Ice Dreams

Disclaimer: Characters in this story are my creation, as is the city of Bannen, (as far as I know, Canada doesn’t have a city named Bannen in it), and the hockey team is fictional as well. They are not based on any specific person, so any similarities are purely coincidental. I do not own any rights to the Stanley Cup, and I don’t make any money off my stories.

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I tried to keep the hockey facts as truthful as possible, so please excuse any slip-ups. While this is a story based on a sports team, it’s not my intention to focus completely on it, but instead on the romantic story. I also don’t bash hockey players in real life, as I’ve met a few and they are lovely people. It just works in my story for now. I was inspired from the recent playoff games, when this plot bunny jumped into my head. Please enjoy.

Warnings: angst, lemon, oral, death, fluff, language, m/f

**Asterisks indicate thoughts

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Chapter Six

She felt awkward, like someone in hiding. She had been avoiding Graham for two days now, because of one kiss.

*One passionate kiss that wiped your entire thought process* She reminded herself.

When Hilary called to find out what had happened at their private meeting, Denise told her enough, excluding the steamy details. She didn’t want to tell her friend that they had kissed, and what it had done to her. One, Hilary would be jealous, and two, she would either encourage her, or discourage her. Denise didn’t know what she wanted to do about it yet.

She felt like a scaredy-cat.

On the third day after that meeting, Denise decided to suck it up and go to the rink. She laid out her plans for the Christmas Banquet and the children’s hospital function. She would run her notes by Bob, and then when that was over, she would start making phone calls and sending out emails.

When she arrived at the rink, Denise was hesitant to get out of the car. There were many vehicles in the parking lot, which meant that there was a practice going on. Telling herself that she was being a fool, Denise opened the car door and stepped out, high heels clicking on the pavement.

Walking into the arena, she headed straight for Bob’s office. He was in there, as per usual, and invited her in with a smile. Returning one of her own, she sat by his desk again, and presented her plans. Graham and the kiss were far from her attention.

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“Good practice boys. Keep it up and we’ll be in the playoffs, no problem.” Coach Richards gave each player a pat on the shoulder as they walked into the locker room. He stopped Graham as he was walking by, and pulled him aside.

“Kelly, you’ve improved a lot since I last spoke with you. Your head’s in the game now. I just want you to know how pleased I am with your progress. Keep it up.” Graham grinned at him, though it somewhat lost its effect with a mouthguard in place.

“Thanks Coach. Plan on only getting better from here.”

Graham turned and entered the locker room, stripping down for a shower. He couldn’t stop thinking about Denise since he kissed her three days ago. He had given her all the space he could, but he wanted to see her again. He thought about going to her house after practice.

“Hey man, you’re as slow as a fuckin’ turtle.” Neil teased him, towel in hand, ready to take a shower. Graham laughed good naturedly.

“Can’t help it, some of us actually work around here.” Graham threw an innocent insult back. Neil held his chest dramatically, where his heart was.

“That stings man, right to the core.” But the dancing laughter in Neil’s green eyes spoke differently. They truly were close friends, being able to understand one another without ever really having to say anything.

“Yeah, yeah. Cry me a river. I’ll be there in a minute.” Graham said, grabbing his own towel from his locker.


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Tom Welding, captain of the Bannen Warriors, stopped Graham as he was leaving the locker room after his shower. Tom spoke quietly to Graham.

“I noticed you were having a hard time earlier in the week, but I just wanted to say how impressed I am with how your game’s improved. Whatever you did, keep at it.” Tom offered a small smile. Graham returned it.

“Thanks Captain. I intend to.” After that, Graham left the locker room, he was seriously thinking about heading over to Denise’s house, until he saw her further up the hallway. She was just leaving Bobby’s office, and hadn’t turned around to see him yet.

She started to walk off, and Graham followed, a predatory look in his eye. She wouldn’t escape him. He would make her realize she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Catching up to her quickly, he gently grabbed her arm. She turned to yell at whoever was holding her, until she saw it was Graham. He wasn’t grinning, wasn’t smiling, and there wasn’t a mischievous look in his eye. He looked serious, giving her a look she didn’t quite understand. He led her away quietly to another hallway.

Denise didn’t say anything, or try to stop him. She couldn’t read his features at all. When Graham was sure that none of his teammates would see him, he swooped down and claimed Denise’s mouth. She didn’t expect that, and her mouth opened in a gasp. Graham snuck his tongue in, delving into her moist cavern, seeking out her tongue in a duel. She was quick to respond, tongue pressing against his in a desperate battle of dominance. Her hands went to his face- to cup either cheek and draw his face even closer to hers. He settled his hands on her waist.

When they eventually parted, they were both out of breath. When he felt her body tense and prepare to flee, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest. Denise pushed at him, then resorted to glaring at him.

“If you think I’m going to let you run away, you are mistaken.” Graham spoke quietly. From where she was pressed against his middle, Denise could feel his chest rumble lowly whenever he spoke.

“I can’t be with you. I don’t even know why I allow you to kiss me. It just won’t work out.” Denise spoke hurriedly. Graham frowned, his eyebrows drawn together.

“Okay, I don’t understand at all. Why can’t you be with me? Do you have some incurable disease you’re not letting me know about?” Graham asked. Denise gave him a look, something like, ‘are you an idiot?’ and shook her head.

Pushing herself away from him, she took a few steps back. Looking him straight in the eye, she told him her reasons.

“Come on Graham. Look at you, and look at me. You’re a professional athlete. Women throw themselves at you on a daily basis. You’re cocky, and arrogant. I need something more solid than that. I can’t just be with some fickle guy.”

It was silent for a few moments. Denise couldn’t tell what was going on in Graham’s head at all. It was like he put up some impenetrable wall. He finally decided to speak.

“First off, I get just about as much female attention as you do male. If you haven’t noticed sweetheart, you draw wanton looks from men on a daily basis, because of your looks. Second, you don’t know me at all, so don’t pretend you do. What you know, you’ve read from magazines, or you judged me based on my looks. If I did that to you, it would be unfair. Third, I think you don’t have a clue about what you want. You seem lost to me. I am not the one that is fickle here.” He didn’t exactly glare at her, but it was a far cry from the looks she had been growing used to. She wasn’t quite sure what to say. Obviously, she had Graham pegged all wrong.

Feeling ashamed, she rushed out of the building and into the parking lot, nearly running to her car. Her head was swimming in confusion, and she needed time to think, away from him. She couldn’t believe that she had said all of what she did to Graham, and had been wrong about everything. Denise was mortified at what she had done.

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Denise rushed off, leaving Graham standing there, slightly bewildered. He began to chase after her, and nearly collided with Neil.

“Whoa man, where are you going in a hurry?” Neil asked. Graham watched Denise leave the building, and thought it would be better for her to go on by herself- for now. If she thought he was done with her, she was mistaken.

“Nowhere. What do you want to do?” Graham asked. Neil shrugged his shoulders.

“I thought I might go to Harold’s and grab a beer with some of the guys. Want to come?”

Graham accepted, deciding that he would work things out with Denise when he wasn’t so frustrated with her.



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A/N: Thanks for the reviews! :) This chapter is a little short, but there is more to come soon.