“Who’s Rachel?” Leon wanted to know, carrying two beer bottles in his hands, both for himself. He probably wanted to take advantage of the fact that their coach hadn’t arrived yet.
“Maddie’s and my sister,” Lucy replied tersely.
“There are three of you?” he asked enthusiastically. “Is this Rachel single? Oh, speaking of sisters… I know I’ve told you before, Dax, but your sister is hot. Um…” He frowned. “I mean your sister is hot.” He tapped Jack on the shoulder with one of the beers. “Man, I have to get used to this.”
“Keep your hands off Anna!” Jack snapped and Dax hissed, “I’ll kill you if you even look at her the wrong way, Alvarez.”
Penny snorted and pulled down Jack’s arm, which he hadn’t even realized he had raised.
“God, the poor thing,” she muttered, shaking her head.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jack exclaimed in disbelief. “She’s lucky we’re protecting her from assholes like him.”
Anna would only get involved with a hockey player over his dead body! Hockey players were self-absorbed, arrogant womanizers who treated hearts like pucks. And he realized he was a hockey player himself, but that just proved that he knew more than most people!
“Fine, my God.” Shaking his head, Leon took a deep pull of his beer before saying something in rapid Spanish to Penny. She laughed loudly and answered him just as fluently.
Jack narrowed his eyes and glanced back and forth between them. They had been doing that more often lately, speaking Spanish. Penny said she missed the language and so did Leon. So, they helped each other out. Secretly, though, Jack was convinced that she was only doing it because she knew it upset him.
“What did you say?” he asked as soon as they paused for breath.
“Oh, only good things,” Penny said, her eyes wide as she tapped his bicep. “We admired your bright golden hair and Dax’s beautiful jawline, among other things.”
Jack looked at her darkly and Leon grinned. “Maybe you’re okay after all, Clark,” he said, before adding hesitantly, “Lyle said it was your idea to try me out in a different position?”
Penny’s cheeks turned pink. “Um, yes.”
“Because of the stats?”
“Yes.”
“Mm hm.”
Jack’s jaw clenched because if Leon had anything condescending to say, then…
“Well…I think…” He cleared his throat and took a sip of beer. “Well, my abilities are much better as a center.” He turned his face away before muttering, “So, thanks. For being the stats witch and persuading Lyle to encourage the coach to convince me to try.”
Penny laughed. The sound of it was so relaxed and carefree that Jack felt it vibrating throughout his body. “On a scale of one to ten, how uncomfortable was that for you?” she asked.
“One hundred and thirty,” Leon said bluntly before turning his back on her and leaving.
“Wow. That was heartwarming,” Lucy said, perplexed, putting a hand on her chest. “He’s never thanked anyone so lovingly.”
“Yes, I enjoyed it,” Penny said, grinning. “It was honest. And rather sweet, right?” Her smile fell from her face. “God, I even like Leon,” she said, looking so perplexed that Jack laughed. “When did that happen?”
“Yeah, the guy is sneaky,” he confirmed. “He’s an idiot for a month, then halfway okay for a second, and then he just sneaks past your protective walls.”
“Yes, and here I was so careful!” she replied indignantly.
“Oh, you’ve been slacking lately,” he whispered in her ear, kissing her gently behind it.
“No, no. I only made an exception for you!” she said seriously. “And for Dax and Lucy. And for Matt. And Fox is easy to like. And Moreau is always so serious that you want to make him laugh. And Leon… Oh.” Her eyes widened in shock.
Jack grinned broadly and pulled her closer. “You’re part of the gang now. Welcome.”
Penny opened her lips, probably to object, but she was interrupted by another female voice.
“Tell me why did Leon see me, turn chalk white, and then almost trip over his own feet trying to get away from me as quickly as possible?” Anna asked, frowning and looking back and forth between Dax and him. “What did you do?”
