“Ass,” he grumbles.
“I think,” I continue, once I have plucked a few leaves from my hair and off of my burger, “the point of a date isn’t to have an allergic reaction to the food but rather to get to know each other.” I look at Nicko from the side.
“God, Xanxan, you’re such a boomer,” Nicko groans, but I can see the light dusting of pink sneaking across his cheeks. I shrug again, unbothered by his jab. At least the awkward tension is broken.
We find a bench and sit down to eat. Nicko has already demolished half his fries when I reach over to steal one.
He glowers at me.
“I’ll buy you more with my first Rebels paycheck,” I promise easily, only noticing how presumptuous it sounds when Nicko chokes.
I focus very intently on my burger, as if I’m measuring where to take the next bite. “We’ll be playing together after all; I don’t see the scandalous headlines of ‘Hockey Player Buys Fries for his Teammate in Big Gay Gesture’ making a wave.”
Again, Nicko snorts, shaking his head, but when he looks across the water his shoulders are drawn up. He takes a few more bites of his burger before he suddenly stops, two fries on the way to his mouth. “Do you think it’ll be different this time around?”
“What?”
“Playing together,” he says, turning the fries over before he looks at me. He doesn’t have to mention all the things that might come between us on the ice this time.
“I mean…you still hated me when we played against the Grizzlies, right? And we absolutely destroyed them. Together.” I pick up another fry, considering it as I keep talking. “And I…liked when you called me out for not playing my wings. And for my backhand.” I finally take a bite, looking at Nicko as well. He’s staring at me, food seemingly forgotten about.
I give him a smile that shakes him out of his freeze.
“You can’t really compare the NHL and college teams, though.”
I hum, balling up the empty wrapper of my burger.
“Of course not. And it’s assuming the Rebels put us on the same line, but I think we make a great team and that we can learn a lot from each other. Andthenwe’ll be absolutely unstoppable!” I grin, wagging my brows at him. “Could even win a certain cup!”
“That again? You just want me to shut you up.” Nicko raises his brows at me. I don’t miss the way his eyes slip down to my lips for a second.
“Maybe?”
“So predictable, Hart,” Nicko says airily and finishes his fries. He too crumples up his wrapper—and then throws it at my head. Laughing at my perplexed expression, he jumps up.
“Come and get it!”
With a snort I jump up, pausing to throw our empty wrappers in the nearby trash can before I chase after him.
We race along the edge of the pier. I have longer legs than him, but Nicko is insanely fast. I’ve noticed it on the ice, and even running he stays several paces ahead of me—for a time. We’re almost back to where he parked his car when I finally catch him. Grabbing him by his arms I pull him into the darkness of a nearby alley.
We’re both panting, chests heaving as I trap him against the bricks. I’m breathing too hard to claim his lips for long, but I still catch them between my own again and again.
“This,” Nicko groans, still breathless but managing to snark at me, even without air. “Why did you make me ask you out when we were already doingthis?”
I hesitate, reluctant to admit that I don’t want to just be his dirty little secret; that was my personal reason for going public in such a spectacular way. Not that I’d force Nicko to out himself, but even going to the arcade and the restaurant felt like a big step toward something more official.
He must have seen the answer on my face though, because he groans again, then laughs, turning his head to press his nose against my cheek.
“You’re such a girl, Xanxan.”
“That doesn’t even make sense,” I snort, shaking my head and then turning to bring our lips together again.
“Why not? Why not date properly?” I sincerely ask. Sneaking around with Nicko at Christmas was different, since he’d been my sworn rival for a solid three years. Fuck, our first time in the locker room I was certain we’d punch each other’s lights out. Now that that has changed, I can’t keep myself from imagining how things could be next year. We already know we’ll be playing for the same team, living in the same city, after all.
So why shouldn’t we give this a chance?
Nicko huffs out a laugh, but when he catches my eyes, he squirms against me, shaking his head.
