The rookie tips his glass of water to the dance floor where Sadie is singing along unabashedly to a Kesha song. “The girl you’ve been staring at since she got here. Short, pretty, purple streaks in her hair, extremely bendy.”
His last comment makes me whip my head toward him, my nostrils flaring.
He pats me on the back. “Yeah. Thought so.”
As soon as Jefferson walks away, I’m on my feet. I need another drink.
“Anyone need anything?”
Connor starts talking, saying he’d love another beer, but I don’t stick around to get his order. He can get his own drink.
The bar is packed but I’m able to squeeze in to order my beer pretty quickly after a couple heads to the dance floor. I’m waiting for my drink, people watching, when I see Mack and Jefferson make their way to where Hunter and Sadie are dancing.
What the fuck are they up to now?
I watch as Mack leans in close to Sadie’s ear and says something that makes her laugh. It’s her first night out after being hired, and I’m afraid I may know what Mack is up to. Mack is your typical hockey dude. He’s young, single, and the ladies love him. Which is why, as soon as the bartender hands me my drink, I’m beelining it to the dance floor.
Jefferson elbows Mack, who’s still chatting with Sadie, and when he turns to look at me, he has a shit-eating grin on his face.
Assholes. They’re all assholes.
“Cap! I didn’t know you were a dancer,” Mack screams to be heard over the music.
I flip him off and ignore him, nodding at Hunter. The five of us stand awkwardly, not knowing what to do next. There are four of us dudes all surrounding Sadie, and she looks more than amused to be put into this predicament.
“Are you boys just going to stand there all night, or are we gonna dance?”
Hunter is approached by a pretty blonde and it takes all of two seconds for him to follow her across the dance floor. The moment he’s gone, Mack and Jefferson turn their backs and chat up a group of girls who appear to be out celebrating someone’s birthday. Which leaves me alone with Sadie.
If I didn’t know any better, this is exactly what those two bozos had planned.
The song switches and “Feel So Close” by Calvin Harris starts blaring through the speakers. I hate that the guys set this up, and the last thing I want is to make Sadie feel uncomfortable. I’m about to politely make my exit when she screams over the song.
“What do you say, Cap? Wanna dance?” Sadie’s hand is on her hip, and maybe I imagined it, but I think she might be flirting with me. Her question comes out like a challenge, and I’m not one to back down from things. Especially when I’ve been dancing nearly my entire life.
Besides, only an idiot would tell her no.
I take a sip of my beer and then put it on a random table next to us. I reach my hand out, and the second she takes it I’m spinning her around so her back is to my front.
We move together to the beat of the song and I get lost in the music. I’m not even sure the guys on the team know how much I love to dance. I took classes when I was younger and I have no problem shaking my ass with the best of them.
Speaking of asses, Sadie’s is rubbing up against me and it’s almost too much to handle. Not wanting to teeter on the edge of inappropriate, I take this moment to lift her hand in the air and step away from her. When I do, I push her hip, urging her to spin, and then pull her back into me so we’re facing each other.
Sadie’s eyes light up and her smile is so bright, my heart starts pounding even faster in my chest at the sight.
My hand slides to her lower back and I pull her into me. She rests her hand on my chest and we continue to dance together, lost to the beat of the music.
Sadie looks up at me and shouts, “I didn’t know hockey players could dance.”
At her comment, I spin her out away from me once moreand then dip her dramatically. I pull her back up to me and Sadie is full-on belly laughing now.
I lean down and talk into her ear so she can hear me. “I’m full of surprises, Sadie.”
She leans back to look me in the eyes, that dazzling smile still on her face. “I’ll say.” Her words come out breathy and her eyes move back and forth between mine.
“I thought hockey players eat, breathe, and live hockey. Who knew they had time for other things?”
I lean back into her ear and I’m not sure where it comes from, but my tone comes out a bit flirtatious when I finally speak. “There’s a lot we don’t know about each other, Sadie.”
