Page 28 of The Puck Player

I’m nodding until he says the word all. “Who is all?”

“The boyfriend brought the best friend with him, the apartment was like the fucking Brady Bunch when I left,” he complains, and I almost laugh. Jake is probably the least sociable of all of us after Daemon, so I’m not surprised he’s annoyed by this.

“Sounds like we have an important lunch to attend,” Archer cuts in, tossing his arm around my shoulder, and I turn to find him smirking at me knowingly. “It seems we need to welcome our new friend’s boyfriend to Fairfield.”

Which is how I find myself heading into town to meet Aubree and her boyfriend. Evie has taken them all to her favorite little dive bar that serves the best steaks in town, and when we arrive, the owner, Alison, spies Jake, and lets him know that Evie is sitting at her usual table at the back. We make our way through in search of her, the place only half-full which is quiet, considering it’s a Saturday afternoon, but I spy Aubree instantly. She is sitting against the back wall on one of the longer tables, with Evie on her right, and Ben and what I can only presume is her best friend, sitting across from them.

I know the moment she spots me because her eyes flare wide slightly in surprise, quickly taking in Jake, Archer, and Daemon at my side, before coming back to me, and I can’t help but smirk at her reaction. She looks fucking perfect as she always does, but for some reason her eyes aren’t shining as bright as usual. Today’s outfit, from what I can see of it, is all black, the only pop of color coming from the pink tips of her hair and her gold jewelry, oh and the fresh blush now staining her face.

Evie jumps up when she spots Jake, and following his girlfriend’s stare, Ben’s head snaps toward us, and we aregreeted with nothing but hostility in his stare. This is going to be fun.

“Babe, you’re here,” Evie greets Jake, and just from the tone of her voice I can tell she is genuinely happy we showed up. “Hey guys,” she adds, nodding her head desperately between us and the table. “Take a seat, we haven’t ordered yet.”

Aubree is still staring at me, as Jake moves around to Evie’s side of the table, taking the remaining chair beside her. Aubree has a space free beside her, and one in front of her next to Ben, but Archer moves to take the table for two next to theirs instead, leaving those free spaces for me to choose from.

“Bree, good to see you again,” Archer winks, as he throws himself onto the next table, before turning his menacing stare on Ben and nodding his head. “Hey man, big fan of your girl,” he adds, grinning widely and only once he has addressed him does Aubree snap out of her silent stupor and gesture between us all.

“Ben, Mal, these are some of my new friends,” she starts, the word friends stinging more than it should considering that’s all we are. “This is Archer, Daemon, and Alexander,” she breathes, still watching me closely, and at the mention of my name, Ben snaps his stare to meet mine.

“Ah, so you’re Alexander,” he fumes, and I cock my head to the side at his tone, flicking my attention between him and his girlfriend.

He knows who I am.Interesting.

“Been talking about me, Trouble?” I ask, turning my focus back to Aubree, and for the first time she smiles slightly, though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Someone has to warn the human race about you,” she tosses back, flicking her hair over her shoulder in a forced, yet casual manner, and I grin as I take the seat beside her and meet Ben’s stare head on.

“So this is the boyfriend, huh?” I question, staring him down with a smirk, and I can practically feel the tension rolling off of him. “Ben, right?” I nod at him, but he doesn’t respond, not until I flick my stare to the girl at his side and recognition flows through me. It’s Aubree’s friend from the bar. “Hey, Valerie, good to see you again,” I greet her, and I am once again met with that fake, flirty grin from the night we met.

“It’s Malorie,” she corrects, as if I give a fuck, and I nod, focusing back on Ben, who is now looking between all three of us in confusion.

“How do you know him?” he snaps at her, and she blinks back a little in surprise, before plastering the smile back to her face.

“Bree and I met him in a bar a few weeks back, right before she came here,” she explains, stammering a little before she looks at Aubree and straightens her shoulders. “He tossed B over his shoulder,” she adds, with no further explanation, and I hear a quiet sigh slip past Aubree’s lips, as Ben jumps to his feet and stares down at me, as if he is trying to intimidate me.

Spoiler alert, it doesn’t work.

“You put your hands on my girl?” he almost yells, and I hear Archer smother a laugh, as I refrain from rolling my eyes.

“Sit down, pastor, before you hurt yourself,” I respond lazily, but the warning is still there, and in my peripheral I can see Aubree fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable, as her so-called best friend jumps back in.

“No, it wasn’t like that, these random frat guys were bothering her and Alexander saved her from them,” she rushes out, placing her hand on his arm to try and placate him, and though his body doesn’t relax, he does lean in to her touch slightly, and my eyes track the movement.Hmm, interesting indeed.

“See, pastor, listen to your little Valerie here, I actually saved your girl,” I spit back, the last two words tasting like poison on my tongue, as my heart starts to ache a little. Fuck. What is that? Am I having a heart attack or something?

“He really did save me,” Aubree adds quietly, her voice soothing me, and Ben snaps his glare to her in a way that has my fists tightening. Go on prick, one wrong move, I fucking dare you.

Daemon angles his chair ever so slightly, and when I snap my eyes to him, he is watching Ben even closer than I am. The poor fuck is outnumbered four to fucking one and he doesn’t even realize it. Thankfully, whatever silent communication he is having with Aubree right now has him dropping back into his seat without another word, just in time for the waitress to arrive and cut the tension as she takes all of our orders.

I excuse myself to go to the bathroom, stopping Alison on my way and giving her my card to pay for dinner, and when I return to my seat, Ben now has his arms reached across the table, with one of Aubree’s hands encased in his. His thumb strokes the back of her hand meticulously, and he smirks when he sees me track the movement.

Returning his smirk, I take a sip of my drink before I lean back against the wall, with my arms out so one now runs directly behind Aubree, as I say, “So, pastor, tell us about yourself.” I watch him closely, noting the tick of his jaw, as he flicks his stare between me and Aubree.

“I guide and mentor young people within my church community. I teach bible studies, provide spiritual support, and organize ministry programs,” he starts reeling off, speaking with a tone that suggests he thinks all of that will impress me. “I also coordinate a number of charities, helping them set up fundraising events and finding donors. I’m all about giving back, I think it’s important we remember who created us, what ourtrue life's mission is, and to give back,” he boasts, and I force myself not to react.

Give back? I almost snort a laugh. This prick hasn’t even managed to raise fifty thousand dollars in the last year for all his so called charities, so what the fuck is he giving back?

“And you guys play hockey right?” he asks, not hiding the sarcastic disapproval in his voice, before he continues, “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll understand the real world one day, once you’ve graduated and got a proper job.”

---