Delayed Penalty (Crossing the Line, #1)(46)

The next few hours were filled with laughter and the behavior of a close-knit group of guys who truly loved to pick on each other. Based on the stories Evan had told me, I shouldn't have been surprised when they welcomed me into their group just like his family had.

It wasn't long before I was recruited by Remy to try and get Leo as he tried to make a move on Cage without him knowing. Remy loved to act like he was in on whatever prank Leo had planned and then twist it to his advantage.

"What do you usually drink?" I asked Evan.

"Beer," he answered, only to have Leo shout, "Sex on the beach!" throughout the bar.

Evan hung his head. "One f*cking time I ordered that. One time." He took a drink of his beer, and I watched him. Even drinking beer was sexy. Playing hockey, flirting, stealthy stares, this guy had it all down. Imagine what else he could do…because I did. Frequently.

"And you'll never live it down," Remy reminded him, his eyes wandering toward a blonde in tight jeans who passed by him.

Everyone chatted happily, mostly about the game, energized by their win. It was interesting to hear about the other side of the game, what the guys went through.

I was amazed, but not surprised at how comfortable I was around all these guys. When I would talk, they listened and responded, seemingly interested in what I had to say.

Food arrived, and Evan had his arm slung over the back of my chair, relaxing. Callie noticed and winked as she sat on Leo's lap. I had asked her if they were dating, but she said no, they occasionally f*cked. Her words not mine, but she wasn't dating any one person. I had a feeling she was just as much of a player as the rest of the guys on the team. But she was cool with it.

"Who are those guys?" I asked, motioning to the crowd surrounding two of the players on his team. The taller one with dark hair had two or three girls on his arms and smiled at us.

Evan looked over his shoulder at them and rolled his eyes. "Dave Keller and Jimmy Null."

"They seem to attract quite the crowd."

"Yeah, they do," Evan said, finding my hand under the table. "You're not friends with them?"

"I'm friends with them, but it's disgusting the way they treat some of those girls," Evan muttered, watching Leo who was now strangely crawling across the bar on his hands and knees. "It's disrespectful. You remember me telling you about Dave, right? The guy I lived with last year?" I nodded. Evan tipped his head to the guy. "That's him."

I had to smile at the tone in Evan's voice, clearly displaying his distaste for treating girls that way. I looked over at Dave again.

"Everyone has this image of a professional athlete, that we're all a bunch of womanizing pricks. Not all of us are. Some are good."

"Leo seems like a great guy," I teased, knowing he'd react.

He raised his eyebrows. "Don't let him brainwash you."

Just as I was about to say something else, that Dave guy came over with two other teammates, I assumed. Evan smiled up at Dave and pointed to me. "Dave, this is Ami."

Callie, who was still seated across from us got up and walked away. Dave gave her a look and then rolled his eyes, his attention back on me.

Dave gave me a nod. "Hey, glad you're okay there. Evan was pretty worried about you."

Evan gave an eye roll, as if to play it down, but I knew. "Come on, man, lay off."

Dave laughed, pushing against his shoulder playfully. "I'm teasing, buddy."

I grew to understand Evan didn't like his boys teasing him in front of me. It wasn't out of fear for his ego either. Any time they cussed around me, he looked like he wanted to knock their teeth out, as if it was disrespectful or something.

I think he knew better, though, because it was rare that Evan didn't slip f*ck into every sentence he spoke. His boys were no different.

Dave and Evan spoke about the game, a penalty they were still upset about being over turned. Callie came back, but when she noticed Dave was still there, she immediately turned and walked away.

I wanted to ask her if she didn't like him, but wasn't sure if I should. Her reaction puzzled me. Dave seemed like a nice guy, not one I would ever want to date, or even hang out with, but at least he wasn't anti-social. There were a couple of Evan's teammates that didn't even say hello, let alone look our direction. Maybe it was because I was sitting there with him, or maybe they didn't get along. It was apparent they had a group that was tight-knit.

Dave left after that; a girl had caught his attention. "See what I mean?" Evan gestured to the girl on his arm. "He might not leave with that one either, but it won't stop him from taking her into the bathroom."

Sure enough, they disappeared down the hall. I didn't pay much attention to that. I had a feeling Evan might have been like that before he met me, but I also didn't want to think about it too much.

Evan's hands were never far from me, which I enjoyed. When I would respond, or curl into him, his eyebrow would quirk, and his mouth would turn up into that signature crooked smile. I eventually grew bolder and actually touched his back or his stomach. God, that stomach was amazing. The only acknowledgment he would give would be a wink. Other than that, we brought no attention to the flirting.

Leo caught on quickly, as did Callie, who finally came back to the table, when she whispered, "Now I know you were thinking about the way his hips moved."