Page 6 of Faking With You

When Josh skates by me in warm ups, I lift my chin towards his wife and her friends and ask, “No Liz today?”

He looks over and shakes his head. “No, something about her needing to finish something at work this weekend.”

I don’t respond, not wanting to show much more interest, and lower myself to the ice to stretch. I wonder if she actually didn’t come because of work or if my proposition and admission that I saw her manifestation had her staying away today. I put myself into my game headspace, pushing away every outside thought, but I can feel the question of if I’m the reason she’s not here knocking at the back of my mind.

When the game’s over and we all make our way to the bench, I notice Eliza is now with her friends. She spots me, and a slight blush hits her cheeks before she does her best to hide it. I follow the rest of the guys into the locker room and straight to my spot in the corner. I undress as I listen to Josh, Matt, Caleb, and Grayson talk about heading upstairs to grab a bite with their girls and kids. Josh looks at me and asks, “You going to join us today?”

I nod after a few seconds, knowing this could be a great chance to speak to Eliza again and at least get a feel for where her head is at about my proposition.

“Great,” he says, smacking me on the shoulder as he walks past me and into the showers.

I follow the guys upstairs, Matt, Josh, and Grayson all talking while Caleb and I follow behind listening to them. They head straight for a long table where their girls are all waiting for them. Cate is sitting in her mum’s lap and reaches for Josh as soon as he approaches, and he immediately scoops her up as he kisses Liv. I can’t help but notice the soft smile on Eliza’s face as she watches them, but her eyes widen slightly when I pull out the only remaining empty chair next to her and take a seat.

She swallows and turns her attention back to her friends as I sit.

Hannah looks at me curiously and asks, “What made you decide to join us tonight, Mac?”

“Just thought I’d grab a bite before heading home,” I say, grabbing a menu off the table.

Hannah’s eyes twinkle as she watches me, but she chooses not to ask anymore questions and turns to her husband, Grayson.

I watch Eliza out of the corner of my eye as I scan the menu. Despite how cool she may be trying to play it and the fact that she’s keeping her face neutral, the way she bounces her leg tells me she’s more affected by my presence than she’d like to admit.

Her friends cast curious glances in our direction while sharing looks that seem like they're communicating without saying a word. When the server comes by, we all place our orders, and I lean back in my seat, observing everything. I don’t join the guys often, so seeing them all interact with each other and how close they are is interesting. They were close when I metthem, but I haven’t seen them outside of the locker room or on the ice much.

They all share an easy banter that shows how close they are. They’ve all seemed to slip so easily into each other’s lives as they’ve added their girlfriends and wives. Someone asks me the occasional question, and I answer politely. I notice how Eliza will turn to picking at her food instead of eating while I answer, and a small bead or hope grows that maybe she’s listening closely because she wants to say yes.

When she’s finished, she announces that she’s going to head home, and I stand with her and say, “I’ll walk you to your car.”

She says goodbye to her friends, and I wait for her, tipping my head to the table before I follow her outside. She’s quiet as she walks, her arms wrapping around her coat as she holds it snuggly against her. She’s not in a pencil skirt and heels today, but rather dark skinny jeans and black and white canvas shoes, a more comfortable and relaxed look. She looks amazing in her office looks, but seeing her comfortable is whole different level of sexy.

As we get closer to the back of the parking lot, she looks at me over her shoulder and says, “Well, this is me.”

The words are dismissive, telling me I can leave her, but I walk to her car. As she reaches for the handle, I ask, “Have you made a decision?”

She gnaws on her lip as she turns to face me, conflict in her eyes. “Not yet,” she says softly.

I nod and shove my hands in my pockets. I don’t want to force her into this, that's the last thing I want. If we enter into this arrangement, it needs to be of her own free will. I move to take a step back as she seems to steel herself, taking a deep breath and pulling her shoulders back and meeting my eyes.

“I have questions.”

“Understandable. We could discuss them over dinner if that works for you?” I offer.

She nods slightly before nodding more surely. “Yes.”

I fight back my grin as I hold my hand out.

She stares at it, brows furrowed, before looking back up at me.

“I’m sure you have a mobile,” I say.

Her mouth pops open into an O shape, and she reaches into the back pocket of her jeans, producing her mobile. She unlocks it and hands it to me open to the contact app. I quickly put in my details and call myself so I have her number too.

“I’ll text you,” I say, and she nods, gnawing her lip again. I take a step back so she can slide into her car and watch as she makes her way out of the parking lot before heading to my own car, ready to come with a plan to convince her to say yes at dinner.

CHAPTER 6

Eliza