Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
WREN
"He's insufferable." I picked up a chip from my plate and bit into it like it was part of Bray.
Hazards made the best chips and burgers in the entire country. That and the atmosphere, made it one of the more popular pubs in Dusk Bay, especially amongst the sporting crowd.
"Which one?" Sinclair asked half teasingly. "Tiger or Bray?" She nodded to where they stood around a table, talking to other guys from the team.
"Yes," I replied. I ignored the laughter from her and Elenna and continued talking. "They're both frustrating and I want to slap them both silly." I mimed doing just that, my hand bouncing back and forth between two invisible cheeks.
That made my friends laugh harder.
"I'm sorry." Sinclair wiped tears from her eyes. "I relate to that so much. Guys can be infuriating."
"They really can," Elenna said, her tone steadier, like always. "Have you tried communicating with either of them?"
"Bray's idea of communication is flinging insults at me," I said. "Tiger's is to talk in grunts and filthy looks. Not aimed at me."
He glared at anyone who came close to where I sat, even if it was a server picking up empty glasses from the table. He didn't want anyone near me, but he didn't seem to want to be near me either. Talk about mixed messages.
"Anyway, I don't need to communicate with Bray." I broke a chip in half and put one half in my mouth. "He's only my stepbrother and a pain in my ass. If it wasn't for Jenny, I wouldn't even bother to speak to him."
"Right," Sinclair drawled. She gave me a meaningful look that suggested she didn't believe it either.
It wasn't fair, both of them knew me too well.
"Can you stop?" I grimaced. "There's nothing between us and there never will be. I guess at this point there's not going to be anything between Tiger and I either."
Certainly not both of them. My friends were the model for polyamorous relationships. They had three boyfriends each.
Me? I couldn't even get one.
"You know what you need," Elenna said. "You need to meet someone new."
"She's right," Sinclair said. "It worked for me, and there's tons of single guys here tonight."
Preseason training started in a couple of days. Tonight was a chance for the team to go out and enjoy themselves while they could. Burgers and beer would be off the menu for most of them for the next few months.
"If you put yourself out there, you might meet the man of your dreams," Elenna sighed and looked over to where her three stood at a different table, talking to each other and pretending they weren't watching everything she did.
Sinclair's three guys were doing the same thing, but Javey hadn't taken his eyes off her the whole time. He never did. The only time he looked away from her was when he was on the ice.
"I'm open to trying." I popped the other half of the chip in my mouth. "Any suggestions?" They both worked at the arena, so they knew the guys better than I did. They'd know the ones to avoid like the proverbial plague.
"Actually," Elenna said slowly. "I've noticed Lex, the team's strength and conditioning coach, looking at you more than once. He seems nice. Quiet and not with an ego bigger than Australia."
I searched the crowds for the attractive, dark-haired coach.
In his mid-thirties, he'd have his shit together better than me.
In theory, anyway. Like a lot of coaches, he was a former player, but he never made it to the professional level.
I wasn't sure if that was due to his skill, or because the sport wasn't well enough developed in Australia yet.
Lots of players went to America or Canada to play, but many chose not to.
"It wouldn't hurt to go up and talk to him, I suppose," I said. "What's the worst that can happen?"
Yeah, I should know better than to ask questions like that. Considering some of the things we'd been through in the last few months, the worst could be very bad.
"The worst might be that you find him boring," Sinclair said. "But then, maybe you'll make a friend. And maybe it'll be more than that. You know what they say about the quiet ones."
That had me looking at Lex more speculatively. "They do say that, don't they?"
Would he be adventurous and wild in bed? Was I getting ahead of myself? Absolutely. Did I regret it? Nope. Life was too short not to embrace dirty thoughts.
There was nothing wrong with having a healthy sexual appetite. And this little birdie hadn't been laid in far too long.
"Well?" Sinclair looked down at my now empty plate. "We don't mind if you go and talk to him. Do we, Elenna?"
"Of course we don't," she said. "We want you to be happy. If there is a chance he might do that, even if it's only for an hour or two, then you should take it."
"And you know what to do if you need to get out of the situation in a hurry," Sinclair said.
We had a code known only to the three of us, that would let the others know if we were in trouble or just needed to bail on a conversation. We'd only used it a handful of times since we met, but it got our asses out of some uncomfortable situations.
"Yes I do." I pushed my phone into my back pocket and got to my feet. I brushed hamburger bun crumbs off the front of my emerald green, knitted jumper and my black jeans, and squared my shoulders. "Here goes nothing."
