Hockey With Benefits(64)

“You eat?”

“What?”

He reached for the gear shift. “Did you eat yet?”

“No.”

“We’re getting pizza and heading back to my house. Pizza and a movie. We’re not going back, but also not hiding either.”

I considered it, and he was right. It was a perfect option.

That’s when I said it. “Thank you for the apartment.”

He glanced my way, held my gaze, and gave me a slight nod.

That was it. That was perfect.





We were a third of the way into the movie, the pizza half eaten in the box on the coffee table in front of us when the guys came home. They were loud, and as soon as the door opened, we saw why. Gavin and Zeke had come with them.

So had Miles. “Roomie!”

He opened his arms wide, his coat falling off from the motion. He left it where it fell. He half flung himself toward me but must’ve thought differently because instead of landing on me, he folded in on himself and ended up on the floor right in front of where I was sitting. Cruz and I both had our feet stretched out on the coffee table, the pizza box moved aside, and each of us had our own individual blankets. “Oooh, pizza!”

Gavin scooped up the box, grabbing a piece and handing it over to Zeke, who was coming in right behind him.

“How are you doing tonight, roommate?” Miles had turned his face toward me, blinking his eyes so many times that it was obvious he was two seconds away from passing out.

I reached forward, half shoving his shoulder backwards. “Fine. Go pass out in a room somewhere.”

“Hmmm.” It was meant as a protest. It came out like he was eating in his sleep.

Gavin dropped the box, taking us in before ending on Miles. “Come on, Gaynor.” He went over and half-picked him up by grabbing his arm and yanking him upright.

“Hey…”

He took him to the hallway as Labrowski yelled from the kitchen, “Do we have more pizza?”

AJ wandered in, munching on the last piece from our box. He sank down in one of the lounge chairs and smiled drunkenly at us. “Hey you two. How’s it going? Whatcha watching?”

Cruz answered, but I was focused on Zeke, who was still standing, eating his pizza, his gaze focused on me over his slice.

“What?”

Zeke took a big bite and shook his head, but he was still eyeing me.

“Look elsewhere while you eat.”

He gave me a brief grin before transferring his gaze to Cruz, and the same thing. He took another big bite.

Cruz wasn’t as bothered, instead shifting back. He gave Zeke a chin-lift sort of thing. It was very manly. “You got a girl, Allen?”

Zeke was still chewing and shook his head.

Cruz motioned to me. “You wanting this one?”

I almost choked on how blunt he was being. Zeke paused mid-chew, his eyes narrowing, but then he kept on chewing and shook his head again.

Cruz gave him a faint smile. “You want me then?”

Zeke started laughing, folding his head down and his shoulders were shaking. Cruz asked in a very casual way, but he waited until Zeke swallowed the last of his pizza before shaking his head. “Dude.” He was laughing and had to sit down.

He nearly sat on AJ’s lap, who shoved him off until he landed in one of the other loungers. He fell in backwards, his legs rising up from the motion. The chair began to tip to the side from the momentum. Zeke was a big guy. He took in some air before he was able to talk. “You–”

Cruz took his arm away from behind me and leaned forward, his arms going to rest on his legs. He pulled his feet down from the coffee table. “Guys openly stare at someone it’s either because they want to fuck ’em or they want to fight ’em. I went with the fucking first because I’m not getting the feeling that you want to fight. Am I wrong?”

Zeke was still half laughing as he shook his head. “No. Sorry, man. Nope. Just drunk here.”

Cruz settled back, easing down on the couch again and he pulled his blanket back over him. “Then what’s with the weird looking shit?”

“It’s seeing Daniels all cozied up.” Zeke stopped laughing enough to give me a more serious look. “It’s nice to see. That’s all.”

I shifted on the couch, starting to get uncomfortable.

Cruz glanced back, studying me.

I had no doubt he saw how that comment made me feel, but he turned back to Zeke. “How long you guys in town?”

“Till Sunday.” His eyes slid my way. “Hoping to hang out?”

I gave a nod. “For sure.”

Gavin came back from the hallway, stopped short at seeing the empty pizza box. “No more pizza?”

AJ started laughing, finishing his slice.

Labrowski yelled from the kitchen, “I got more coming!”

“Dudes!” came from top of the stairs. “Some of us are sleeping. We do have to travel for a fucking game tomorrow.”

Cruz tipped his head back. He was about to yell when Labrowski came marching in from the kitchen, a towel in hand and another thrown over his shoulder. He went to the bottom of the stairs, took hold of the railing, and let out a holler. “WE’RE MAKING FOOD! IF YOU WANT A SLICE EITHER TONIGHT OR TOMORROW, SHUT THE FUCK UP! You have fans and earplugs for a reason.”