“Is it just you and Elliott? Or do you have other siblings?” I ask, sensing the need for a change in subject.
“Younger sister. Ava.” Maya’s already sweet face softens tenfold. “She’s a freshman at Vanderbilt.”
“My sister Emily went there,” I tell her. “Although that was about fifteen years ago.”
Growing up, it was always Nate and me against Darby and Emily. Now that Nate’s gone, I feel like a third wheel when I’m with my sisters. It’s in my head, I know that, since they simultaneously mother-hen and annoy me, but I can’t seem to shake the idea.
Maya regales me with stories of her college days, and somehow, we end up on the topic of drinking games. It’s dangerous, considering my overly competitive nature. A nature that even got me banned from coming to O’Leary’s on trivia night.
“I have a game we can play,” I suggest, dancing my fingers against Maya’s spine.
For a moment I’m sure she’s going to shrug off my touch. Instead, to my surprise, she leans into it.
“More like a wager, I suppose.”
She glances up at me, her dusk blue eyes filled with suspicion. “Why do I get the feeling this is a trap?”
There’s no fighting the grin spreading across my face. “Under or over an hour—how long before Logan and your brother leave together?”
She arches a brow, fiddling with her wineglass. “That’s assuming they do. My brother’s not really the one-night-stand type.”
I survey Logan and Elliott, who are standing close, murmuring into one another’s ears. I can practically feel the heat of their sexual tension from here. They’re definitely going home together.
“Fine, I’ll change it,” I concede, tapping my fingers against my drink. “If they don’t leave together, I’ll read a book of your choice. But if they do… you owe me a kiss.”
Maya tenses a fraction, her pouty lips forming an O at the boldness of my wager. “This feels rigged.”
A deep laugh escapes from my chest. “I never claimed to play fair, but I do play to win.”
At that comment, she throws me a haughty look. “I cannotwaitfor you to readAlien Lovers of Planet Dexxar.”
With a title like that, I’m even more grateful when, forty-three minutes later, Elliott and Logan slip into their jackets and murmur their goodbyes. I barely hold in a laugh at the way Maya gapes, dumbfounded. When her brother claims he’s heading home early because he’s had a long day, she stammers a goodbye.
“Looks like you need another drink.” I chuckle. It’s late, and we have a game tomorrow night in Atlanta, but I don’t want the night to end. Cheesy, yes, but true all the same. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun off the ice.
Our next drink turns into two, then three, and somewhere between debating which nineteenth century president was the hottest and plotting our hypothetical zombie apocalypse strategy, my cheeks begin to hurt. I haven’t smiled this much in years.
At closing time, I reluctantly settle the tab and schedule a rideshare. I have Maya add her address as a stop so I know she gets home safely. It’s a crisp night, so I use that as an excuse to wrap my arm around her as we step outside.
“I’m going to regret that last drink in the morning.” She chuckles a little darkly. “I have to be up early to open the store.”
“What time do you have to be there?”
She taps her chin. “Eight-thirty.”
A scoff escapes me before I can stop it. “That’searly?” I’ll be up at six-thirty to train and to get Goose and his collection of toys dropped off at his sitter’s house before my flight.
She jabs a finger at my stomach, and I instinctively flex my well-earned abs. “Anything before ten-thirty a.m. is early for a night owl, Cole. Stop looking so offended.”
Chuckling, I rest my forehead against hers. But before I can collect my winning kiss, my phone buzzes, notifying me that our ride is here.Shit. Zero stars for him for cock-blocking me.
We clamber in, and when we’re settled side by side in the back seat, I rest a hand on Maya’s thigh, my thumb tracing idle circles. The driver chatters nonstop during the fifteen-minute ride to her Back Bay apartment, blissfully unaware of the silent tension thrumming between us.
I climb out on the passenger side and offer Maya my hand. “I’ll walk you up.”
“You really don’t have?—”
“I want to.”
