“Right. You mentioned that last night.”
“Yeah. Come on in.” She tossed him the keys and he caught them easily. “Would you like coffee? I was just about to make some. I need a break from my homework.”
“Homework. Huh.” He took a few more steps into the small apartment as she walked to the kitchen. Damn. He didn’t want to leave. “Thanks, but I better get home. I need to take a nap.”
“A nap?” She turned to him, eyebrows raised. “Late night last night?”
“Not really. I was home shortly after eleven. But it’s game day. Just came from our morning skate. I usually go home and get a few hours’ sleep before the game.”
“Oh.”
“Coffee would just keep me awake.” But he didn’t move to leave, watching her scoop grounds into a coffeemaker.
“Yeah, I guess it would.” She snapped the filter compartment closed, resting her hand atop the machine. “Maybe some juice?”
“Why are you being so nice to me? You blew me off Friday night when I asked you out. Still don’t know what you were so pissed about.”
She bit her lip, her gaze darting away from him, then finally back. “I’m sorry. Like I said, I was kind of rude that night.”
“Yeah.”
Her eyes flickered with something. Regret?
“But don’t worry about it. I’m over it. Thanks for these.” He held up the keys. “Sorry to have been a hassle about them.”
“It was my own fault. I could have given them back to you that night.”
He frowned. “You could have? I thought you forgot you had them.”
“I…I remembered when I was in the parking lot. I could’ve gone back in and given them to you.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I was worried you’d drive home if you had them.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “I said I wouldn’t drink and drive.”
“I know, but…people get drunk and say whatever they think they’re supposed to and then their judgment gets impaired and…”
What the fuck experience was giving her that idea about him?
“Well, nice to know you have such a high opinion of me.” He adjusted the ball cap on his head a little.
“It wasn’t anything personal. I…didn’t want you to get dead.”
He paused at that. “Well, I guess that’s better than wanting me dead, which I sort of had the impression was what you wanted, after that fight.”
She sighed and looked away. “I’m sorry, again. I maybe overreacted a little.”
“Eh, it’s okay. I understand. Good luck with your homework. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime at the Sin Bin.”
She nodded, her warm smile now gone. “Yeah. Maybe.” She gave a brief glimpse of teeth. “Uh. Good luck tonight. In your game.”
He paused at the door. “You watch hockey?”
“God no!”
Her emphatic reaction made his eyebrows rise.
“I mean, not usually,” she added. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it. I’m just not…I don’t have much time for watching TV.”
He studied her for a long moment. Again, so different from last night when she’d been every inch the sexy, sophisticated model. He found himself reluctant to leave. But he had to. And anyway, he’d already decided whatever crazy impulse had led to him asking her out, he wasn’t going there again. “I guess not. Two part-time jobs and college.”
“Yes.”
“Well, thanks for the good luck wishes. We need it. Been playing shit so far this year.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “That’s too bad.”
He shrugged. “It happens. We’re working on it. Okay. See you around, Amber.”
He let himself out of the apartment, confusion jumbling his brain. He couldn’t get a read on this girl. All he knew was…he wanted her. Bad.
But he was not getting involved with another high-maintenance chick using him for every penny she could get. He wasn’t stupid. When he screwed up and cost the team a goal, maybe by turning over the puck or misreading a play, he had to learn from it or let it go. He tried to learn from his mistakes. And he was learning from the mistake that was Melissa.
That blow-up doll Hughie’d been talking about was starting to sound good.
And that thought made him laugh as he climbed into his truck.
—
“Why the sudden interest in hockey?” Easton frowned at Amber as she changed the channel on the big flat-screen TV he’d splurged on several months ago. “You never watch sports.”
“Yeah, and you know why.”
“Well, actually, boo, I don’t. I mean, I guess I’d understand if you didn’t want to watch football. Even though I know you actually like the sport. But why not baseball?”
“Boring.”
“So hockey’s going to be your go-to sport.”
She laughed and settled the big bowl of popcorn between them. “Right.”
“This has to do with our visitor earlier today, doesn’t it? Mr. Big and Tall. Holy Milk Duds, he is yoked out.”
Amber choked on a piece of popcorn.
Easton laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not after him.”
“Well, he did discuss switching teams the other night.”
“Shut the front door.”