“A win is a win, right?” Zane’s eyes don’t leave him.
“This is my brother.” I hold up my hand to Jaxon. “Jaxon. Jaxon, this is Elliott.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jaxon gives the guy a nod and then looks up at the server, who stops by the table with a tray full of drinks. “Can I get a burger,” he holds up his hand, “and a salad on the side?”
“That’s gross.” I point to him. “You are going to eat the burger, might as well add some bacon to that and a plate of fries.”
“Well, not really,” Elliott says from beside me. “It’s about moderation.” I smile at him and turn to look at him. “He’s not depriving himself of having the burger, but he’s also not pushing it.”
“Exactly,” Jaxon agrees as I hear Zane.
“I’ll take the same with bacon and fries.” I try not to look at Zane, but my eyes are not in sync with my head, apparently. “So, Elliott,” he looks at the guy, “what do you do?”
“I’m a lawyer,” he replies and I smile a big fake smile. “Dealing with mergers and acquisitions.”
“How did you two meet?” Zane asks him and I look at him, biting my tongue.
“Ran into her in the coffee shop.” He looks at me and I stare into his brown eyes, waiting to feel that tug for me. And it comes up empty. Actually, the whole fucking night I’ve been trying to find something, anything, that excites me about him. I have to be honest, every single time I thought I felt something for him, his mouth just ruined it. Every time something happened or someone said something, he always had something to say.
“So you asked out a random stranger?” Jaxon grills him.
“Better than swiping right,” he chuckles, “if you get my drift.”
“I don’t,” Zane says, and I try not to glare at him.
“How did you like the game?” Jaxon leans back in his chair.
“It was good fun,” Elliott answers. “I’ve been to the arena often enough.” And here we go, I think to myself as I drain the glass of wine. “Our law office has box seats for the basketball games. We sometimes go for hockey.”
“Fun,” Zane deadpans and I think about maybe kicking him in the shin, but then I don’t even bother, because ignoring him is better than making a scene, “but you can’t compare basketball to hockey.”
“No offense,” Elliott says, and I think I hear all the girls at the table groan, because he’s been saying this fucking line all night long, “I’m more of a basketball type of guy.”
“Yeah,” Zane tosses out, “you look like it.” My mouth opens.
“You do,” Jaxon agrees next. “Hockey isn’t for everyone; you need heavy cardio for hockey.”
“I would think that isn’t the case,” Elliott disagrees.
“You would think wrong,” Zane grumbles. I hold my hands up and fold them in front of me, hiding my mouth that has my lips rolled together as I try to fight off the laugh.
“Have you ever played hockey before?” Jaxon asks him.
“I mean, how hard can it be?” Elliott quips and, I swear, I glance over and see Knox and Kirby looking like they want to say something but are biting their tongues. “It’s ice skating with a stick.”
“Yeah, it’s just ice skating with a stick,” Jaxon mimics. “You should come to one of our practices. Should be easy enough.”
“That would be dope,” he says, and I literally look the other way.
“So you said you deal with mergers and acquisitions.” Kirby tries to bring down the tone. “How do you like it?”
“It has to do a lot with contracts and negotiations,” he answers him. “Not sure how much of that you would understand.”
“I’m going to go to the bathroom,” I announce, knowing it was a dig at Kirby. Even though I want to tell him he’s an asshole, it’s much more fun watching Zane get irritated. “I’ll be back.”
I grab my purse and head to the bathroom, closing my eyes when I get inside and then hanging my head. Okay, fine, maybe accepting a date from a total stranger wasn’t the best idea I’ve had, but I was sitting down, pining for a man who didn’t even want me. It was time to get off the fucking pot and do something. This was that something. I walk over to the mirror and look into it. My hair is down and around my face, my makeup on perfectly.
Did I do my makeup thinking of Zane? Correct. Did I dress sexier than I should to go to a hockey game? Also correct. Who the fuck wears high heels to a hockey game? No one, but what is on my feet right now? Stilettos because that is the journey I am now on. My blue jeans fit tight around my hips, clinging to all the right places, and showing off my ass in the best fucking way. The black shirt is tucked in and has the sleeves rolled up to my elbows and the neckline goes off one shoulder, but you can’t tell because my hair is draped over it. Opening my purse, I pull out the lip gloss, apply it to my lips, and take a huge inhale before I close my eyes and head back out there. I shouldn’t have left Elliott alone, but I had to get away from Zane. His smell had invaded my senses, and along with him staring at me half the time even though I avoided looking in his direction, I felt his eyes on me.
