Page 31 of Icing the Play

“Is it Cooper?” With a wince, his gaze rose to mine.

“No, it’s not Cooper.” Why was he fixated on him? I worried my lower lip. “It’s uh, us.” I waved my index finger at us. I couldn’t take it back now. My whole body tensed.

He inhaled deeply. “Okay. It’s not working, is it?” He clenched his jaw. “I mean, we’ve had plenty of chances to hookup, but it seems weird to. Right?”

My tense muscles relaxed. Thank God, he was feeling the same way. “Yeah, it seems weird. We have a great friendship,and it feels like dating might ruin that, you know?” Plus, there was no damn spark for me.

He huffed a laugh. “Yeah, I was really attracted to you last year, but now…” He flashed his eyes at me and held up his palm. “No offense, but I’m just not feeling it.”

As a grin crept over my lips, I said, “Same.” I shook my head. “Shit, I’m glad this goes both ways, eh?” I sniggered. The pressure was off.

“Yeah, I feel sort of bad for Cooper. He really wanted us to be together.” He leaned back as the waiter dropped off our food. “Oh damn, that smells heavenly.”

“Sure does.” I breathed in the buttery pastries, filled with meat, cheese and vegetables. Unrolling my silverware from my napkin, I said, “I’ll talk to him when I get home and let him know he’s a better football player than a matchmaker.”

“I hope he’s not too upset about it.” He barked out a laugh. “God, and I was afraid I was going to break your heart, or some shit, and Cooper was going to kill me.”

I cut into my pasty, mustard cream sauce and melted brie spilling out of it. “I thought I’d be breaking your heart.” I chuckled. He didn’t seem hurt, and all I felt was relief.

“Ah, maybe last year you would have. I don’t know what changed. Maybe realizing the two of us will end up in different states after we get signed. I don’t know.” He ate a bite of his pasty.

IfI get signed. My chest squeezed. I wouldn’t mention my insecurities to him. But I’d told Cooper about it…

“It doesn’t matter. We’re still friends and if you want more tickets to the football games, just ask.” He sipped his pint.

“Same goes for the hockey games when they start up. I can get you seats, eh.” I held up my fork to him. “But I’m warning you, it’s a much faster paced game.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He cut into his food. “But there’s, like, no strategy. You guys just skate around in circles, hoping to grab the puck at some point.”

I bit the side of my lower lip, giving him a pointed look. “Don’t be starting a fight with me now.”

He was attempting to get a rise out of me. With a wide smile, he said, “Isn’t that also what you do in hockey? Start fights?”

“Not in college. You’ll get kicked out of the game and maybe even the next one for that shit.” Shaking my head, I chuckled. Things were easy between us again and I had my friend back.

After havingan enjoyable dinner with JJ, I headed home and parked my car in the garage. We’d both been a little stressed with the whole dating situation. It was nice to have it behind me. I climbed out of my car and strolled into the kitchen from the garage.

The television flickered in the main room with a sitcom playing. In the sectional, Cooper turned his head of dark hair. He threw his arm over the back cushions. “Hey, how’d it go?”

Had he been waiting for me? “Fine.” I dumped my keys into my backpack, still by the kitchen island where I’d left it. With a sigh, I strolled to the couch and dropped in beside him. “I’m not dating JJ anymore.” No use sugar coating it.

His eyes grew wide. “You’re not? Was he okay with it? How’d it go down? Are you still friends?”

“Jesus, calm down.” I chuckled. “He’s fine with it, and it was quick. Yes, we’re still friends. In fact, I’d say we’re even better friends now.” I patted his thigh. “Turns out he wasn’t feeling it either. He said last year he’d been attracted to me, but I guess it wore off, or he grew out of it or whatever.” I took in the way his chest muscles filled out his athletic shirt, his nipples pushing at the fabric. My cock woke, and I bit my lower lip. With JJ out of the picture, I might be even more attracted to Cooper. How should I navigate this?

“Okay.” Leaning over, he grabbed the remote from the coffeetable, shut off the television and then angled toward me. “No hurt feelings at all?”

Through a sharp laugh, I said, “No, in fact, we had a pleasant dinner as friends. The pressure was gone.” Why was he so invested in my relationship with JJ?

“B-but do you think it didn’t work out with JJ because you’re not in the right head space for dating? Or was it something about JJ?” He raked his teeth over his lower lip, his gaze searching my face.

“I think…” I lowered my brows. What was he really asking me? There was more behind his questions. Could I tell him the truth? No. “It was JJ. Just wasn’t feeling it with him.” I shrugged. But I definitely felt a connection with Cooper. Fuck.

Cooper locked his gaze on mine. “Myles?” He leaned in closer, his gaze dipping to my mouth.

“Uh, yeah?” What was he doing? I inched away as he came closer still, his whole body leaning toward me.

“What if... I wanted to...” He kissed me gently at first, his lips tasting mine, then with more intensity, his hand encircling the back of my head, trapping me in place.

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