Page 25 of The Chase

“Like…what are you doing out on the ice right now?”

I groaned.

She gave me a playful smile. “What? After that home opener, you ran out of gas.”

“I didn’t know you were such a hockey fanatic.”

“I bleed black and red! But seriously, what gives?”

I shrugged.

I couldn’t tell her I was pretty sure the reason I was looking so sluggish on the ice was that I couldn’t stop thinking about her. For once in my life, instead of being the guy who moved onto the next girl, one had stuck with me.

Or maybe it was because Coach kept switching up the lines because none of us were clicking right.

“I don’t know,” I sighed and took another bite of my eggplant braciole.

“I love LaVoie. He was my childhood crush—”

“I’m gonna tell him you said that,” I teased.

“Don’t you dare!” she squealed.

I gave her the famous Desjardins smirk, and the grin on her face got bigger. I liked getting to know this mysterious woman. I’d rather she razz me about how shitty I was playing instead of upsetting her like I had when I brought up her parents.

“Anyway!” she started back up again and gave me a playful glare. “I don’t understand why he keeps separating you from Noah and Benny. Your line works.”

“I’ll tell Coach you have some thoughts.”

She laughed. “No!”

I smiled at her from across the table and watched her shovel another forkful of grilled tofu into her mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned. My dick twitched behind the zipper of my dress pants at the sound. She definitely hadn’t made that sound when we were together. That sounded like a genuine moan, and I wanted to hear it once I had her beneath me again.

But not tonight. I had to make it up to her first.

“Good, eh?” I asked.

She smiled while she swallowed her food. “I’m sorry. Are you going to be hungry again?”

“Max, it’s okay. I’m a big boy,” I said and took another bite of my dinner.

We had ordered stuffed avocados as an appetizer before our entrees, but she was right—I would be hungry later. I’d live. Especially since I knew there was leftover pozole in the fridge from last night. Living with Benny definitely had some benefits. He was an awesome cook, and he always made enough food as if he was cooking for the entire team.

I took another bite of my dish. “Our captain, G, switched to plant-based after he had a baby.”

Her eyes sparkled with interest. “Really?”

“Yeah. His diet’s mostly rice, oats, fruits, vegetables, and whole grain.”

“So no tofu?” she asked as she took another bite of her own meal.

I cocked my head as I thought about when he tried to convince me to go plant-based. “I don’t think so. Sometimes salmon if we have a big win and we go out for a team dinner, but that’s rare. Some of the older players are going plant-based more so they can extend their careers.”

“That’s interesting. Have you ever considered it?”

I shook my head. “I think I’d get too hungry.”

She laughed, and I smiled at her from over my glass. I was so glad the awkwardness of bringing up her parents had passed. As far as first dates went, this one was going pretty well. Or at least I hoped it was. There was something about Max that made me want to peel back all her layers and get to know her better. That made me want to make this the perfect first date.