Page 36 of First Puck

I had the picture of Lance being a playful labrador, happy to have a scrappy little dog like Tommy bite at him, unbothered by his barking.

I didn’t know how Lance did it. If Brad treated me like that, I would probably shut myself in my room and never emerge.

“Okay.” Lance looked back at me, his thumb still circling my hand. “How about I order three things and you can graze like a little bunny? How does that sound?”

Thankfully, I didn’t have to reply as Lance rattled off three things from the menu. I had no clue what they were, but they sounded very fancy and French.

Tommy clicked his tongue as he scrawled down the orders, quickly glancing at our entwined fingers before shooting off.

Even though he looked angry, he hadn’t seemed bothered that Lance and I were together. Or that he was even surprised.

Maybe he knew more than we thought.

“Okay, Alex, strategy time.” Lance leaned forward, sweeping closer to me to share our secret plan.

I nodded, lifting one elbow to the table, meeting his playful gaze. “Strategy,” I repeated, as if I was actually ready for this.

I’d played against some of the fiercest teams in the country, faced off against guys who paired up to take me out as I raced down the ice, broken a leg, and it still wasn’t as frightening as actually telling Brad how I felt about him.

“Indeed.” His broad grin came back into play. “So, we can go in hard and try to do this in a week, or we can switch to the long game and you can drag it out until you leave for the Wranglers. To be honest, I’d love to draw it out. That gives me an entire month to play with you.” The corner of his lip curved. “And Brad isn’t exactly the sharpest nail in the box. I’d rather just push until one of us breaks.”

“Are you talking about you and me?”

“Hmmm, maybe.” He tipped his head to the side with a slick smile.

“How did you know Tommy even works here?”

“Trade secret.” Lance winked.

Tommy had hidden this job from all of us, but it explained why he didn’t go to parties. Most of us were absolutely shattered afterclass and then games, but to then come out to work a night shift? That might explain why Tommy was in a foul mood all the time.

Lance continued. “I’ve already come up with a point-by-point plan. We just have to initiate it in a way which will have the most impact. And before you know it, Brad’s going to be bending you over your bed and having his wicked way with you.”

My heart leaped into my throat as the blush I could never control shot up my cheeks. I instantly lifted my free hand to cover my face so he couldn’t see it.

Just because it was one of my endless fantasies didn’t mean I wasn’t embarrassed about it.

Lance had been doing this all week. Every time Brad was close but out of earshot, Lance would say something like that just to get a response out of me. The filthy things come out of his mouth about Brad left me blushing for ages.

He said it was getting to Brad, but I was too busy getting wound up by the ideas he put in my head. I couldn't even look Brad in the eyes when I thought about it.

Lance’s laugh echoed around me before his fingers brushed the back of my hand. He cupped it, gently removing it from my face, lowering our arms so he held them both.

“You don’t need to be shy about this,” he said, his tone changing to one of understanding. “I know you’ve been hiding for a long time, but you don’t have to suffocate in silence. I did the same thing and look where I am now.”

“You mean, tricking someone into falling in love with you?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Lance chuckled. “Well, you could look at it that way. Or we could say I’m so wrapped up in the idea of being in love that all I want is someone to share it with.”

Like a switch, he flipped from joking to serious so fast he left me stumped.

Someone cleared their throat above us, and we both turned to find Tommy holding a basket of breadsticks. I gasped, suddenly jerking back from Lance, but he kept his hands firmly on mine.

“Thank you,” he said placidly, smiling up at Tommy, not letting me move an inch.

“Sure,” he bit out, turning and fleeing to serve our neighboring table.

Lance looked back at me, already beaming. “See?Strategy.It’s just like a game, all about timing. We make the right plays and we’re in for the win.”

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