Page 21 of Crossing Lines

I stepped to Patterson and patted his arm. “Hey, I’m going to have a nightcap before heading up to my room.”

He looked me up and down. “You want some company?”

With a shake of my head, I said, “No.” I flashed him a grin. “I’ll probably make a few phone calls home while I drink my Crown.” A whisky sounded really good right about now.

“Yeah, sure.” He grinned and squeezed my shoulder. “See you in the morning at breakfast.”

“See you.” My gaze found Jonah, watching our exchange from the entrance to the hallways. Shit, hopefully, he hadn’t heard that. I didn’t want him finding and hanging out with me. Okay, I did, but it wasn’t going to lead to anything good. Maybe once the season was over, I’d explore something with him. But now? No.

I strode off toward the dimly lit bar, the walls covered in richwoods. The place had the vibe of an old lounge from the fifties. A few other people spoke in hushed voices, some at the bar and others at tables. Falling into a round-backed chair in front of a circular table, I slipped my phone out of my breast pocket. It was time to lose the jacket too. I shrugged out of it and laid it across the chair next to me. Was it too late to call Mom? It was a Friday night, but she went to bed so early these days.

I dialed Laurent. He was surely up. The phone rang a few times, then clicked.

“Hey, Ryan. How are you? Did you have a game tonight?” Soft rock music filtered in through the connection.

“We did. We won, but barely. It went into overtime.” I leaned back and spread my legs out in front of me, my elbow propped on the side of the chair, holding my phone to my ear.

A waiter stopped at my table. “Hold on a second.” I faced the waiter. “A Crown Royal, neat, please.”

He nodded and walked off.

“They have that down there?” He chuckled.

“Of course, but that’s about all I’ve found.” As a grin worked over my mouth, I teased a fold in my slacks. “I’m sure I’d find more if I went to a nice whisky bar, but I haven’t ventured out that much yet.”

“I see. Have you met anyone down there? Who do you go out with?” he asked.

“I met a guy at a gay bar. There’s one within walking distance of my apartment. Interesting place.” I tilted my head, then scoffed a laugh. “I had to block him. He became a stage-five clinger.”

“Seriously?” Laurent chuckled. “Well, glad to hear you’re meeting quality people down there.”

“Yeah.” Knitting my brows, I said, “There’s a guy on the team, one of our better left wingers, who keeps…I don’t know, finding me?” How would I describe Jonah’s actions? Flirting maybe?

“You can’t date a player on your team. It’s unethical.” His voice grew low.

“I know that.” I exhaled a long breath. “He’s a forward, so technically, I’m not his coach.”

“Ryan, it’s still unethical,” he said. “What’s going on? Do you like him?”

I raked my teeth over my lower lip and scratched my temple. “Uh…yes?” Fuck, it was the truth. My pulse sped up. I was admitting this to another human being besides myself and it made it real.

“Keep it in your pants. You know better than that.”

“Yeah, I know. I haven’t done anything. He just…well, he tends to find me. Like he found me at the gay bar with the clinger.” I tipped my head back, gazing up at the ceiling. “And we had lunch together one time. It was totally coincidental.”

“Ryan.” He tutted. “Keep your distance.” He huffed. “How old is this kid?”

“He’s not a kid. He’s twenty-three. He’s ready to go free agent after this season.” My heart pinched. Him going free agent also meant he might be leaving the state after the school year ended. I definitely had to rein myself in.

Jonah walked into the bar from the lobby and looked around, then his gaze cut to mine.

“Shit, he’s here. Gotta go.” I hung up the phone, my pulse kicking.

Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants, he strolled to me. “Can I join you?”

“Sure.” I set my phone on the coffee table. Here he was, finding me again.

He dropped into the chair next to mine and tipped his head at my phone. “Did I interrupt something?”

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