Page 15 of Date with a Devil
“Then think of it as your next lesson.”
“Yeah, you better do it, Mikey,” Reavo said. “Us vets won’t always be here to pass on our knowledge, you know.”
“Damn it. Fine.” The rookie slammed the rest of his vodka-soda. “Here goes nothing.”
“If she actually says yes, for the love of God, don’t do any goofy-assFortnitedances,” Dane called after him.
“You mean, there’s other ways to dance?” Mikey countered as he made his way to the blonde.
“I really hope that’s a joke,” Dane muttered as the team watched the rookie approach the girl.
The group of hockey players all watched as Mikey approached his target. He must’ve gotten two words in before the blonde promptly shut him down. He dragged his feet back to the table, shoulders slumped.
“Welp. There you go, D. Now I feel like a complete scrub.” Mikey clutched at his heart. “Awesome. Sure love this feeling. So glad I embarrassed myself for your guys’ amusement.”
“The hell happened?” Dane asked.
“I asked her to dance, like you said. She said I look awfully young to be at the club. I told her, I’m in the NHL, I can get in wherever I want. She laughed in my face, said ‘yeah right,’ and ‘run along now, little boy.’ ”
The boys laughed.
Dane grabbed the rookie by the shoulder and gave him a shake. “Honestly? Not bad at all, Mikey. I like the cockiness you showed, butneveropen with ‘I’m in the NHL.’Ifshe believes you, all she’s going to think is that’s all you’ve got going for yourself. You gotta let that bit of information percolate beneath the natural attraction that you’ve already got, the chemistry that you’re always building towards, understand? Don’t play the athlete card right away. Let it be a mystery, one she’s trying to solve, and only give it to her once you’re sure you’ve already got her hooked and you wanna seal the deal.”
“Dane DeHardt, lady slayer and man of mystery,” Matchbox quipped dryly.
One of the twins piped up, and his brother finished his sentence. “Hey, I don’t seeyoulining up—”
“—any kills right now, Big D.”
“One, I’m not trying. Two, that’s because I’m here for you guys,” Dane said with a grin. “Trust me, I need another notch in my belt like a fish needs a bicycle.”
Matchbox rolled his eyes. “You expect me to believe that you can still pull women that easily? After that whole ‘I don’t eat pussy’ thing, I’m betting you have a hard time getting laid these days.”
Dane laughed out loud. “Are you kidding? If anything, that made things even easier for me.”
Matchbox’s mind looked legitimately blown. “Okay—wait.What?Seriously?”
Dane gave a nod. “Yeah, bud, seriously.”
Matchbox shook his head, struggling to accept this new piece of information. “You basically told any girl willing to hook up with you that you don’t give a damn about her pleasure. And now you’re telling me thathelpsyou get laid? The fuck is that?”
“Wait, who said they don’t get pleasure?” Dane gave a confident shrug. “And I don’t know, maybe they think they have the magic pussy that will make me wanna change my ways and dive right in.”
“Dane DeHardt—changing his ways!” Reavo chortled, and everyone else laughed, too.
“You think thatDate with a Devilgirl thinks she has the magic pussy, too?” one of the twins asked with a smirk.
Dane thought it over. “Hm. No, I think she legitimately hates me.”
“That show’s gonna be a clusterfuck, isn’t it?”
Dane winked. “Probably.”
“Then why’d you even agree to do it?” Matchbox asked.
“Like I told her. Because I can tell she really doesn’t wanna do it either. Something about that told me that it might be fun.” Dane took a sip of his drink. “And maybe I’ll get her to say some shit we’ve been dying to get the media to talk about. Doubt it, but whatever. Figured it was worth a shot.”
Mikey refused to let a certain thread of conversation die. “Wait, youseriouslydon’t like eating pussy though, Big D? Or did you say that just for laughs?”
