Page 23 of Rookie Move

“Sorry, Ally,” Sophia said.

“It’s fine. So, new guy?” Ally asked as the door swung open and a bunch of the players walked in to cheers, back slaps, andcongratulations.

Rylie took in a deep breath, not wanting to be part of that conversation or address how she felt about Ally expressing an interest in Desmond.

She tried not to stare at the door, waiting for him to walk through it. She should’ve gone straight home after the game, but with every interaction they’d had, and every day that passed, she stupidly wanted to spend more time with him.

“There’s my girl,” Finn said, breaking through the crowd and stopping to stand in front of Sophia, who set down her beer on top of the bar and wrapped her arms around him.

He leaned down and kissed her so intensely that Rylie thought she was having hot flashes. Good god. She wanted that.

Instantly, she remembered kissing Desmond. How his lips felt against hers. How he made her entire body tingle with just a look.

“Hello, Rylie,” his voice whispered next to her, and she let out a soft yelp.

Holy hell, where had he come from?

Desmond stood next to her; his hand grazed the small of her back before she could blink.

“Hi,” she said, quickly glancing around to see if anyone was looking at them.

“Did you enjoy the game?” he asked, his fingers still brushing along that same spot, and she couldn’t fight the shudder that rolled through her.

At least she hadn’t moaned.

“Yeah. It was awesome,” she said, shifting away from his touch and instantly missing it.

“There she is.” Her dad’s voice was way too close for her comfort with Desmond standing right next to her.

“Hey, Dad,” she emphasized, hoping it would knock some common sense into both of them.

“I’m having one beer and then I’ll leave you guys to celebrate,” her father said. “But not too much. We have practice tomorrow morning and anyone sleeping during video is doing laps until they can’t breathe.”

Rylie tried not to laugh when her father’s words were met with more than a few grumbles.

The bartender passed her father a beer and he raised it in the air, toasting to his players.

“I’ll be back. Don’t go home early,” Desmond whispered low, and then he walked into the crowd before her father turned back around to face her.

She took in a large breath. Dodged that bullet.

“I don’t want to spoil their fun tonight, so I’ll have this and then head out,” her father said. “You should stay and hang out with the girls. I want you to make friends here, so you won’t leave me again.”

She leaned in and wrapped one arm around his waist in a quick hug. “Your ulterior motives are noted.”

It warmed her heart that he wanted her here that much.

It was another reason to avoid whatever was going on between her and Desmond.

After one drink,Bugsy shouted good night to the bar and left. Alone. And Desmond made his way back over to Rylie.

Like an idiot.

At least Finn was still standing there with his girlfriend, so Desmond wasn’t obvious about it. He was just spending more time with his defense partner.

Like a good hockey player should.

Yeah. He was an idiot.

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