Page 42 of Why Not Us?

“Right,” Raine says. “You’re just friends. Not interested in each other at all.”

My face heats. Even strangers seem to be able to see my reaction to Nate. Suddenly I worry: if people who don’t know me can see how attracted I am to him, can he see it?

Chapter 14

Nate

We’re up two to one in the third, and I’m on the bench when Doug asks, “So what’s the deal with you and Adalie?”

I glare at him. “Focus on the game. Just because we’re up, doesn’t mean they can’t tie in the next ten minutes.”

“We’re not on the ice. I just want to know why she’s sitting on the edge of her seat looking like she’s about to hop into the rink and take you out of here before you get hurt. She’s seen a hockey game before, right? We’re not even playing that rough.”

My eyes find her on the bleachers with Patricia and Raine. I admit, I’ve looked at her more than a few times in the last hour. She does seem tense. But I’ve also seen her smiling and laughing with the other women and she cheered when Zach scored and again when another of our teammates, Matt, scored. She even booed when Tim scored for the opposing team.

She sees me watching her and smiles, lifting her hand in a small wave. I wave back, because it’s only polite.

Doug shoves me with his shoulder. “She’s cute.”

“There’s nothing going on.”

We change out, taking our positions on the ice when there’s a good moment. I find Tim, Frozen Fury’s best player, and send him into the boards when he gets control of the puck. He loses it and Doug gets it from him, taking it back up the ice. I follow, ensuring none of the Fury players can get to him. I note Taylor on the other side of the rink doing the same. Doug passes to Mace who’s right by the net. He shoots, but the Fury goalie saves it. He doesn’t get control, though, the puck bouncing off his pads and coming straight toward me. I stop it, taking in my teammates’ positions and the goalie who hasn’t recovered from the last save. So I take the shot.

The puck sails over his left shoulder finding the back of the net. Taylor is the first one to me, crashing into me in celebration. I can hear the women cheering and I glance over to find Adalie on her feet, clapping and whooping with the others. I watch her watching me until I can’t because my other teammates have piled on.

With this goal, we’re in a good position to win the game and everyone knows it. We set up a face off and the Fury win it, taking the puck to our zone. They’re desperate now, taking shots before they’ve lined them up, slamming into our players when we have the puck.

No one says anything unless it has to do with the game as the time ticks down. There’s only another minute of play when a Fury defenceman cross-checks one of our left wingers, Nick, sending him into the boards. I drop my stick and gloves, grabbing him by the jersey before he can skate away from the incident, even though the referee has already whistled for play to stop. Taylor is next to us in an instant, keeping the other Fury players away.

“What the fuck, man?” I ask, shoving the player. “He didn’t have the puck.”

“Fuck off,” he responds, pushing me back. “It’s a fucking game. Get over it.”

My hands clench into fists, but before I can hit him, the refs are there, taking him away.

Taylor hands me my stick and gloves.

“Is Nick okay?” I ask.

He nods and we skate to the bench. “Your girlfriend is worried though,” he says.

“She’s not my—” I cut off, finding her standing, her hands over her mouth, green eyes like saucers, watching me.

I sit on the bench, focused on the last seconds of the game. The puck is dropped and Aces wins it, playing a fast game of keep away as the time ticks down. The buzzer sounds and our team crowds onto the ice in celebration. There’s cheering from the stands, and Adalie is one of them.

After we’ve shaken hands with all the Fury players, we head to the locker room. My team is in high spirits. Matt claps me on the shoulder. “You should bring your girlfriend to all the games next season if you’re going to play like that every time she’s here.”

I’m tired of telling people she’s not my girlfriend, but I don’t have to as Taylor laughs.

“By that logic, shouldn’t you be playing well every night since your husband is on the fucking ice with us?” he asks.

Everyone laughs and Matt holds up his hands. “Hey now. I scored a goal. John saw me.”

John, Matt’s husband and our goalie, grins. “I sure did.”

“Is she coming to your place tonight?” Mace asks. A few of the guys are coming over for beers and burgers. “I’d like to ask her what she could possibly see in a grumpy dick like you.”

“When’s the last time you had a girlfriend, Nate?” Zach asks. “Wasn’t it like a year ago and didn’t it only last about two months?”

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