Page 73 of You Had Me at Hockey

“She’s taken.”

He heaves a sigh. “I need to take a leak.”

“Bathrooms are downstairs.” I point to the stairs.

He staggers that way. Hopefully he doesn’t fall down the stairs and crack his head open.

I turn to find Sara standing right behind me.

“I heard that,” she says. “Thank you.”

She’s looking at me like I just walked on the moon. I kinda like it.

“He’s just drunk,” I say. “He’s not that bad a guy. Can’t handle his liquor.”

“Unlike us, huh?” She leans into me.

Yeah, we’ve both had a couple of beers and a few shots. I’m feeling a little buzzed. Sara should be hammered, but doesn’t appear to be. I shake my head, a smile tugging at my lips.

“I need to talk to you,” she says. “Alone.”

We’re in a bar, surrounded by people, but at the moment we’re basically alone. “What’s up?”

She peers up at me. I still can’t get over her eyes, that translucent light greenish blue that glows. “Did you or do you still have a girlfriend in Dallas?”

I give my head a shake. I was not expecting that. “I did.” Then I frown. “You thought I still do?”

“I’m just asking. I was trying not to jump to conclusions.”

“Okay. I, uh, appreciate that.”

“But I was jealous.”

One corner of my mouth lifts. “Yeah?”

She closes her eyes. “I don’t like being jealous.”

“We’re done,” I tell her. “We were only together about a month before I got traded. I didn’t want a long-distance relationship.” With an inner wince, I remember Cora’s texts and calls in the weeks after I left.

She lets out a breath. “Okay. I’m so proud of me.”

I repress a smile. “Yeah? What for?”

“I could have been all dramatic and made a big scene about it. But I waited to talk to you like an adult and didn’t make assumptions.”

“I wouldn’t be with you if I had a girlfriend.”

She meets my eyes. “I know.”

I cup her face. “Thank you.”

She puckers her lips and goes onto her toes, so, smiling, I lean down and kiss her.

“Okay,” she says. “Let’s get another drink.”

Shaking my head, I follow her back to the group.

“Thanks for stepping in,” Kaylee says in a low voice. “I kept trying to tell him to knock it off, but he wasn’t listening.”

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