Nolan doesn’t sound amused. “Goodnight, Neve.”
I end the call, and just before I’m about to put it in the pocket of my coat—white this time, with a red, sheer silk shirt beneath it, a pair of trousers that make my ass look delicious, and red heels tonight—I see a text.
33
Don’t take your eyes off me tonight.
My pulse skyrockets and when I lift my gaze as if someone will have seen Faust’s message to me, I see Tas prancing over with four shots, two in each hand, raised above her head like she’s a server.
I bite the inside of my cheek as Cyn and even Karter cheer when Tas sets the shots down. I wrinkle my nose; it looks like vodka.
But if Faust Darling is going to do this with me, I need to be tipsy.
Who said I was watching you tonight?
Despite myself, I wait when I see the three dots pop up. Shouldn’t he be warming up? We’re early to the game, sure, but he’s got more important things to do. He’s captain, and I’m sure he wants to play for the NHL. He needs to focus, doesn’t he?
When his next text comes through, it’s not words.
It’s a photo.
Of me.
Walking down the hall of the second floor of the arena, heading to the bar with the girls, but he zoomed in on me, my long, blond hair flipped over one shoulder as I turned to say something to Cyn. You can’t see my face, but you can see my ass.
My cheeks heat, and another text comes through.
33
I like what you’re wearing.
“Neve! Put that phone away!” Cyn’s voice cuts through my haze and I snap my head up, but no one is looking at my phone. Tas’s shoulder bumps into mine as she nudges the plastic shot glass toward me and I drop my phone in my coat pocket without replying. My pulse is fast and I snatch up the vodka quickly as we all lean in toward one another, Cyn and Karter on the opposite side of the standing room-only table.
We clink our cups together as Cyn says, “To hot hockey and winning tonight!”
I almost choke but I manage to pour the vodka down my throat and slam the little cup down with the girls, all four of ours tipping over to the side and rolling nearly off the table, leaving us to scramble after it and catch them before they hit the floor.
We all laugh and a few guys look over at us with smiles, but by the time we’re making our way to our seats—close to the home bench—my thoughts are only on one man.
Fuck.
They beat the Bees,which doesn’t sound like much of a flex, but considering the enemy’s team booed as loud as they could at all five goals—three assisted by Faust; one made by Sylvan—it’s impressive.
When Faust’s dark eyes met mine after Sylvan scored from the pass he slapped him, Cynthia and Tas both screamed, grabbing my shoulders like I just won the lottery. Karter sat quietly, glancing at me with a small smile, and if I hadn’t been drunk, my attitude would’ve matched hers. As it was, I clapped loudly, a smirk on my lips as I stared defiantly back at Faust.
Part of me thinks he just wants to fuck me; all of his eluding to me being a slut, and all the evidence I gave him it was true, but do I actually care? It’s not like we’re doing anything serious anyway and having him close helps me keep a roundabout eye on Sylvan. After he attacked Will, then grabbed me last night and lied about sleeping with me, I don’t trust him, and I don’t know that he didn’t have anything to do with what happened with Jackson.
Besides, how did he get my number? My address? How did he know Will on sight? How did he know his last name?
Is he that proficient at stalking?
But having Faust close feels—maybe wrongly—like a shield.
And seeing how the stadium goes crazy for him makes me want him more. I’ve fallen fully into the trap. Fameisan aphrodisiac.
But thinking of Faust has me thinking of Sylvan, and when Tas nudges me with her shoulder as we sit at the bar of Castles, a luxurious lounge that looks just like it sounds, I decide to put my circumstances to good use.
She slides another double rum and Coke my way—I need more sugar now; fuck you, Nolan—and I curl my fingers around the cold glass set atop the golden marble that makes up the bar. With dim lighting, high, vaulted ceilings and fairy lights strung up just out of reach, not to mention the turrets, the stone, and the stained glass, this place lives up to its name.
