Page 166 of Waiting Game

I narrow my eyes at him. “Why do I think you’re lying?”

He rubs his chin and checks his goddamn phone. “It’s not not a lie.”

He’s such a liar. I can smell his anxiety from here.

“It’s not not not a truth.”

Glee trickles into his gaze. “You’re worried.”

“Duh!” My hands go flying. “Four fistfights, Cole. A surgery. Broken bones! What’s going to happen tomorrow?”

“We win again.” He snorts at my huff but he snags a hold of my arm and draws me in for a hug. “I like that you care,” he whispers, nuzzling his nose against mine.

I huff. Again.

“You’re not used to dating people, are you?”

My brows lift at that out-of-the-blue question. “Not particularly. I’m better at hook-ups.”

“That makes sense.”

“It does?”

“You’re more fidgety than a newborn filly.”

He tugs me deeper into his embrace.

“That’s what you’re comparing me to?”

“Call it how I find it. I’m glad you were here tonight, Mia. Thank you for coming.”

“Aside from…everything, I’m glad I came too.”

He shoots me a goofy grin—I love how quickly his moods shift. “Aside from… you know… you enjoyed the game?”

“Aside fromeverything, I did. It’s better live. Morereal.”

“Of course it is! It’d have been ten thousand times better behind our bench.”

“Yeah, I got some looks when you scored that final goal.”

Cole chuckles. “You were the only one who was cheering for us in your section, huh?”

“For sure?—”

His phone buzzes. His ‘I’m so cool’ mask drops as he fumbles it when he rushes to read the message.

His relieved sigh has me asking, “Gagné?”

“Out of surgery.” Holding me tighter, he declares, “The next time you come to a game, you’ll wear my jersey.”

I canfeelhis relief. God, he cares so much. How could I not have all these crazy feelings for a guy like him? “I fail to hear the request there.”

“That’s because it isn’t a request.” His grin turns smug. “And after, I’m going to fuck you in it.”

Amused by his dual nature, I trail my fingers over his jaw. “What if you lose?”

“You’re going to fuck me and make me feel better about myself.”

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