Page 86 of Frozen Hearts
“Fuck it,” I curse, throwing open the door before I can continue talking myself out of it. I need to suck it up for my team, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Looking more like I’m heading to a funeral than a club, I stalk up to the door, lifting my chin at the bouncer as I walk past. As soon as I step inside, my head swivels toward the stage as I scour it for her. Not seeing her, I breathe out a sigh of relief before focusing on the main reason I’m here: my team.
I spot them huddled around a booth against the far wall, and head in their direction.
“You finally made it!” Gavin holds his beer up as I approach.
“Yeah, yeah. Had to stop and get surgery after Coach ripped me a new one.”
The team laughs it up as I slide into the end of the booth and order a beer from a waitress when she passes by.
Thankfully, I don’t have a clear view of the stage, and I’m able to lose myself in easy conversation with my teammates. Tension bleeds out of me, and it starts to feel like old times, laughing with them and talking hockey. Gavin and I regale the rookies with stories of the shit we got up to our freshman year, and we all howl with laughter.
It isn’t until a wisp of auburn hair catches the light and has my head turning that I remember where I am. Who else is here. My eyes zero in on her like a homing beacon.
God, she’s breathtaking.
I’d forgotten how entrancing she was to watch on stage. It’s mesmerizing. Each movement choreographed and performed to perfection. I can’t look away, even after the final notes of the song play out and she walks off the stage. My teammates are entirely forgotten as I watch her pause at the bottom of the steps, her posture tensing as she talks to some man in a suit. The serenity that had been on her face while she danced hardens into a pinched mask as she nods her head, and my eyes narrow, wondering what it is about their exchange that has her on edge.
Nope. No. It’s none of my business.
Forcing myself to look away, I return to the conversation happening at the table, but don’t take part as my mind spins in a hundred different directions.
Before long, we’re being told that the club is closing for the night, and we pay our tab before leaving. I walk out with the guys, most of whom are smiling and laughing, tonight’s loss apparently forgotten as everyone says their goodnights before heading toward their respective vehicles.
Climbing into my SUV, I watch while car engines rev and tires crunch over gravel as they leave the lot and speed down the street before the noise peters off into the distance, and silence consumes the night.
I should leave. Head home and get some sleep. My muscles are sore, and I’m exhausted after back-to-back games this weekend.
And yet, I don’t.
Instead, I sit there as the minutes tick by, suspended in indecision and hating myself for it while I stare out the windshield at the red-brick building, lit up with spotlights and the glow from the backlit sign hanging above the double doors.
“This is stupid,” I grumble aloud. “I shouldn’t be here.”
I move to put the car in gear when I hear voices. A group of women appear from around the side of the building, talking to one another as they walk toward the remaining cars.
Abstractly, I scan their faces for Riley, not seeing her among the group.
The cars peel out of the parking lot, leaving mine and a classy Mercedes sedan as the only two left.
Wearing a frown, I stare at the front door of the club, wondering why Riley is still inside. My gaze slides to the Mercedes tucked away at the back of the lot as an irrational anger bubbles. What if she stayed behind with a client?
She said she doesn’t give extras.
Yeah, but that could have been a lie.
Or it could be another worker? That suit-wearing dickhead I saw talking to her? A flashy car like that probably belongs to the manager or owner of the club. Is it just the two of them alone in there?
Ugh, stop it!
It’s none of my fucking business.
Sheis none of my business.
However, knowing she’s most likely alone in there with whoever the asshole is keeps me rooted in my car in the parking lot as the minutes tick by.
Nearly an entire hour passes before two silhouettes emerge from the shadows at the side of the building. My attention snaps to her immediately, eyes scanning her body. The beast that has been banging against its cage for the last hour finally settles, somewhat appeased at seeing her with his own two eyes.
