Page 13 of Icing the Play

“You aren’t into JJ?” Zoma peered at me. “I thought you liked him?”

“I don’t know yet.” I paced the length of the room in front of the sectional. “I gotta find out, don’t I? And the only way to do that is to try dating him, right?” I held my palms out in front of me.

Pursing his lips, Zoma scratched his head. “If your friend Cooper wasn’t around, would you feel differently about JJ?”

I stared at Zoma. Would I? “I-I don’t know. Maybe.” Or…maybe not. If there was a spark between us, I would have felt it last year.

“Just have a good time and enjoy yourself. You never know.” Zoma wrapped an arm round Ace’s waist. “With you two being alone, things might happen.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” With a nod, I grabbed my car keys from the kitchen table. “Anyway, I’m off. See you later.”

After parking,I strolled into the dark wine bar, a misting system flooding the outdoor patio. No one was brave enough to sit out there in the heat. Why waste the water on it? Shaking my head, I opened the heavy wooden doors to the place and stepped inside.

As my gaze traveled over a scattering of farmhouse tables and chairs mixed with comfortable couches and lounge chairs, Ifound JJ, sitting on a loveseat, smiling back at me in a white button-down shirt and form fitting jeans.

With a grin, I strode to him. My insides didn’t light up for him like they had every time I’d seen Cooper. But I had to give it time. “Hey.”

JJ stood and wrapped me in a warm hug. “Hey, Myles.” He kissed my cheek and held me out in front of him. “You look fantastic.”

“Yeah? Thanks. So do you.” I had to give him that. Hewaseasy on the eyes.

We sat next to each other in the loveseat.

“So, I hear you guys have your first home game this weekend?” I picked up a menu from a round coffee table in front of us. This place was famous for its bruschetta boards, and I was getting one.

“We do. You want to go to the game? I know you guys don’t start your season for a few weeks and I can get you tickets.” He edged to my side and slid his arm behind my shoulders on the couch cushion.

My chest pricked. “Uh, yeah, but Cooper already offered me some tickets when we were in class today.” Could I get a few more of the guys to go? “But I have more guys I could ask.” I met his gaze.

“Sure. Why don’t you find out and me and Coop will see how many tickets we can get for you.” Dropping his arm onto my shoulders, he tugged me into his side. “It could be a fun night. We could meet up after the game, too.”

Holy fuck, this guy was making plans for us already. My pulse kicked up a notch, and I swallowed hard. It was fine, we could go out as friends too. “Yeah, so, what are we getting?”

Reviewing my menu, JJ said, “I’m getting a chardonnay. Do you want to share some of these bruschetta boards?”

“Sure. I’ll try the wine too.” Normally, I was a beer drinker, but wine worked. I set my menu on the table.

A waiter stopped in front of us, and we ordered.

Folding my hands in my lap, I stared at the table. What should we talk about now? This was a little awkward. “So, um…”

“How close were you and Cooper in high school?” Peering at me, JJ crossed his ankle over his knee.

“We weren’t like best friends or anything. We usually hung out with a group of mutual friends.” Should I lean back into him? It was a little weird having his arm around me like this. I snuck a peek at him.

“Oh.” He nodded. “I thought maybe you were best buddies.” He twisted his lips. “But then last year you talked about your gay friend Tyler.”

“Yeah, he’s playing for the Blackhawks now.” I rocked once. Did we have anything else to talk about? “You must have some high school friends around here, since you’re from here?”

“I do. A lot of them attend out-of-state schools. I only see them when they’re here for the holidays.” He dropped his arm to his side.

The waiter brought our wines and left.

Picking up my wine, I sipped it, the taste of oak and fresh apples washing over my tongue. “This is pretty good for a house wine.” I flashed a smile at him.

“Is it?” He drank his wine. “I’ve had better, but yeah, this is good.” He returned my smile. “Hey, after this, want to come over to my place?”

I raised my brows and gaped a moment. Were we hooking up tonight? “Uh, sure.”

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