Page 6 of Game Winner
I suck in a breath that does nothing to steady the off-kilter feeling zipping through my body while he greets Sage and Rhys. Then he turns to me, eyebrows raised like he’s seeking direction, and presses close to my side, and all hope I had of appearing unfrazzled evaporates.
Resting my hand on his shoulder, I angle my head in the direction of our friends. “We have some tables toward the back.”
Though Sage sends me a curious look, he turns and leads the way with Rhys at his side. I sink my hand into the softness of Tyler’s coat, and follow, soaking up his shy smiles every time our gazes meet.
The two tables our group commandeered earlier are a mixture of my housemates and the Metros players who joined our friend group when Sage and Rhys got together. The ten of us together are a loud bunch. Add in Bax and his three friends exiting the dance floor, and I don’t blame Tyler for being overwhelmed.
We make the introductions. Tyler has played against Sage, Morgan, Gio, Phil, and Remy, and he knows Quinn, the captain of the Metros, because they were in the same draft class, which was a few years ahead of me. Jonas, Maxim, and Rhys are new to him, but thanks to his brief stints playing in the top league between injuries and times with the minor clubs, they know a lot of the same people.
He shakes everyone’s hands, and when he finishes with Rhys, the bandmates arrive.
In case he wants support, I step beside him to make the introductions. Protectiveness surges through me at the feel of his body pressing into mine. “Ty, this is Everett, Gavin, Layne, and Bax.”
The first three exchange hellos with him, and Tyler adds in a happy birthday to Layne.
Quiet contrition blankets Bax. He dips his hands into his pockets, then pulls them out again and squares his shoulders. “Tyler, I’m sorry about what happened at the game. I didn’t realize I’d distracted you until someone mentioned it to me on the way out of the arena.”
“Oh.” The tension in Tyler’s body eases. Not completely, but he seems to take Bax’s apology for what it is, and I rub his back in a quick motion as encouragement.
I’m not sure why it feels so important for Tyler and Bax to like each other, but this moment feels big.
“I got doused with a drink.” The tips of Bax’s ears turn pink, and it’s all I can do not to pull him to me. “It may as well have been a bucket of ice water; it was so cold. And it shocked the hell out of me. I literally jumped out of my seat.”
Layne sets his empty shot glass on the table. “The guy behind us kicked it over. We’re gonna take inspiration from it.Blasted with cherry colaneeds to be a song title.”
Bax briefly closes his eyes on a groan. “No, it does not.”
“Yes.” Layne beams at us and accepts another shot from Baxim.
Tyler’s eyes round, and a smile spreads across his gorgeous face. The same smile, all teeth and sparkling eyes, that caught my attention the first time I met him at that offseason training camp. “You’re musicians?”
“Rockers, baby.” Holding his drink high, Layne sways to the music. His shirt hangs open, displaying his tattoos. Everett snags the glass from his hand and downs the shot.
“Hey…”
Hiding a smile, Bax gently nudges Layne toward Gavin then extends his hand to Tyler. “I know buying you a drink doesn’t make up for that missed goal, but can I buy you one anyway?”
His focus glued to Bax, Tyler’s body relaxes as they shake hands. “I saw you earlier. During the second period. Don’t know if you remember, but I was checked into the boards and?—”
“I remember.” Bax shifts in closer, his hazel eyes gleaming with interest. He’s taller than both of us. With his short hair, tall frame, and tight shirt and jeans showcasing his muscles on muscles, he looks more like the band’s security guard than its drummer. “So, how about that drink?”
Tyler’s gaze transfixes on Bax as if mesmerized by the man. Not that I blame him, I felt the same way the first time I met Bax, and every time since. After a beat, then two, Tyler breaks through his Bax spell, a slow smile transforming his face from handsome to breathtaking. “Sure.”
An uncomfortable pit lodges in my stomach at the thought of them being interested in each other and not in me. Did I see things that weren’t there?
But Ty’s hand curls around mine, and he slides his body against my torso as he turns into my chest. The heated gaze he had for Bax doesn’t lessen when aimed my way. “Coming, Soren?”
Bax shifts closer, pinning me with the glittering weight of his stare, and the light pressure of his fingers against my biceps goes all the way to my dick. “Of course he is. Right?”
Heat coils and curls, a snaking desire warming me through. The rest of the pub becomes a fuzzy, buzzing thing, with only the two men before me in brilliant focus. “Yeah. I’m coming.”
The brush of Bax’s fingers as he lowers his hand to his side raises nerve endings in their wake. He falls in step on the other side of Tyler and relays more details of the cherry cola incident on the way to the bar. We’re groaning and laughing with him as we settle in an empty nook with three beers.
The music pulses around us, lights flare and flash, and I’m grateful for the shadowed corners offering privacy away from the sea of bodies.
Ty shifts closer to Bax but keeps his foot pressed against mine. “So, you’re in a band?”
He nods. “Flame Shade. I’m the drummer.”
