Page 55 of Icing the Play

“Hi, Silas, I’m Casey, quarterback for ASU’s football team.” Casey extended his hand.

“Nice to meet you.” Silas and Cash both greeted him and then Eli.

Wrapping an arm around Cash’s waist, Silas’s attention drew to me. “Congratulations on the win tonight, man. It was a close game.”

“It was Cooper’s touchdown that won it in the last seconds.” Myles edged to my side, beaming at me.

Warmth flooded my chest. Leaning over, I whispered in his ear. “With help from you.” He had to have seen the gesture I’d made before the play.

Myles stared at me for a moment. “Yeah?”

With a nod, I fisted my hand over my heart. “Absolutely. Seeing you cheering for me in the stands was like nothing else.” As I gazed deeply into his eyes, emotion burst inside me. Holy fuck, was this love? Did I love him? With a thick swallow, I said, “Just know that I’ll do the same for you when I can be at your games.” If only I could go to all of them. Yeah, I was going to learn a lot about hockey this year.

His gaze softened, and he cupped my cheek, pressing a hard kiss on my mouth. “Can’t wait, Cooper.”

“Hey, hey.” Silas scoffed and poked at my arm. “There are other people in your direct vicinity here.”

“Oh hon, leave them alone. Can’t you see they’re falling inlove? Remember when we were like that?” Leaning into Silas’s side, Cash released a soft giggle.

My breath hitched. Had Cash read my mind, or were my feelings that obvious?

“What do you mean? We’re still like that.” Silas rolled his eyes. “When it’s appropriate.”

I flicked my gaze to Silas. Who was this guy? He was sort of funny, in a sarcastic way.

A man with blond hair and dark eyes wound through the crowd toward us with a dark-haired man in tow. “Hey.” His gaze landed on me. “You must be Cooper?”

“I am.” I hugged Myles into my side. Another friend, maybe? But this one had muscles.

“Archer Carlson and this is my boyfriend, Leo.”

Leo stepped beside him and waved.

Everyone exchanged handshakes and greetings and then Leo said, “Casey, you played well tonight. Some of those passes were amazing.”

“Hey, thanks.” Casey’s face lit up. “We won, but the game shouldn’t have been so close.” He glanced at Eli.

“Mississippi figured out a weakness in our defense, that’s all. We’ll switch it up at the next game.” Eli lifted his chin.

“Hey, we need shots.” Myles flagged down a shirtless waiter in a Speedo as he walked by and ordered drinks for everyone. “We always have a Fuck U of A shot when we win, eh.” Myles grabbed his beer from the table and drank it.

“But you didn’t play U of A.” Silas eyed Myles.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s a thing we do.” Archer tapped his beer on Myles’s glass. “Right?”

“Yep.” Myles tossed me a quick grin.

“Uh-huh. Hockey players…” Casey shook his head, lifting the edge of his mouth and sneaking a glance at Eli.

“Hockey players, what?” Archer peered at Casey.

With a shrug, Casey said, “You know, you guys have all these superstitions, fight all the time and lose your teeth and shit.”

“Really? Let me see.” Silas stepped in front of Archer and focused on his mouth. “Open up.”

Huffing a laugh, Cash snatched Silas’s arm and yanked him away. “Really, Silas. I can’t take you anywhere.” He flicked a messy lock of hair from his forehead. “He’s like an alley cat.”

“And you love me, anyway.” Silas kissed Cash’s cheek.

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