Page 8 of No Shot (The Toronto Tundra #2)

Penn

There ’ s no better feeling than celebrating with the boys after a win.

My muscles are still aching, even after my post-game hot shower, but the soreness dulls the second the ice-cold beer enters my system.

We opted for a more low-key night, hanging out at Prime Reserve, a steakhouse that doubles as an upscale bar.

Not as fun as our usual club, but with our early morning practice tomorrow, it ’ s probably better that way.

Most of the team made it out tonight, which is rare.

We ’ ve got a long table. Some of the guys are sitting on the barstools, while others stand around chatting.

It ’ s nice when we all have a chance to get together; it really helps us gel.

It ’ s usually Theo, Max, Evan, Scott, and I who tend to gravitate toward each other.

We ’ re a bit of an eclectic group, but somehow it kind of works.

Jack, the traitor, is usually a part of our crew too, but shocker, he ’ s managed to disappear ten minutes after we got here, mumbling about Mia arriving soon, because abandoning me seems to be his new favorite pastime.

“ I ’ m telling you, you have to have all the apps loaded on your phone. Just one won ’ t do if you want to keep a steady rotation of girls,” Max informs the group of us toward the end of the table.

“ Dude, you ’ re never going to form a meaningful connection that way,” Evan replies with a frown.

“ Agreed. Camille and I met the old-fashioned way, at a bar just like this. Call me old-school, but that ’ s how I think you should do it.” Scott, the surprising romantic, interjects.

“ Old-school? Nah, Cap. You ’ re just old.” Max muffles a chuckle into his drink before dodging a shove from Scott.

“ Watch it, kid. I could still take you.”

“ My money is on, Cap. All it ’ d take would be some chick to walk by, and you ’ d get distracted,” I chime in. It ’ s so true, I ’ ve seen it happen a million times. Max has a one-track mind.

“ Alright, that ’ s valid,” he concedes.

“ Speaking of distractions… maybe we should test out Cap ’ s pick-up method.

” He scans the bar area in search of his next conquest. Normally, I ’ d be right there with him.

There ’ s nothing I like more than flirting and having a bit of fun, but I ’ m sticking to my guns this year.

I pop a seat next to Theo as we start chatting about the game from earlier.

I like that about Theo, no matter what, he ’ s always down to talk shop.

“ Ugh, slim pickings here tonight, boys.” The disappointment in Max ’ s voice is evident. “ Oh shit, spoke too soon.”

“ Damn, she ’ s beautiful,” Evan supplies breathlessly, clearly spotting this girl at the same time Max does.

“ Hands off, Woodsy, I call dibs.” Max puffs up his chest.

“ You can ’ t dibs a girl, jackass. It ’ s her choice, not yours.”

“ Alright, fair enough.”

I look to the door, trying to spot who they ’ re fighting over, and my jaw drops.

Bri is walking in. Looks like she ’ s ditched her cardigan from earlier, instead just sporting a scoop neck, fitted black tank top tucked into a short, black, flippy skirt.

She looks like a fucking knockout, and I can ’ t seem to draw my eyes away.

It ’ s odd, her style isn ’ t overtly revealing so why do I keep dreaming about peeling those sexy fucking skirts off her every minute of the day?

“ Looks like there might be another contender,” Max adds, slapping me on my back. “ You into her?” He raises his eyebrows at me, clearly amused by my gawking. Thought I was more subtle than that.

“ What? Nah, we ’ ve chatted a few times, that ’ s it.” I ’ ve got to say, after our truce chat the other day, once we rejoined the others, I pretty much left her be. I was careful; there ’ s no way the guys would have seen any signs that I haven ’ t been able to stop thinking about her.

Scott immediately walks over to the two of them, taking a sleeping Kaia from Cami ’ s arms. It ’ s funny seeing him in this light.

He ’ s the leader of our team, certainly a big guy, but here, kissing his wife ’ s cheek and delicately stroking the back of his daughter ’ s head as she sleeps on his chest, he ’ s a different man.

It ’ s nice. Mia and Jack follow closely behind, hand in hand, as they take the two seats across from me.

Evan and Max seem to have temporarily abandoned their pursuit, instead pausing to watch the highlights of the basketball game on the TV.

I try to focus back on the conversation taking place ahead of me.

It ’ s useless, though, because I can ’ t seem to stop my eyes from following Bri as she slowly makes her way over to the bar.

Damn, I ’ m never like this, but she ’ s captivating. Against my better judgment, my body starts moving as I rise from my seat and make my way toward her.

