I rolled my eyes. “It was under duress, I promise.”
Piper sat, effectively blocking my escape. “Well, now that you’re here, let’s have a bit of fun, shall we?” She looked between us, waiting for an answer.
Letting out a big dramatic breath, the corner of my mouth kicked up into a grin. “Fine.” I drew out the word as long as I could. They both laughed at me, and Mia hit me with her mitten.
Piper rubbed her hands together. “First food!”
We chatted about nothing while we got our snack, then headed back to our seats, arms filled with food. The second we sat down, we dug in, blissfully eating the first few pieces.
Piper licked her fingers and said, “I could never do this with Lucas. He would have it all devoured in seconds.”
“Are you going with Lucas this summer?” Mia asked, curious.
“Oh yeah. I’ll stay near his training camp, but then I start school in September, so that’ll make it tougher.” Her voice was light, but she held herself a little tighter. “What about you and Jax?” Piper asked in between mouthfuls of food.
“What about him?” I replied, a bit guarded.
“Cut it out. You literally slept there last night,” Mia chimed in while she tossed a chicken bone in the bucket.
“Yeah, ‘slept’ being the operative word.” I didn’t dare mention the kiss.
Piper nearly spit out her drink. I had to pat her on the back until she got her breath back. She looked at me in shock. “You’re telling me you not only got invited to their place, but you spent the night?”
“Well, technically, it got really late, so Jax asked me to stay instead of driving home tired.” Okay, even I could hear how weak that sounded in the light of day.
Piper leaned forward, eyes alight with excitement. “You don’t understand what a big deal this is. I’ve known him longer than I’ve known Lucas. He never invites anyone over there. The man’s not a saint. He takes advantage of what’s offered to him, but they’re not allowed to stay the night.” Her smile turned wicked. “That is until now. Tell me, did you study in his room?” She must’ve read my expression because she clapped her hands together, getting more and more excited with every question. “Wait! Did you sleep in his bed? Did he give you something to wear?”
Mia spun to look at me with a devilish grin.
“I’m sorry to crush your hopes, but I’ve got other plans for after school. Getting into something right now would not be a good idea.” No matter how great he is.
“Oh honey, what you’re saying implies you get a choice in this matter.” Piper put her arm around me. “I get it, though. I have big goals, and Lucas would never hold me back.”
Mia raised her cup something deeper passing over her expression. Too quick for me to make out. “Cheers to men not holding us back from our dreams!”
All three of us clinked our plastic cups and took a long drink.
“Okay, what did you guys do to my girl? I left her, and she loved me, and now I snuck back to see her and she’s toasting to singlehood?” Lucas had a floppy smile on his face, and his eyes were pinned on Piper’s.
“Hey, baby!”
These two were too cute for words.
“You know I love you. I was drinking in solidarity with Sidney.”
Lucas’s brows pinched together, and he shifted on his skates. He took a long look at me, and his eyes searched mine, trying to sort something out. “Well, I better get back. Just wanted to give you a kiss before we got started.”
A few minutes later, the lights went down, and the announcer called out each player’s name as they skated out from behind their bench. The crowd’s roar became deafening when Jax’s name was called.
He did a lap around the rink before stopping abruptly on the other side of the boards, kicking up snow with his blades.
I jerked back on reflex, then raised a brow. “Show-off.”
“Wish me luck, Trouble.” His voice was barely audible over the noise. He placed his glove-covered fist to the glass and gave me an expectant look.
Mia smiled. “He wants a fist bump.”
I bumped my hand against the glass. “Good luck.”
He held it to his chest and played like he was swooning.
Piper giggled from my side. “You’re totally screwed.”
Nothing could’ve prepared me for watching Jax play. He danced around the other players like they weren’t even there. Like he was in control of every second he was on the ice. Hell, he was practically a god out there.
There were only thirty seconds left of the tied game, and I sucked in a breath, heart pounding in my chest when Alex passed Jax the puck. He took it straight up the middle, but he didn’t see the defenseman charging right at him. I jumped up from my seat and screamed at him to watch out. My body yelled at me to somehow magically protect him, but all I could do was watch as Jax’s opponent lowered his shoulder, going in for the check. At the absolute last second, Jax deked out of the way, and the asshole player went flying across the ice. I couldn’t believe I used to like that team.
Jax made the goal look easy, and his teammates wrapped him up in a huddle. Jax escaped his teammates, and his eyes found mine. The floor dropped out of my stomach while my heart tried to escape my chest. I wasn’t sure how I would be able to look at him again. Hell, how was I going to complete full sentences when he was around after this?
Piper knocked her shoulder against mine, smiling. “Right?”
Not moving my eyes from Jax, I smiled back, cheeks flushed. “Right.”
FIFTEEN
JAX
The Brewhouse was where everyone hung out after games. It was an older bar with wood tables, perfect for getting together with friends. After tonight’s win, it was packed with cheering fans, all vying for our attention, but all I cared about was getting to Sid.
Lucas led the way through the crowd to get to the girls’ table. “You ready?”
“For what?”
He wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “To see your girl after she’s watched you play?”
“Fuck off, asshole.” I shrugged him off and walked toward the table, ignoring the little thrill his words evoked.
He called from behind me, “We’ll see.”
A tight feeling of possessiveness filled my chest when I spotted Sidney. She was stunning, standing in front of the high-top wood table, completely relaxed while everyone talked over each other. My fingers itched to run through her dark hair. It was perfectly in place, and everything in me wanted to go over there and mess it up.
A low growl formed at the back of my throat when Johnsy stepped to her side. He was in his rookie year and had already made a name for himself as a man whore. Sidney had to tilt her head to look at him, and the fucker leaned in closer. Fire burned through my veins when his fingers slid over her waist, shifting her out of the way of guys piling into the bar.
Fuck this.
My feet ate up the space between us, and before I could think better of it, I wrapped my arms around her waist and tugged her back against my chest. “How’d you like the game, Sid?”
Her body tensed for a second, but she relaxed into my hold, turning her face to look at me, eyes full of curiosity.
“I liked when that huge guy landed a punch,” she said, her voice teasing.