“Hush yourself. Let me ogle them in peace.”
“You’ve done enough ogling for the night, Connor.” As I argue back-and-forth with him about his sometimes-crude behavior with strangers, I hear Gabe’s laughter beside me. My mind instinctively wants to pay more attention to him, and I have to fight to keep my eyes on Connor, so I don’t make an absolute fool of myself.
Connor finally gives up arguing with me, which leaves me with no excuse to avoid joining the conversation that Gabe, Kaden, and Luke are involved in next to me. I’m excited that it’s a topic I’m interested in, until I hear Gabe mention the Canadiens are his team. As a Bruins fan, I can’t help but knock a few points off the ‘fuckable’ status Connor gave him—that I fully agree with. I choose to listen silently a little longer before chiming in, giving my opinion about his poor choice of a hockey team, and probably destroy any chance of spending more time in his presence.
Chapter Four
Bets and Crossing Boundaries
Gabe
We’ve been talking for over an hour now. Luke and Kaden have left already, and my conversation with Ender has come full circle back to hockey. Don’t get me wrong—I love hockey as much as the next guy, but he’s a Bruins fan. My familywould disown me just for associating with him. My father, born and raised in Montreal, has been a Habs fan his whole life, passing his love for the sport and his team down to me. Avoiding the topic is probably best for both of us, but he refuses to let it go.
“Listen, your team is playing lousy this season. Maybe after trades they can get some players who are worth a damn, but there’s no way they make it to the playoffs. Their streak is ending—it’s not going to happen for them this season.” I really hate arguing with Ender, but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him talking. We’ve talked about half a dozen topics already, all surface-level stuff. I don’t expect him to tell me his deepest, darkest secrets the first time we meet, but give me something.
I can tell he’s one of the quiet ones. I’m usually good at reading people—I know there’s a story behind those pretty hazel eyes. I’m not usually into blond guys, but the medium shaggy platinum look is working for him, and the septum piercing tops it off perfectly.
“Whatever. We can come back from this. We still have almost two months until the playoffs—plenty of time to turn this season around, you’ll see. And I’ll put my money where my mouth is on this one.”
Well, thank you for the opportunity here, Ender. “I’m not a betting man, especially for money, but I’ll gladly take you up on that bet.”
“If you don’t bet for money, then what are the stakes?” With his crooked brows, his confusion turns to intrigue fast, and I’m here for it.
“I’m afraid the only answer I can give is ‘to be determined at a later date.’ I don’t know what you have to offer yet, and it wouldn’t be fair to make a decision without more information, would it?” As I throw the slight challenge at him, he appears to get nervous, looking away from me without answering.
Just when I think I went too far, he turns back to me with an outstretched hand. “I’ll agree to your terms on one condition.” He lowers his voice. “No intrusive questions about myself. That’s a hard no for me.”
As much as I’d hate to agree with this, I respect his privacy. “Is that your only hard no?” I glanced down at his hand, still awaiting mine.
His eyes flick quickly to my lips and back to mine, while I wait for his response. “I’m afraid the only answer I can give is ‘to be determined at a later date.’”
“Touché.” I can’t hide the pleased look on my face when I gently clasp his hand in mine, brushing my thumb softly against his skin while we linger in the connection. When his lips separate barely enough to release a hushed breath—was that a reaction to my gentle caress?—I’m filled with curiosity.
“Ender, ready to get your ass kicked? That pool table upstairs is screaming our names—let’s go!” Lanie’s voice breaks the moment, and I have to fight to hide my disappointment when they walk away together toward the staircase.
I fall into conversation with Jackson and Dakota, trying to focus on that rather than the tantalizing ideas I can come up with to claim my win once the Bruins fall out of the standings for the playoffs. With the playoffs still being a few weeks away, I have plenty of time to decide.
“Gabe, you okay?” Dakota’s question snaps my attention back to the present.
I realize I haven’t been paying any attention to the conversation and decide to tap out for the night.
“Sorry, getting tired. I think I’m going to head out. I’ll catch you guys later.” As I say goodbye to my friends, I debate whether I should go upstairs to the rest of the group.
Ultimately, I decided it would be rude to leave without saying goodbye to them. When I enter the billiards area, I see Faith andConnor teamed up, playing against Lanie and Ender. They’re all laughing and having a good time—except Ender.
“What’s the matter? Not having fun?” I expect to startle him as I come up from behind. Instead, his body stiffens as he straightens, only slightly turning his head to peer at me.
“What makes you think I’m not having a good time?”
If this is him having a good time, I would hate to see what having a bad time looks like.
“You don’t smile often, do you? Why is that?” I test the water to see what level of ‘intrusive questions’ I’m dealing with here.
He stays silent, still looking over his shoulder at me, until he walks away with nothing more than a shake of his head.
Fuck, too far. I cut my losses and managed to say goodbye to everyone else without causing more damage to these new friendships. Before walking away, I make eye contact with Ender from across the pool table, mouthing, ‘I’m sorry,’ hoping he’ll accept my apology.
I patiently wait for what seems like a moment frozen in time, his icy glare withering any shred of hope I might’ve had of us becoming friends, if nothing else.
