Owen snorted. “I was in the shop with Jake to pick something up, and Austin handed them over. I guess I was the first person he saw. Anyway, you want to go?”
Watching guys shove each other into boards, get into fights, and pass the puck around in person sounded like a damn better night than what he’d planned, considering he was just going to watch it at home in his underwear.
“I’m in.”
Since Owen drove, they were there early. They already had beers in their hands and were settled in their seats before the teams had even finished with their warm-ups. For Owen, being on time meant being there fifteen minutes early. Being there right on the dot was late. So, instead of making it to the Pepsi Center right as the lights started to go down as Graham liked, he was there, sitting down and watching the Avalanche and Maple Leafs pass the puck around on their respective sides of the ice. He liked watching how fast they moved as they practiced. It was a delicate balance between strength and flexibility since most of these guys were well over six feet and weighed more than he did but in pure muscle.
While the Avalanche were having a crappy season, and frankly, had been having them since Sakic retired in Graham’s opinion, he still thought they could beat the Maple Leafs.
At least, he hoped they could, since watching a game in person where his team lost sucked.
While he and his brother sipped at their beers, the seats around them began to fill in, except for the two on Graham’s side. He was just about to ask Owen about it when he spotted a very familiar face at the end of the row walking toward them.
“The fuck?” he growled.
Owen turned at Graham’s curse and snorted. “Oh, that’s sweet,” he said before sobering. “Don’t be an asshole,” he muttered before standing up. “Hey, Blake. Fancy seeing you here.”
Blake’s honey eyes widened as she took in Owen and Graham. She didn’t freeze, but Graham figured that had more to do with the fact that she didn’t want to step on the person’s toes in front of her. Their grouping of four seats was in the middle of the row, three rows behind the glass. Amazing freaking tickets, but now Graham had to sit next to the one person he was trying to stay away from.
“You,” she mumbled. “It had to be freaking you.” She raised her chin like she had before and went to sit down in the spot farthest from him, only to get pushed slightly as the man behind her took the seat instead. “What the hell, Derek?” she snapped as she turned around.
That gave Graham a moment to look at her tight jeans that encased a very nice butt and shapely thighs. His dick hardened, and he cursed. This was going to be one long game if he couldn’t get his thoughts off her ass.
But considering it was right there, all nice and perfect for his hands and everything, he couldn’t really help it. Owen cleared his throat beside him, and Graham turned away, cursing under his breath again. This woman was going to be the death of him, and he didn’t even know why.
Derek, Blake’s date—and didn’t that just rub Graham raw for no known reason—shrugged. “Take a seat, Blake.” He looked pointedly over at Graham. “Maybe you’ll get that stick out of your ass that’s been hell on all of us at the shop if you just talk it out.”
She grumbled something at him, her fists clenched at her sides, and Graham sighed. This might be partly his fault since he’d been acting like a bear with a thorn in his paw, but he wasn’t about to apologize. Apparently, he couldn’t quite not act like an ass around her.
“Sit down, Blake,” he said low. “You’re going to piss off the people behind you if they have to look at your ass all night instead of the back of your head. Not that looking at your ass is a hardship.”
She whirled on him, and he froze. Well, hell. He was pretty sure between talking about her ass and images of what he’d be doing to her if he were truly looking at the back of her head—in bed—his dick was going to have permanent marks from his zipper. And he hadn’t exactly meant to mention that he’d been looking at her ass and liked it, but this woman could make a saint sin.
“I just…I can’t…argh!” She sat down in her seat and folded her arms over her breasts, mumbling something about evil beards and assholes.
Well, he couldn’t really negate either of those things where he was concerned.
“I take it Austin gave you his other two tickets,” Blake said, her attention on the ice in front of her.
Graham nodded, then remembered she probably couldn’t see him since she was pointedly not looking at him. “Yeah, he gave them to Owen.”
“You two done yet?” Owen asked then, leaning over Graham as he did so. “Hello again, Blake.” His younger brother smiled, and Graham barely resisted the urge to punch him since he was so close. Barely.