Page 48 of Playoff
Jess came into the living room last. I hadn’t expected her at this party. She’d skipped the skills competition last night, after all. She looked around for a place to sit. The couch and chairs were full. There was space on the floor beside me, where I was leaning against one of the chairs.
“Ducky, throw over a pillow.”
He glanced at me, saw my nod at Jess, and tossed me one of the pillows on his chair. He and Katie were squished together, so there wasn’t a lot of room for pillows with them anyway. I caught his throw and dropped the cushion on the floor beside me.
“You can sit here…Jess, right?”
She shot a look around but no one reacted, so she crossed over and dropped on the pillow beside me, rigidly upright.
“Thank you.” She gave me a hesitant smile.
I shrugged. “Least I can do for my teammate’s sister.”
No one paid any attention to us. We were good.
The game was…well, an All-Star Game. It was all flash—limited players on the four teams, short time period, winners getting money for the pension fund. No one was going to risk injury, and the points didn’t count in the standings, but it was a chance to impress the people watching.
Jess relaxed beside me as the game continued. I didn’t think anyone could have stayed that stiff the whole time. I kept my distance, so we didn’t touch, though we were near enough that I could feel the heat of her body. Her brother was the only one who’d have reacted to us being this close together, and he was at the game, occasionally caught on camera in the stands.
Cooper’s team didn’t win, but no one was too disappointed. After the last presentations, people stood up, ready to head out. I pushed to my feet and held out a hand to help Jess up. She took my hand after a moment’s hesitation.
“You can take Jess home, right Fitch?” Ducky asked.
“Of course.”
I shot a glance at Jess to catch her reaction, but she had her back to me as she headed to the kitchen. Hard to believe it was the same woman who’d joked around with me last night, moaning and bouncing on the bed to fool Fitch.
The guys left—Royster, Oppy, and Crash heading in the same direction and sharing a ride. Jayna went with Mitch. The rest of the women were in the kitchen, cleaning up. I joined them, leaving Fitch and Ducky talking about the game. Jess and Callie were trying to convince Katie to keep the leftovers, while Katie insisted that the others should take their stuff home.
“If you really want to get rid of it, we’ll take it,” I offered. Three pairs of eyes narrowed at me. I shrugged. “Just saying.” The food had all been good, and I’d happily deal with it before the overly polite no yous went on forever.
I’d brought in some empty beer bottles and dropped them in the recycling. While the women packed up the leftovers, I rinsed off bowls and put them in the dishwasher without asking. I didn’t think Katie and Ducky were the types to have precise stacking techniques. If they did, they could change them around when we were gone.
“Oh thanks, Denny,” Katie said when she realized what I’d done.
“No problem.”
Jess took a bag of stacked containers and shoved it across the counter to me. “Your leftovers, as requested.”
I dipped my chin. “Thanks. Everything was good.”
“I’m surprised there were any leftovers,” Callie muttered. “Hockey players.”
Katie laughed. “I’m glad Denny’s taking them. Josh is paranoid about putting on weight while he’s recuperating, but his willpower with this kind of food is more won’t-power.”
“Hey, Jess and Denny!” Ducky called.
I rolled my eyes. He wasn’t on crutches now, so he could move around and didn’t have to yell for us. I waited till I was in the living room before I answered. “What is it?”
Ducky was leaning forward in his chair, almost vibrating with excitement. I checked on Fitch. He wasn’t smirking, like he would be if Ducky was about to say something harebrained.
“Fitch and I were talking. About the team.”
I nodded. Jess, Katie and Callie had followed me in.
Ducky pointed at me. “JJ is having problems with you, right?”
Jess started to murmur a protest.
