Chapter 24
Grayson
“What the hell am I doing?” I cursed to myself.
The driver glanced at me in the rear-view mirror. “What was that, sir?”
“Nothing,” I replied. “Just talking to myself.”
“Of course, sir.”
I stared out the window as we drove across town.
This was supposed to be a marketing event.
One of three dates required by my contract—an obligation.
Sure, Josie didn’t piss me off the way she had on our first date, but it’s not like we had anything special.
We’d just grown used to being around each other.
Then why did I kiss her?
I’d seen a lot of her makeup videos. There was something soothing about watching her apply makeup to herself, but it was far more relaxing being the one sitting in the chair.
The way she moved the brush over my face with care, holding my chin in place, was weirdly intimate.
Somewhere between getting a massage and a haircut.
Throw in the faint scent of her perfume, and the way her breath felt on my skin, and then the smile she turned on me at the end of the video, and the memory of the Spurs game…
Fuck. I couldn’t not kiss her.
I knew it was a mistake. The playoffs were starting soon, and I would need to eliminate every single distraction in my life. Now was the worst possible time to get involved with someone—even if I was interested in such a thing with Josie.
Which I wasn’t.
But holy fucking hell, I was still reeling from the kiss. It was like a full-body high, a tingling sensation in my muscles and bones. I had the urge to get out of the car and jog the rest of the way home, if only to work off some of this energy possessing my body.
“How’d the date go?” Mason asked the moment I walked through the door. “Actually, I know exactly how it went. You hooked up. Fucking nice, bro.”
He held up his palm, but I didn’t high-five him. “We didn’t hook up.”
Mason lowered his hand. “Then why did you go back to her place?”
“How the hell do you know I went back to her place?”
“You added me on Find My Friends when we were in Toronto. I wanted to see what kind of date they were making you go on, so I checked your location. You were at an apartment on the north side of town.”
Groaning, I pushed past him into the living room. “Thanks for reminding me to remove you. Stalker.”
“Quit being dramatic and give me some details.”
“No.”
“Oh my God. Are you blushing, Captain? I knew you two had something real, even if you didn’t want to admit it. Or is it just physical?”
“If you keep asking me questions,” I warned, “I’m kicking you out.”
Mason followed me down the hall to my bedroom. “I hope it’s not just a hookup. Josie looks like girlfriend material. I’d hate to see you ruin that chance just for sex.”
I tried to slam the bedroom door on him, but he was already in the doorway. I pointed at his face and said, “If you don’t stop bothering me right now, you’re going to lose some teeth like Alexei Karnapov.”
I was an intimidating guy. Usually, I could threaten someone and get them to fuck off. But this stupid rookie was like a Golden Retriever, and just grinned and wagged his tail at me even more.
“Aw, you wouldn’t punch me. I’m too lovable. If you don’t want to talk about hooking up with Josie, I’ll stop bothering you. But my curiosity is strong, so I might end up asking some of our teammates. Or Manny. He’s always friendly to me, so I bet he’d spill the beans on your date.”
I clenched my teeth so hard I was surprised they didn’t crack. “We went back to her place to film a makeup video for April Fools. She gave a tutorial on how to cover up hockey scars.”
“Hah! I thought your skin looked extra smooth! Well, consider me disappointed. I still think you two have a bunch of chemistry you’re refusing to acknowledge, though.”
He started walking away.
“We kissed,” I said.
Mason spun around on his heel. “Come again? This time in my ears?”
I begrudgingly explained what happened at her place, starting with the makeup video and ending with the kiss.
“Aww,” Mason crooned. “That’s even cuter than hooking up.”
“Shut up,” I said, now slamming my door in his face.
But being alone didn’t make me feel any better. And I was still too wired to go to bed. Eventually, I put on some running shorts and a tank top and went for a jog through San Antonio to clear my head.
That wore me down enough to sleep, but my mind still raced with thoughts of Josie and the kiss.
Because unlike the kiss at the Spurs game, we couldn’t pretend that this one was only for show.
We had an afternoon game the next day, so I had to be at the Frost Bank Center early. I spent a little extra time practicing in an attempt to get into a groove and forget all about last night.
It didn’t help.
“Dude, I think the Zamboni driver is a woman,” Mason said to me when the game was about to start. “Tough to tell because she’s wearing a bunch of layers, but I locked eyes with her when she drove by our bench. I bet she’s hot. Dude, are you even listening to me?”
“Zamboni driver, yeah,” I said absently.
Mason turned to one of the other players and said, “Captain is too busy thinking about his girlfriend to talk to me. Did you see the Zamboni driver? Long eyelashes. Total hottie, I’m telling you.”
During the first period, I found myself scanning the crowd during timeouts. I knew she was working the game, but had no idea if she was selling beer in the crowd or at her concession stand. Either way, I could feel her out there, watching me. It was comforting, in a way.
But also distracting.
During a switchover, I caught a glimpse of a blonde woman walking up the stairs in the crowd. It only captured my attention for a split second, but that was enough for my opponent to juke past me and score a breakaway goal. The crowd groaned.
“The hell is going on with you today?” Coach barked at me when I skated back to the bench. “Get your head in the game, Steele. Shake off that rust before the playoffs next week.”
“You’re distracted,” Mason whispered to me on the bench.
“Fuck off,” I replied, though I knew he was right.