“You got it. First drink is on you.”
“Oh, you think you’re slick.” He grinned and pointed at me. “Don’t disappoint me, Reiner.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
* * *
Logan’ssmelled like stale beer and peanuts, but damn, I loved coming here. It was situated in the heart of campus and was the perfect spot to have a beer and watch a game. Football season was underway, and blues and oranges covered every surface. Central State loved their football, that was for sure. While I was dedicated to my Moo U gear, I’d caved and bought a few Central shirts for team spirit. Competition was part of who I was, and I liked being part of a dominant school that won a lot.
My phone buzzed in my pocket right as I got to the bar, and I sat on a stool and eyed the text from my sister.
Ryann: How was the first day of the internship?
Michael: Still going. Coach wanted to meet me at a bar for a drink to talk.
Ryann: Wow. Right up your alley. Do you love him already?
Michael: Shut up.
I grinned and put my phone facedown. I missed my sister and even her shy boyfriend, Jonah Daniels. They were living up their senior year back home while I was here, relatively alone. I scratched my chest over my Central shirt and waited for the gut punch. It came and went as a cute bartender approached me.
“Hey there,” I said, smiling and forgetting all about home.
She winked and tilted her head to the side. “Hi, handsome. What can I get ya?”
“312, please.”
Her gaze lingered on my face then moved to my tatted arm, and my smile grew. Maybe that’s what I needed. A distraction. Someone or something to occupy my mind from the fact I’d be back in the rink andnotplaying. A distraction from reminiscing about home. A way for my mind to escape reality because hockey had always been that for me and I’d lost that haven.
The pretty bartender wore short shorts as she got me a beer, which snagged my gaze. I was not prepared when someone ran into me on my right side.Hard.
“What the hell?” I gripped the edge of the bar to stop myself from falling off the stool as a woman put her hands all over my body.
Hints of lemon and cookies washed over me, and a petite person cussed a few times before pushing long dark brown hair off her face. “Shit, shit! Sorry. Wow. This isn’t going well.”
“No, not really,” I said, reaching out to steady the girl. Her large brown eyes seemed worried, and a red blush painted her cheeks. She was cute. Small nose, big eyes, full lips. Not a knock-out like the bartender but still cute. “Do you always fall into people, or is this a special occasion?”
She chewed on her lip, frowned, and looked over her shoulder. Her pulse raced at the base of her neck, and I followed her gaze, expecting someone to be chasing her. Why else would she crash into me? There were just a few guys sitting in a booth. One of them squinted over at us, and recognition lit up his face.
I didn’t know him, but Klutzy McGee sure did.
Her entire body tensed, and she snapped her attention back to me. “Hi, hello. We can do introductions later, but I need a huge favor. The biggest. I’ll buy you a drink or two. Hell. Three!”
“This is getting more interesting.” I smiled. “What’s the favor?”
“I need you to pretend to date me, right freaking now.” She scooted closer and swallowed so hard her throat made a clicking sound. She glanced over her shoulder at the guy approaching us, and her breathing picked up. “Please.”
It took two seconds to think it over. She looked worried, and a protective instinct took root in my gut. Was this guy bothering her? Harassing her? Did she tell him no and he refused to accept it so she had to lie about having a boyfriend? Fuck. Guys could be the worst.
“You got it, Klutzy.”
“Oh, thank god.” She closed her eyes and moved onto the stool next to me, just as the large guy approached us.
“Fletcher,” he said, his voice low and deep and weird.
Her name was… Fletcher? Interesting choice. She sat too straight to be at a bar, her spine like a steel pole as she made a fist with her left hand. “Gage,” she said, the redness spreading down her face toward her chest.
Gage eyed her, then me, and lowered his voice like I couldn’t hear him. I was two feet from him, and sound didn’t work that way. I rolled my eyes. I already didn’t like this guy.
