Chapter Thirteen #3
He held out his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Janelle.” She shook his hand with a surprisingly strong grip. Especially considering she couldn’t be any taller than about five foot five. The three of them dwarfed her.
“You too, Nick. I’ve heard a lot about you.” The assessing look in her dark eyes could mean a bunch of things. He suddenly found himself incredibly nervous. Like he needed to make a good impression, or was being measured or something. It was clear he was going to need to earn Janelle’s approval.
Did Alex know just how many people loved her this fiercely?
“I would say, all good I hope, but I know that’s a bit of a stretch.” He kept an airy dryness in his tone, going for self-deprecating. He must have hit the mark, because Janelle laughed, breaking the tension that had crept in around them.
Alex slipped off her coat, and the only reason he wasn’t on his ass on the carpet was because of the death grip he had on the back of his chair.
Her dress had thin little straps, leaving her shoulders and chest bare. All that creamy, soft skin on display. His mouth actually watered. She sat in the seat next to him—the table was a small square that sat four—Janelle in the seat between her and Ty.
Ty nudged him with an elbow.
He was still standing, staring at Alex and all of her gorgeousness like a horny, teenaged idiot.
His cheeks prickled. He hoped like hell the dim lighting in the restaurant would hide his blush. Taking a seat, he couldn’t help but glance at Alex one more time. She gave him a sweet, shy smile. The tension leaked out of him.
“So, Janelle,” Ty said, his voice loud in their intimate group. “What do you do for a living?”
Janelle smiled, although there was a guardedness to her expression. “I’m a massage therapist.”
“Nice.” Ty took a quick sip of his beer. “I wouldn’t have survived my final season without the MT.”
Janelle’s shoulders relaxed a touch. Nick briefly wondered if she’d been expecting Ty—and possibly him—to judge her, or make assumptions about her career. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ty and Nick were professional athletes. They took all forms of personal health seriously.
The waiter came by, filling up the women’s glasses with ice water. “Can I get you ladies something to drink?”
“I’ll have white wine, please,” Alex said. “The house wine is fine.”
“And I’ll have a dry martini, please.” Janelle glanced at him and Ty. It was quick, but Nick would bet she was looking for judgement.
She sure as hell wouldn’t get any from him.
Just because he was restricting himself to water didn’t mean everyone else couldn’t enjoy themselves.
Besides, he knew what she was going through right now.
She deserved a drink, or ten, if she wanted.
And who the hell in her life made her so worried about ordering a freaking drink with dinner?
“So, Tyler…” Alex took a sip of her water. Nick couldn’t help but watch her lips on the glass, the long column of her throat as she swallowed. “I know you retired at the end of last season. What are you up to these days?”
“I did.” He gave her a smile that made Nick want to rip his lips off.
“I figured it was time, given that my back wouldn’t stop aching like a mother fucker.
But I didn’t leave the game completely. I’m doing a little scouting for San Francisco.
” He leaned back in his chair. “But mostly I’m taking it easy.
Trying to figure out what exactly I want to do with the rest of my life. ”
Nick snorted. “You retired at the end of last season, almost a year ago. If you haven’t figured out what you want by now, I say it’s a lost cause.”
Ty grinned. “What can I say? Playing professional hockey did absolutely nothing to prepare me for life outside of the rink. Did you know adulting is hard?”
Alex and Janelle both laughed. Nick felt his own lips turn up in a grin.
“Here, here.” Janelle lifted her water glass in a toast.
They all clinked glasses and took a drink. He felt his gaze straying to Alex once again. She glanced at him and smiled. Her hand landed on his knee, her palm hot, even through his jeans.
He took another sip of water. And choked when her fingers slid up and curled inward to rest on his inner thigh. His cock rejoiced, stiffening behind his fly.
“You okay?” Ty glanced at him. Nick could tell he was getting ready to thump him on the back if needed.
“I’m good,” he said, although it came out all cracked and broken. He covered his mouth with his napkin and coughed again. “Just some water slid down the wrong way.”
He glanced at Alex again. She deliberately kept her gaze locked on Ty and Janelle, who were eyeball deep in small talk. He had no idea what they were discussing, mainly because his focus was completely centered on the hand inching closer and closer to his cock.
She squeezed his inner thigh. He swallowed back a moan. Holy shit. She was seriously going to kill him, right here in the middle of the restaurant.
And, the sad part, he was more than willing to let her.