Page 2 of The Draft

“If those viral videos of you humping the ice didn’t do it for her, I’d expect nothing will.”

“I was stretching, and it was taken from the stands, so I’d watch out because I’m pretty sure there are some viral videos of you just waiting to be released.” He smoothed down his black button-up, completely unfazed by my surliness.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

“And that’s my cue.” Scotty smirked and adjusted his tie before standing. “Good luck fending off all those puck bunnies.”

“I think that’s more your issue than mine.” He saluted me and walked over to the table set up for him. There were at least sixty athletes in here, all of whom had their own table with their name and sport listed on a piece of paper in front of them. That was it. The bar didn’t need to put any effort in to make this event a success, the jersey chasers did that for them.

Looking down at the only beer I allowed myself to have tonight, I blew out an exasperated breath.

This was going to be a long night.

I hung my head in shame and pulled at my…curtains? Was that really what they were called? If so, I needed to rethink this cut. Then I growled at myself because this whole thing was stupid. I shouldn’t be sitting here thinking about my hair. Scotty was already charming some puck bunny, and as the room filled, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I had no choice but to engage in conversation with someone. I didn’t like to talk at the best of times, and this was possibly the worst.

Screw It.I’m leaving.

My chair screeched across the floor and I winced because it drew the attention of the surrounding tables. Way to be subtle.

“Where do you think you’re going, Big Man?”

Big Man?

I stopped moving. My feet touched the ground, but my mind was reeling because that voice had haunted my brain for nearly ten years.

“Madison? What are you doing here?” I tried to sound unbothered, but that was impossible when I was in the presence of Madison Bright. The girl who had no idea she held my heart in a viselike grip.

When I looked up, I swore I was having palpitations because she wasdressed to kill, and my initial reaction was to go on a murder spree and slaughter every single man in here for merely being in her presence. I’d start with Scotty because, even though I knew he wasn’t interested in his teammate’s little sister, he deserved to die for dragging me here and making me see her in that tight, black dress which dipped painfully low at the front.

She flicked her sleek, blonde ponytail over one side and smiled as she lifted her shoulder flirtatiously. Then she winked and blew me a kiss as she sat down. My jaw clenched, and I drew my hands into a fist as I tamed my reaction because this wasn’t the first time she’d acted like this. Madison was a heartbreaker. Had been one ever since her first boyfriend cheated on her. From that moment forward, she put on this flirty, dumb blonde persona which she was anything but. The girl was a valedictorian for crying out loud. I could easily see through it. She only did it because she didn’t want anyone to think she was hurt by the entire situation. But I saw it. Every time she winked, giggled and shook her shoulders. I could see the hurt hidden behind the act. She didn’t notice me watching her though, much like how she had no idea how her flirting specifically affected me.

“Mhm,” she hummed out. “I think the more interesting question is, what areyoudoing here? Because I know for a fact, you’d rather be watching Cade scrub his dirty boxers than talking to a bunch of girls about what lurks in yours.” Her gaze flicked down to my chest as she rested her chin in her hand. “Although, wearing a shirt that emphasizes your broad shoulders and hulking chest isn’t going to make the jersey chasers leave you alone, you know?”

I grumbled out an incoherent response because I didn’t like the way her compliment affected me.

Madison brought her hand to her ear, smiling. “What’s that, Big Man? I can’t hear you over all that discontent.”

“Scotty made me do it,” I said a little more clearly while adjusting my puck cufflinks. They were a present from Scotty during his freshman year, and I always wore them for good luck.

She dragged her eyes to my teammate who was now animatedly talking to some guy about hockey and the Stanley Cup, no doubt. “Ah, now that I can believe. Scotty’s the life of any party without even trying.” She pointed her finger at my chest. “You, however. Not so much. I thoughtyou voluntarily coming to a dating event seemed like a stretch.”

“It’s not a dating event.”

“Then what do you call this portion of the night?”

She waved her hand at the rest of the room. Everyone else was laughing and having a good time, drinking away as they got to know each other. As much as I wanted to enjoy myself, this wasn’t the place for me to do it.

“Suffering.”

“Sounds about right for you.” She giggled, and I hated the way it made my chest constrict. She was just so damn cute. “Ooh, is Scotty speaking to that girl he’s interested in?” Her perfectly manicured nails came together, and she looked over at him with interest. “What’s her name again? Laurie? Lana? Luna?”

“Laura,” I corrected. “And I doubt she’d come to something like this. From my understanding, she has no interest in athletes, especially ones who play hockey and happen to be named Scotty.”

“That’s what they all say,” she muttered, and when she noticed I’d heard, she squared her shoulders, owning the response. Unfortunately for me, it also emphasized her perfect breasts, which made it harder to concentrate. “Everyone says they hate an athlete until one with smoldering eyes and abs to kill pays them the smallest ounce of attention. Then it’s game over. The athlete’s already won.”

“Is that why you’re here?” I raised a brow and clenched my jaw harder than I liked to admit because even though Madison was off-limits, and she had been since I met her, I still hated the idea of her being interested in anyone else but me. “Because you know Cade will kill you if he finds out his baby sister is at a dating event.”

It was a twisted kind of torture I put myself through when it came to Madison. She was the girl I’d always want, but I’d never be allowed to have because her brother was my teammate and had been since we met in middle school. I may be taller than Cade, but I’d seen him take on the biggest motherfuckers in high school, and he’d win every single time. So instead of working against him, I found myself working with him and blocking any guy who tried to date her because if I couldn’t have her, then no one else could either.

---