Page 8 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 2

Avery narrowed his eyes and I wondered why that made him twice as sexy. Damn. He was something. I was grateful for the crowded space when someone passed behind me and I scooted closer to my unsuspecting date-to-be. “I would never run,” Avery said. “How many times have I crashed you into the boards instead of running?”

My temper flared faster than I could tame it. “Crashed me? Please…” I bit my tongue. I had outdone him more times than I could count. And the number of times he had hard checked me was far inferior. But I remembered what my purpose here was. I licked my lips and then stretched them into a warm smile. “Anyway, I was going to join you for a drink when you…left.” Not ran.

“I didn’t realize you were going after me.” Avery’s expression was as blank as ever.

I frowned. “Seriously? I asked to sit next to you in an empty bar.”

Avery shrugged. “It was the nearest chair to the tap. Maybe you wanted your beer extra fast.”

“I wanted to talk to you,” I insisted.

My prey lifted his gaze to somewhere behind me. He gave a little nod of greeting to his friends, then looked at me again. We were nearly the same height, although his shoes might have given him an extra inch. His smooth face and sharp lips pulled me in. I found myself wanting to lean in. “Why?”

“Oh, wow, okay. Straight to the point.” I forced out a laugh. “If you really wanna know, I was going to ask you out.”

“While being out and sitting next to me?” Avery asked, cocking his head.

“Well, yeah, but it’s not the same. Dude. I wanted to ask you out on a date.” My words left my lips, but it was hard to tell based on his statuesque expressions whether he comprehended them.

“Er…” He cleared his throat. “Look, my friends are waiting for me.” He winced a little.

I grabbed my chest. “You’re breaking my heart, man. They can wait a minute longer.”

He visibly held his breath.

“So, from one to America, how free are you next weekend for a date with me?” I had an urge to cross my arms protectively, but I didn’t want to send any mixed messages. The truth was, I was scared to hear his answer.

He didn’t laugh. “Why would you want to go on a date with me?” he asked. That was as close to a genuine surprise as I had ever seen him. “You don’t even know me.”

I bit my tongue for an instant. “Do you know what? That’s exactly what I was thinking. And it came to me that when two people don’t know each other, they arrange a time and a place to correct that error. You know? Like a date.”

“Are you being condescending?” he asked, eyes narrow in suspicion.

“I’m making a joke, Collins,” I said lightly.

“That’s your idea of a joke? I think you need to work on the delivery as well as the punchline.” He deadpanned so well that I barked out a laugh.

“That’s a good one.” I dared to clasp his shoulder. Fuck. He was tense and muscled. I wondered what it would feel like if he wasn’t wearing a shirt and an undershirt. My fingertips tingled when I touched him and I just knew a lot more would buzz in my body if we got to touch each other more. The fact that he was so composed and cool made him a million times sexier. And the fact that he was practically immune to my charm frustrated me as much as it inspired me to do better.

“Not a joke, Reed,” Avery corrected me, but his tone was a little more melodic and amused.

“Come on. It’s just a date. How horrible can it be?” I pressed on.

“At best? As bad as this. Can you give up, please?” He didn’t step back, though. He let me hold his shoulder. It was electric and exciting. Warmth pooled in my stomach.

I shook my head while smiling. “Charming. But no. I’d like to get to know you. I think we have a lot in common. We’re both wingers. We’re both loyal to our teams. We’re both handsome as fuck. Wink, wink.”

He didn’t bite. “We’re opponents, Reed,” he said flatly. “You’re a Blizzard Loser; I’m an Arctic Titan. You’re my worst nightmare out there. And we should remain loyal to our teams.” He sighed. “So, this,” as he gestured his hand back and forth between us, “is not gonna happen.”

And yet, he wasn’t pulling back. But I knew how far I could stretch a rubber band. “Look, I’ll cut you a great deal. I don’t want to turn on my stalker mode, but I will if I have to. So, I’ll let you go now, but you have to let me keep trying.”

The corners of Avery’s lips quivered. There was pure suspicion in his eyes, but I was getting to him a little.

“Give me your phone number. I swear to use it only when it’s appropriate. And only to convince you to go out with me.” I pulled back from him and extended a friendly hand for a handshake. “What say you?”

Avery hesitated. He could have told me he didn’t want to be convinced. He could have told me to go fuck myself. Yet he said neither of those things. “You’re really hell-bent on trying, huh?”

“You know it,” I said. “Gimme.” I pulled my phone out and handed it to him.