Page 116 of Grumpy Darling

“Right.”

“Paige isn’t going on a date with Damien.” He tried to reassure me with a firm slap on the shoulder. “Stop stressing. She wouldn’t do that to you. Look, we have a game to win, a coach to impress, and a letter to sign. You should be thinking about that.”

I was already way too aware of all those things. And unbeknown to Reed, I also had my injury to worry about. But even though I knew I needed to start focusing, I still found myself checking on Damien, hoping to detect any sign that he might have received some bad news from Paige. Even just a hint of disappointment. But no. He was laughing at something with Owen.

Matt took a seat beside me, as I turned to Reed once more. “I don’t think she’s canceled on him yet.”

Reed ignored me and leaned forward to explain my dilemma to Matt. “Grayson might finally be with the girl of his dreams, but now he’s worried she hasn’t canceled her date with Damien.”

Matt gave me a playful nudge. “Never happy are you, GP.”

“Don’t call me that.”

His smile only widened. “I’m sure you’ve got nothing to worry about. But scowling at him across the room isn’t going to get you an answer.” Matt turned to face Damien and raised his voice. “Hey, Stoney, what’s the deal with you and Paige? Have you got a date tomorrow?”

Could he have been any less subtle? The whole team had turned to look.

Damien smirked, and I wondered if he had already noticed how agitated I was about the whole thing. “Let’s just say I won’t only be scoring on the ice this weekend.”

Scoring? I couldn’t seem to stop myself as I rose from my seat. Reed jumped up to stand in my way before I even realized I had taken two long strides toward Damien. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure what I had planned, but it wasn’t going to end well for either of us.

“Calm down, Gray.”

“Yeah,” Matt added as he joined my brother. “He was just messing around.”

“Well, I’m not,” I replied. “I’m going to kill him.”

“You don’t want to fight a teammate,” Reed said. “Not today...”

I did when that teammate was Damien Stone. I’d been itching to wipe that smug look off his face ever since he arrived back in town, and I finally had a good reason to do exactly that. I’d never let a guy talk about Paige that way before, and I certainly wasn’t going to start now.

“Reed’s right,” Matt said. “Coach Mercer is in the stands today. You’re hours away from signing with Ryker. Are you really that stupid?”

I clenched my teeth tighter as the sound of Damien’s laughter drifted across the locker room toward me. I looked past Reed and Matt and gave him my most lethal glare. But he only continued to laugh. I was about to force my way past Matt and my brother, but then Damien composed himself enough to speak.

“Dude, dude, I’m only joking.” He stood up, holding his hands out in front of him slightly as though he was trying to calm a wild beast. “Paige messaged me earlier. I know you guys are together. Congrats, by the way.”

“Congr—” His words only seemed to antagonize me more. “You think that was funny?”

Damien shrugged. “I don’t know, but your reaction sure was.”

“Itisfun to poke the bear,” Parker agreed with a smirk. “Especially now that he’s unlocked boyfriend mode.”

Everyone around me had started smiling or laughing along, and I realized, with my hands raised, I kind of did look like a bear about to launch into an attack. It appeared I was now the only one in the locker room still on edge.

“Seriously, Grayson,” Damien said, stepping forward to stand just behind Matt and Reed. “I’m happy you and Paige are finally together. To be honest, I was surprised you hadn’t already hooked up when I got back here. And I’m sorry if I delayed you any further. No hard feelings.” He stretched out a hand toward me, as Reed and Matt cautiously stepped back.

I was just as surprised as everyone else when I reached out to shake Damien’s hand. “Thanks, but there’s nothing to apologize for,” I said with a nod. “We’re good, Damien.”

“Thank God for that.” Parker’s voice broke any last remnants of tension in the room. “Now, can we save some of this anger for the opposition?”

“He’s right,” Reed said, addressing the rest of the team. “Everyone get yourselves together. Let’s get out there and make the Wolves howl in pain!”

The guys all started whooping and howling in reply, sharing grins and cheers of agreement.

“Warm-ups start in two minutes,” Reed added, once the noise died down. As everyone focused on their final preparations, my brother turned to me, keeping his voice low. “You sure you’re good?”

“Well, I’m not going to prison for the murder of Damien Stone, if that’s what you’re asking.”

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