Trying not to look too deliberate, I wound my way through the tables and crowds, wine glass in hand as though I'd just come from the bar. I stepped up to Lex and smiled.
"Hey." Okay, that wasn't the best, most articulate start, but it was a start.
"Hey." His gaze dipped down to where my cleavage was on display above the V-neck of my jumper. He quickly looked back up. "Wren, right?"
"That's right." I offered my hand for a shake. "Like the bird."
He smiled. His expression was warm and immediately put me at ease. "Lex. Like the bad guy in Superman."
I laughed. "I was going to say it rhymes with sex, but Superman is good too."
Fuck, did I just say that? Good job, Wren, he now thinks you're a complete idiot. Maybe Bray had a point about my conversation skills.
Lex smiled more broadly. "You like Superman too?"
"Who doesn't?" I said. Okay, maybe he didn't think I was a nitwit. Yet. Give it a few minutes more.
"Not too many of the girls I've met," he said. "Their eyes usually glaze over when I mention it."
"They don't know what they're missing," I said. "So, are you a supervillain or just the regular kind?" What can I say, I'm secretly a massive nerd. Or maybe not so secretly.
He laughed. "I'm definitely not up to supervillain status. For one thing, I don't have a white cat. And I don't think I have the evil laugh down pat yet."
I grinned. Talking to him was refreshing. No insults. No grunts. Not even a death threat against me or someone else.
"I feel like having a cat is passé for a supervillain," I said. "You'd need something more badass than that."
He cocked his head and looked at me like I was the only other person in the whole pub. Maybe in the whole world.
I won't lie, his expression was compelling. There was something about an attentive guy that got my pulse racing.
"What would you suggest?"
"I was thinking you need a cockatiel." I nodded and held back a laugh.
He also nodded, as though seriously considering the suggestion. "A cockatiel, you say? They are quite fierce. If I had one of those on my shoulder, I'd look like the model supervillain." He stroked his chin, adding to the whole vibe.
"How's that plan for world domination going?" I teased.
"Better now I know what's missing," he said. "It seems if I'm going to succeed in life, I need a little bird." The look he gave me was so intense my panties almost burst into flame.
"Everyone needs a little bird in their corner," I agreed. "We make everything more interesting."
"I have absolutely no doubt about that," he said. "How are you at playing pool?"
"It's not on the top of my list of best ball and stick skills," I said. "But I enjoy the game as much as the next person."
I wasn't bad, but I was nowhere near as good as Elenna. There wasn't a person in Hazards she hadn't taken on and beaten. If anyone was going to achieve world domination, it was her, if only at pool.
"Care for a game?" He waved toward the table.
"I'd love to." I grabbed up a cue and started to chalk the tip. I felt Tiger’s and Bray's gazes boring into me.
I didn't turn to look at them. If they had a problem with me playing with Lex, in any capacity or context, that was their problem.
Tiger in particular. He had plenty of chances to show me he was interested and he hadn't taken any of them.
I wasn't going to sit around for the rest of my life and wait for him to decide to pursue me.
It was long past time for me to get on with it and forget about him. I'd noticed several women eyeing him off since my friends and I arrived. He could have his pick of them. He didn't need me.
I pushed him out of my mind and deliberately leaned over the pool table to line up the shot.
The angle gave Lex an eyeful of cleavage, and Tiger, a perfect view of my ass. In no way was I now thinking about him bending me over the table and fucking me. No way.
Okay, maybe a little. Like I said, this little birdie hadn't been laid in far too long.
I slid the cue between my fingers and drove the tip into the white ball. It hit hard, slamming it into the triangle of balls. They broke, scattering across the table and rolling into the sides. None obliged to me by dropping into a hole.
"Nice work," Lex said. He waited until I stepped aside and lined up his own shot. The white ball hit the six and sent it rolling, but it hit the side a centimetre or two from the hole. "I should have said I suck at this." He straightened up and smiled.
"Believe it or not, I like a guy who isn't good at everything," I said. "I'm surrounded by more than enough overachievers."
"That's another thing we have in common," he said dryly.
"You must have it so much worse than I do," I said, part sympathetic, part teasing. I'd seen him interacting with the team often enough to know he enjoyed his job.
"Definitely." He grinned and moved aside to let me take my turn. "We should start a support group. Hockey player victims anonymous."
Of course he said that just as I was about to drive my cue into the white ball again. His words made me laugh so hard I missed it completely.
"You really are a supervillain," I told him. "You totally did that on purpose." I shook my head at his smile.
If the start was any indication, I was definitely going to enjoy the rest of my evening.