Page 45 of Slapshot Obsession
Hopefully, once we’re on campus and Taryn gets a place in town, flying under the radar will be easier. The truth is that we’ll still have to be careful if Taryn wants to keep her spot in the Shooting Stars.
I haven’t really thought much beyond this year. Once I graduate and, if everything goes according to plan, go to play my rookie season with the Pasadena Jaguars.
Tucker and I had been talking about getting a place together even before we met Taryn. Thanks to the Covid waiver, he can play NCAA hockey for a fifth season, so we’ll be rookies at the same time. Luckily, he’s going to play in LA, and Pasadena is less than ten miles away, so living together will be possible. If we could convince Taryn tomove in with us, that would be perfect. But that would make doing one more season with the Stars pretty hard from over six hours away.
It feels like really early days to be talking about the future beyond this year, but I know what I want. And that’s Taryn.
“Colsen, smile a little more, please. The camera isn’t a defenseman trying to take your puck.” The photographer says.
I realize that I was frowning while I was lost in my own thoughts.
Posing for endless photos is more exhausting than running suicide drills on the ice.
The photographer takes individual shots of each player and cheerleader holding their doll in different poses; the second part of the shoot is each player with every cheerleader.
The first shot was a group photo, and it took the longest time to find the ideal placement for everyone.
I don’t think I enjoy being a model. But I know that once I go pro, the salary my team will pay will be a drop in the ocean compared to the money that could come from sponsorships. So if I want to secure my future beyond my pro career, I should be getting used to stuff like this.
Posing next to Taryn isn’t a hardship, despite the fact that it has to be strictly PG.
There’s a lot of waiting around, but thankfully, once each of us has taken every shot they want, we’re done for the night.
When I get released at the same time as Taryn, I can’t believe my luck. There are only a few people left for individual shots, and I don’t even bother waiting for Mack. I take off after Taryn.
“Pretty girl, wait.” I run after her and end up following her into the women’s changing rooms.
She heads to her bag and puts her doll inside it, zipping it closed. We’ve been allowed to keep the dolls used for the shoot, but I don’t really care, so I left mine behind.
What I care about is that almost everyone else is gone, so we’re alone in here. “Hey.” She says softly, and I don’t even try to resist the urge to kiss her.
With the same quick reaction time that’s so useful on the ice, I close the distance between us in the blink of an eye.
A groan escapes me when my lips crush her soft, warm mouth. “Posing for those photos with you and keeping my hands off of you was fucking torture.” As if they had a will of their own and wanted to prove what I just said, my hands skim all over Taryn’s body.
I trace her neck, shoulders, and she moans when I reach the side of her tits. “Did you miss me too?” I smile between passionate, open-mouthed kisses.
“I missed you so much.” Taryn’s arms surround my neck and I lift her against my chest.
“I’m falling for you, Taryn.” I murmur against her lips. “I know it’s fast. Am I crazy?”
Her next words are what I’ve been dreaming of hearing since the night of Tucker’s birthday party. “If you’re crazy, then so am I. I’m falling for you too, Colsen.”
My hands slip under the short skirt of her cheerleader uniform.
“Colsen,” she tenses at my touch. “I don’t know if we can do this here. Gen is still there taking photos. She’s gonna come back here to get her things.”
Without putting her down, I look around the room.Makeup stations with mirrors line one wall, and there’s another bag next to Taryn’s.
I grab my girl’s bag and head to the opposite side of the room where changing stalls are separated from the rest of the room by wooden doors. They’re a similar size to bathroom stalls, and I head inside one of them with Taryn pressed against my chest.
Her duffle bag hits the floor with a soft thud, and I twist around to lock the stall’s door without putting Taryn down.
“We’re alone now.” I kiss her like my life depends on it, and she kisses me back.
The stall is just big enough for one person to change in it, so with two of us in here, there isn’t room for much more than pressing Taryn against the wall.
I’m holding her up by the backs of her thighs, and our bodies are pressed so close together that her soft chest is smashed against mine.
