Page 18 of Breakaway

She set her hand on Travis’s chest, his very muscular chest. Forcing herself to not wrap her arms around him and pull him into a hug was a challenge, because that’s where she’d prefer to be right now. She pouted cutely. “I have to get back to work. But I’ll see you later?”

“It’s a plan.” He smiled and gave her one last, quick kiss before departing.

“What’s a plan?” her uncle asked.

Morgan sat down behind the front desk, and getting into work mode, she smiled at her uncle. “I’m sorry, I can’t chat right now. I’m on the clock.”

Her sarcasm didn’t go over well, and she swore she saw steam pour out of his ears when he turned to leave.

“See you later, Unc! Love you!” she called, still smiling.

CHAPTER NINE

Travis

Travis sat at the opposite end of the common table in the team dining area. Practice was over; some of the guys were just relaxing, and others were enjoying a meal made by the team chef.

“Damn, T, what did you do to Morris?” Luc Marcella asked. “He’s been glaring at you the entire meal.”

Travis shrugged and continued to eat his lunch. Coach had been particularly hard on him during practice, and if he didn’t know any better, he’d think he was being singled out. And he probably was.

“What was that, Marcella?” Sam Morris grunted.

“Nothing.” Luc shrugged, avoiding confrontation.

“Woah, Surfer Boy isn’t so full of sunshine today. Who pissed on your boogie board?” Harrison Dash ribbed.

Morris just growled.

Travis’s stomach flopped. He had an awful feeling that he was done. He’d likely get the boot before he was even back in his hotel room. With every bite he took, he was expecting the old “Pack up your stuff, you’re being sent back down.” Which wasn’t uncommon for rookies. They were typically expendable and only brought up as “fill-ins” for injured guys. Only the ones that really impressed the coaching staff were asked to stay. Luc had been one of those lucky ones. He had busted his ass and earned a spot on the main roster.

Hooking up with a teammate’s sister was sorely frowned upon. Not forbidden, but it was an unwritten rule. No one had ever said anything about a teammate’s niece though. You’d think that would fall under the same category, but did it really?

“What did you do?” Ben whispered to Travis.

“He has now caught me kissing his niece, twice. And in my defense, the first time I didn’t know she was his niece.”

“Who? The girl from the desk?” Ben asked.

Travis nodded and took another bite of his lunch.

“And yet you went back for more? Are you a glutton for punishment?” Ben prodded.

Travis shrugged. “I guess. But I’m really not scared of Morris. Morgan is an adult. It’s not like we’re eighteen and sneaking out of the house to be together.”

“You got balls, dude. Big, brass balls,” Ben said with a laugh.

“You got something to say, Fischer?” Sam accused.

“Nope.” Ben shook his head and shoved a bite of lunch into his mouth.

Sam glared in Travis’s direction and left the table. Injured Patrick Dubious, goalie Kaden O’Conner, and Kyler Wilson all followed—Kyler had a particularly odd grin on his face.

Travis liked Morgan and didn’t care what Morris thought. Like he told Ben, they were both adults.

After a long morning, he and Ben began their walk back to the hotel for a nap before the game.

“T, what’s on your truck?” Ben asked.

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