Part 22 (2/2)
I raise a brow, hiding how impressed I am by the fact he scored sixty-two goals, as it says on the banner. I may not like the sport, but I know it inside and out. I've never met anyone who has scored that many goals in a season. ”Is that right?”
”You know it, baby.”
”Dork,” I say, leaning into him. ”Is that why you didn't go into the draft?”
He nods. ”Yeah, broke my clavicle from a hit I took trying to protect that woman right there,” he says, pointing before pulling open the rink door. ”Hey, Moore! You playing by yourself 'cause that's the only way you can score?”
I'm completely confused until the person on the ice pulls off their helmet and a bunch of blondish brown hair falls to her shoulders. Shocked, I watch as the gorgeous girl with bright red lips glares over at Jace.
”Dude, please. I can skate circles around you, and I have.”
He holds a finger up, pointing to his banner. ”Um, see my banner? It's new,” he adds with a boyish grin.
”Did your mommy sew it for you?”
He glares. ”Don't talk about my momma.”
”What, you gonna tell her? Be a crybaby?” she calls at him as she skates over.
”Shut it,” he yells at her as they hug. ”What are you doing?”
”Baking a cake, dumba.s.s,” she yells and I giggle as he waves her off.
”No, jerk. I mean, like, why are you here? Where's your husband?”
”I'm mad at him, and I am mad at my dad. So I came to blow off steam. What are you doing?” she asks and then her gaze falls on me. Her brow rises. ”Don't deface our rink, Jace. It's tacky.”
When he punches her shoulder and she smacks him back, I have no clue what's going on. Are they friends? Enemies? Looking back at me, Jace says, ”This hostile brat is my sister-in-law, Baylor. She's married to my brother Jayden. Hostile brat, this is my friend, Avery.”
She smiles. ”Hey, don't take offense to my comment. I just like messing with him.”
”It's fine,” I say, waving her off. ”But I'm confused. I thought you called her Moore?”
”Yeah, she's dumb and didn't take our name,” he accuses and she laughs.
”Um, no, it's Moore-Sinclair, hyphenated, and we did that so there is no confusion on the ice.”
Then it clicks. ”Baylor Moore, first woman in the NHL.”
She grins. ”In the flesh. So you know hockey?”
”Just a bit,” I say with a grin and I kind of feel honored to meet her. It was a huge deal when she was drafted last year. My whole family was there since Laurence was in the draft. Come to think of it, I remember seeing Jayden go first.
Small world.
”Cool. About time you got with someone who isn't a ho.”
”Are you talking about your best friend?”
Baylor laughs as she nods. ”Ha! I'm so telling her you said that.”
”You're the one who said it,” he challenges as he laughs. ”But whatever. Okay, I'll let you get back to being a hostile brat.” Jace laces his fingers with mine. ”We have a special place to go.”
Her lips quirk at the side. ”The special place?”
”Well, yeah. It's a Sinclair honey hole.”
She rolls her eyes. ”You guys are losers. It was nice meeting you, Avery. Love you, Jace.”
”You too,” I say as he starts to pull me away.
”Love you,” he calls as he slams the door shut and then waves. Taking my hand, he heads toward some stairs and then we are climbing. He's taking them two at a time, and I struggle to keep up. ”She's a pain in my a.s.s.”
”She's nice.”
”Ha. Nice is not in Baylor's vocab, but she's mine, so we deal.”
He's full of it and I know it, but I don't comment as we climb. Finally, he pauses in front of a door and turns to me. ”Hold on.”
”What?” I ask, s.h.i.+vering from the bitterness of the air.
He grins. ”Give me two seconds.”
Before I can protest, he turns and heads inside the room, shutting the door behind him. Turning, I look out at the rink as Baylor skates around and plays with the puck. I can still remember how my brothers threw a fit she was drafted before Laurence. While she went straight into the NHL, Laurence didn't get drafted and decided to finish school because of it. The guys in my family don't do rejection well, but Laurence was never as good as Seth or Matty. But he plans to finish college and then go back to the farm team. If they'll take him. But knowing my dad, they will.
When the door opens behind me, I turn to find Jace grinning at me, beckoning me to come in.
And when I do, I gasp.
The room is completely dark except for the many candles flickering around the room. On the floor is a pallet of blankets and pillows, with a tray of snacks and two bottles of soda next to it. I look at him and he's watching me, his eyes dark as I stare at him in complete puzzlement.
Because I know now this guy is not going to make it easy.
Not even a little bit.
”So this is my favorite spot, and let me show you why.”
Jace takes my hand, pulling me to the ledge where you can see the whole ice and the arena around it, then pointing down at it. ”In about ten minutes, the Zamboni will go for about a half an hour. I love the sound of the Zamboni. I usually just lie here and listen to it. Or if I'm studying, it calms me. Then,” he says, pulling back to where the blankets are. He points to the ceiling, and I look up to see only gla.s.s and the black night sky looking back at me. The moon is full tonight and bright, the stars s.h.i.+ning in all their glory.
It's beautiful.
”So I lie here, looking at the sky, and listen to the Zamboni. I usually fall asleep here. Mike, the ice guy, has found me plenty of times,” he laughs as he lowers himself onto the blankets, kicking off his sneakers. ”Wanna sit with me? Or you got plans with Totally Lame Todd?”
I roll my eyes as I kick off my flats and sit down next to him. Baylor is still slamming pucks into the goal, the cracking sound of her stick filling the room as I turn onto my belly, reaching for a slice of cheese from the spread. ”The only lame guy I'm digging is Lame Line Larry.”
Fist-pumping, he yells out, ”Yeah!”
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