Thatare you okayalmost got me emotional. I wasn’t quite all right with everything that happened with my sister, but we were on the right track. “We’re going to have weekly dates.”
“I dig that. Ryann and I had a standing lunch agreement.” He moved back and scratched his chest, right where his heart beat underneath. “I miss them. A lot, actually.”
“You could do a virtual lunch date,” I said, wiggling my brows as he tilted his head to the side. He blinked and let out a tiny humph.
“That’s a dope ass idea.” He nodded and went back to his room, only to return three seconds later with his phone. “I’m organizing that right now. I can’t believe I didn’t think of a virtual one!”
His fingers moved fast over his phone before he set it on the table and gave me his full attention. “Forgive me. I miss my sister and wanted to set that up before I forgot.”
His intensity often made me forget what I was saying. Like now. I cleared my throat and spoke about Cami again. It was easy talking to him, sharing my doubts and hopes about her. It wasn’t until hours later that I got dressed and he took me back to my place. He didn’t call me a ride or demand I leave. He walked me back, and god, it was like the guy was trying to get me to fall for him. He was patient and let me set the pace. He made me feel gorgeous. Every time he touched or looked at me, Ifelthis appreciation. He loved his sister and the team, and my heart swelled as I thought about his smile.
I was in deep trouble.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Michael
The weekend was the Bermuda Triangle offeelings,and I honestly wished I could just make all the thoughts disappear. Not only was it our home opener for the season, but it was parents’ weekendandNaomi smelled so damn good.
It’d only been two days since she came over, and sitting next to her in the cold rink, hearing her sigh and laugh, was a special form of torture. It wasn’t like I could ask her to hang out after the game. She was supposed to have plans with her dad, which he better not cancel again. I hated seeing him as separate people—the coach and her father because he acted two different ways.
But, fuck, at least she could work things out with him at some point. She wasn’t going to spend the weekend alone like me.Sad Express, party of one.Sue me for wanting to distract myself from the weekend with her.
“So, Hank reached out to me about those motivation tests.”
“Hank the guy you have a crush on? About this high?” I held my hand in the air, ignoring the absolutely absurd bout of jealousy.
She rolled her eyes but there wasn’t the same playfulness in her expression as before. “Shut up, but yes.”
“Well, what did he say?” I frowned, swearing that her dad promised to work on getting the tests to the players. I heard him talking about it the other day. “About the tests?”
“Hank said all the guys on the team took it. The team will cover the cost as long asthe results are actually helpful.My dad’s words, not his.” She bit her lip and tapped her nail on the clipboard. She painted her nails blue and orange—just like our school colors. “Do you think it’s odd that I’m working with you and Hank on all this stuff when it should be… my dad?”
YES. I wanted to demand answers from the guy about what was going on. It was so clear his daughter wanted to work with him, but the dude either didn’t care or didn’t want to return the gesture. But that wouldn’t be helpful for Naomi. “I’m sure he has a reason,” I said, my bullshit answer annoying me. I needed to change the subject. Move on fromthisbecause it pissed me off. No wonder the woman hated hockey.
“More importantly, have you started going through the results to make the profiles?” I leaned closer to her and fought the urge to push some of her hair behind her ear. It escaped from the hat she wore and looked so soft.
“I’ve done two players, yes. This project will take… weeks of constant work.” She rubbed the back of her neck and looked at me with her light brown eyes. So full of life and warmth. “I was going to ask, and you can say no…”
“Yes,” I said, flashing her a grin. “I’d love to get naked with you again as soon as possible.”
She giggled, and a light blush crept up her cheeks. “I mean, yes, I’ve been thinking about that a lot. But what I was saying was about you helping. I know you have your own class assignments and meetings with my dad, but… if you can somehow correlate them… I’d love you to help if you had an interest.”
“Help you with the project?”
“Yeah.” She frowned, and her tongue wetted the side of her mouth. “If you want. Obviously. I’m not trying to put off work, but it’d be cool to hear your side of things as a former player and potential coach.”
Spend more time with her, talk about hockey, and use it for my classes? There was no bad part of this suggestion. “Hell yeah, I’m in.”
“Don’t make fun of me,” she said, but I raised my brows. She elbowed me and kept going. “I have a schedule already set for the next two weeks of when I plan to work on it.”
She blushed and closed one eye as she scrunched her nose at me. “Say it. I know it’s dorky.”
“Not saying a word. Not one.” I pressed my lips together to hold back my amusement, but the longer the silence went on, the harder it was. Eventually, I snorted and let the cackle out. “You are such a nerd, my god.”
The crowd cheered, loudly, and I jumped up into the air as Erikson scored. I pumped my fist and high-fived the people around us before sitting back down with a new sense of adrenaline. They were playing as a unit this time. Cal Holt, not as much, but the rest of them were a team. A brotherhood. Exactly what a team should be.
My pulse raced, and my knee bounced up and down while Naomi studied me. “What?” I asked, unsure what the sparkle in her eye was for. Was it joy or the end of a joke I didn’t know about?
