Unfortunately, my distraction with Sophie leaves me wide open for Ethan and Payton’s antics. They push in behind me, along with Wade and Elias.
Ethan holds his room key out to me. “Swap rooms with me.”
I narrow my eyes as I study first him, then Payton, who’s standing next to him with a suspicious grin on his face. “Why?”
“Because it’s by the elevator. You want me well rested for tomorrow, right, Cap?”
I snort. “What about me? I need my rest, too.”
Payton opens his mouth to say something, but Ethan cuts him off. “You slept on the bus most of the ride up. You didn’t even move when we stopped for gas and snacks. Nothing wakes you once you’re out.”
I grunt, then hold out my key card. “Fine.”
Payton leans in to see the room number on the envelope. “Added bonus. Now our rooms are next door.”
Ethan rolls his eyes at him. “What are you, like eight? This isn’t a sleepover, man.”
Payton clutches his chest and sighs like a girl. “And here I thought you loved me.”
I can’t get out of this elevator fast enough. Those two resemble a pair of mischievous sea otters on the loose.
When we file off, I check the signs to see which direction to go. Turns out my newly assigned room is down a long hallway and nowhere near the elevators.
“Hey Ethan, you said?—”
They’ve already disappeared down the opposite side. I shake my head and continue toward my room. As I reach my door, Sophie comes out from the one beside mine.
If we didn’t have a game tomorrow, I’d teach Ethan and Payton a serious lesson tonight that may or may not involve a hockey stick.
Her expression shifts from surprise to irony. “Imagine meeting you here.”
“That would be Ethan and Payton’s doing.”
She frowns in confusion.
I shake my head and hold my key card over the lock. “Never mind. Have a nice evening.” I push open the door, fully intent on crashing for the evening. Right now, room service is about my speed. I may even give my sister a call and see how her week went.
“Aren’t you going to dinner?” Sophie’s perky voice turns me around in thedoorway.
“Did I say I wasn’t going to eat?” I’m trying my damnedest not to smile because teasing her is becoming way too much fun.
She presses those gorgeous pink lips of hers together.
I wait in my doorway as she strides down the hallway with that large bag swinging on one side. Then she turns around and marches back.
“Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Throw my words back at me.”
I chuckle. “Didn’t you just throw my words back at me? I told you to have a good evening first.”
“You know what I mean. It’s like every conversation has to be competition with you. Why?”
I hold my hands out. “I’m a hockey player?”
Her lips twitch. She’s trying hard not to smile. And right now, I want nothing more than to see her face make that transformation so I can watch how her eyes sparkle with delight, how the corners of her delicate pink lips lift, and how her cheeks warm with a soft blush.
