did manage to keep some of the enjoyment and knowledge that was so repeatedly hammered home to me. And now I feel obligated to share that knowledge with both of you."
I shook my head. "I don't—"
"That would be wonderful!" Addy interrupted. "We can start tomorrow. We should do brunch first then we can have another girls' day, just like we did a few weeks ago."
I started to shake my head again but Jacqui silenced both of us and pointed at the ice. "Hockey boy has a breakaway."
I turned back to the ice and squinted my eyes, like that would somehow magically help me understand what was going on. All I saw was a bunch of men scrambling on skates, chasing after a lone player heading toward the opposite end of the rink. The purple jersey let me know that it was one of Dylan's teammates but I couldn't see who because the arena lights reflected off the gold lame name and number. Not that I'd know who it was anyway, since I didn't really know any of his teammates.
Addy and Jacqui both jumped to their feet. A second later, Jacqui's large hand closed over my wrist and pulled me to a standing position. "Watch, cher. He's going to score."
I nodded. Maybe I didn't know anything about hockey, but at least I knew that was a good thing.
I kept my eyes on the purple blur, surprised that my pulse was racing in spite of me holding my breath. I silently laughed at myself and exhaled, then leaned toward Jacqui to ask who it was. Nathan, probably, considering how closely she and Addy were paying attention.
The player slid to a stop then twisted to the left. I had no idea what he'd done, didn't even see his stick move, but the red light above the net flashed on and the sound of a loud horn filled the arena.
Addy clapped her hands and started jumping up and down. Even Jacqui did a little bounce thing, which I thought was pretty impressive considering the heels she had on. Caught up in their excitement—and the excitement of the small crowd around us—I started clapping as well. I leaned around Jacqui and tapped on Addy's shoulder.
"Congratulations!"
She frowned at me, her silent question obvious. I motioned back to the ice and pointed with one hand. "That was Nathan, right?"
Addy and Jacqui both stared at me as if I'd grown a second head and started reciting Shakespeare in pig Latin. I looked at them, then at the ice, then back at them. They were still staring at me with identical expressions of bewilderment on their faces.
Addy finally shook her head and I got the feeling she thought I was joking. "No, silly. That was Dylan."
"It was?"
"Oh, cher. We really do need to work on those lessons." Jacqui draped her arm around my shoulders. "Tomorrow. Tonight, you just make sure you help him celebrate appropriately."
Chapter Twenty
Dylan
Holy shit, we won. I still couldn't believe it. I had a feeling most of the other guys had that same sense of disbelief, too, despite Coach's words of approval in the locker room. More than a month into regular season, and we finally played a game we could be proud of.
We were out celebrating, this time at a fancier restaurant instead of one of our usual haunts in the Quarter. I couldn't remember who had suggested the place near the arena, or why we had all agreed on it. For all I knew, maybe we were just riding the high of not being total screw-ups for one night. Whatever the reason, we were here now and I could tell Morgan was a little uncomfortable. The place didn't have a dress code but we were all in suits. Jacqui, as usual, was in one of her outrageously noticeable outfits and Addy looked as put together as she usually did. As far as I was concerned, Morgan looked perfect in her tattered jeans and simple shirt but something told me she didn't agree. She kept pulling my windbreaker more tightly around her as she slid glances around us, like she was waiting for someone to come up and say something to her.
Nobody was going to do something so foolish. And if someone did happen to be stupid enough to try to say something, they'd have to deal with me first. I wasn't about to tell Morgan that. I might be a lot of things but stupid wasn't one of them.
I slid my chair and inch