#chuck's back

Part 8: The Locker Room

Bragnae arrived at the practice arena fifteen minutes before Drake’s practice was supposed to be over. The drive up went fast with her mind being as occupied as it was. She went over everything Leo told her again and again. It was such a shame he had to endure such heartache before, but he could have turned it around for himself. He could have made a vow not to hurt women the way he was, but for some reason, he felt using them for his needs would be the easiest way around his pain.

Even though he knew he hurt her for what he did, Leo still didn’t know the magnitude in which she suffered from his actions. She was glad she didn’t have time to tell him that earlier, and maybe he never needed to know. But, the fact remained that he hurt her very deeply and ruined his own chance at being happy again.

She turned off the engine of Drake’s truck, grabbed her purse, and headed up the sidewalk to the building. When she walked in, the cool air immediately hit her. It was a small arena, but the ice rink was designed in full regulation. There was only six rows of spectator seats that stretched the length of the rink. It was only on one side of the ice. The other side had two benched areas for the team to fill in, a Gatorade stand and a hallway leading to what Bragnae presumed was the locker room.

There was a flurry of guys fighting for the puck at the far end of the rink. Half were dressed in black jerseys, the others in neon green. The Pit Vipers’ colors were royal purple with a black and green logo of the intimating snake, so their practice jerseys reflected that theme as well.

Bragnae found a seat in the second row at center ice, scanning the bench of players. From what she could tell, none of them were Drake, which meant he had to be on the ice. She didn’t know which color he sported yet, but she did know he was a Defenseman. Somehow, protecting the goalie and helping to block shots from the opposing team fit Drake’s personality.

Finally, the puck broke away as a player sent it sailing down the ice toward the opposite goal. The players hustled down the rink as two guys from each of the teams scrambled to take control of it. The one wearing the black jersey slammed the green jersey player into the boards. They dug in and fought vigorously for the puck until the black jersey player took it, and passed the puck to a fellow teammate.

She caught a glimpse of the back of the black jersey attached to the tall player, and saw the number 22. That was Drake’s number. Their practice jerseys didn’t have their names on it, just their assigned player numbers. Now, she knew where he was.

As the forwards on his team passed the puck between them towards the other net, Drake skated in that direction, but held back in case the other team got ahold of the puck again. Bragnae watched one of Drake’s teammates shoot the puck into the net with ease, and then a whistle sounded.

The players vacated the ice and sat on their respective benches, hydrating themselves as they listened to the coach talk about their performance. Bragnae couldn’t make out his exact words, but that was okay. She kept her eyes on Drake anyway. He leaned his stick against his shoulder as he removed his helmet. His dark hair was completely saturated with sweat. He rubbed a hand over his head before bringing the green Gatorade bottle up to take in more fluids.

Bragnae grew up a hockey fan. Her dad had played when he was younger, so it was engrained in their family. She had fond memories of watching their state’s professional team sitting next to him on those cold winter nights. Her father taught her a lot about the game, which made it easier to watch Drake play and listen to him tell her about his practices and games.

After another minute, the teams rose and starting filing out towards the locker room. She stood and walked over to the boards in front of the first row. Drake noticed her immediately. Even though he was 85 feet away from her – the width of the regulation rink – she could see him smile in her direction. Instead of following his team, he skated back onto the ice and headed towards her.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he observed, smiling brightly at her. There wasn’t any acrylic shielding walls where they stood, unlike a true hockey rink that was surrounded in it, so it was easier to see and hear him.

“Hey, stud. You looked good out there.” She leaned her legs against the polyethylene dasher boards, gripping the top of it as she admired Drake in his gear. His shoulder pads and chest protector made him look even more bulky than he was, and his skates gave him an inch or two of extra height. With sweat beads rolling down his somewhat flushed face, he looked like he’d just been in an intense battle. Technically, that wasn’t far off.

“Thanks. Glad to be done for the day, though.” Drake skated to the edge of the board bringing his stick around Bragnae’s back to guide her to him.

