was.

“Yep, I sure am,” I answered and went off to stretch my legs.

My mind was completely focused on the game, but for a second, I skipped to my earlier conversation with Meadow. I enjoyed her book. I would never admit to anyone I’d actually read a romance book, but she was able to suck me right in. However, her sex scenes got me a bit hot and bothered. Never thought book porn would get me hard, but it did.

I knew I would do the cover after I stalked her social media accounts. She was very interactive with her fans, and they seemed to love her. Plus, she didn’t come across as a snob, either.

I Googled her and found a lot of photos of her at what seemed to be book signings. She was beautiful, and I liked that she was older than me. Age had never been a factor for me before.

She was obviously a hockey fan, since it was all she wrote about. And I wondered if she was here now. I scanned the crowd, but it wasn’t like I’d be able to pick her out in this massive arena.

I turned my attention back to the task in front of me. My job. I wanted to show the Bears I was worth the money they were shelling out. I finished my stretches and shot the puck a few times before we headed back to the locker room for Coach Long’s pep talk.

I sat down in my stall when our Captain, Hamilton Baer sat down next to me in his. He was a brute on the ice, but I didn’t know him well enough off the ice to know if he was the same way. The only thing I knew was he was a workaholic. He was either working out, practicing his shots, or just running drills. Hockey was his life.

I only half listened to Coach Long’s speech, before we headed back to the ice. I was on the bench since I was on the third line, but my goal was to move up as soon as they saw my real potential.

When I jumped the boards, I was the first to get my stick on the puck. I fought off one defender, before passing it over Remington. We didn’t score, but I’d been able to knock a couple players into the wall.

God, it’s great to be a hockey player.

I had a huge grin on my face as I walked back into the locker room. We won. The joyful feeling radiated the room, and I think I started off pretty good. The music blasted from Keaton Jaco’s iPod and made the atmosphere even more fun and light.

After I finished changing, I headed out to my truck where Kian was waiting for me.

“Great game, little brother.” He grinned as we hopped in.

“It was good, wasn’t it?” I beamed. “Wanna grab a bite and drink?”

“We can’t. You have the cover shoot in the morning.”

“Oh right.” I’d forgotten Arden and Meadow had finally worked out a date for the shoot. “Well then, let’s be quick.” Kian shook his head, but didn’t argue with me as I headed downtown to a bar and grill.

After a couple beers and a large basket of chicken wings, Kian and I were done for the evening. Before I fell asleep, I checked my phone to see if I’d missed anything. There were a lot of notifications, but one caught my eye.

Good game, Kyson. See you in the morning.
Meadow messaged me.

Where you at the game?

Actually, yes. I have season tickets, but I usually sell them.

How come?

Deadlines.

Are you always on deadlines?

It seems that way lately.

What do you do to unwind?

I watch
Netflix
, read, and watch hockey.

And...

That’s it.

There wasn’t anything else? I’d prepared myself for the lengthy list of hobbies she’d tell me, but it came down to those three things.

What about you?

I’ve recently taken up reading.
I joked with her. I hadn’t told her I was almost done with a second book of hers.

LOL. Any authors I might know.

Just one with a kinky shed,
I chuckled as I pressed send. I knew I was ruffling her feathers.
Will I see you in your dominatrix leathers tomorrow?

Yep, I’ll be in the black corset, crotchless panties, and holding a riding crop.

I really did laugh out loud picturing her in them.

I’ll hold you to it. Goodnight, Meadow.

Goodnight, Kyson.

Kian double-checked to make sure I had the clothes I was supposed to wear for the shoot. Meadow had emailed the list to each of us twice to make sure we wouldn’t forget.

We loaded up the truck and headed to the arena where Meadow had gained permission to use the ice for the photos. Kian went over the list of shots that would be taken and it still surprised me how detailed she was. I changed into the hockey jersey she’d provided, with her fictional team logo on it, and I laced up and headed out toward the ice.

And there she was.

