Chapter 12 #2
Across the table, Jesse made a heart shape with his hands. “Aww, Drew, do you care about me?”
Drew’s eyes narrowed. “I care about your ability to play.”
“You should care about your own ability to rein in your goddamn temper,” Matt snapped, his nostrils flaring as he sucked in a deep breath in a visible effort to calm himself.
“My temper is fine. I was taught to be the team’s battering ram, and I was just doing my job.”
Jane huddled closer to my side. The others must be making her uncomfortable. While I knew she had a spine of steel when needed, it was obvious that she generally didn’t like confrontation. She was here because of me, so I had a duty to fix the situation before it caused her any more distress.
Matt’s hands fisted. “It’s not your—”
“Cut it out.” My words were firm, leaving no room for argument.
“Everyone, just sit down, stop causing a scene, and act like professionals. People are watching. Do you want to get reamed out by Coach for ending up on Chicago Sports News Online because you were squabbling in a bar like a bunch of kids?”
To their credit, they all looked a little ashamed.
Good.
Now, to smooth things over before they went to crap again.
“Here’s what’s going to happen.” I kept my shoulders squared and hoped that my protective stance beside Jane would help her relax.
“We’re going to split into teams of two and we’re going to play pool in that corner over there until the food arrives.
No one is going to raise their voice, and we’re all going to have fun. ”
“So much fun,” Jesse mouthed, smirking.
“Matt and Drew, you’re team one.” I looked around and focused on two of the rookies who’d been the loudest. “Brown and Rasmussen are team two. The rest of you can sort yourselves out however you’d like.”
Jane nudged me with her elbow. “What about us? Can we play?”
I cleared my throat. “Partners are welcome to join in too.”
We moved as a group to the corner. Matt seemed to have gotten control of his temper and grabbed a pool cue from the rack and started chalking it. Meanwhile, Drew set up the balls and positioned the white one on the top of the D, ready to go.
The crowd dissipated as they broke into smaller subgroups, spreading out across the three other pool tables in the corner. I considered joining one of the other tables, but this group had been the ones causing problems, and I was reluctant to leave them.
Rasmussen glanced in my direction and winked. It took me a moment to realize that he was winking at Jane and not me.
“Get your eyes off my girl,” I said, my tone laced with warning.
His eyes widened and he held his hands up defensively. “I thought you said she was your assistant.”
Ah, so at least one person hadn’t heard about our changed status.
“She was,” I agreed, edging closer to her since she seemed uncomfortable with the attention. “But now she’s more.”
His forehead furrowed. “Isn’t that, like, weird?”
“Leave them alone.” Matt passed the chalk to Brown. “It’s rude to question other people’s relationships.”
Huh. Perhaps the reason no one had outright said anything to us was because Matt had told them not to. If so, I owed him my gratitude.
“I’ll get us drinks,” Jane said, backing away. “Do you want another lemon tonic?”
“Yes, please.”
She left my side and disappeared into the throng of people. Matt and Brown flipped a coin to see who would start and then Matt broke the balls. He didn’t sink any, so Brown took a shot, slotting a striped ball into a pocket.
A warm body pressed up against mine and I turned, expecting it to be Jane with our drinks.
“That was fast,” I said. But it wasn’t her. The girl was barely legal drinking age, with dyed blonde hair and a too short dress.
“Hi,” she breathed, batting fake eyelashes at me. “Me and my friends were at your game. You played so well.”
I nudged her away with my elbow, trying to be subtle. “Do I know you?”
“No.” She giggled and covered her mouth. “I’m Nevaeh.”
She wound one of her arms around mine, closing the distance between us once again.
This time, I was less subtle as I yanked my arm away and stepped backward.
“Sorry, Nevaeh, but I’m here with my girlfriend.” I looked around, hoping Jane would materialize, but she was still over at the bar. A large, bald man in a football shirt was looming over her, standing way too close.
Something unpleasant surged through me. That wasn’t acceptable.
“Excuse me.” I stalked away, twisting around people and bumping into them when I had to, in order to get to Jane.
The closer I got, the easier it was to see that the guy bothering her was drunk.
He was swaying slightly, and when he spoke, it was in that gusty way where you just knew his breath must stink of beer or spirits.
I’d nearly reached them when Jane turned to accept two drinks from the bartender, neatly digging her elbow into the man’s side as she did. He gave an “ooph” and stumbled away, clearing enough space for her to step away from the bar and head back toward the team.
She came up short at the sight of me. “What are you doing? I said I’d get the drinks.”
“I was on a rescue mission,” I said, more doubt than I’d like in my voice because she clearly hadn’t needed rescuing.
She pursed her lips. “I see. I appreciate your good intentions, but I don’t need you to rescue me.”
No, I was beginning to see that, and much as this new side to her that I was discovering continued to confuse me, I couldn’t deny that she intrigued me too.
And that was dangerous.
If I allowed my attraction to her to grow deeper, I’d only end up distracted from hockey and heartsick when I couldn’t give her the time and attention she wanted. I only had so much of myself to go around, and I had no desire to be told I wasn’t enough. Not by the team, and definitely not by her.