She giggled as she fell forward a bit, bracing herself on his protected shoulders. He smiled as her mouth dropped to his. She could taste the saltiness of the sweat on his lips, and even though his athletic scent filled her nose, she was happy to kiss him in that moment. Drake, showered or un-showered, was irresistible.

A teasing whistle sounded from the opposite side of the rink. Drake laughed as he pulled away to look behind him. “Hey, fuck off!” He shouted playfully before returning his attention to Bragnae. “That’s just my buddy, Chuck. He’s on the same defensive line as me, and I think he’s a little jealous that I get to kiss such a beautiful woman right now.”

“Poor Chuck.”

“Yeah, bad for him, but good for me.” With his hands on the hockey stick that still held her in place, he pulled her towards him for another sweet kiss. “Wanna skate for a little bit? Maybe play a little one-on-one?”

“I didn’t bring any skates.”

“Not a problem.” He dropped his stick from around her, and pointed to the upper far corner of the room. “Go through that door, and there will be a place you can grab some skates. A nice lady named Carla will give you a pair to borrow.”

She patted Drake on the shoulder. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” She grabbed her purse and walked in the direction Drake told her. She wore a long-sleeved lavender sweater and a jean mini skirt. As she walked to the skate rental counter, she wondered how easily she’d be able to move on the ice in her outfit.

Carla had given her the size skates she needed with no charge, but she needed to grab the pair of socks in her tote bag to put them on. She was grateful she thought ahead to bring extra items. A few minutes later, while she laced up her skates, Drake was gliding around the ice casually flipping a puck into the net every so often.

When the skates were secured, she stood and walked over to the boards. Drake joined her in a flash, skidding his skates at an angle on the ice to stop himself.

“I don’t know how well I’ll be able to skate in this outfit, or hop the boards for that matter,” she told him, looking skeptical.

“I’d be happy to help a lady out.” He pulled her closer to the boards and reached over to scoop her into his arms, placing her down on the iced part of the rink.

“Well, that settles that,” she giggled, straightening her clothes.

“We’ve got about thirty minutes before the Zamboni needs to clear the ice. So, let’s skate a little bit and maybe get you a stick to hold.”

Naughty thoughts filled her mind. “Would I get to hold your stick? Because if so, we may want to find somewhere more private for that.”

He glanced at her from the side, shaking his head with that sexy smirk of his. “You have a dirty mind today, Miss Bennett.”

“You know you like it,” she flirted with a wink. “Plus, you kind of set me up with that one.”

He laughed. “So I did. Come on.” He took her hand, and the two of them began skating casually around the rink.

Bragnae couldn’t move too swiftly because the denim skirt restricted her a bit, but she was still able to catch up.

“You’re pretty good on the ice. Did I know that about you?” Drake asked.

She thought for a moment trying to recall if she’d ever skated with him when she visited Drake at his work. “No, I guess you didn’t. I’ve been leisurely skating my whole life. My dad took me skating a lot growing up. He played hockey too.”

“No kidding. What position did he play?”

“He was a defenseman like you. From the stories I’ve heard, he was pretty good. Taught me all I know about hockey.” Bragnae concentrated on crossing her skates over one another to turn with the rink. Drake glided gracefully along with her. It was second nature to him at this point. That was evident by the way he spent most of the time looking at her rather than what was in front of him.

“That’s awesome. If I ever get to meet him, I’m sure we’ll have lots to talk about.” Drake slowed them down and pulled her over to the bench where the team once sat.

Bragnae smiled at the thought of Drake meeting her father. She knew they’d get along great, and that they’d have a lot in common. They were both a little rough around the edges, but kind when it was needed.

Drake procured a shorter hockey stick from the other side of the boards, and handed it to Bragnae. Then, he tossed a few more pucks on the ice for them to play with. She gripped the black hockey stick like her dad taught her to do years ago, and skated out to center ice, dragging a puck with her.

Sliding the rest of the pucks with his stick to the center, Drake dashed off to the net to stand in front of it. “Go ahead, Bragnae. Show me what you can do.”

She scoffed. “You’ll just block all of them. I am way out of my league here.”

He chuckled. “Just give it a try. And keep the shots low. Coach will kill me if I get hit in the head when I should have been wearing a helmet.”

