Men tended to come in three sizes—small, medium, or large. And I wasn’t talking about dick size.
Callum Berg could only be described as extra-large, a giant beast of a man.
His massive two-hundred-and-forty-pound, six-foot-five frame had the power to draw notice in any room he walked into. You’d think a man that large wouldn’t be particularly agile on skates, but nothing could be further from the truth. Cal was not only fast as hell with his giant strides cutting across the ice, but he did so with grace, making it look effortless.
His size was only the tip of the iceberg.
The man was massive, but he was so fucking hot I could cry. His swagger was enough to have a lesser woman swooning. His thick, naturally blond hair was cut long enough to cover his ears, flowing as he walked. Tattoos peeked out from where he’d rolled the sleeves of his navy-blue button-down over his thick forearms. The color of his shirt brought out the pigment of his Arctic blue eyes.
There was no denying that man was a descendant of Vikings.
Above all, he was the single most annoying man I’d ever met in my life. The way he played the game went against everything I knew growing up, and I had called him on it when he first joined the team ten years ago.
Was I scared of change? Maybe.
Should he have taken my advice and tightened up his game? Absolutely. I knew my shit.
Was I young and immature? Yes.
Was I sorry? No.
Did he need to butt heads with me every time we were together? Definitely not, but he did anyway.
Our decade-long history of animosity could have been easily avoided if he had just listened to reason and admitted that I had a point. But that wasn’t Cal’s style. He gave off this alpha-male, I-know-everything vibe that would be sexy if he wasn’t such an asshole about it.
I was hoping Amy was wrong and he would change course to engage with one of the many groups gathered in our general direction, but his icy blue gaze was currently fixed on where I stood with my friends.
Correction: our friends.
He was best friends with Jaxon and, by extension, Natalie. Being the overly kind person she was, Nat took great care to ensure everyone was included, so we were always one giant group.
That meant I couldn’t escape him in my personal life, either. He was at the kids’ birthday parties, Thanksgiving—you name it, he was there. There were even girls’ nights at the club when he hovered, often acting as our personal bouncer if Jaxon was home with the kids.
I couldn’t shake this guy, no matter how hard I tried.
A feeling of déjà vu washed over me as Cal stopped directly before me, glaring down at me from his hulking height. It was like the first day we met, but in reverse.
Picking up on the tension pouring off our bodies in such close proximity, an explosion usually imminent, Jaxon called out, “I’m going to take Charlie for ice cream.”
Liam and Preston mumbled something about going with him, leaving us standing practically toe to toe with only my girls as backup.
Popping my hip, I folded both arms over my chest. “What doyouwant?”
Glaring down at me, Cal got right to the point. “I want you to behave yourself while we are on the road.”
Oh, no. He doesn’t get to stomp over here and tell me what to do. What gives him the right?
His mere presence was enough to piss me off, but his bossy attitude sent me over the edge into irrational anger. “Fuck off.”
Gritting his teeth, he forced out, “Watch your language. This is a family event.”
Narrowing my eyes, I mentally dug my heels in. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Get used to it, Cal, because I sprinkle that shit like confetti. And it’s none of your damn business what I do on the road in my free time.”
“But it’s not your free time. When we are on the road, you’re working. You are now a representative of the Connecticut Comets organization, and you need to act like it. I will not have you embarrassing the reputation of this hockey club.”
“Me?” I sputtered. “Maybe you should look in the mirror because I’ve heard the stories about how you pick up a new bunny every night on the road. A great role model for kids. Not.” Yeah, I was sassy and damn proud of it. “Maybe your next endorsement deal should be for condoms or, better yet, penicillin. God only knows where that filthy thing has been.” I dropped my gaze to his crotch.
Sometimes it was trial and error, but I finally hit a nerve, smirking as I watched a muscle in his jaw twitch.
