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Conrad catches me glancing at my phone. “Girlfriend?” he asks.

“Funny.” I roll my eyes and nudge him. “I can’t believe you paid Juniper to go out on a date with me.”

He takes a swig of his beer. “Come on, she likes you. Turns out, that mean message she sent on the dating app wasn’t from her—it was her friend. Whole mix-up.”

“What kind of mix-up? How does one send a shitty message from another person’s phone? There are securities in place, passwords.” I’m not buying the story.

“Her friend was being protective. Thought you were a catfish. I mean, we are two professional hockey players on a dating app. I can see where someone might be suspicious…”

“I didn’t include that I’m a hockey player on my profile.”

“Well, her friend recognized you from your picture. Can’t fault her for that. Anyways,” Conrad says, and takes another swig of his beer, “how’d that date go? Did you end up having any fun?”

Grumbling, I glare at him. “It would have been more fun had the entire team volunteered to participate, like everyone was supposed to.”

Conrad shrugs and glances at the door when Archer holds it open and Juniper steps inside. She smiles politely at him, and they exchange a few words.

Heat ravishes me and my grip tightens on the beer bottle.

“Calm down, he’s just holding the door for her,” Conrad says into my ear.

“I don’t care.”

It’s obviously a lie. My teammate can see right through my bullshit, and of course, he calls me out on it, every damn time.

“You do care, because you look like you’re ready to pounce across the table and level him to the ground. Didn’t get enough fighting in the last game?”

“It’s—whatever,” I say. Why do I even care? I shouldn’t; I mean, even if she agrees to go through with it, we’re not actually going to be dating.

Everything will be fake.

Juniper spots me in the back of the bar, gives a little wave, and saunters over with a sheepish smile. “Hi.”

“Hey,” I say and give a nod, tipping my beer toward her.

Her gaze moves to the bucket of beers in the center of the table. I’d offer her one, but that means she’d be staying and I’m not sure that’s the best idea. We haven’t even spoken about the rules and what faking dating will mean for both of us.

“Can I join you guys?” she asks sheepishly. Her cheeks redden; the girl looks completely out of her element.

Honestly, it’s about how I feel as well. I bite my tongue, force a smile. “How about we grab you a drink at the bar?”

Conrad elbows me in the ribcage. “Don’t be rude.”

“I wasn’t,” I grumble at him as Archer comes around to steal a seat at our table. His gaze is on the two of us and I’m not sure what to think.

Standing, I step around the table and lead Juniper to the bar, giving us some time away from the guys.

“I wasn’t expecting you tonight,” I say.

“Did you not get my text?” Juniper’s eyes widen and then she glances at the door.

Zuri strolls in like she owns the joint. She immediately spots our crew and heads for the back of the bar.

I ignore Zuri, hoping that being at the bar with Juniper is enough to give us some privacy. If Zuri sees us, she doesn’t give any indication. Turning, I give Juniper my undivided attention. “I did get your text, but I couldn’t answer it. Coach saw me on my phone and was pissed.”

She winces. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault. I knew I shouldn’t be texting in the locker room between periods. Anyways, you mentioned you might be interested in—” I don’t say the words aloud, in case anyone is eavesdropping. “But I think we should have this conversation back at my place—or yours.”