Blake
Ifinish taking a shower, turn off the water, and dry off.
I wrap my towel around my waist and head to my bedroom to get dressed.
It’s the night of the dinner welcoming the new assistant coach to the team, and the guys and I are getting ready.
I should probably be thinking about what suit I’m going to wear tonight, but the truth is, I don’t care what I wear.
The only thing I’m thinking about is Briar.
I think about that flirty text she sent me the other day, teasing me about the sexy dress she’s going to wear tonight.
She’s getting ready with Poppy and Anna, and will come over later so we can all leave together. I haven’t seen her all day.
I walk over to my bed, grab my phone, and pull up our last text exchange.
I read her message for the millionth time.
It’s a little sexy…I’m excited for you to see me in it ;)
I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips. I can’t believe she texted me that.
When she first sent me that message, I was stunned. I didn’t know what to say. She’s never said or texted anything so openly flirty.
At first, I thought maybe I misjudged the tone, but then I read it again. And again. No way was she joking around. She put a winky face at the end too. That’s definitely flirty.
So I replied with my own flirty text.
And now, I’m an hour from seeing her in that sexy dress she teased me about…
I let out a slow breath.
Chill out. Act like you’ve seen a pretty woman in a dress before.
That’s the thing though. This isn’t just any woman. This is Briar. My best friend. The girl I’ve had a crush on since freshman year of high school.
I let out a slow breath, my heart pounding in anticipation of what she’s going to look like when I see her in that dress.
And how we’re going to act around each other.
Will she be as flirty as she was in her text? Will it be awkward between us?
Was that text just a one-off, and will she act like everything is normal?
“Chill,” I say to myself. No use getting all worked up about it now.
I put on my boxer briefs and suit pants. I notice the lighting in my bedroom is good, so I grab my phone and take a few selfies from the neck down of my bare chest.
I post it to my social media account with a cheeky caption.
Getting all dressed up for you tonight ;)
I toss my phone aside and finish getting dressed. I’m tying my tie when there’s a knock on my door.
“Hey, do you have any clean black socks?” Leo asks when I answer the door.
I step over to my dresser, open the top drawer, and grab a pair. I toss them to him.
“Thanks,” he says. He runs a hand through his brown hair, then he sits on the edge of my bed and puts on the socks.
A second later, Nick appears in my doorway. “Blakey boy, you got any clean black socks?”
I roll my eyes. “Seriously? You didn’t do laundry either?”
“Nope,” Nick says as he buttons up the white dress shirt he’s wearing.
I toss him a pair of my socks.
“You both owe me,” I say to him and Leo.
Nick pats my shoulder. “We’ll buy you a drink tonight.”
“The drinks tonight are free.”
Nick just grins.
“We’ll clean the bathroom this week,” Leo says.
“That’s more like it,” I say. I glance at Nick, whose keeps tying and untying his tie.
“Do you normally have this much trouble getting dressed?” I say to him.
“It’s this new tie. The material looks kinda weird when I knot it,” he says.
I walk over and help him fix it. When I finish, I notice Leo frowning at his phone.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
He huffs out a breath like he’s frustrated. “Yeah. It’s just my dad.”
“He’s on your case again?”
“Like always,” Leo mutters.
“Sorry, man,” Nick says to him.
“It’s whatever.” Leo stands up and slides his phone into his suit pocket.
Leo’s dad is Rocco Peretti, the famous hockey player. He was one of the best in the league until a knee injury ended his career.
He works as an analyst now for a big sports network.
He’s also a huge dick to Leo. Always criticizing his style of play and the way he trains.
I don’t know if I’ve ever heard him tell Leo “good job,” even though he’s one of the best college hockey players in this country.
Even when Leo got drafted to the pros this summer, I don’t think he even told him congratulations.
Just then, the doorbell rings
Nick grins. “The ladies are here.”
We head out and down the stairs.
“Travvie, you ready?” Nick hollers as we walk by his bedroom door.
“Yeah, I’ll be down in a sec,” Travis says.
Nick answers the door. Poppy and Anna walk in. Then, a second later, Briar walks in.
My jaw hits the floor. Holy shit.
Everyone turns to look at me. Oh. I guess I said that out loud.
I clear my throat, my face heating in embarrassment.
But Briar doesn’t look embarrassed or upset that I’m openly staring at her. Thank fuck.
She bites back a shy smile as she walks up to me.