Bragnae pulled a puck in front of her with the stick, and pushed it forward, handling it back and forth until she was closer to the goal. She shot it towards Drake who just stood in place letting it hit the net.

“That was good. Try it again.”

Bragnae skated back to center ice, and retrieved another puck. Taking her time so she wouldn’t stumble, she eventually made her way back to Drake. This time, he took a more defensive stance, bending his knees and bobbing back and forth, as she prepared to shoot the puck. She held firm in front of the net trying to gauge which ‘hole’ she should shoot it towards. There were five distinct gaps a player could shoot the puck through that the goalie’s body couldn’t always protect.

Putting weight on her stick, Bragnae bent forward locking her eyes with Drake. “Where am I going to shoot it, Walker?” She taunted.

He smirked at her. “Why don’t you go for the five-hole – right between my legs?”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” She propelled the puck forward, trying to send it flying through the upper right corner of the net, but Drake blocked it. She didn’t have the power behind the shot to challenge his reflexes. “You’re just too quick for me.”

Drake skated forward to pull her into him. “I think you’re doing just fine. And you look very sexy skating around in a skirt, handling the stick and puck like you are. I could watch you do this all day.”

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you.” She gripped the fabric of his jersey and pulled him into a slightly unsteady kiss thanks to the ice below.

His hands slid down to her thighs just below her skirt. “Are you getting cold?”

“A little.” She didn’t anticipate spending a long time in the arena, which made her decide the mini skirt was okay, but now being directly over the ice, she was starting to get chilly.

“How about this? I’ll clean up the pucks and then head to the locker room to take a shower. After you return your skates, you can meet me in there and wait by my locker.”

“Okay, but won’t there be other guys in there getting dressed?” Not that she’d ever turn away from seeing hockey players in any capacity, but she wanted to be respectful of their space.

“Don’t worry about that. You’re a hot female, and they won’t mind. Besides, most of them are probably gone by now anyway.”

“Okay, I’ll see you in there in a few minutes.” Bragnae skated off to the side of the rink she came from, and threw her legs over the boards. After taking off her skates, she gathered her things and went to return them.

She didn’t know an alternative path to the locker rooms, so she walked carefully across the ice in her sandals to get to get to it. After sauntering down the long hallway, she saw a sign for the locker room to the left.

Bragnae hoped the rest of the team had gone so she wouldn’t embarrass them or herself. She wondered why Drake wanted her in the locker room anyway. It just felt wrong for her to be there. If she were on an all-female team, she wouldn’t want some random guy hanging out while the rest of the team got dressed.

Carefully stepping through the spacious locker room, she heard the shower to her right, but couldn’t see anything as she glanced quickly in that direction. Walking into another room, she saw open cubbies that lined the wall. Each of them had a thin dry erase board above with their names written on them. As she made her way over to his locker, she noticed a tall, muscular guy with short auburn hair throw a t-shirt over his chiseled torso. He looked over at her and politely smiled.

She waved nervously at him. “Sorry. Don’t mean to intrude. I’m just waiting for Drake.”

“You’re good,” he told her as he walked in her direction with an arm extended. “I’m Chuck Mulligan. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” she said, accepting his greeting. “Bragnae Bennett.”

“Drake talks about you all the time.” His eyes quickly scanned down her body trying to be discreet, but she noticed anyway. “I can see why.”

“I guess I’ll take that as a compliment. Thanks,” she smiled.

“It definitely is.” He walked back over to his gear, and slung a duffle bag over his shoulder. “Drake should be done soon. Take care, Bragnae.” She waved at him again as he left the locker room.

After a quick glance around, she took a seat on the bench in front of Drake’s locker. The room definitely had the smell of men in it. It wasn’t unpleasant, rather it was sort of comforting. It was a mixture of hard work, sweat, and cologne – the way any man that was worth a damn should smell.

Just as she was about to pull out her phone to pass the time, Drake started walking towards her… wearing just a white towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was still soaked, but this time it was clean. A tendril of his wet hair curled over his forehead, but the rest was combed back. Residual water from the shower made parts of his upper body glisten. He made her heart skip a beat.

