Page 15 of Offside and Off-Limits
I’m being friendly,notflirty. It’s all good.
She gives me what I can only refer to as herstern momlook, and I immediately regret the wink. That’s the old Cade, not the new and improved version, even if I'm just teasing her, having a bit of fun. What can I say? It's a reflex action around a beautiful woman.
And it’s probably partly what got me the reputation I'm now trying to shrug off.
“Mr. Lennox and I met in the bookstore while I was buying a comic book for my son,” she explains to the others.
“Hitting on a mom?Dude,” Weston says, judging me.
“It wasn’t like that. Benny’s a cool kid. We got to talking aboutThe Timekeeper Chronicles,” I say.
“The what now?” Asher asks.
He hasn’t heard ofThe Timekeeper Chronicles?
“The comics? The game? Themovie?” When they all give me blank looks, I say, “What planet do you live on?” I point at mychest. I’m wearing a T-shirt that readsAsk me about my temporal paradoxaboveThe Timekeepers Chronicleslogo.
Asher shrugs. “I thought that was just some quote of yours you liked so much you got it screen-printed onto a shirt.”
Weston snort laughs and the two men bump fists.
I ignore them, instead asking Clara, “What exactly do you want us to do?” I shoot her a smile that I hope tells her I’m not the creep she thinks I am.
Man, this is what my life has become?
“My boss, Veronica Reynolds, thought we should kick things off with some dances on the ice.” The look on her face suggests this is not her first choice.
“Awesome!” Weston says.
“I'm a trained dancer,” Asher adds with a smirk.
My eyebrows ping upwards. “You are?”
“Yeah.” He stands up and busts out some quick moves to prove his point, and I'll admit, he looks like he knows what he's doing.
“Where did you learn to do that, man?” Weston asks.
“Dance school, dummy,” he replies as he returns to his seat.
“That’s amazing! I’m so glad you volunteered for this campaign,” Clara says, clearly impressed. “Can you dance on the ice?”
“Is water wet?” he asks.
“Sure is!” Weston replies enthusiastically.
“In that case, let’s see what you’ve got out on the ice,” Clara surprises us all by saying as she rises to her feet.
“What, now?” Asher asks.
She shrugs. “Why not?”
“Sure. Give me ten minutes to suit up,” Asher replies, jumping to his feet.
“You’re not Iron Man, dude,” I say with a laugh.
“Oh yeah? Wait until you see me out there,” he responds, and he and Weston make their way back toward the locker room.
“You coming, Lennox?” Weston calls, turning to look at us as he walks backwards.
