I gasp in horror, like his audacity offends me. It used to, but now I find it almost charming. I haven’t succumbed to his spell—I’m too smart for that, but I can definitely see why people find him so captivating. He’s charismatic and energetic, but when I’m with him, I still feel like I’m the only other person in the room. Of course, that’s probably because we find ourselves alone together pretty often these days.
Blue’s gaze lingers on mine, and when he opens his mouth, I have no idea what’s going to come out of it. I’m equally prepared for him to tease me or seduce me. But he surprises me.
“You know what we should do? Order wings. They’ve gotta have them in a place like this, right? The menu was thirty-two pages long, so I didn’t read all of it, but they’ve got to have wings.”
“You want hot wings?”
“Yeah. But with ranch for me, obviously,” he says, giving a visible shudder at the mere thought of bleu cheese.
“Count me out,” I say, taking a sip of my iced tea. I’m already getting full.
“But we skipped lunch,” he protests. “This is linner, and it’s going to have to sustain me because I don’t feel like cooking when we get home.”
“Me, neither, but I'll just box up what I haven’t eaten and have that for dinner.”
“It’s one and a half chicken tenders,” he scoffs. “That’s not dinner. It’s a snack.” To punctuate his point, he nabs a tender from my plate, dips it in honey mustard and takes a bite.
“You—that’s my…”
“Now we have to order wings. Or another basket of these. They’re like crack.”
“Your choice,” I say, shrugging. “But order enough so that when you inevitably steal my food, there’s still enough for me to eat.”
“That’s fair. So…when we get back to the hockey house, do you have plans?”
The way he says the word is strange. “Plans? Not really. I have a test coming up, and I want to throw in a load of laundry. I’ll probably livestream the game and watch while I fold my clothes and study.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, a shadow falls across Blue’s handsome face. His hair is perfectlytousled, his mustache is maddeningly sexy, and his hoodie fits him perfectly. It’s soft and loose, but I can still see the outline of his biceps. He could have a side hustle as a model or a stripper. He really is that handsome, but right now, he looks a little lost, and I feel like an asshole for bringing up the hockey game that he’s not playing in. “I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn't have?—”
He shrugs and pastes on a smile. “It’s fine. I’ve gotta get used to watching my buddies play on TV, right? I mean Dutton’s a sure thing, and I’ve got a feeling Mickey will get picked up if he keeps playing the way he has been. Leo’s having a hell of a season. I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes his shot with the draft this summer. And it’ll be cool to watch them all play. Also excruciating, but cool nonetheless.”
I wince at his wording. I won’t pretend to be an expert on all things Blue Halliday, but I’ve been getting to know him better these last few weeks, and I don’t just mean that our bodies are intimately acquainted. We’ve spent enough time together for me to know that he’s joking and doing his best to make light of the situation because he knows he has no other choice.
“Seriously,” he says, “It’s fine. I mean, it’s shitty, but who’s to say I’d get picked up anyway. And if I did, maybe I’d only play a few years, if that. Coach Baylor went in the second round, but an injury took him out at the end of his third year in the pros. I hate to say my dad is right, but hockey really is a gamble. And I’m lucky that I’ll have a good job waiting for me after grad school.”
I nod because everything he’s saying is true, but I still wish he had more control over his future.
“What about you?” he asks, clearly wanting a subject change. “What made you pick civil engineering?”
I feel a smile break out onto my face at his question. I’m not the type of person who loves being the center of attention, but I could talk about my major all day. “I took a drafting class in highschool. It was just part of the tech ed rotation that everybody takes, but I fell in love immediately. It’s practical and logical, but I get to be a little creative, too. It’s kind of perfect for me. And there’s always a need for engineers, so I won’t have trouble finding a job.”
“I bet you played with those building bricks when you were little, huh? My nana used to get me a set every year for Christmas. I bet they’re all stuck in my closet somewhere, or maybe my dad’s basement. I remember trying to put a set together one Christmas Eve, and after about five minutes, I got so frustrated I gave up and shoved it all back in the package.”
“Those kits are probably worth a ton of money now,” I tell him. “I mean, depending on which ones you got. And to answer your question, I freaking loved them as a kid. It used to drive my mom crazy because our apartment had this shaggy blue carpet and sometimes the little pieces would get hidden in there and then she’d find it when she accidentally stepped on it. My mom has a stringent no-swearing rule, but if you step on a sharp, tiny, plastic brick, you can say whatever curse words you want.”
“You guys are close?” he asks, taking the last bite of his burger.
“Very,” I tell him. “My mom was the same age I am now when she had me, so we sort of grew up together, as funny as that sounds. She was an English major, and she planned to go to law school, so she worked as a receptionist at a firm one summer just to get her foot in the door. It’s the classic story of a lovestruck girl and her older boss, and it ends exactly how you’d think it would. My mom got pregnant, he stayed with his wife, and I have no relationship whatsoever with my sperm donor. But I admire the hell out of my mom. She had to drop out of school to take care of me, so she worked odd hours and made ends meet. When I got to high school, she started taking classes, and she earned her bachelor’s last year. She’s in law school now, and I couldn’t beprouder. When we’re both done with school in a few years, we’re going to throw the biggest party ever. Well, okay, probably a pretty small one that includes our neighbors and her boyfriend, but still. The guest list will be small, but the vibe will be mighty.”
Blue’s smiling when I realize I’ve been rambling for a while. Talking to him is so easy. Is it strange that I hope we hang out tonight when we get back to the hockey house? And I’m not just talking about the bedroom. Yes, I want to play with all the goodies we got from The Top Drawer, but I also just like talking to him. It’s the strangest thing. Never in a million years would I have predicted that Blue and I would become …friends. Is that what we are?
”Oh, shit,” Blue mutters, pulling me out of my thoughts. I follow his line of sight and look out the window to our right. There’s a white blanket of snow covering the sidewalks, parking meters, and roads.
Without another word, we both open our phones, hoping our weather apps can bring us good news. Like, maybe the sun will start shining and the temperature will skyrocket in the next five minutes.
“Mine says we’ll get snow for the next few hours, and then it’ll change to a wintry mix, which might be worse,” I tell him. “Is your phone saying the same thing?”
“Yep. We could have a foot of snow here by morning,”
“Then we better get going,” I say, looking around for our server.
