Page 30 of Christmas with Brother's Best Friends
Panic pierces me like a blade, making my heart pound relentlessly as I grab my phone. My thumb hovers over the answer button, uneasiness churning within me. Part of me doesn’t even want to answer.
“Fuck it,” I mutter before hitting the answer button and putting the call on speaker. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Hey, man. What are you up to?” Ethan asks.
My eyes shift to the shower as shame rains down on me. He doesn’t want to know. “Just getting ready for the day.”
“Are you busy tonight? I know it’s kind of last minute, but I snagged some good tickets for the hockey game. Want to come?”
I exhale in relief. Everything is fine. Besides the part of me being hooked on his little sister. “Yeah, that sounds great. I think I need to get out and have some fun.”
“Hell yeah, man. I’ll send you the details.”
“Sounds good. Thanks,” I say, telling him goodbye before hanging up.
Sure, it’ll be a little awkward on my end to hang out with him after how I’ve been feeling about his sister, but this is a good thing. I need to get out and do normal things, and I like watching sports. The stats and the stakes interest me.
Now I just need to remember what’s at stake if I act on my growing feelings for Emma.
~*~
Madison Square Garden is packed with Rangers fans as I arrive and get in the long line, waiting what feels like an hour just to get through security.
As crazy as it is, I actually feel pretty relaxed. I get to hang out with one of my best friends and watch a good hockey match, which will definitely take my mind offotherthings. This is exactly what I need.
I shuffle through the line and head to my seat, climbing down the steps to my row, only to freeze in place at the sight of Emma sitting next to Ethan. No way. Is this some sort of cruel joke?
Emma laughs at something Ethan says before looking up and spotting me. She smiles at me and waves. “You’re here!”
Ethan waves me over and motions to the spot next to Emma. “That’s your seat.”
Of course, she’s here. And of course, I have to sit right next to her. The universe must hate me—or maybe it’s trying to test how long I can hold out before I ruin everything. But as wary as her presence makes me, there’s a way bigger part of me that’s ecstatic to see her. My heart races as I sit down next to her, the outside of her leg pressing against mine as we huddle close between other people.
“I’m sure you guys are probably sick of seeing each other because you work together, but I had an extra ticket that no one else would take,” Ethan says as he leans forward a little to look at me.
“I had nothing going on,” Emma replies with a shrug. “And this is kind of close to watching people ice skate.”
I can’t help but smile, remembering the time we spent together at the ice rink. Our own little memory that we have just to ourselves. “It’s still good to see you. Can’t let seats this good go to waste.”
“Right? A guy I know hooked me up,” Ethan says with a pleased grin on his face. “I think we’re going to win this game. Have you seen the predictions?”
As Ethan and I chat about player stats and score predictions, Emma runs her fingers through her hair and crosses her legs as she watches the players practice and warm up on the ice, intrigue lining her features. She shifts in her seat, her ankle brushing my leg.
I stumble over my words, heat traveling through my body. My eyes briefly meet Emma’s, and when she smiles at me apologetically, I force myself to look away instead of kissing her on the spot.
Something about how she gazes at me with her kind eyes and enticing lips makes her so damn inviting. Like she’s silently begging me to kiss her.
It takes everything in me not to act on that, especially when she looks so good today in a loose hockey jersey and leggings.
When the game starts, I think that I’m in the clear, putting all of my focus on the players zipping back and forth across the ice. The puck zig zags between the players as they slam into each other, shouts and cheers echoing from the crowd all around us.
I even get through the first intermission because Ethan and I rave over an amazing last-second goal, but when the second intermission comes around and my throat is sore from shouting, my luck starts to run out.
“I’m going to get something to drink,” I say as I get to my feet.
“Mind if I tag along? I’m starving,” Emma asks as she gazes up at me.
I expect Ethan to volunteer to go too, but he’s too engrossed in the stats that he’s looking at on his phone. “Yeah, of course.”
