Page 29 of Inside the Penalty Box

“Ah, I, um… Dylan is my new stepbrother,” I murmured, looking at Lorelai, who smirked.

Instantly I’d wished I could take that back.

Dylan leaned into me and whispered, “Oh, but that isn’t all we could be.” He pressed a kiss to my cheek.

The three guys watched and chuckled to themselves as Dylan backed up and returned to leaning on the table.

While the girls began chatting with the guys, I glanced over to see Dylan standing there watching me. I followed his eyes; they ran from my face, down my body, and back up where he met my eyes again. Then he tilted his head, signalling for me to go to him. I glanced over at my friends; they were all busy chatting it up with the guys, so I slowly backed up and made my way over to him.

“Told you I wouldn’t call or text,” I said, trying to prove a point.

“That’s okay, the week isn’t over yet.” He gave me that cocky smile while grabbing a handful of nuts and shoving them into his mouth. “Still have Saturday and Sunday.”

“You are impossible,” I gritted.

“I may be, but I think that is what you like most about me. So, what do you say we get out of here?” he asked, bringing his hands to my waist and pulling me between his legs.

My body was instantly on fire the moment his hands touched me.

“Not here,” I murmured. I’d meant it to come out sounding like I meant what I said; however, the lack of confidence in my voice told me what I already knew.

I was his. I knew it, and I was certain he did as well.

He glanced over my shoulder and then back at me. “It’s okay, they are all preoccupied.”

I looked over, then back to him. “How will they get home?”

“Give your keys to one of them. If not, I will make sure that the guys make sure they all get home okay. What do you say?”

I bit my bottom lip, trying to decide what I should do: stay here with my friends or leave with him. I glanced over my shoulder to see Mila, Sophie, and Lorelai all listening to one guy share a story. They seemed to be having a good time. I knew what I wanted to do, so I turned back to Dylan and nodded.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see. Give me your keys.”

I dug into my pocket and produced my keys and handed them to him. He got up and went over to one of the guys and whispered into his ear, then handed Lorelai my car keys and whispered something to her before coming back and grabbing me by the hand, pulling me out of the VIP area. I followed him out to the parking lot, where he guided me over to his silver Mercedes and opened the passenger door for me to climb in.

“What about the girls?” I asked as he fired up the engine.

“What about them?”

“How are they getting home? I mean, they will look for me.”

“No, I told Knox and your friend Lorelai to make sure he got them all home safe, and I told him you were coming with me. You’re good.”

He backed out of the spot and sped away before I could protest and took a sharp right turn at the end of the street.

* * *

I was a little afraid to be alone with Dylan after the other night. It wasn’t because I was afraid of him, but more because I wanted him to do those things to me again. But to my surprise and disappointment, he was on his best behaviour. His hands hadn’t drifted to my body once while we were in the car or now as we walked along the water’s edge and ate pizza. He was talkative, sharing things about his dad and his childhood.

“So, how did you end up playing hockey?”

“My dad had me on skates basically the second I could walk and started me with hockey almost immediately. I loved it, so Dad just invested in me. By the time I was in my teens, I was one of the fastest on the ice, and I could handle a stick.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

“What’s that smile for?”

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