Page 34 of Offside Devil

“But then you jumped on before I could answer and refused to get off.”

“Handicapped perk.” Daniel shrugs. “Sue me.”

Zane orders lunch and Daniel spends the entire meal telling me every embarrassing thing Zane has ever done.

From the time he forgot to take his skate guards off and face-planted on the ice twice before he realized it, to the time he went to jump over the box door just as someone else opened it for him.

“He somersaulted over the door. All you could see was his legs sticking straight up in the air.” The memory of it makes him laugh so hard he’s crying. “Thank God for cups, because that was years and years before Aiden and Zane hit the corner of the box door balls-first.”

Zane takes it all in stride, letting Daniel poke fun. But I also note the way Daniel avoids mentioning anything at all about Zane partying or doing any of the stuff the headlines I skimmed over last night hinted at.

In that way, Daniel reminds me a lot of Taylor. He gives his friends nonstop shit, but at the end of the day, he’s loyal. I don’t know why I care, but I’m glad Zane has someone like that in his corner.

When we’re done eating, Daniel offers to keep an eye on Aiden while Zane helps me get settled. He’s being a lot more sly about it than Taylor was, but I still see him wag his brows at Zane when he thinks I’m not looking.

“I’m glad to know I’m not the only one with a meddling best friend,” I say when we’re safely out of ear shot.

“At least my meddling best friend didn’t do a pretend makeout session right in front of your face.”

I groan. “You saw that?”

“It was hard not to.”

“Well, I’d apologize for her bad behavior, but there’s no point. She’ll just do something even worse the next time you see her.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m used to Taylor.”

“Oh, right. You all kind of know each other. I keep forgetting.”

I never had any desire to go to any of the games Taylor invited me to. She tried repeatedly to get me in her family’s box seats, promising an open bar, free food, and whichever C-list actors happened to be in town that weekend. The thought of my face flashing on the Jumbotron or pictures of me ending up in the paper somewhere kept me away.

Now, after seeing all of Zane’s hockey highlights, I wouldn’t mind seeing him play in person.

“I’m surprised I’ve never seen you before,” he says. “Taylor doesn’t come around the arena a lot, but I’ve met some of her other friends.”

“Oh, I’m sure you have. I bet they were very nice to you.”

He stops in the middle of the hallway and turns to face me. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Taylor never told me what a ‘puck bunny’ is, but if I had to guess, her other friends would fit the description very well.”

Zane arches a brow. “If you want to know if I fucked your friends, just come out and ask, Mira.”

I nearly swallow my tongue. “Th-that’s not w-what I’m?—”

“Every couple has the exes talk at some point,” he says. “I’ll tell you my number if you tell me yours.”

“I do not want to know your number! And, for the love of God, don’t tell me if you slept with anyone I know.” I cup my hands over my ears just in case. “Those girls aren’t my friends, but I still don’t need that mental image in my head.”

He wraps his hand around the top of the luggage cart, casually leaning against it while the rest of his attention is locked on me. “Why aren’t you friends with Taylor’s friends?”

I don’t talk to people. I don’t answer personal questions. And yet…

“I only became Taylor’s friend because she was persistent,” I admit. “I was a waitress at a brunch place she liked. None of her other friends were interested in befriending the help, but Taylor was nice. She scared off a table of drunk guys who were giving me a hard time.”

“So, I’m not the first person to save you from a creep?”

“Far from it. I’ve been running from them my entire life.” All at once, I realize what I said—how much I let slip. I hurry to redirect. “What about you and Daniel? How long have you known each other?”

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