Chapter 2
TWO
EASTON
There’s no mistaking that the beautiful girl swaying her ass to the music on top of the bar is the same one I locked eyes with during the final period.
Her Elmwood jersey is gone—thank fuck.
My gaze drags over her, captivated by every move she makes.
She flips her hair to one side, grinning as she lifts her arms into the air and rocks her hips back and forth.
The strappy black top beneath her flannel that crisscrosses over her chest rides up to flash the bar a peek of her stomach. Snug jeans hug her soft curves, and—
“Dude.” Cameron claps my shoulder, sputtering through his amusement. “You almost ate it.”
“Yeah.” My answer is distant and I brush him off absently.
“You good?” He waves a hand in front of my face when I don’t answer. “Hello? Earth to East.”
I’m not listening at all.
The girl dancing owns my focus.
She wore Donnelly’s number to the game, but I want her beneath me tonight while I make her scream. Hell yeah, she’s exactly the girl I need.
“Guess I’m finding another lucky lady tonight,” Noah says.
That gets my attention. I bunch my fists and ride the hot wave of jealousy that slams into me at the thought of her with him.
This is a first. I’ve never been one to clash with my friends over a girl.
A moment ago we were both admiring her before I recognized her, but now I’m gripped by an unfamiliar sense of possessiveness.
Noah holds his hands up. “Relax, man. She’s all yours. Not really my type, anyway.”
“Every girl is your type,” Cameron says wryly.
He shakes his head. “Not my friends’ girls. I’ve never slept with someone any of you have been with.”
The others follow us over as my feet continue carrying me closer to the crowd watching the girl on the bar. Half of them bob and sway with her, singing the seductive tune as a group.
“You’re missing the show,” Madden says gruffly.
He grunts behind me as if he’s been jabbed in the stomach.
Elijah mutters under his breath, “Don’t say anything or they’ll make me keep dancing for the whole song.”
Noah chuckles. “Our captain’s found a much more appealing performance.”
Some guy starts to climb up to join her.
She shakes her head with a sexy little smirk and nudges him down with the toe of the knee-high boots encasing her long legs.
When another guy tries his luck, she says something to Reagan and accepts the drink nozzle attached behind the bar.
Sinking to a low pose as the chorus hits, she squirts him with a quick spray of water, earning the cheers of the rest of the Elmwood players.
She’s a firecracker. I find myself smiling, my shitty mood over the loss gone.
It falls when someone else moves in on her, planting his hands on the bar at her feet. I recognize Donnelly, even from the back of his head. I can’t hear what he’s saying but it’s clear he’s bothering her.
I’m moving again before I’m aware of what I plan to do.
She doesn’t listen to him. Rolling her eyes, she moves out of reach.
“Don’t just watch, you numbnuts. She’s still off-limits.” Donnelly searches his nearest teammates’ faces. “Help me get her down.”
Another Elmwood player edges closer in my periphery.
A muscle jumps in my jaw when I catch the way he looks up at her. Donnelly thinking he can take this girl home is bad enough. Curbing the strong urge to deck this guy for it, I weave through the crowd she drew, intent on making all the Elmwood guys back the fuck off.
I catch sight of his name printed on the back of his red warm up jacket when he pushes past his teammates to get to the bar.
Werner. Sounds like wiener. I smirk, overwriting his name in my head with the fitting replacement. His arm is in a cast from above his elbow all the way down. I vaguely recall playing against him last year. It clicks that this guy is benched this season because of it.
We reach the bar at the same time. I ignore him for the moment, grasping a fistful of Donnelly’s pullover to wrench him away.
“She doesn’t seem interested. I think that’s your cue to go.” I leave the unspoken before you get punched hanging in the air between us.
He gets in my face. “No one asked you, Blake.”
“No one had to. It’s obvious to the whole bar she’s not into you.”
Satisfaction floods my chest when I give Donnelly a warning shove and earn her attention. Her sensual movements slow in the corner of my eye, though she doesn’t stop dancing. Tilting my head to meet her curious gaze, I offer her a crooked smile.
“These guys bothering you, sweetheart? I can make them leave if you want.”
Wiener fucks up big time by reaching around me and grabbing at her flannel with his good hand. It causes her to wobble when he tugs. I clamp my fingers over his wrist with a forceful squeeze.
“Hey,” I grit out. “That’s dangerous, idiot. You’ll make her fall.”
If he doesn’t let go, I’ll break his other arm to match the one in the cast. He won’t ever make it off the injured reserve list after I’m through with him.
