Page 23 of Slap Shots & Sweethearts

The wait for him to finish his thought feels a lot like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Hey weren't you spending time with Hannah?"

The words hang in the air, heavy with implication, and I brace myself for Lou's reaction. Nate knows he's treading on dangerous ground, but he is still baiting the bear. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I'm the bait.

I hit the stop button and hop off the back of the machine.

Lou has swapped his stare for a glare that's focused on Nate. His voice is low and threatening. "Take that back."

The tension between them crackles with electricity, threatening to ignite into something more explosive. If there wasn't a treadmill between them, I'm pretty sure Lou would be using his hands to talk with. Getting to the level we are, means being able to back up what we say on and off the ice.

But Nate refuses to back down. "I'm just saying...Matt's single, Hannah's?—"

Before he can finish his sentence, Lou explodes, his anger boiling over. "My sister is off limits you figure skating biscuit eater."

Nate holds his hands up in surrender. "I'm not the one interested."

Lou's attention snaps to me, his fists are clenched as he steps closer. "Stay away from my sister." Next, he points at Nate. "You stop talking about my sister, unless you want to find icy hot in your gear."

"I thought you liked me," Nate slaps a hand to his chest as if he were struck a killing blow.

It's incredibly dumb, but the words that come out of my mouth bypass my brain, "Yeah, Lou. Why can't I date Hannah?"

Lou snarls, "My sister's too good for a knucklehead like you. She's too good for all of us."

"Don't you think I know that?" I tell him. "I'm surprised you haven't put her on a pedestal or something. But I doubt Hannah would put up with standing on one of those marble things, while a bunch of those laser things protect her from whatever you think is bad for her."

Lou's shoulders relax a smidge, and he smiles just a bit. "Give me some credit. This is the twenty-first century. I just had the boss man amend her contract."

I'm stunned, as is Nate based on his dropped jaw.

"What did he change?" I ask.

"She can't date anyone on the team, or that works at the arena without being fired on the spot."

My jaw drops. "You can't be serious."

"That's harsh," Nate agrees. "Dan dated and married one of the docs. He couldn't stop talking about her after she patched him up."

I nod. "You want to ruin her career?"

Lou's walls go up and his posture grows more defensive. "She worked too hard for that degree, I'm not going to let her get treated like some puck bunny by a player."

With each word he says I'm getting more and more irritated with him. Lou and I have been like brothers on the ice thanks to our years playing together. Every game Hannah's been there too, cheering for us both. It's not fair that Lou is keeping her in the dating penalty box while he's able to explore the ice.

"Well, you'd know," I tell him, my arms crossed. "You've been out with plenty of them."

His face turns angry in an instant, and he rushes at me. I plant my feet, square my shoulders, and prepare to take him. Nate steps between us and blocks Lou's warpath.

"Take a walk," Nate tells him.

Lou tries to push past him, but Nate shoves him back. Lou shakes his head at me, and I know he's thinking about ignoring Nate and coming for me anyway. It's a look I've seen too many times before he ends up in a penalty box.

After Lou has left the gym, Nate turns his attention to me. "I thought you were smarter than that."

"Tell me he doesn't deserve it for pulling that."

"And picking a fight is the way to change his mind?" Nate questions.

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