Page 22 of Icing the Play

The marching band was blaring tunes in a corner of the stadium and cheerleaders whipped their legs and pom-poms around on the field, getting the crowd going.

I gazed at the bright lights above us. The sun threw its final hues of orange across a cloudless sky.

“So JJ is a wide receiver and Cooper is a tight end?” Archer drank his beer, peering at the field.

“Yeah. They’re both starters.” I scanned the field. Players tossed balls around, and a kicker practiced kicking them into a net.

After some introductions, ASU won the coin toss and readied to receive the ball, scattering their guys on one end of the field. I didn’t know much about football. My hockey career gave me plenty to think about.

The kicker for NAU sent the ball flying high toward the ASU end zone and all the players rushed together. An ASU receiver outran several NAU special teams players before being tackled at the forty-two-yard line.

Archer pumped his fist. “Hell yeah. That was a great run.” He drank his beer. “Okay, your guys should enter the field now.” He bumped my elbow with his.

After the huddle, my gaze snagged on JJ first, his long legs impossible to miss as he readied to run at the end of ASU’s offensive line. He threw a look toward us and up-nodded his helmeted head at me.

Yeah, he saw me. My gaze swung to Cooper, crouching close to the linemen, one foot in front, one hand on the grass. My dick stirred as my gaze took in his rounded ass. What would it be like to fuck him in that position?Jesus, Myles, stop. I had stronger feelings for Cooper than JJ. Shit, this was going to be difficult.

“What’s wrong?” Archer eyed me over his beer glass as he drank from it.

“Nothing.” Dipping my head, I twisted my glass in my lap. We’d avoided any talk about my dilemma at dinner and hadfocused on catching up on hockey rumors instead—who got traded, what newcomers looked good at camp. Important shit.

“Talk to me, Myles.” He leaned toward me.

Ace peeked at us and focused on the game. “Go ASU!” He pumped his fist as the quarterback, Casey, back-stepped with the ball, faked it, and then tossed a quick pass to Cooper.

Ducking his head, Cooper rammed through NAU’s defensive players, twirling around at least once.

A behemoth of a man pounced on Cooper and squashed him to the field.

My pulse raced, and I held my breath. “Fuck, is Coop okay?” That was one hell of a hit.

Cooper peeled off the field, threw the ball to a ref and swiped grass out of the top of his facemask. Jogging toward a new huddle, his gaze found mine, and he flashed a smile.

“They knocked your boy, JJ, down too. Didn’t even have the ball. That’s a penalty.” Archer pointed toward JJ, walking with a slight limp toward the area of the huddle.

“I think that D-man has it in for your boy there, Myles.” Ace smirked and drank some beer.

A ref called a ten-yard penalty on NAU.

“Those NAU guys always play dirty.” Archer chuckled. “Right, Leo?”

“Of course.” Leo tapped his beer on Archer’s. “You don’t play them in hockey, do you?” He lifted his brows.

“Nope, they’re division two.” Archer glanced at me. “Looks like JJ might have hurt himself, but he’s shaking it off. The guy has the legs of a gazelle or something.”

Shaking my head, I grinned and bit the edge of my beer cup. Apparently, I liked my guys a little beefier, like Cooper. “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll hear about it when I see him later.” I drank more beer. The game would amp them all up, just like it always amped us up after a game. My breath caught. Shit, what if they lost tonight? Would they be mopey and get sloppy drunk like we used to do?

“Myles, what’s going through your head?” Archer peered at me.

“I don’t know. Stupid shit, eh? Like I hope they win, so JJ and Cooper will be in a good mood later.” I snickered. I wasn’t into the game. In fact, maybe I found football boring. At least right now it was. “You know what? Hockey is much more fun to watch.”

“I agree, but don’t let your friends hear you say that.” With a cackle, Ace wagged his brows at me. “And don’t let JJ know you were too busy watching Cooper when he got injured.”

I blew out a breath. “Fuck.” It was so obvious. How should I act around them tonight?

“You need to have a heart to heart with JJ, Myles. Even if Cooper doesn’t have feelings for you, it’s not fair to JJ to keep things going if you’re not feeling it.” Archer gave me a pointed look.

“Yeah, I hear ya.” That was such a typical Archer thing to say. But I needed to hear it. “I’ll try to talk to him tonight.” Unless they lose, and he’s already down. I drank a few gulps of my beer and settled in for the game.

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