Page 47 of Skating the Blue Line
He looks younger than Christian and Liam do and has a boyish charm to him that seems sweet.
“Nice to meet you, Blake.” I say shaking his hand.
“You too, Chloe,” he gives me another smile but it quickly turns into a smirk that matches Christian’s from a few moments ago. “How do you and Liam know each other?”
It’s a simple question, it really is. I just don’t know if I want to tell two complete strangers that I’m Liam’s one night stand from weeks ago.
I guess Liam noticed the predicament I’m in because he finally drops his staring contest with my face and turns to his teammates.
“It’s none of your business how we know each other. Don’t you two have shit to do or something?”
Blake and Christian look at each other before they both shrug and start walking away.
“It was nice meeting you, Chloe.”
“Bye, Chloe.”
I watch both men leave and once their backs disappear, I turn back to Liam.
His intense stare is back.
He looks both hungry for me and confused and I’m sure once I tell him my little secret, that expression is going to shift into something else.
What, I don’t know.
“Hi,” I say again, my voice a lot smaller.
“Hi,” he responds, his gaze not wavering.
This is definitely going to be an interesting conversation to say the least.
“You played a good game and that’s coming from someone that doesn’t know much about hockey.” I say, trying to give him a big smile.
The small smile he gives me tells me that my smile wasn’t big enough.
“Thanks,” he says, “Where’s Betty?”
“She went home,” I answer, wishing again that she was here as a buffer.
He nods, finally taking his eyes off me and looking around. “Want to get out of here and have that conversation?”
I give him a nod and he starts guiding me away from the remaining friends and family.
His hand lands on my lower back and for a long minute, I wish we weren’t in this position. I wish that life hadn’t changed this morning and that he was leading me back to his to have his way with my body.
But life did change and now we have to have a conversation that will possibly change us forever.
I haven’t said a single word about what I want to talk about, so I can’t help but wonder what Liam thinks this is all about.
From the way he flinched at me calling myself his friend, he no doubt thinks I’m friend zoning him.
And in a way I am.
I need to figure my shit out and I can’t do that and figure out how to start a new relationship.
That will just add more fire to the chaos.
Liam and I make it out of the arena and to the parking lot, where he leads me to the fancy car he drove the night of the ballet.
