Page 42 of Daring the Hockey Player

"I invited her," my brother answers cryptically.

"And?"

Kyler doesn't answer. He finishes getting dressed and sits on the bench, lacing up his sneakers. I finish getting my shoes on, and once my teammates are ready and done with the press, we head to Blue Line.

Our reserved table is open in the back, and we all pile into our seats. Kyler sits across from me, and I'm on the end, as usual.

Owen and Noah always joke that I have the best seat to check out the ladies and hit on them. I grab a beer from the bucket and pop the cap off, taking a swig. The cold bottle feels good on my knuckles. I had forgotten how battered they'd gotten during the game when my chin stung.

The ice helped numb that up pretty quickly.

Kyler grabs a beer for himself and sits back with a smug smile. "M&M, you came!" he shouts and waves her over.

I can't help but look. M&M? I turn toward the door, and Emerson strolls into the bar. She looks dynamite, wearing Kyler's jersey and black leggings.

My stomach flops, and she strides over to the table, planting her lips on Kyler's. He pulls her against him, their mouths dueling as his fingers tangle in her hair.

I glance away, take another swig of my beer, and my eyes nearly pop out of my head when I spot Charlotte and Amber stepping into the bar.

Amber, who is twenty years old and has no business being at Blue Line, saunters up to the bar to put in an order.

I climb off my stool. "I'll be back," I mutter under my breath, hoping the guys don't ask any questions. Kyler, at least, is enthralled in Emerson. I don't bother glancing over my shoulder at Noah and Owen. They'd stop me from making the biggest mistake of my life.

I stroll up to the bar, bottle of beer in hand, standing beside Amber, turning to face her. She smiles, and I glance down, seeing her wearing my jersey. My heart swells, but it shouldn't.

I shouldn't have even given a crap when she wore that dumbass rookie Charlie Hayes' jersey earlier. But it had eaten me up inside, torn me apart limb by limb.

"I'll have—" She opens her mouth and holds out her ID.

I shove her hand down on the bar and push it back against her chest. "She stays sober tonight," I say. "Don't give her anything with alcohol."

"What are you—" Amber says, and I shift lightly, letting her see past me. Her sister is with my brother. "Fuckety Fuck," Amber grumbles.

"I'm sure they won't stay long." I block her view or, more importantly, block their view of her. I'm protecting her, but I'm not even certain why I'm doing it. She's twenty. She shouldn't be inside Blue Line. They card when entering, but she must have shown him her fake ID to get in, just like she did the other night, for drinks.

"You're not ratting me out to my sister?" Amber asks, and she tilts her head slightly, a curious expression on her face.

"What fun is that?" I say with a shrug. "I'd rather watch you squirm." My gaze moves over her body a little too long.

She shifts on her feet and glances away, forcing a smile and pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Amber glances at me, and I can feel her nerves bouncing off her, hitting me like little sparks of electricity.

Amber doesn’t say a word. I’ve never known her to be quiet, but it’s not like I know her all that well, either. We’ve spent a little time together, nothing unreasonable for two friends.

Is that what we are, friends?

“So, what’s your type?” I ask, catching her stare before glancing around the room. “I could be your wingman, help you get any guy in here you want.”

Why the hell am I offering to help her get laid?

I take a swig of my beer, needing to mentally plant two feet on the floor. Drinking isn’t going to help that, but it will keep my mouth shut while I swallow the alcohol instead of talking too much.

“I don’t—that’s not really how I work,” Amber says.

“Right. You mentioned girls,” I say, forcing a smile. Of course, she likes girls. At least her turning me down doesn’t hurt as bad, knowing she doesn’t like dick.

Amber’s cheeks redden. “I like both, for the record, not that it matters. But I don’t do hookups.”

Charlotte pops her head in from behind Amber. She’s wearing a blonde wig, and it looks fairly natural, except it's her friend, and I recognize her face. I told her not to bring Charlotte and what does she do? Brings her to the game. Why did I think she'd listen to me?