Page 31 of Play Maker

“Evening. What can I get you?”

I looked up and gave Phoenix, the owner of the pub, a polite smile. I’d never really talked to him, but I’d witnessed my teammates chatting him up. He seemed like a nice guy, hardworking, and good to his staff, who were also friendly. Hemust’ve lived and breathed this place because he was always here.

Phoenix placed a glass of ice water on the table and then tapped on his tablet.

“Just a large Coke with extra ice,” I muttered. “Thanks.”

Phoenix stared at me with narrowed eyes. “I’ve seen you in here before with Ethan. You play with the Cougars, right?”

I nodded. “That’s right. I’m Axel.”

“Phoenix, nice to formally meet you. But you’ll need more than a Coke,” he quipped. “Come on, we’ve got the best burgers in Vermont. And you guys have a game coming up soon. You need fuel.”

The thought of a juicy burger and a pile of crispy French fries suddenly had my stomach growling. Loudly.

“See?” Phoenix laughed.

I shrugged and conceded. “Alright. A double cheeseburger, the works, but no onion. And fries, extra crispy.”

“I’ll have the same,” a familiar voice added. “Plus, a large Coke.”

Jace stepped around Phoenix and smiled at him. My teammate looked casual in worn jeans, a navy cable-knit sweater, and his winter jacket. Only, he didn’t have his usual baseball cap on. Instead, he pulled off a black beanie and swiped a hand through his dark curls.

I’d managed to snag a booth, and Jace slid in opposite me, but he didn’t meet my gaze. Instead, he kept his eyes on Phoenix, and they began to chat about the upcoming season. I reached for my laptop and tried to distract myself from the complete awkwardness of this scenario.

A few minutes later, Phoenix headed off to the kitchen, and Jace took off his jacket and settled in. He ran his hands through his hair again and gave me a strange look.

“So,” Jace finally said, breaking the tension.

I stared right back at him and tried to swallow the lump that was lodged in my throat. My right knee bounced up and down so hard that I hit the wood table with a loud bang. The pain had me swearing and Jace chuckling.

“What?” I snapped. “You’re as eager to be here as I am, right?”

Jace licked his lips and nodded. “That about sums it up.”

“Okay, so let’s get this over with.” I showed him my laptop screen. “I put together a spreadsheet with a list of all the tasks for the silent auction follow-up, but we need to divide?—”

Jace held a hand up and I paused.

“Can we wait until after we’ve eaten? I haven’t had anything since lunch and if I don’t get calories in me soon, I won’t concentrate, and if I can’t concentrate, I can’t?—”

“I get it,” I snarked and shut my laptop with a snap. “But it’s probably going to take at least ten minutes for our food to get here. Are we really going to just sit and stare at each other in the meantime?”

Jace leaned in, giving me a shit-eating grin.

“I know I’m real pretty to look at, but don’t stare too long. You’ll give me the wrong idea.”

Then he winked at me. Fucker.

I gave him the universal sign for ‘screw you’ and reached for my glass of water, taking a much-needed sip to cool down.

“Don’t tempt me with my favorite finger.”

I started to choke, but thankfully, I managednotto spew water all over the table.

“You just don’t quit, do you?” I finally croaked out.

“No fucking way,” Jace replied confidently, leaning back and resting one arm over the leather booth.

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