Drake walked right up to her, bent down with his fingers tilting her chin up, and captured her lips in a solid kiss. “You look cute sitting here by my locker,” he said before walking around the bench to get to his clothes.

Bragnae spun around on the wooden bench to face him. Just as she did that, Drake removed the towel from his waist and began drying off the few wet spots left on his chest. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. Her jaw dropped as she was faced with the side profile of Drake’s very nice looking dick and the curves of his butt. She had only been privy to his nakedness once before during the threesome with Leo, but everything happened so fast that night that she didn’t have time to really indulge in his magnificent features.

“Oh my,” she blushed, but didn’t look away. In fact, her eyes feasted on his physique with absolute hunger. There wasn’t anything about this man she didn’t crave.

Drake gave her a side smirk before handing her the towel. “Here, I think you’re drooling a little.”

Giggling, she snatched the towel from him, and snapped it against his perfectly formed ass. He chuckled reaching for his cologne.

“You really know how to grab a girl’s attention, don’t you mister?” Even now she couldn’t peel her eyes off of him. Her heart thumped in her chest while heat pooled between her legs.

“Am I making you wet?” He asked without hesitation still standing stark naked in front of her.

Excited by his sudden candor, her lips automatically transformed into a salacious smile. “Uh-huh.” She loved how honest they could be with each other. “To be fair, you already kind of got me started watching you play hockey.”

He cheerfully nodded at her response. She bit her lip desperately wanting to touch him all over. From where she sat, she’d be able to take him in her mouth easily as he towered over her with his scrumptious bod. “Why don’t you come a little closer, and let me drag my tongue around that big guy.” His dick twitched at her comment, and she loved it.

Drake exhaled a slow breath, and stepped into a dark green pair of boxer briefs. Bragnae playfully pouted her lips making him laugh when he turned to her again. “Don’t be too disappointed, Bennett.” Then, he threw on a t-shirt and pulled on a pair of light-washed jeans.

Grabbing his hockey stick, he straddled the bench and held it over Bragnae’s head. “Face me on the bench, and then grab this with both hands.”

She was a little confused but did as he said. As soon as she had a comfortable grip on the stick, Drake pushed on it making Bragnae lean back with it. He followed through until her back was flush with the bench. “What are you doing?”

“Stay like that, and just relax.” He kissed her briefly on the lips. The stick rested perpendicular on the bench, and Bragnae let her arms relax while she continued to grip the hockey stick.

Drake brought her legs together again just so he could push up her tight jean skirt. A tingle shot down her spine, not only from his touch, but from the anticipation of what was to come. With the denim pushed up to her waist, Drake hooked his fingers around the straps of her red satin panties and pulled them off. He sat down on the bench, and threw her legs over his denim clad thighs while positioning her just right.

“Now, it’s my turn to use my tongue.” He winked at her before diving his face down to her pussy.

A moan immediately left her body while she slowly twisted her torso, feeling his tongue work wonders against her sensitive skin. Her breathing quickened, and she tightened her calves against his legs. The tension in her body elevated the pleasure she was receiving. Her grip on the hockey stick constricted as he continued.

Drake used his hands to tilt her pelvis up to give himself a better angle. His skillful tongue rounded her clit in slow concentric circles before moving to rapidly flick her swollen bud.

Bragnae arched her back in approval. “Ohmigod, Drake. Don’t stop.” She felt the pressure build quickly leading to what she knew was to be a fantastic explosion of pleasure. Like the trooper he was, Drake kept up that same pace for a few more moments until heaven rippled throughout her body. She sent a flood of cries into the room as he continued to coax more of the orgasm from her depths.

Drake dragged his tongue around her skin, even dipping down to lap at her entrance. She was at complete peace in that moment reveling in the pleasure high he put her in. When Drake sat up, he wiped his mouth and took a deep breath followed by a triumphant smile.

“How was that?” He asked knowing the answer.

She nodded her head still trying to regain her breath. “Amazing. So amazing.”

He patted the side of her leg smiling down at her. “You are so beautiful, and you taste so nice.”

