I grab Chlo by her elbow. “Did I forget to introduce you to my friend? Stella Starbright. Twenty-one, Sagittarius, social, sweet, and sensationally sneaky.”
Noah lets out a barking laugh. It’s deep and rich and wraps around me, warming my body.
“She’s funny. I like her.” He offers her a high-five and reality comes crashing down on me like a bucket of ice water.
Despite having a good time with him tonight, I need to remind myself that this is never going to happen.
“She’s drunk.” I hop off the bar stool. “Pizza from the street corner and bed?”
I give her the eyes that tell herI’mready, and being the best friend that she is, she gets the hint.
“You read my mind,” she slurs, climbing down from her stool. “Let’s do this.”
I take one last look at Noah and offer nothing more than acurt nod and a tight-lipped smile. I turn to leave, but his hand catches me in the crook of my elbow.
“Wait.” He looks over my shoulder, scratching the back of his neck before he looks back down at me. It could be the two tequila shots I just had and my eyes playing tricks on me, but the usual cool and calm Noah seems… nervous. “Do you need a ride or something?”
I pull my jacket on and zip it all the way up. “No. We’re good. We walked. Thank you tho?—”
“Walked?!” He cuts me off. “She’s in shorts, and this fuzzy zip-up can hardly be considered a coat.” He drags a hand from my shoulder down to my wrist and I neglect to tell him that touch will keep me warm the whole way home. “Come on, let me get you a car.”
That sobers me up, because explaining that I don’t go anywhere I can’t walk to or drive myself isn’t something I plan on getting into with him tonight. Or ever.
“We live right down the street,” I say more adamantly than I intended, but he steps back and nods in understanding.
“Alright, well, get home safe.”
I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, dip my chin, and turn before he can say anything else to make my chest flutter.
7
noah
The nutty scentof freshly roasted coffee hits my nose before I reach the bottom of the stairs.
“Morning Starshine,” Silas’s deep voice rasps from where he’s sitting on the couch. His morning hair is ruffled and going every which way as he sips his coffee, wearing nothing but black-and-green Lions sweat shorts and tall Nike socks.
Skipping the creamer, I pour steaming coffee into my favorite LCU hockey mug.
“It’s fucking freezing.” I shiver, sticking my free hand into the pocket of my sweater. I give his bare, tattoo-covered chest a pointed look as I sit down on the couch beside him.
“I run warm.” He shrugs in response.
ESPN highlights roll as we drink our coffees and sit in a comfortable silence. Sometimes, I forget that Silas didn’t grow up with Maverick and me. Our duo has become a trio over the past three years together. On the surface, he’s still one of the more reserved guys on the team, but I feel lucky to know the real Silas. He’s one of only four players on the team that have had scouts interested in him, who show up to games with their eyes set on him. He’s also one of the only guys on the team who doesn’t have an end goal of going pro. I guessthat’s what happens when you’re real estate royalty, though. His family owns The Miller Group—the top real estate development company on the coast. Linden Creek is a quiet, old town, but a short two hour drive from here sits everyone's favorite vacation spot. Bayview Beach might as well be a different country with its miles of white sandy beaches and multi-million dollar vacation homes. It just so happens that about eighty percent of those houses have been developed by Silas’ family. He always says he’s here to get his architecture degree and help Maverick and me look good on the ice.
“You bailed kind of early last night,” he says around the rim of his mug.
If by early, he means an hour after we got to the bar, then yeah, I bailed early. After winning our first game back, I was riding a high. Coach gave us the weekend off and we were all ready to celebrate.Rowdy’shad to be close to max capacity by the time we got there, but I spotted that pretty head of dark hair immediately. I thought I’d order us a round of drinks and surprise Savannah with them, but I was the one who ended up surprised when I looked over and saw her talking to another guy. It wasn’t until her back went ramrod straight when he put his hand on her thigh that my jaw was clenching and I started acting slightly out of character. I was by her side quicker than what should have been possible in that packed bar.
I can still hear the hitch in her breath when I threaded my fingers through her hair and cradled the back of her head. I might have been joking about us dating, but at that moment, I didn’t hate the idea.
I don’t know what that means, but last night I learned that I have a weakness for her smile. Getting one out of her isn’t difficult, but getting her to not hide them is a whole other beast. For whatever reason, she doesn’t want to like me—but for a brief moment there, I thought I might be getting somewhere with her.
You’re all the same and you don’t care about who you hurt to get what you want.
Her words replay in my head. I was caught off by her assessment of me. Not just me, but anyone who plays hockey. It was a lot to unpack especially in that setting, but I’ve not forgotten.
Silas looks over at me like I need to catch a one-way ticket back down to earth, and I shake my head, clearing the thoughts.
