Dear Roomie (Rookie Rebels #5) - Kate Meader Page 0,78

hoodie to keep under the radar. Since he started playing so well, fans were more forward, but his subterfuge went to shit as soon as Edie saw him.

“Reid Durand! You were amazing.”

He felt a smile tugging his lips. “Thanks, Edie. I hope the seats were good.”

“Are you kidding? They were the best. And George got me a jersey!”

“I can’t wait to see it on you,” George said, his gaze adoring. “And then off you.”

Huh, George was really going for it. Reid caught Kennedy’s eye; she was clearly trying her best to keep it together.

“I picked up a few extra from the merchandise people.” He handed a bag over to Edie. “You can keep it or give it to some of your friends and enemies at Larkvale.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. And you should come and play bingo!”

Kennedy chuckled. “Not sure that’s a true quid pro quo, Edie. Reid gives you free merch and you make him play bingo?”

“No, it’s fine. I’d be honored to join you for bingo one day.” He raised an eyebrow at Kennedy who responded with a look of touché.

Only now they couldn’t stop looking at each other. Really looking. Kennedy’s color rose, staining her cheeks, and he realized he must be giving her that intense, scorcher of a look that let her know everything he was thinking. How was he so good at hiding his emotion on the ice but turned to a movie reel of feeling around this woman?

“We—uh, we should call that Uber,” Kennedy said quietly. “Get you two back. Reid has team stuff to do.”

“No, I’ll drop you off,” he said, an offer that was declined then argued over then finally accepted as he ushered them back through the center and out a different entrance to the players’ lot.

“You don’t have to do this,” Kennedy said. “I know you need to get to that after-game celebration.”

“Plenty of time for that. They’ll be there ’til the bar closes.”

But she stayed quiet on the car ride to Larkvale. Perhaps he had been too intense, too forward in stamping her “property of Reid Durand” in front of his teammates, and it caught up with her a little late. Edie and George kept the conversation going, and Reid responded to their questions and comments about the game as comprehensively as he could. They pulled up outside the home and Kennedy undid her seatbelt.

“You’re going in?”

“I just want to get her settled—”

Edie cut in. “No need! I have an escort here.”

Reid helped them both exit the car—this took some time and several exclamations about how high the car was off the ground and how dangerous the ice that didn’t exist was—but eventually the back seat was empty.

The tension, however, was thicker than ever.

“Looks like they’re okay,” Reid said when he got back in the car, trying to put her at ease, or bring them back to the roommates-with-benefits they were before the kiss in the locker room.

“Yeah, they don’t need us.”

“So you can come out to the bar after all? Everyone should be at the Empty Net by now.”

She lifted her gaze to his, licked her lips. And then in a heartbeat, their mouths met and every fucking reason for not being this close all the time went out the window.

She tasted of fire and victory, of wild midnight wishes. Of all his hopes and dreams for the future.

But mostly she tasted like his.

“I thought, maybe, I got it wrong back there in the locker room,” he murmured against her lips. “Came on too strong.”

She looked conflicted, but after a beat, she said, “No, not at all. I—I loved it. Still want to go to the Empty Net?”

In her eyes he read her need and it matched his own. “No.” He kissed her again, savoring her taste because it would be at least ten minutes of driving during which he’d have to keep his eyes on the road.

Her hand moved to his leg, squeezing his thigh. “Maybe I can—”

“Non.” He placed her hand back on her side of the car. “Keep that weapon to yourself. I won’t last if I let you have your way. I want to make it good for you, better for you than before.”

“Not sure how that’s possible, but I’m all for you trying.” She squirmed in her seat. “Just drive.”

27

“Penny for ’em.”

Kennedy looked up to find Edie studying her closely above the straw of her raspberry razzmatazz smoothie.

“Oh, nothing.”

Edie snorted. “You’re thinking about Reid. Maybe that great shot he made in the final period of