He shakes me off with a frown and releases her. “Step off. I can handle her.”
Before I get out a response, my mystery girl plants one hand on my head for balance and her boot against Wiener’s chest.
“Actually, you can fuck off forever now, Johnny.” There’s a hard edge to her fierce tone.
She pushes off with her foot and he falls back a couple of steps, mouth set in a line.
“If I want to dance on the bar, I will. I don’t need Ryan’s permission to enjoy myself, and I sure as hell don’t need yours. ”
She knows them? I guess that explains why she wore Donnelly’s jersey. Irritation simmers in my gut. She might know them, but she doesn’t want them harassing her.
“Stop making a scene and get down,” Donnelly argues.
He reaches for her. I shove him back again, blocking him by standing between him and the bar.
“Try that again, and I’ll lay you out flat on your back, asshole. She said no.”
He stares at me with his features twisted in a mix of disbelief and anger. I smirk when I catch sight of my teammates squaring up behind him. They’ve got my back.
“We’re not on the ice now, Donnelly.” The warning is evident in Cameron’s words. “You won’t get any more cheap shots in.”
“Says the losing team,” Wiener replies.
Noah eyes the cast. “Didn’t see you out there, pretty boy. Best pipe down.”
“Pretty boy? You wanna go? I’ll still kick your asses.”
Wiener—no fucking way am I ever calling him anything else again—takes a threatening step toward my teammates. His buddies hold him back with placating protests.
While my friends distract Elmwood’s team, I turn my attention back to my mystery girl.
“Feel like getting out of here?” I ask.
She stares at me for so long, I believe she’s going to turn me down. Her gaze bounces between me and the guys arguing behind me.
Finally, she nods. “If it gets me away from them? Yeah.”
I offer her my hand. She holds out on me for another beat, scrutinizing me before she slips her hand in mine.
Grinning, I haul her off the bar and catch her over my shoulder. A surprised shriek escapes her, but she clutches my hoodie while my grip settles on the back of her lower thigh to keep her steady.
A laugh leaves me when Donnelly realizes I’m halfway across the room. His shouts follow us as we make our getaway.
I forget the sting of losing the game because this win tastes far sweeter.
Having a hot girl over my shoulder puts me in an excellent mood.
Even better, she left with me instead of Donnelly.
She’s not cheering for him now. Satisfaction expands in my chest because soon I’ll have her screaming for me instead.
We’re approaching the square at the center of town three blocks away from the bar when she taps me on the back.
“So, are you going to let me down soon, or what? I’m just hanging over your shoulder.”
Chuckling, I pretend to think about it for a second. “I hadn’t thought about it, no. I like you where you’re at.”
She hums sardonically and pokes me in the side. I grunt when she prods at a tender bruise above my hip.
“Put me down.”
Reluctantly, I stop walking. “Alright.”
I guide her carefully, hovering my hand over her back ready to catch her as I bend to let her slide off my shoulder.
Her feet dangle, wiggling in search of the ground while she keeps an arm hooked around my shoulders to stabilize herself.
Her body drags against mine when she drops the last few inches to the pavement.
“There.” I clear my throat and ruffle my hair to distract myself from how good she felt pressed against me so I don’t pull her back in. “Better?”
“Much.”
Oh, damn. It was hard to tell when she was standing on the bar while I was too busy enjoying her dancing, but she’s shorter than me. Most people are when I stand at six-foot-five. I’ve got almost a full foot on her. In her heeled knee-high boots, the top of her head barely reaches my chin.
I study her long legs, guessing she’s around five-seven give or take an inch. Her body is banging with flared hips that look perfect for grabbing, and the strappy shirt beneath her flannel provides a tempting peek of her mouthwatering cleavage.
She brushes herself off, shivering against the crisp breeze.
“Are you cold? We got out of there without getting your jacket.” I tug at the neck of my hoodie. I don’t usually give my clothes away, yet I offer anyway. “Want to wear this?”
She tucks her brown hair behind her ear. “No thanks. I’m fine. I like the cold. It’s still bearable for me to go out without a coat. At least for another couple of weeks.”
We fall into step together and continue through Main Street square. She’s heading for campus, though I’m not sure if it means she has a car parked at the arena or if she goes to school here.
“Do you live on campus?” I ask.
“Is that your way of asking if you can come over?” she counters in a teasing tone. “I do. I’m in the apartment suites in Montgomery.”