Page 128 of Can't Always Get What You Want

Lick him.

But we’re here to celebrate.

Taking a chance.

A risk, if you will…

I take another sip of my drink and try to redirect my perverted thoughts but it’s no use.

He shifts again, bumping my knee. Our elbows touch. Our thighs press together.

Every single point of contact causes me to tingle…

Cool it, Nova—you’re in public.

As if I need to keep reminding myself, my nerves are doing a good enough job. I’m on edge, waiting for someone to see us.

A fan.

A teammate.

I don’t know—the media?

“Relax.” Luca reads my mind, trying to put my mind at ease. “We’re twenty minutes outside of town.”

Correct.

Near Austin and Gio’s new place in suburbia.

I’m half-expecting him to lean in and whisper something dirty again, but instead, he sits back a little, sipping his water like he’s not responsible for the hormonal circus inside my body.

“You know that second goal tonight?” he says, glancing at me, like we’re just two friends having a chill, totally platonic chat at the bar.

I blink, dragging my thoughts away from his thighs and back to his face. “Uh, yeah?”

“I only pulled that off because Skaggs faked right at the last second,” he continues, eyes lighting up. “It opened the lane, and I knew if I didn’t capitalize, he’d never let me hear the end of it.”

He’s passionate. Animated. He loves this game so much it pours out of him when he talks, and I find myself listening harder, hanging on his every word.

“You were in the zone.”

Luca grins at the compliment and ducks his head like he’s trying to hide it, but I see it. That flash of pride. The spark of joy in his eyes.

“It felt good,” he admits, fingers brushing his water glass. “Sometimes the whole game just clicks. Like you’re seeing things happen before they do.”

I get that. Gio talks about that feeling often.

He glances at me, curiosity tugging at the corners of his smile. “What’s your version of that?”

“Hm?”

“When do you feel like that—totally in sync, like you’re killing it and nothing can touch you?”

Oh jeez—I have no idea. “When I’ve designed something for a client and hit it on the first mock-up. Everything about it is perfect and there are no changes.”

“I love that.”

“When else do you get that feeling?” I root through the bar mix to find something tasty. “Besides when you’re on the ice.”

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