Page 38 of The Chase

“Hi,” I whispered.

“Oh no, did I wake you?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

“No. I was just getting into bed. I saw your assist tonight. You looked good.”

He beamed at me. “Rox said you went to Eileen’s for drinks and watched together.”

I nodded. “Yup. Your sister can be a trip, but she’s good people.”

He laughed. “She can be a bit much, but you gotta love her. I don’t want to keep you. I know you have work in the morning.”

“It’s okay. I can spare a few minutes.”

He gave me that cute lopsided smirk that made my knees weak. It was a good thing I was already horizontal. “I wanted to hear your voice again,” he whispered.

“Aw, T, you’re getting soft on me.”

“Don’t be a jerk!” he teased, but he grinned again.

“You know, I never gave you a time and place for our next date.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Ooh, I get a third date. Lay it on me.”

I laughed. “I’ll look at your game schedule, and we’ll figure out a time.” I glanced at the clock and yawned.

“Aw, baby girl, don’t let me keep you awake.”

I rolled my eyes at the baby girl comment again. “Goodnight, TJ.”

“Night, Max.”

I hung up with him and laid back in my bed. Was I a complete fool for starting something with a hockey player known for being a player both on and off the ice? My head was screaming yes, but my heart did cartwheels every time we spoke. I wasn’t sure who to listen to.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

TJ

I chewed on my mouth guard and watched as my teammates set up the play down on the ice. Noah was sitting beside me on the bench and also chewing on his mouth guard. We were up 2-1 against Buffalo, but they were hungry for a win. Especially since the game was getting down to the wire. I felt a tap on my helmet behind me, and Coach called for the change-up. I hopped over the bench with the rest of the line and sliced my skates into the ice.

Noah got possession of the puck and carried it over the blue line, while Logan got tangled up with the opposing defenseman. I skated up the other side of the ice, leaving my stick open, waiting for Noah to set up the play. Noah slapped the puck towards me, and the opposing defenseman tried to get it out from under me, but I took the shot and slipped it past Buffalo’s goaltender.

Right in the five hole!

FUCK YEAH!

Noah skated over to me and we hugged it out, cellying hard at the game-winning goal. The roar of the home crowd definitely helped, too.

The atmosphere in the locker room was bumping when I walked in and stripped off my jersey. It was nice to have your team behind your back win or lose, but it was awesome when you were greeted with cheers.

I had to speak to the media afterward since I scored the game-winning goal. I was sweaty and wanted to take a shower, but it was a necessary evil when it came to my career. I answered their questions as best as I could and took the quickest shower ever. I was fixing my tie and checking my phone to see if Max had texted me back yet when Noah nudged me.

“You gonna see your girl tonight?” he asked with a grin.

I shrugged. “She’s not my girl.”

Noah fixed his hair and smoothed down his beard. “Oh, come on. You called her every night on the road!”

“Ooh!” Riley and Benny crooned as if they were one.