I can’t stop looking at her. She looks fucking incredible. That dress.
She was right. It’s sexy as hell.
The pretty green color matches her eyes. It’s a one-shoulder style that dips low along her chest.
I stare at her cleavage for a solid five seconds before I tear my gaze away.
I follow the smooth lines of her body, how the fabric of the dress clings to her waist and hips…
She turns to the side, and I see her ass.
Oh, fuck.
So plump and round.
I swallow hard, then cough.
She flashes a smile that’s shy and sexy all at once. Fucking adorable.
“Hey,” she says in a sweet voice.
“Hey.” I stammer for a few seconds. “You look…wow.”
She smooths a hand along the front of her dress and glances down at herself. “You really think so?”
“Yeah. You were right. That dress is really damn sexy.”
She beams when she looks up at me. “I don’t normally get this dressed up, so I thought I’d go all out.”
“I’m glad you did. You look amazing. Incredible. Beautiful.”
Her cheeks flush an adorable shade of red. She tucks a chunk of her hair behind her ear. It’s styled in soft waves. So pretty.
I glance up and see that everyone is talking, not paying attention to us.
“You look really handsome in that suit,” Briar says.
Her gaze drags along my torso. Her doe eyes widen the slightest bit as she takes me in. I can’t help the burst of confidence inside of me. I think she likes what she sees.
Her eyes are dazed as she stares at me. After a few seconds, she shakes her head, like she’s coming out of a trance. I can’t help but chuckle.
She makes a flustered noise and starts to laugh like she’s embarrassed. “Sorry, I got a little distracted for a sec.”
“No apology necessary,” I say, grinning. “Nice to know that I don’t look disgusting.”
She rolls her eyes at me, smiling. “Blake, you never look disgusting.”
I quirk an eyebrow. “Really? Not even when I’m drenched in sweat after a game?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. You always look good.”
“Always?”
She blushes. “Always.”
An excited feeling sparks through my chest. I think we’re flirting. I like it.
“We should get going. Coach will be pissed if we’re late,” Nick says to all of us.
We head out of the house and order a rideshare to the restaurant. The seven of us split up into two separate cars.
I hold out my hand to help Briar into our car, since she’s wearing heels and I don’t want her to trip. We sit together in the backseat, quietly listening to the music the driver plays.
Every so often, we look at each other and smile. A giddy feeling sprouts up in my chest. It feels like nerves and excitement tangled together.
Briar and I have hung out a million times over the years, but it’s never felt like this.
It feels like I’m on a date. Except this isn’t a date.
Yeah, we’re flirting a little, but we haven’t crossed any lines.
She’s still my best friend. And as much as I like that we’re being so flirty right now, I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.
I’ll just follow her lead tonight. If she wants to keep being flirty, I will. If she dials things back to strictly friendly, that’s okay too. Whatever she wants, I’ll do it.
Twenty minutes later, the cars pull up to the front of Seb’on, a fancy French restaurant in the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver.
We walk into the spacious, dimly lit restaurant. It’s a rectangular dining space with an open kitchen in the middle. It’s all stainless steel and shiny appliances. A dozen people in white jackets move around the space. Everyone is slicing, plating, and cooking.
“It smells so good in here,” Briar says.
“Yeah. Way better than when I cook, right?”
She chuckles. “You’re not a bad cook, Blake.”
“You’re too nice. The only thing I manage to not burn whenever I try to cook is grilled cheese.”
“I love your grilled cheese. You know it’s my favorite.”
I can’t help but smile. We sit down at a long table in the middle of the dining space. They must have put all the tables in the restaurant together because the rest of the space is empty.
When we sit, servers surround us to fill our water glasses. Anna, who’s sitting across from us, pulls Briar into a conversation.
Nick, who’s sitting next to me, elbows me.
“You’re staring,” he says.
I frown. “I’m not staring at you.”
He rolls his eyes. “At Briar.”
“Oh.” I clear my throat.
He just laughs. “You’re so into her.”
I sigh and take another sip of water. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yup.”
I’m quiet for a long moment.
“For the record, from what I’ve seen, she seems into it,” Nick says, keeping his voice low so only I can hear. “She seems into you. She keeps looking at you like you’re her dream guy.”
“You think so?” I can’t help the eagerness in my tone.
He nods. “Go for it, man. Make a move tonight. Bust out of the friend zone.”
I take another quiet breath and another sip of water, wondering if I’ll have the nerve to do it.