Gametime: A Moo U Hockey Romance by Jami Davenport (shoe dog free ebook txt) 📗

he looked way hotter wearing his Bulls sweatshirt and faded jeans than Patrick did in his swashbuckling outfit.

“I’m not going in costume.” He set his jaw stubbornly, as both Patrick and I regarded him.

“But you have to,” I said. “We’ll come up with something. I’ll help.”

“Leave him alone. He can do what he wants even if it’s being a poor sport,” Patrick hissed.

“I heard that,” Paxton grumbled as he grabbed a bite to eat from the kitchen.

His twin opened his mouth for a retort but shut it at the chastising glare I sent him.

“What do you think?” I said, distracting Patrick as I held up a mirror for him to view my handiwork. I’d done an awesome job, too.

“Damn. That’s me?” He grinned into the mirror and tried a few pirate glares, drawing a laugh from me and a snort from Paxton.

“I think you’re a better Jack Sparrow than Johnny Depp.” I bent down to fix his eyeliner, which I’d laid on thick. It’d run slightly. “Don’t touch your face or sweat or even blink.”

“How do females wear this shit all the time?”

I opened my mouth to answer when the front door to the apartment slammed. Paxton had left without saying goodbye. I met Patrick’s gaze.

Patrick sighed and shrugged. “He’s been distant lately. And different. Like he’s pulling away.”

“Maybe that’s how he prepares to leave school and you.”

“Maybe.” Patrick’s voice rang with skepticism.

“We should be going.” I didn’t want to be alone in the apartment with Patrick for many reasons, as stupid as it sounded. Not so long ago, I’d have made sure we never got to the party, given the opportunity. Now I wanted to escape as soon as possible.

“Are you on a schedule?” Patrick stood and walked to the mirror hanging on one wall. He adjusted his sword on his costume. And checked himself out some more. His costume was epic, and he’d be the life and focus of the party.

“No, but I promised to help Kaitlyn with her makeup. She’s meeting me there.”

“Kaitlyn needs help with her makeup?”

“Yeah, go figure.”

“So, is this my rain check tonight? Are we on a date?” He prodded me for an answer. If I succumbed, I’d be nothing more than his next conquest, and this revelation no longer held the appeal it once had. Patrick was not relationship material, and what he had to offer was no longer what I was looking for.

What was I looking for? Not a quick hookup, it appeared, but something more? Hell if I knew.

“Let’s not put labels on this.” I refused to commit one way or another.

“I’d love to put a label on you.”

“What? Like latest hookup?”

Patrick wasn’t deterred or insulted. “That works for me, babe.” He reached for me, and I pushed him away. He studied me quizzically but backed off.

“When you’re done admiring yourself, we should go. What guy has a full-length mirror in his entryway?”

“A girl I dated for a few weeks put this up. She hated leaving the apartment without checking a mirror. It comes in handy. I have to make sure I’m looking my best for my fan base.” He grinned confidently at me. Too bad there wasn’t a way to share some of his cockiness with his brother.

I heaved a long-suffering sigh and shrugged into my coat. Patrick tried different angles in front of the mirror. I swatted him on the arm. “Let’s go.”

I didn’t wait but headed down the outside stairs. A chilly wind hit me at the bottom, and I hugged myself. Patrick caught up, talking on his cell as he walked beside me.

The guy was a regular social butterfly, I thought with annoyance.

Lately, my Patrick crush had lost its luster.

My heart was trying to tell me something and I should listen.

18

Rescue

Paxton

I seethed with jealousy as I walked aimlessly down the sidewalk. I turned up my coat collar to ward off the bitterly cold wind. I didn’t care. I kept going until I was far from my apartment and the hockey house.

Patrick and Naomi had been fucking adorable in their costumes, and seeing how cozy they were pissed me off. Envy threatened to consume me, and I fought like hell to prevent it. I loved my brother and hated this growing chasm between us but seemed powerless to stop it.

It wasn’t just how he flirted with Naomi, it was hockey, too. Patrick had been the star last night, and I’d sucked. Things were way more harmonious when my brother was the star of the night, and I fed him the puck. My dad didn’t rail at me in person or on the phone. Patrick didn’t yell at me. My teammates didn’t give me the side-eye like they did when I kept the puck, shot, and missed the net. All in all, I felt better about myself when I was the old me.

Improvement doesn’t come without risk and discomfort. The words of Coach Garf echoed in my ears.

Coach insisted everything would click eventually. Meanwhile, I wasn’t convinced I was impressing anyone, especially myself.

I fully intended to go back home and wallow in my misery once I’d given Patrick and Naomi ample time to be gone. And what would that solve? How would hiding fix anything? My absence would throw up a red flag after I’d insisted I was fine with Naomi and Patrick dating. The last thing I wanted was to look like a sore loser.

Turning, I trudged several blocks back to the hockey house. The place was lit up like a Christmas tree in Times Square. Raucous music blasted from inside. As I approached, a few of the freshmen staggered up the sidewalk. They’d been partying pretty hard already, or so it appeared.

“Hey, handsome. I was afraid you wouldn’t come,” called a sultry voice as I stepped onto the large front porch. I glanced at the buxom brunette wearing a Wonder Woman costume. She slid up to me and pressed her spandex-clad body against my side. I didn’t know her, but I was guessing my