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“Official practice starts Monday. You need to quit Happy Hour,” Aiden barked across the room.
“Relax, I’ll only have a couple.” Austin waved him off, stripping out of his gear. “He’s worse than Kellan.”
Debatable. Kellan—our old captain—had been nicknamed Grandpa for a reason. The guy was deadly on the ice but a total fun sponge off it. At least Aiden hadn’t issued us with a bunch of unrealistic rules.
Yet.
“I’m going to hit the showers and call it a night.”
I had a date to get ready for.
One my teammates could never know about.
But first, I had to lay my cover plan.
I convinced Sam to meet at Joe’s. It was public, and had lots of witnesses should my friends feel the need to snoop any more than they already had.
Sam had picked a table in the back, but she saw me the second I entered the shop.
‘Hi,’ she mouthed with a small wave.
I made my way over, running a hand through my still-damp hair. I’d come here straight from practice, wanting to give Aurora enough time to get ready for our date.
“Hey, am I late, or are you early?” I chuckled. “I thought we said five-thirty?”
“We did, but I wanted to get a head start and make sure I’ve covered all the bases.” She spread out her notes.
“Wow, okay,” I said, feeling way out of my depth. I thought we’d discuss the course outline and go over some theories. “This is… wow.”
“It’s like you don’t know me at all.” She smiled.
“Can I get you another drink before we get started?”
“Sure, I’ll have a latte, please.”
“Want a cookie or anything?”
“I wouldn’t say no to an oatmeal with raisin.”
“Got it.”
I joined the line and placed my order. The barista flashed me a coy smile when she took my payment.
“Can I get you anything else?” she asked.
“I think I’m all set, thanks.”
“See you around, Noah.” My name was a dirty whisper on her lips.
Jesus.
I suddenly saw things through a whole new lens. What had once been a bolster to my ego was now a little annoying. But I only had myself to blame. I’d flirted and fucked my way through freshman year. If people didn’t know me, they knew of me.
Aurora was right, my reputation did precede me, and it had never bothered me before. Not for a second.
Until now.
After collecting my order, I headed back to Sam. “One latte and oatmeal cookie.”
