Page 31 of Puck King
I raised my eyebrows, but didn’t comment on his surprising vocabulary.
“I hope this comes out right.” Colton sighed. “I was excited to finally bring someone here. That’s all.”
My stomach growled as red plastic baskets lined with checkered waxed paper were set down in front of us. Giant toothpicks held together the biggest sandwiches I’d ever seen. “If this were a real date, I’d be mortified,” I whispered.
“About what?” Colton’s brow furrowed.
I picked up the sandwich and took a huge bite. Even though I squeezed it tightly, almost half the meat spilled into the basket. My eyes involuntarily rolled back in my head and I moaned while I chewed. I took a sip of my beer to wash down the sandwich, dabbed my mouth with my napkin, and smiled. “About that.” I laughed.
Colton’s cheeks hinted pink. He leaned across the table. “Ali. You have no idea how hot it is to see a woman enjoy her food. Always order what you want, and always enjoy it.”
I thought his blush was from the food, but Colton’s lips were turned up in a way I’d never seen before. When I took another bite, I held his gaze – and to my surprise, the blush turned crimson as he looked away. Was this guy seriously getting turned on by watching a woman eat?
It was at that moment that I totally relaxed. I didn’t have to pretend to be someone else with him. And to my surprise, he seemed to like the real Ali Moffat.
After the sandwiches were devoured, and a second pitcher of beer ordered, the air around us seemed a little lighter. Colton told me funny stories from the dressing room that made me laugh so hard tears were running down my cheeks.
I don’t know if it was the beer, but as we finished the second pitcher, I began to see a whole other side to superserious Colton. He was fun, thoughtful, and a great storyteller. He also tipped thirty percent on the bill, something Brian would never have done. “You know what, Colton?” The bold, slightly tipsy statement came out before I could stop it.
“What?” He smiled.
“You’re more than just a hockey player.”
His head jerked back ever so slightly. The comment had caught him off guard. “I think that’s a compliment.” He tilted his head as though waiting for confirmation.
“It is.” I gave it to him.
His smile grew wider and his eyes sparkled in the dim light of the restaurant. “Well, Alison. There’s more to you than I first thought, too.”
His was less specific. “Is that a good thing?”
He leaned across the table and took my hand in his. “It’s a very good thing.”
My breath caught in my throat. Then a flash exploded outside the window and Colton took his hand off mine. For a split second I thought there had been a moment of tenderness between us, but it turned out it was just for show.
As I walked home from the ‘date’, I swore at myself for the rush of adrenaline that had coursed through my body when Colton had touched me. “Don’t be stupid,” I whispered to myself as I tucked my chin and leaned into the wind. No matter how sweet and funny and fucking hot that player was, I couldn’t be delusional enough to think that there would ever be anything between us.
My feet were turning into ice blocks as I headed to the closest subway station. After the cameras had caught our goodbye, and after a gloved handshake on the steps of the Cheesesteak Shoppe, we’d parted ways – him in his fancy warm car, and me on foot. We’d both agreed that sharing a car wouldn’t look appropriate at this stage. After all, we were only in the first act of the play, or the first period of the game as he called it.
My boots crunched on the snow and I almost didn’t hear my name. I paused as the town car pulled up beside me, and Colton rolled down the window. “Get in.”
I glanced around to see if anyone was watching. “I thought we agreed that it wouldn’t look right.”
“We did. Now get in the car.”
Fifteen
Colton
I thoughtback to the cheesesteak date a few nights earlier and found myself smiling. The gentleman in me couldn’t let Allison walk home in the snow. It was stupid. I totally would’ve offered a friend or a colleague a ride home in the sub-zero temperatures. Over cheesesteak sandwiches, the strangest thing had happened. I’d felt more relaxed with Alison than I had in years. She was easy to be around and funny. Ali was a good person, and the perfect woman for the fake fiancée job.
Walking her to the door of her building had seemed like a natural thing to do. The unnatural part had been how to say goodnight. A part of me had wanted to kiss her. It sounds crazy, but it was the truth. We settled on a handshake, and when I walked back to the car, my heart was beating a little faster than it should’ve been for a fake relationship.
Sure enough, the gossip websites ran fuzzy photos of Allison and me through the window of the restaurant. In one, we were both laughing and she had the sandwich in her hand. Everleigh had set up the photographers, but she hadn’t leaked Alison’s name. Right now, the bylines read “Colton King Spotted With Mystery Woman.”
Everleigh’s office door was closed. She had asked me to come and talk to her after practice, so when she didn’t answer I was surprised. “Ever?” I knocked on the door again. “Why did you ask me to come all the way up here?”
The door flew open and Everleigh’s cheeks were flushed. “I was on the phone, Colton.”
