45. Natalie

Chapter 45

Natalie

I pressmy lips together before mouthing hi.

Luke’s mouth pulls into a giant grin.

He’s so handsome it’s almost annoying.

Someone behind me asks, “Who’s that?” and I assume they’re talking about me, but I don’t bother answering.

Not that there’s an answer to give him anyway.

I’m not Luke’s girlfriend. Not really.

We’re just… friends. Who had sex on the beach in Mexico.

The player on the other side of Luke leans forward, trying to see what Luke is looking at.

Still grinning at me, Luke uses his arm to shove the other player back.

The other player shoves Luke in return, making Luke’s helmet-covered forehead thud against the glass between us.

Luke narrows his eyes, and I can’t stop my laugh.

Luke turns away from me to face the other guy and shoves him farther down the little bench. But then the other guy hooks an arm around Luke’s neck and pulls his head down so he can look over the top of Luke’s hunched back at me.

I lift my hand in a small wave.

The dude, Hunt, beams at me and says something to a struggling Luke.

Luke gets a jab into the man’s stomach, and Hunt finally lets go, only for them to shove at each other a few more times.

Men are such children.

I shake my head and turn to face the game, letting them wrestle it out.

Less than thirty seconds pass before Luke taps on the glass between us.

When I turn my head, I make sure to keep my eyes on Luke and not on his teammate, who is still leaning over to look around Luke’s body.

Luke points at my chest.

His hand is bare, and I see his glove in his lap, held in place by his other gloved hand.

Those big hands.

My teeth dig into my bottom lip, and I move my eyes back up to meet his.

Luke is smirking, and he twirls his pointer finger in a circle, gesturing for me to turn around.

Realizing what he wants, I twist so he can see the back of my jersey.

The blank back of my jersey.

I debated getting one with his number. Then I debated the humor of getting one with one of his teammates’ numbers. But in the end, I decided plain was the safest plan.

When I turn back, Luke is looking at me with a flat expression and shaking his head.

I roll my eyes and point to the ice. “Pay attention.”