Page 152 of Hat Trick
I like you so fucking much, but I also think Imorethan like you.
Do you think you could like me too?
Why can’t we give it a chance?
I promise I’ll make it good for you.
Lexi pulls back and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. “Should we order some fries then? So I can steal some of yours?”
“I’ll give you the whole damn plate, Lex, if it’ll make you happy.”
Her smile is soft, timid. Maybe I’m imagining it because it’s what I want to see, but I swear she inches closer to me. I take matters into my own hands and drag the leg of her stool across the concrete floor, just like I said I would.
“When was the last time you went on a date?”
“Huh.” I put my elbow on the table and frown. “I don’t remember. Maybe a couple years ago? I’ve only had a handful of first dates. Nothing’s ever stuck.”
“Wait,what?That’s a long time. I thought all the guys were playboys.”
“You thought wrong. We’re much more mellow than people think. Except for Ethan. Dude can’t keep it in his pants.”
“Now that I can believe. But don’t change the subject! We’re talking about you. Why hasn’t anything stuck? You’re a great guy.” Her smile is wider now, and I like that she lights up when she talks about me. “A total catch.”
“Shucks. You’re going to make me blush, Lex.”
“I’m serious! You have so many good qualities. A woman would be out of her mind to not want to see you a second time.”
“Don’t know.” I shrug. “Maybe I have bad breath. Or my hands smell too gnarly from my gloves.”
Lexi laughs at that, but I don’t add in the other part: how every date I went on, I’d sit there and wonder what it would be like to be having dinner with her instead. It’s not like she led me on and gave me some false hope of something we could be down the road.
It’s more pathetic than that.
I took one look at her, and I was done for.
I haven’t been able to get her out of my damn head, and I learned a long time ago that as long as we were on the same team, as long as we were in the same zip code and orbiting around each other, I had a shot. And I wasn’t going to blow that shot by going on shitty date after shitty date with someone who wasn’ther.
I rub a hand over my jaw knowing it’s not fair to her to be feeling these things and sleeping with her like everything is platonic between us. But I’m selfish.
I know when I tell her, that’s going to be it, and I want to hold on to her for a little while longer.
“Let me see.” Lexi takes my hands in hers and brings them to her nose. She pretends to gag then laughs again. “Just kidding. They smell very nice. Is that vanilla?”
“Yeah. It’s some soap Hudson told all of us to buy. It’s nice, isn’t it?”
“I can’t find hockey smells anywhere.”
“Probably helps that I haven’t worn any gear in months.”
“You know what I mean.”
I shrug. “I told you what I’m like on a date. What’s Lexi Armstrong like?”
“I don’t go on dates, remember? And if I did, it would include lackluster conversation, then an invitation back to my place to sleep together.”
“I’m listening,” I say. “You’ve never told me why you don’t date. Did someone fuck up once upon a time? Are you secretly not a fan of places with a ton of options on their menus?”
She pauses. “Something like that.”
