Page 54 of Icing the Play

Casey rounded the corner, dressed in a form-fitting shirt and designer jeans. “Who, Coop?” He looked me up and down. “He can dance. Did you see him dance around the linemen before he got that touchdown? It was pure poetry.” He slapped at my shoulder.

“Thanks, man.” With a nod, I slung the strap of my duffel over my shoulder and then tucked the front hem of my deep blue shirt into my jeans. “You guys about ready to go?”

“Yep.” Eli snatched his duffel and ticked his head at me. “Let’s go see how weird these hockey players are.”

“They’re not weird.” I clicked my tongue and smiled. We were in for a fun night, and I was going to spend it with Myles. And we were sleeping together tonight. I’d get to hang onto him all night. My chest warmed.

After droppingoff our gear in our vehicles, we strolled down Mill Avenue under a clear night sky, stopping at the bottom of the stairs to The Club on Mill. I peeked up. A line of mostly men, dressed for a night out, lingered halfway down. “Looks busy. You two ever been here before?”

“Sure.” With a swift grin, Casey grabbed my elbow. “Come on, isn’t your man in there?”

“Yeah, shit, I need to text him.” I followed Casey up the stairs and Eli trailed behind me. After we got in line, I fished my phone out of my pocket, my pulse picking up speed.

Cooper

I’m in line. Are you inside?

Myles

Yes, I’m here with Leo and Archer and some friends of Leo’s. Ace went home to Zoma. He was always a maybe.

I smirked. It figured. Ace and Zoma had such a cool relationship.

“So?” Eli leaned over my phone, peering into it.

“They’re here. Myles has Archer Carlson with him and his boyfriend. Archer is a Coyotes D-man.” My chest swelled. It was so cool being able to hang with guys who were already living the life I’d always wanted for myself.

“Nice.” Eli pushed on my back. “Get going. You’re holding up the line.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I took a few steps, and the line started moving faster.

After showing our IDs to a bouncer, we strolled into the flashing lights and techno music of the bar. So far, the place didn’t look too different from any other bar I’d been to, except for all the neon shot names scribbled on a chalkboard behind the bar. My gaze landed on two men brazenly making out by the dance floor, all lips and hands everywhere. “Damn.” There were a few drag queens in a corner, chatting and pointing at people.

Eli patted my back. “You’re not in Kansas anymore.” He freed a low, rumbling chuckle.

“No shit.” My brows lifted. I’d only seen drag queens on television shows. I studied them harder. They were better looking than most women I’d dated. How the hell did they do that? I bit my lip. Damn, they were hot.

“Oops, your boy is over there.” Casey pointed to a round high-top table against the wall.

Myles sat in a chair, chatting with…some fucking guy in short shorts and a pink crop top. Who the fuck was that?

As my torso heated, I wrinkled my nose. “Let’s go.” Puffing out my chest, I stomped across the floor, weaving between people, with Eli and Casey in my wake.

“Myles.” I stepped beside him, hooked an arm around his shoulders and planted a hard kiss on his mouth. He was mine and Mr. Crop Top could fuck off.

As the kiss broke, Myles’s eyes widened. “Oh, my.” He touched his lips and smiled. “Cooper, nice to see you.”

“Yeah?” I faced Crop Top and threw him a quick glare. “And who’s this?” I glanced at Casey and Eli, watching me and smirking.

“Hi, Cooper, I’m Cash.” He extended his hand.

I gave his hand a firm shake. “Hello, Cash.”

Another man with shoulder-length, dirty blond hair sidledup to Cash and handed him a pink drink. “Hey, babe.” He looked me over. “What have we got here? Is this your football player, Myles?” He sipped a beer.

“It is.” Myles hopped off his chair. “Cooper, meet Silas. You remember that band I told you about? Silas is a guitar player in it and Leo’s brother is another guitar player in the band.”

“Oh.” I relaxed my stance. Damn, I was an idiot. Myles wasn’t getting hit on or letting himself get hit on. I glanced at him. But he looked so fucking good tonight. Who wouldn’t want to hit on him?

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