Blocked (Boston Terriers Hockey #3) - Jacob Chance Page 0,4
in this huge place.” He catches hold of my hand, and my knees weaken from the skin to skin contact. His palm is warm against mine. Leading me from one endless room to another, we finally end up on the back patio where it’s not much quieter than it was inside. There’s a crazy amount of splashing and shrieking coming from the pool.
Still holding my hand, Shaw leads me to the side of the patio and we head past the pool area. Following a lit pathway, the shrieking and splashing fades away and we come to a badminton net nestled behind a row of flowering bushes. “Oh, hell yeah.” Shaw laughs. “Have you ever played before?”
“Some.”
“Are you up for a match now?”
I press my lips together and shrug. “Sure. It beats being in the house.” There are spotlights strategically placed to light the area enough to play at any time of night. Kicking my sandals off, the thick, short grass is soft as a shaggy rug under my feet as I walk over to pick up the rackets from the ground and hand one to Shaw.
“Where’s the birdie?” I ask.
“The what?”
“The birdie. You know the plastic thing we hit.”
He barks out a laugh. “It’s called a shuttlecock.”
“Are you joking?”
“I’m completely serious. Look.” He pulls out his phone and googles to prove it for me.
I scrunch my nose up. “Wow. I had no idea. Why has my family always called it a birdie?”
“Maybe because it’s easier to say? Or because it flies through the air?”
“I don’t know if I can say shuttlecock with a straight face.” I giggle.
Shaw echoes my laugh with one of his own. “We can keep up your family tradition and call it a birdie. Or we can call it a shuttle, like a lot of people do.”
“I vote for birdie. It sounds more fun.”
“Works for me. Do you want to serve first, since you haven’t played as much as me?”
“Sure.” I bite back a grin and line up across the net from him. I hold the birdie and make contact with the center of my racket. It flies like a tiny missile over to Shaw’s side, and he swings, missing it completely. Shaw turns his back to pick the birdie up and I do a quick celebratory dance before he can notice.
He moves toward me, handing it off, since it’s still my serve. “That was some beginner’s luck.”
“Yeah, how about that?” I do my best to look surprised, but I have a feeling it won’t take Shaw long to figure out I may have downplayed my badminton experience. I serve again, and just like the last time, it flies past him.
He sweeps the curling hair from his forehead and cocks a brow as he comes my way. He hands me the birdie. “I think I’m being played.”
“Why would you think such a thing? Would I do that to you?” I place a hand on my chest and innocently flutter my eyelashes.
“Absolutely.”
I can’t hold in my laughter, and Shaw grins as he watches me. “I might be a little better at this game than I let on.” I hold my thumb and index finger close together.
“Maybe we should have a friendly wager on the outcome then.”
“What kind of wager?”
“Whoever wins gets to pick what they want. If I win, I get to hang out with you alone sometime when your brother’s at summer camp.”
He wants to hang out with me alone? Oh my God. This is amazing.
No. This is bad.
This is very, very bad.
He’s my brother’s best friend. This has trouble written in shouty caps all over it.
Chapter Two
Shaw
Maddie’s expression is adorable. Her eyes might be wider than I’ve ever seen them. Is she really that surprised I’d want to hang out with her? Doesn’t she know the lengths guys will go for a chance to know her better?
“We’re friends, aren’t we?” I ask, even though nothing about this deal is about being platonic friends.
“Yeah, I guess we are. But how would that even happen? Marshall will never allow it.”
I shrug. “Your brother will be at camp soon. We can get together then.” When I saw her at the graduation, I was overcome by how mature she appeared. She’s grown into a beautiful young woman, and all I’ve been able to think about since then is how much I want the opportunity to hang out with her without Marshall breathing down my neck. And the risk of angering Marshall might just be one I’m willing to take.
“Okay.” She