Page 13 of Breakaway Goals
“He kept up,” Hayes said, on one hand hoping to reward Danny for being so fucking honest about his own shortcomings,and on the other hand kind of envious that he could admit it so easy, as easy as breathing.
“Barely,” Morgan muttered.
“You’re such an asshole,” Bram said, but he was laughing. So was Danny. Calvin and Noah, too.
Danny elbowed Hayes. “God, you’re so starstruck. It’s cute.”
“Is it?” Morgan wondered before Hayes could deny it.
Hayes took a long drink of his beer. Kind of hoping that everyone might forget that he was sitting right here.
It wasn’tcute.It was embarrassing as hell.
“He’s got it under control, right, Monty?” Danny teased, elbowing him again.
“Maybe you’re the asshole, Danny,” Hayes said in his most unimpressed voice. He couldn’t let Danny sense the blood in the water; he was a pest onandoff the ice.
Morgan smiled and Dannycackled.
“Baby’s got claws,” Danny said.
His eyes met Morgan’s again.
“’Course he does,” Morgan said. “You think being a first overall’s a breeze, Daniels?”
Danny looked surprised for the first time.
“That’s what I thought,” Morgan retorted.
“There room for one more?” Hayes was surprised to see Jacob Braun approach their table. They’d taken over several of the booths. He could’ve stayed separated from Morgan pretty easily.
Hayes wasn’t the only one, either. There was a wide range of reactions—from shock to apprehension—on all their faces as Jacob shifted from one foot to the other.
Morgan glanced over at Jacob, looking annoyed but not murderous.
Bram’s voice was full of straight-up worry when he nudged Jacob. “You sure, man?”
“We’re all teammates here,” Jacob said, and Morgan made a face.
And yeah, Hayes liked Jacob—at least when they were wearing the same stars and stripes, not really when he denied him goal after goal—but he could see a little where Morgan was coming from. There was a smug kind of superiority in Jacob’s voice. Like helikedbeing the better man.
“Yeah, we are,” Morgan said after a long, fraught pause. He slid one of his beers over in front of Jacob. “Great game. Have a beer.”
Jacob’s fingers curled around the bottle. “Thanks.”
“See?” Morgan said, turning back to the table, grinning, his own brand of smugness radiating out of him. “Dannyisthe asshole.”
“Said like there can only be one,” Calvin muttered.
“Maybe I think all of you are assholes,” Noah agreed.
“Monty isn’t. He’s too sweet,” Bram said, reaching over and pinching his cheek.
Hayes laughed.
“Oh, he’s plenty bitchy when he wants to be,” Morgan said, and their eyes met again.
Something jolted deep inside Hayes. There was no real reason for Morgan to keep looking at him like this, but he kept doing it. Over and over. A whole tableful of hockey players, and Morgan knew all of them. Had played with and against them for years, but he seemed to only have eyes for Hayes.
