BLAZE: Enemies to Lovers College Hockey Romance by Eddie Cleveland (ebook reader macos .txt) 📕

“You got it.” He nods, tucking my card and the money into his shirt pocket.

We all walk out into the cold, dark night. Clouds of our collective breaths hang around us as we make our way into the parking lot.

Checkmate.

4

Amnesia Sex Priscilla

“Of course you carry around business cards.” Blaze shakes his head as we walk to the vehicles we got here in.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I don’t know why I care. He has this way of dragging me down into the mud with him.

“How old are you?” Blaze turns toward me. Straight on, his eyes are fiery, and his jaw is tense. His breath seems to grow out around him in the winter air. It gives him this dreamy-hazy kind of look that I don’t really appreciate. It’s bad enough Blaze thinks the sun shines out of his asshole; he doesn’t need nature’s fog machine billowing around him like he gets to live some kind of Brad-Pitt-in-a-cologne-commercial life.

“Uh, twenty-four. Why?” I have no idea where this is going. Does he remember me? My heart leaps into my throat. There is zero chance Blaze is going to listen to me if he remembers…

“Everything you do is so fucking annoying. What kind of twenty-fucking-four-year-old babysitter carries around business cards?” He turns his back, walking to the huge Escalade. Parked next to it, my little Neon looks like a toddler toy.

I guess he figures I’m dismissed, but it doesn’t work like that. Blaze doesn’t get to stir up everything and then drive off into the night. He thinks me doing my job is annoying.

“I’m annoying?” I roll my eyes.

“Yes,” he answers quickly. Rookie laughs, but it comes out like a goose honk and then it turns into a cough.

“The entire reason I have a job is because you’re so starved for attention you get arrested for public indecency and have viral porn videos. What do you think that makes you?” I pinch my hands into my hips, but because they’re covered with my long winter jacket, I just feel like I’m squeezing a pillow.

“Awesome,” Blaze answers, smirk firmly attached to his lips.

“It does start with the letter A, but the word you’re looking for is asshole not awesome.” I could not make a clearer connection.

His eyes flicker, but that smug smile stays fixed on his lips.

“Okay, so I’m annoying because I’m doing my job, but it’s a job you created. So, who are you really pissed off at?”

That stops his stupid smirking. Blaze flares his nostrils, and his lips press tight.

“And, since I’m doing my job, I’m not letting you guys drive home tonight.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll drive straight back to Hector House, like a good little boy,” Blaze answers through clenched teeth.

“No.” I shake my head.

“No?” He looks to Rookie, but neither of them seems to understand what I’m getting at.

“Well, yes.”

I do nothing to clear it up for them, and they both look like they’re losing patience with me. Especially Blaze. I can tell he’s not used to losing. It must not be something he deals with often. There’s a wild streak in him as wide as the Grand Canyon, and it goes twice as deep.

“Yes, you guys are going to Hector House. No, you’re not driving there. You’ve been drinking. Underaged,” I remind him.

“Fuck, come on,” he scoffs, rolling his head back.

Tendrils of tattoos draw my eyes to where his open winter jacket meets the neckline of his shirt. A tangle of ink pulls my curiosity to the edge of the fabric.

“Fine, no problem. Rookie, you’re driving us back to Hector.” He tosses the keys over to the fresh-faced newbie.

“I wish I could, man. I don’t have my license.” Rookie tosses them back.

“What?”

“Yeah. I’m from San Francisco. Hardly anyone drives.” He looks down at the ground, hiding from my disbelief. Still a virgin and no license. Is there any milestones this kid has actually reached?

“Listen, Becky, I only had two drinks.” Blaze sort of talks in my direction as he makes his way to the oversized SUV.

“I think it was four, man.” Rookie drops his voice, but I hear him.

“You’re not drinking and driving.” I shrug. “Get in my car. I’ll drive you guys home.”

“I’m not leaving Griz’s Escalade at Foxies. It’ll get towed, and he’ll be the one who has to come get it. Are you really going to punish Griz for this? Isn’t this enough of a power-trip?” The way his eyes darken and narrow, it makes me wish he was still walking away from me.

He’s right, not that I’ll say it out loud. I can’t do that to Griz. Even though it would really be Blaze’s fault, I still can’t screw over one of the nicest guys on the team.

“Give me the keys.” I hold out my hand to Blaze. “I’ll drive you guys to Hector House, and you can pay for my Uber back here so I can get my car.”

“I’m not paying for nothing,” Blaze starts, but Rookie grabs him by the arm and he stops.

“I’ll pay for it then. Don’t worry about it. Let’s just head back. I don’t want all the guys at Hector to be pissed at me,” Rookie says it in a lower voice, but it’s only us out here on a cold winter night. It doesn’t take a lot of ear strain to hear every word.

“They don’t care about any of this,” Blaze dismisses.

“The guys definitely care about this,” I intervene. “Player is the one who texted me.”

“Knew it,” Blaze mumbles.

“Come on, man.” Rookie isn’t saying much, but he’s pleading with his eyes. I don’t think he wants to turn his back on Blaze, but there’s only so many ways this can go. Not many of them work out well for him, and he knows it.

Blaze steps toward me, and I don’t budge. He grabs my hand and pulls it out toward him, drops the keys in my palm and closes his hand over mine. “I’ll pay for your