Meadow Hylton stood by the player’s bench, in tight jeans, which hugged her perfect ass. She giggled and flipped her blonde hair as she talked to the man with a large camera around his neck. My eyes searched her body again. She was thick, and I liked it. My gaze stopped at her D-cup breasts. I could already imagine them in my mouth.

“Kyson,” Kian hissed. “Get moving.” He pushed on my shoulder and my legs began walk.

“Ms. Hylton,” Kian gained Meadow’s attention.

“Hello.” She held out her hand, and my brother shook it.

“Let me introduce you to your cover model, Kyson Wick.” Kian stepped back, and I was drawn into her crystal blue eyes.

“Kyson, you’re much taller than you look on Facebook messenger.” She held out her hand to me.

I smirked, able to regain my composure. “I can’t say I approve of the outfit; I expected something else.”

Meadow scoffed and ignored my comment. “This is Michael, and he’ll be taking the shots today.”

After a moment or two of pleasantries, Michael and I skated off onto the ice. Kian remained next to Meadow on the bench. Michael told me my first position, and I did my best to listen to him and face the camera, but my eyes kept wandering back to Meadow.

“Look this way please,” Michael repeated several times.

Finally, I pulled my eyes away from her and became a cover model. I followed all Michael’s directions and soon I felt like I got the hang of it.

I changed into my second outfit: dark jeans and a polo with the fake team’s emblem on the right side. This time I was up in the stands, seated in one of the arena chairs.

My last outfit was the fictional teams practice gear, and I was on the player’s bench. Like the others, they were more casual shots. And after three hours, I was finished and tired. I’ve done photo shoots before, but this way beyond anything else.

Kian and I had packed up everything in the same duffle bag she’d sent it over in.

“I’ll take—”

“No,” I cut Kian off and took the bag. “I’ll run it over to her.”

He didn’t say anything, but he had a small smile on his face as I walked back toward Meadow, where she waited down the hall.

“Here you go.” I handed her the bag. “Where’s Michael?”

“He left already. He wanted to get started on edits. I’m really on a deadline, and I hate I’m so far behind.”

“Listen.” I stepped up to her. “Are you coming to the game tonight? Maybe we can grab a bite afterward?”

Meadow blinked a few times. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Did you hear me?”

“No. Yes. No, I mean, yes I heard you, but I really can’t tonight. I’m sorry. Maybe another time.” She gave me a quick smile before she practically sprinted away from me.

Chapter Five

Meadow

I locked myself in the house for the next week and worked on my manuscript. Lack of sleep, lots of caffeine, and way too many carbs, but I finished. I hated pushing myself this badly, and I shouldn’t have waited so long to start.

“Harlow, you have it; I’m done.” I lay back on my bed and Puckhead curled up by my feet.

“I’ll look through it this week. I sent you back what I finished. Meadow, it’s good, but not great. Really look over it because I left lots of notes.”

I closed my eyes. I had hoped I wouldn’t hear those words from her. Harlow was the best, though, and knew what she was talking about.

“I’ll get on it in a bit. I just need a rest tonight.”

“I know. Go out in public and have some fun.”

Fun?

What does the word mean anymore?

When I hung up with Harlow, I went to the kitchen. I thought a bottle of wine and Netflix would be a good distraction before I began my edits in the morning, but I put the wine back.

“I need a clear head for those.”

I stretched out on my couch and scrolled through the menu to find something to watch. There was nothing on I’d not already seen. I was bored out of my mind. I picked up my phone and mindlessly skimmed Facebook. I stopped at the New Hampshire Bears post. It was a picture of Captain Hamilton Baer and a post about the game tonight.

A game.

I checked the time, and I knew I could get ready and make it before the puck dropped.

Ah, I love hockey.

I had my large pop in one hand and nachos in the other and was already comfortable in my seat. I loved my seat. It sat directly behind the home goalie, Teo Elgin. He used to be a great goalie for the Bears, but trading rumors had hit him hard and he hasn’t been what he once was.

I searched the ice until I saw number sixty-five skate by. Kyson. My eyes stayed on him as he stretched, skated around, and shot the puck. His green eyes seemed brighter under the lights reflecting on the ice.

