Chapter 3 MEETING HIM.

Afterwards, everyone pours out of the arena, and the others start talking about going out for drinks. I wince. I'm glad that Maddie gave me some of her nachos and half of her pretzel. That was some delicious junk food, and it's kept my stomach from growling, but now I really need to get home. I have to start job hunting tomorrow and I can't afford to go out and buy expensive cocktails anyway.

"You coming, Lily?" Shay asks. She tugs playfully on my hair. "You lost a hair clip again."

My hands fly up to my head. Damn it, this just keeps happening. "I don't know how that happens."

Everyone laughs, but not unkindly. "You can meet us there," Maddie says. "Maybe you've got an extra in your car? I'll text you the address."

"No, no, I had a really long day and I need to be up early in the morning. You guys go on and have fun, okay? I'll see you soon." I hug Shay. "Thanks for the ticket. This was a really fun night."

If anyone suspects I have another reason for bowing out, they don't say anything, and everyone hugs me and then heads out of the arena doors.

I take a second to sit down on a bench, my stomach twisting. I don't like lying to my friends. The thing is, I think if I told them I couldn't afford it, one of them would've paid for my drinks. They're good people that way.

I just couldn't handle them knowing. They'd ask questions, and worry about me, and I can't do that. Maybe it's that I've been on my own for so long, or that if I have to tell my friends it makes my financial situation real, but the idea of them knowing about my late rent payments and my job loss just makes me want to throw up.

I wipe at my eyes and stand up, looking around. The arena's pretty much emptied out. There are a few people talking to each other, and there's a gaggle of girls in various tight, short outfits, some of them in jerseys they bought with the player names blazed on the back, giggling and apparently waiting for something.

Well, there's no point in me hanging around. I need to get home and then pile the blankets up on my bed, since it'll be freezing in my apartment.

I get outside and walk around the arena toward the back entrances. That's over by where I parked, a few streets down from the employee parking lot. I keep my head down, my shoulders hunched, and shiver in spite of the heavy jacket I brought. I know it's not really the cold. It's the fear.

I hate not knowing what's going to happen next, and I hate the increasing feeling that I'm drowning and can't get my head above water.

My thoughts are interrupted as I bump into someone, hard.

"Oh shit!" I squeak.

I nearly fall over, reeling from the impact. It feels like I hit a massive wall of muscle, and as I blink and look up, I realize that's exactly what happened.

The ruggedly handsome captain of the hockey team stares down at me. At this distance, his blue eyes are even more intense, and I can get a close-up look at his bulging biceps and powerful forearms, his strong, athletic build with his broad shoulders and trim waistline.

He's also got what look like tattoos peeking out from the collar of his shirt and the bottom of his sleeves, stuff his padding and uniform covered up.

I swallow hard. I don't think I've ever been in the presence of someone this goddamn handsome before, and I feel like I'm back to being a freshman in high school crushing on the senior boys. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

The guy-Cruz Ashford, if I remember his name correctly-stares at me, squinting his eyes a little like he can see right through me if he tries hard enough. I catch a whiff of his scent. Roasted coffee beans, sweet coconut, and... the last one's a bit hard to identify... buttercream.

Oh, god, it smells really fucking good. He smells really good. Like some kind of decadent cake at a fancy bakery, the kind you have a slice of at a wedding and then dream about for the rest of your life.

I may be a Beta, so scents don't affect me as strongly as if I were an Omega, but oh my god, I want to bury my nose in him and inhale for days.

I swallow again and blink hard. I do not get gaga over a guy's scent like this, especially not some stranger I've just bumped into. I hope nothing of what I was just thinking shows on my face, or I'll look like a lunatic.

"Right. You weren't looking where you were going." Cruz arches an eyebrow to show how little he believes that statement. "You wouldn't be the first puck bunny who tried to craft her own meet cute, you know. If you want an autograph, you can wait in the lobby like everyone else."

"What are you talking about?" My temper flares a bit at his tone. "I'm not a puck bunny. I've never even been to a hockey game before tonight. If I'd known that the players were the kind of guys who assumed every woman alive was desperate to sleep with them, I would've just stayed home with a book instead of letting my friends drag me here."

Cruz blinks, then looks like he's trying hard not to laugh. "Definitely not a bunny. You've got claws."

I fold my arms. "And you've got to be kidding me."

Cruz actually grins at me, and my stomach does an inconvenient flip. "Hey now, sunshine, no need to keep taking swipes at me."

"Sunshine?"

"Well, clearly, given the attitude." The man actually winks at me.

He's lucky his handsome. And charming. "I have to go. Excuse me."