Page 5 of Icing the Play

“What? Are you serious? They have a shot named that?” He lifted the corner of his mouth. “That’s awesome, man. Maybe I’ll have to join you in there sometime.” His breath hitched and his lips parted.

“It’s a gay bar. Are you okay with that?” I narrowed my eyes. He wasn’t queer, was he? Certainly not in high school. There was always a girlfriend hanging around.

“I’m cool with it. I’m sure JJ would be interested in it, too.” He twisted his lips. “Maybe some Saturday night after both our teams win, we can grab a shot together.”

With a nod, I said, “Yeah, that would be fun.” Shit, there might be a new group of friends I could hang out with. Except they were football players. Why didn’t JJ know about The Club on Mill? I thought back to last year. We were always hanging out in a mixed crowd together. Maybe it wasn’t his scene. My gazecrept to Cooper, and I swiped a fry through my ketchup. “I feel like I’ve been doing all the talking. Tell me about you. What have you been up to?”

“Well, my father wanted me to play at Northwestern, so I got a scholarship and played there the last three years.” He twisted his drink on the table. “You know my dad was a linebacker for the Bears, right?” His gaze met mine.

“Yeah, I think I remember something about that.” As I shifted in my seat, I ate the last bite of my burger. “Didn’t he coach our high school team?” The memories were flooding back.

“He did.” A smile spread over his kissable lips. “Still does.”

CHAPTER TWO

COOPER

Iran my gaze over Myles fucking Cummings, sitting across from me after all these years. He looked good, like he’d grown into himself and had become one stunning son of a bitch. And here we were, shooting the shit like old times.

“You had an older brother and a younger sister, as I recall.” Myles licked ketchup off his finger after sliding a fry through it.

My gaze chased his tongue, peeking out from between his thick lips, the hint of blond stubble on his chin. Heat burned low in my gut. Should I tell him I’d been experimenting with guys? When I’d told JJ, he thought it was awesome. But then, JJ sort of liked Myles. Now I could see why. “Yeah, my older brother Logan became a firefighter. He’s married with a couple of rug rats now.”

He threw the fries into his mouth. “Firefighter? Wow, that’s pretty cool. And Maddie was it? Your sister?” Crumpling his burger wrapper, he shifted in his seat.

“Yeah, Maddie’s in high school. She’s on some traveling soccer team.” I sipped my tea. What did I remember about his family? “You had a younger brother, right? He was good at hockey too.”

“Yeah.” Pursing his lips, he bowed his head for a beat. “He’s in juniors now and already looking at getting a contract.”

“Seriously? That’s got to make you proud.” I slapped his shoulder. But wait, Myles was older. “How does that work in hockey?”

He flicked his gaze toward the window, freeing a soft sigh, and then focused on me. “To get picked up by a team, you can go into the draft between the ages of eighteen and twenty. But you don’t always play with that team right away. In fact, most times, it’s preferable if you play in the junior leagues and college to get more seasoned. Then you go play for the team later, eh. That’s what happened to my buddy Mason.” He fisted his hand on the table and released it. “My roommate, Ace, got picked up by a scout last year. It’s more typical for goalies to get a contract later.”

“But what about you?” I eyed him. His mood had changed. “You can still get a contract, right?”

“Yeah.” He shoved his remaining fries into his bag, along with his burger wrapper. “I’m working on it.” He gave me a tight grin. “Are you done?” He gestured toward my unfinished burger and fries.

“Almost.” I ate my food and bunched the bag into a ball. “You ready to go?” Did he have another class to get to?

He stood. “I have some studying to do.” He threw his garbage into a bin and waited for me. “Hey, should I text JJ? Do you think he’d be interested in getting together?”

My heart about stopped. Why had I even brought it up? I breathed in deeply. Because it was what friends did. As I lifted a shoulder, I said, “Sure, text him.”

With a nod, a coy grin touched his mouth. “Okay.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder and stepped toward the door. “Guess I’ll be seeing you at class on Thursday?”

“Yep.” After grabbing my backpack, I followed him through the door and into the sweltering heat. Thank God this place had a dome to practice in, but the games would be brutal on theoutdoor field. I pulled on his arm, stopping him. “Hey, did you see the project we have due in a few weeks?” For whatever reason, I wanted to spend more time with him. Probably because he reminded me of home.

“Yeah, the one about making a social media strategy for a new product?” He turned and held his hand over his eyes, blocking out the sun.

“That’s the one. Want to work on it with me? We’re supposed to partner with someone.” Of course, when I saw that, I’d thought of him. I stepped into the shade against the building, leaning my back on the bricks.

With a shrug, he said, “Sure.” He came in beside me, dropping his arm. “What’s your schedule like?”

“Our practices in the dome start at ten after morning workouts.” Dude had some amazing legs. “When do you guys practice?”

“Early. We work out first, then have a morning skate and have a post practice routine.” His gaze dropped to my mouth, and he looked away.

Okay, he’d done that more than once. Was it a gay thing? Or was it a me thing? I’d have to pay attention when I saw JJ later. Which, by the way… “Hey.” I tagged his forearm. “JJ wanted to go have a beer after our class together. Want to meet up with us? It’ll save you from texting.”

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