As soon as I ’ m close to her body, I inhale her scent. This time it smells more tropical, with a hint of coconut. Whatever it is, it ’ s fucking delicious and I have to resist the urge to lean in closer.

“ Sup, Soup?”

“ Ugh, get out of here, Penn.” She rolls her eyes and turns her head away, sending another wave of coconutty goodness in my direction.

“ Hey, that ’ s no way to treat your ally. We called a truce, remember?”

“ Dodging you is hardly an offense, but you ’ re welcome to file a formal complaint with the ICC.” Smart as a whip.

“ Dodge me? Now, why would you want to do that? If I remember correctly, last time we were at a bar together, you seem to have enjoyed yourself quite a bit.” I give her a knowing smirk before placing my beer on the countertop and taking the seat next to her.

She immediately takes notice, her gaze slowly raking over my body.

I ’ m still in my game-day suit, and I look fire. “ Getting flashbacks?” I ask, noticing the slight flicker of lust in her eyes just before she shakes it away.

“ You wish.”

“ Ah, ah, ah. Don ’ t pretend like you weren ’ t all over me last time.” I lean forward, letting my leg brush against hers, my arms propped up on the bartop. I ’ ve been told my eye contact can be intense, and I want to see her squirm.

She scoffs, but seems to notice how close her body has been getting to me and instinctively forces it away. “ As if. You approached me, remember?”

“ I remember a lot from that night. The sounds you made in particular… now those I remember vividly.” I don ’ t know why I ’ m feeding into this. I should never have come over here, let alone be continuing this dangerous conversation, but I can ’ t help it.

It ’ s just fun, though. I like playing with her, and that ’ s it. It ’ s nothing more. The faintest touch of red paints her cheeks as she struggles to look composed under my gaze. But in a flash, her walls are back, and she shakes off the thought.

“ What, you think I couldn ’ t handle you?

” I press, leaning forward into her space until our faces are mere inches apart.

I like her feisty attitude. The fact that she can hold her own is more of a turn-on than anything else.

God, her scent is fucking addicting—and her lips, the softest pink I’ve ever seen.

As I crowd her space, her tongue darts out to wet her bottom lip, and I have to hold back a groan.

“ I know you can ’ t.” She gives me a goating look and I ’ ll be damned if my dick doesn ’ t jump at attention.

Challenge accepted.

“ We ’ ll see about that.” I lean close to her and whisper on her neck.

Goosebumps make their way across her collarbone, her eyes close a second longer than they should, and I swear I hear the tiniest whimper of a sigh.

Suddenly, she snaps them open again and starts to form some sort of a rebuttal, but I ’ m already out of my seat and marching back to my table.

When I make it back, I ’ m able to look over just quickly enough to spot her irritation. She ’ s trying to act nonchalant, but the little furrow in her eyebrow gives her away.

I won, and she knows it. I shouldn ’ t feel this much pride in knowing I ’ m the one to rile her, but I do. Sue me.

Mia and Jack are still snuggled next to one another, attached at the hip as usual, but when Mia subtly nudges Jack ’ s side, he rises from his chair.

“ Uh, Penn, can we talk for a minute?”

Uh, no, I ’ m giving you the silent treatment, duh.

When I don ’ t reply, he continues staring at me. It ’ s his typical older-brother-type look. Very ‘ I asked you a question and I ’ m your elder, so respect me ’ type bullshit.

“ Please?”

“ Fine,” I huff, and make a point to drag my feet as I follow him to the corner of the room.

“ I know you ’ re mad at me, Penn.”

“ Good.”

“ And I know you ’ ve been ignoring me.”

“ Yep.” I punctuate this with an exaggerated shrug before I cross my arms like the mature twenty-four-year-old I am.

“ I just moved out of the building, Penn. Nothing else needs to change. I still want to hang with you all the time. You ’ re the one who ’ s put this wall between us.”

“ I don ’ t know why you needed to move out at all.” Just because he found the ‘ love of his life ’ , his words, not mine, doesn ’ t mean he needed to leave the building. Nothing needed to change—everything could have stayed the same. I wanted it to.

“ Come on, man. Mia and I wanted to get a new place. Somewhere we could settle down and start to build a home together. You ’ d love it, it ’ s bigger and the building has a game room, we even have two spare rooms if you ever wanted to stay over.”

“ I don ’ t want to stay over,” I mumble to the floor.

He drops his hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “ Well, the offer always stands. Not to mention, Mia would love to have you over to sample some of her new recipes.” Okay, that actually gets my attention, and I raise my head.