“You always make me feel so good about myself, Drake.” She let go of the hockey stick, and stretched her tensed arms above her head. “Thank you for this.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Now, will you let me return the favor?” She asked still lying flat against the bench. He had slayed her with his tongue, and she was utterly spent.

“I appreciate the offer, but this was all about you today. Plus, it’s better for my training if you don’t.”

“Why? Wouldn’t it be better to release the built up tension?”

“That’s exactly why I shouldn’t. Not having that release helps me to focus on my training more, making me more aggressive on the ice. Being hot and bothered makes for a better hockey player than a happy guy that just got off.”

Her eyes widened as she thought about what he said. “You’re not saying we can’t do this and have sex for the entire hockey season are you?”

Drake laughed. “No, thank God. The coach is deciding the first line for the upcoming season based on our performance here. The guys that get it will see the most time on the ice during the games. To make it fair for everyone, the coach put these rules in place to motivate us while we’re at this camp.” He gently massaged her thighs as he continued. “So, by not giving into my desires, I can train harder and play better during the practice games. I’m not even touching myself.”

Bragnae’s mouth gaped open in surprise. “Wow. It makes a lot of sense when you put it that way, but didn’t this torture you a little bit?”

He looked down at her still widened legs longingly. “Yes. Yes it did.” He sighed before meeting her eyes again. “But seeing you like this now and remembering the taste of you in my mouth will fuel me even more when I’m on the ice this week. Hell, I shouldn’t have even allowed you to visit me, but I wanted to see you.”

Bragnae used what core strength she could find to sit up amidst the incapacitating pleasure that still radiated in her body. She framed his face with her hands as he looped his arms around her back for support. “Did you miss me as much as I missed you?”

“Mmhmm,” he grinned, looking down at her affectionately. “I sure did.”

She smiled up at him. “Will the coach tell everyone who gets the first line by the end of the camp?”

“Yep.”

“Good. Then, when you come back to the university, we’ll have to celebrate because I know you’re going to get it.” She let a hand slide down the muscles of his chest. “And celebrate we will.” She looked up at him through her eyelashes being extra flirtatious.

“I can’t wait.” Drake leaned forward to kiss her. “Wanna grab some dinner?”

“Yeah, I bet you’re famished.” Drake scooted back, so she could more easily untangle herself from him. “Just let me put my panties back on, and we can go.”

Drake chuckled, retrieving them from the floor and tossing her the discarded thong.

Later, after they finished a couple of delicious burgers, they drove back to Drake’s hotel. They got out of the truck, so they could say their proper goodbyes.

“Thanks for letting me come up to see you. It will make this next week a little easier to get through.” Bragnae leaned back against the driver side of Drake’s truck, and he leaned into her.

“I’m glad you did. I needed this little reboot, too.”

“Do you want me to drop off your keys with Leo before you get back?” She needed to mentally prepare for it again if he wanted that.

“Nah, you can hold onto them. The team gets back next Sunday morning, and I’m sure we’ll see each other that day at some point. At least I’m hoping we will.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his finger.

“I’m pretty sure I work the lunch shift that day, but as soon as I’m finished I’ll be coming to see you.”

“Sounds good.” He leaned in for a deep lingering kiss. The cool breeze of the night perfectly complemented the heat between them. “Let me know when you get back tonight.”

“I will.” She pulled him in again, needing to feel his soft lips one more time before she left. “Good luck with the rest of the camp. I know you’ll kick ass and get the first line.”

“I hope so. Thanks, Bennett.” He opened the truck’s door for her, and watched her climb in. She started the engine, and rolled the window down. He looked her over with a smile on his face. “You look pretty good behind the wheel of my truck.”

She gave him a flirty shrug. “Bye, handsome.”

“See ya. And drive safe.” He tapped the door, and stepped back so she could pull out of the parking space.

Bragnae waved once more before driving away. A day that started off more stressful than anything else ended with lovely time spent with Drake. She really liked him, and felt their bond growing with each passing day. When he returned from his camp, it was highly likely they’d have sex. And she was more than ready for that because she wanted to be closer to him now more than ever before. She loved the idea of being his and only his. And she knew it was just a matter of time before they made their relationship status official.