Page 72 of Collide
He rests his chin on his hands, staring dreamily. “She can pull off anything.”
I have to check the air for the flying baby. If Cupid has Kian obsessed with Cassie, he’ll have me doing something just as stupid. And I do not have time for stupid.
As I’m stabbing the ice in my Shirley Temple with the disintegrating paper straw, Kian raises his arm. I look where he gestures, and that’s when I see him.
Tall, confident, and looking too good for me to even deny it, Aiden Crawford.
The energy in the room seems to shift, and I realize I’m not the only one looking at Dalton’s star hockey player. The entire lounge watches him enter with Eli and Cole behind him. Green eyes search the lounge, and when he spots us, my cheeks burn.
“Why is he here?” I whisper, dusting the paper hearts off my lap.
“I invited him,” Kian gives me a weird look. “Should I not have?”
I groan instead of answering, assessing the area for an escape route.
“Did something happen between you two?”
My stomach dips with the memory. A lot happened between us, mostly between his mouth and that sensitive place between my legs. “No. Why would you ask that?”
“Because you’re acting like a crazy person.”
A loud voice interrupts my eye roll. “Hey, guys!” Cole says, pulling out a chair.
When Eli sits beside me, I sigh in relief. “No date tonight, Sunny?” he asks.
“Nope. This one fawning over Cassie is the only action I’m getting. You?”
He chuckles. “Same, though your company soothes a lonely soul.”
I fight the blush his smooth words elicit. “Are you asking me to be your Valentine, Brooksy?” I bat my lashes.
The grin that takes over his face is wide enough to show his perfect teeth, but it’s replaced with an amused smirk when his gaze slips away from mine. “It would be my pleasure, but I don’t wanna step on any toes.”
Following his line of sight, I catch on green, and the weight of Aiden’s stare makes my throat dry. I know what he’s thinking about because I’m thinking the same damn thing. Darkened eyes slide down my outfit in a thorough assessment. I fidget with the thin straps of the dress and hear the quickening thuds of my heart. When Aiden’s hungry gaze meets mine again, he smirks. The same smirk he gave me when his hand gripped my thighs, and his fingers sank into me.
It wasn’t clear how I found myself surrounded by four hockey players on Valentine’s Day, but this would get a great laugh out of Amara. Unlike me, she had a date set weeks in advance from a long list of potential guys from her computer science classes.
“All right, let’s give a round of applause to our amazing talent, Cassidy Carter,” the host says, and the lounge erupts in applause and howls from our table.
“On to a fan favorite segment. The annual Valentine’s Day matchmaker!” I’m stealing one of Kian’s fries when he perks up, fidgeting with his tie and running a nervous hand over his pants. “We have our performers joining our game. Let us welcome Amelia, Shawn and Cassie on stage once again.”
Cassie hates blind dates. Judging by the look on her face, she was talked into this by the lounge. “Now, we’ll take a few hands from our audience. We’ll need three lucky volunteers.”
Cassie’s tortured expression is comical, but before I can bask in the hilarity and enjoy more of Kian’s fries, his hand grasps my wrist.
I look in horror at our raised hands. For some reason, that I’m sure is orchestrated by the flying baby, the host points right at us. He says something into the mic, but my blood bubbles so furiously I don’t hear it.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hiss.
Kian’s showy smile goes nowhere as he mutters, “Just trust me?”
“Kian, I swear I will stab you with my heel if you don’t let me go.”
“I’ll owe you. Anything you want, I promise.” When he sees my glare, his smile falters. “Please?”
There is a split second when his earnest eyes and desperate plea almost sway me into playing this dumb game. But then I catch all the eyes on us, and I snap out of it.
Trying to pry my hand away without making a scene is impossible with his steel grip. Kian pulls me through the crowd and up the wooden steps. The idiot knew about this game, and it’s the reason he dragged me down here. It’s his only chance to get a date with Cassie, and I’m not just his buffer; I’m his excuse.