He was focused.

As the team left the ice, I began chomping on my nachos and listened to the conversation around me. It was mostly about the Bears and the players. When the lights dimmed as the announcement of the Bears boomed from the speakers, my heartbeat kept up with the thumping music. The team’s first line did a quick lap and my gaze went to Kyson, on the bench. The brown helmet was ugly on him, but he wore it with pride.

The thrill of the game was what I loved about hockey; and as the puck dropped, I held my breath. The hits, the sounds of the blades slashing the ice, and most of all, the puck hitting the back of the net and the red light going off, were sounds that stuck with you. There was no other sport like it.

I cheered loudly when Remington scored and Kyson had the assist. I bellowed out the New Hampshire Bear growl when the ref made a bad call. I was having a blast, and I’d almost forgotten how much fun I had at the games. Even though I’d been here for the home opener, I had been thinking about my story the entire time, and I didn’t have any fun. It was nice to forget about the real world every once and a while.

We lost two to one, but my cheeks hurt from my smile plastered on my face. This had been a great night for me and exactly what I needed to get my ass in gear about edits and rewrites for my book.

I wrote hockey romances because I loved hockey and the fairy tale the story brought into my life. Reading is a love of mine and I still make time to read because I don’t want to lose that passion. It was also the fuel to the fire in my search for Prince Charming.

“Meadow.”

I turned at the sound of my name through the crowd and saw Kian.

“Hi.” I waved at him as he walked up to me.

“What are you doing here?”

I wasn’t sure why people ask this question. Wasn’t it obvious? “My knitting class meets here twice a week.”

Kian laughed. “Sorry, I just meant I’d not seen you here before.”

I smiled. “When I’m able to come, I do.”

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

“I always do.”

“Why don’t you come out with Kyson and me? We’d loved it if you could join us.”

“Aw, thank you, but I need to get home. Let Kyson know I’ll have the pictures back soon.”

“Are you sure? I know Kyson would enjoy your company.”

I was taken aback for a second. Why would Kyson want me to come? Had he seen me? Surely not, because he was too busy playing. Was this because Kyson asked me out the last week? I still thought he was just being polite.

“How about a rain check?” I brushed his offer away.

Kian smiled and nodded.

I quickly rushed off and made my way home. I pushed Kian’s comment about Kyson away and flipped on my computer. I pulled up Harlow’s email and went straight to work. I’d planned on waiting until the morning, but I couldn’t go to sleep right away.

She was right, as always; my work wasn’t great. I began to fix this and that to make it better. As much as I wanted this book out for my fans, I wouldn’t publish crap. I’d rather push back the release date.

I realized, as the sun began to rise, I’d pulled another all-nighter, but it was worth it, because I’d changed a lot, and I truly thought it was better. Then again, I may have been delusional and sleep deprived.

I stretched my arms over my head and patted Puckhead before I crawled into bed with my New Hampshire Bears t-shirt still on.

Harlow sat across from me at The Latte Bean sliding her finger across my tablet.

“You can only pick six?”

“Yep. One front cover, one back picture, and four teaser photos,” I informed her while eating my scone.

“Wow, these are incredible.” Harlow ooh’ed and ahh’ed over Kyson’s photos. “You’ve got to sleep with this guy.”

“What? He’s a kid.”

“He’s of legal age, and at the look of his thighs, he’s pumped more than iron in his adulthood.”

“He’s ten years younger than me.”

“Which translates to he has stamina.”

“Would you date someone younger than you?”

“Does he have a penis and know how to work it?”

I couldn’t help myself, I laughed so loudly, I snorted, causing people to look over at us. “Oh, Harlow, you always make my day better.”

“I know.” She sipped her coffee. “But, listen, we need to have a serious discussion about the book.”

“I know it’s crap.”

Harlow shook her head. “No, it’s a rough draft, and I know your potential. Fix it and get it back to me.”

“Okay. I’ve been working on it.”

“Now, that’s over, let’s get down to this hot cover.”