I reached my hand out to shake his, and he shocked me when he laughed. “Kid, you have big balls, but don’t quit your day job.”
A properly embarrassed grin broke out, and I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
After I stepped out of the office, I slumped against the wall and placed both hands over my mouth. Not an idiot, I realized I’d gotten off lightly. I pushed off the wall and walked toward the family room with a purpose.
My heart pounded as I opened the door and stepped in. Most of the players and their families had left, but there were a few still mingling. A couple cheered me, but I barely heard them. It didn’t matter how many people were there, though—I only had eyes for Bleu.
She stood with her back to me. The flaming curls beckoned me to thread my fingers in it until I could grip it in my fist. I saw myself pulling her head back slowly and capturing her lush lips.
About five strides away, Crimson saw me and motioned to Bleu, who turned slowly. Her hazel eyes appeared bright green as her lips parted the way I’d imagined. By the time I stood in front of her, I barely acknowledged Dmitry herding Crimson away with a wave.
“You came,” I said and then wanted to smack my head. First time I’d seen her since we allowed ourselves to implode and that’s what I said. Yep.
“You kind of tricked me,” she said with a wry smile. Her nervousness was evident in the way she couldn’t keep her hands still. She plucked at the end of her hoodie string and tugged repeatedly on a curl. My fingers twitched to touch her, but I held fast.
“Not true. Dmitry did want Crimson to come to the game. I asked him to see if your sister could convince you to attend with her.” My grin was teasing before it fell and seriousness took over. “Can we go somewhere to talk?”
She cast a hesitant glance around the room. White teeth held her plump lower lip hostage. “Maybe. Where did you have in mind?”
“We can hit up Alfredo’s, or we can grab something and go to your place or mine.” Hell, I would’ve gone to McDonald’s with her if that’s what she really wanted.
“Something tells me we shouldn’t have this conversation in public. Your place is closer. We can talk there.” A heavy sigh followed. She said the last phrase in a tone that sounded as if she was ensuring I knew talking was all we’d be doing.
“That’s fine with me,” I replied. “Are you okay with riding with me?” It was asked out of courtesy, but I hoped she’d agree. We decided on Alfredo’s but got it to go.
We arrived at my house, and I carried the food inside and took it out of the bags. I plated it because I’m classy like that. We carried it to the table, and I pulled out a chair for her. My mom raised me to be a gentleman, after all.
Halfway through the meal, she looked like she was trying to hold in a smile as she stared at her food.
“What?” I asked her.
A snicker escaped her, and she glanced up at me with a mischievous grin. “That was some performance.”
I’d been wondering when she’d say something about what I’d done. My face heated a bit, but I still laughed. “Yeah, maybe not my best performance, huh?”
“You might want to stick to hockey.” She giggled again.
All I could do was laugh.
“Make Up Sex”—SoMo
“You wanted to talk,” I murmured as we cleaned up after dinner. He was rinsing the dishes and handing them to me so I could put them in the dishwasher. His kitchen was a chef’s dream. Hell, his entire house was amazing.
He turned from the sink and dried his hands. Considering his words, he chewed on the corner of his mouth and leaned a hip against the counter. For a second, it looked like he was going to reach for me, then his hand dropped to his side.
“Look, I’m not gonna beat around the bush. I know you saw the shit on social media. I’m not even sure who that chick was. You can ask Alex, because he was there. One minute she was talking about how we went to school together and wanted pics, the next she jumped in my lap and kissed me. I pushed her off. Nothing happened.” He took a breath, and I interrupted.
“Cameron, she answered your phone the next morning,”