Page 13 of Date With Skates

Damien rolls his eyes. “We will. Stop worrying.”

“Listen, my plan is to take home the gold. If that’s not what you want…”

“Man, calm down. Of course I want to win. We all do. But just being here is fucking awesome, okay. We’re playing with talented people. This is cool as fuck.”

We make it back to the dining hall and slow down.

“I’m going to get a snack,” Damien says. “You coming?” He looks at Connor, then at me.

“I’m good,” Connor says, also bringing his attention to me.

“It pains me to say this, but same,” I add, though I don’t know if he was even really asking me.

“Later,” Damien says as he walks off into the dining hall.

When I look around, I realize how dark it is all of a sudden. Only a few people are walking around, and the chill has set in.

“Why do we keep meeting under these circumstances?” I question with a smirk.

Connor smirks right back. “I could think of a few reasons.”

My stomach swirls with heat. Was that flirting again?

Chapter Seven

Connor

“Careful, McVoy. I may mistake you for flirting with me,” Étienne says with a knowing smirk.

“Would that be so terrible?” I ask.

Neither of us has moved yet. We’re still standing in front of the dining hall, where Richtor left us.

“You tell me,” he says, moving to stand in front of me.

He looks up at me with a confidence I don’t see from many people of his size. I get it from the players on the ice, but from guys like him? It never happens. It makes my dick hard.

“Hard to say. Considering I don’t even know your name.”

“And yet you keep finding me out in the dark.” He lifts his arms slightly to gesture around us.

“You think I’m scary or something?” I ask.

He shrugs a shoulder. “I don’t know.” He looks around. “Maybe if we were in a dark alley and there was no one around to help me.”

“Are you trying to make me fall in love?”

“Easy, Sleeping Beauty. You don’t even know who you’re becoming obsessed with.”

“Sleeping Beauty?” I repeat, knowing exactly where this conversation is going. I’ve done this dance plenty of times, and I’m here for it.

“It was either that or McSexy, but that feels way too cheesy. And maybe trademarked…”

I bark out a laugh. “Yeah, let’s not go with that one.”

“You act as if you have any say in the matter.” He crosses his arms, looking up at me with a smirk.

“Is that how this relationship is going to go?”