Shut Out (Bayard Hockey #1)(15)

Nat and Brooklyn return with a bowl of chips. “Hey, Skylar. We were talking before you got home about having a party here this weekend.”

“Here?” Inwardly, I cringe. There’s no avoiding a party held in my own house. But I’m one out of four, so voting against the idea probably isn’t going to work. I gave in and went to that party last weekend, and look how that turned out.

“Yeah! It’ll be fun. I’m going to put it on Facebook now.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” I heard about a party that was posted on Facebook, people kept sharing it, and like two hundred people turned up and totally trashed the place.

Nat pulls her laptop close and starts tapping on the keyboard. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

—

In the morning I force myself to pay attention in my Physics class and Organic Chem lab. Then I rush home to change into my uniform for an afternoon shift at the Taste of Heaven Diner. Now that I’m done with my counseling appointments, it makes my schedule a little easier to manage.

My uniform is cheesy but kind of fun to wear—a tight pink dress with a flared skirt and puffed sleeves, and a black apron. I guess it’s supposed to be sort of fifties-retro. I also wear white ankle socks and tennis shoes.

It’s Tuesday afternoon, so it’s not super busy at the diner. I’m nearly done with my shift and keeping myself occupied by refilling ketchup bottles when a bunch of guys storm the place. I mean, they just walk in, but it feels like a storm, because they’re big and loud.

Hockey players. They’re instantly recognizable, some of them wearing sweatpants or athletic shorts and Bears hoodies. I can’t stop myself from scanning the bunch as they pile into a big booth, and yeppers, there’s Jacob.

I nibble briefly on my bottom lip and glance at my coworker Taisha. I consider asking her to take care of their table even though it’s in my section, but she’s busy with another big group in her own section. With a sigh, I start toward my table.

“Hi, guys.” I smile brightly. “Welcome to Taste of Heaven. Can I start you off with something to drink?”

“I’d like to taste your heaven.” One of the guys gives me an up-and-down inspection.

I’m used to smart-ass customers so I’m not really fazed by this, but I am startled when Jacob lunges across the table and grips the guy’s hoodie in a fist. “Dude,” he snarls. “That was inappropriate.”

Silence descends around us. My body goes on alert while thoughts speed through my brain, like…Wow, we’ve barely even started our training and Jacob’s already got harassment down, and he’s really pissed, and Dear Lord, please don’t let a fight break out.

“What the f*ck, man?” The guy knocks Jacob’s arm away. “She your girlfriend?”

Jacob subsides back into his seat.

My gaze snaps back and forth between him and his teammate, and I’m happy to see the dude he grabbed looks a little shamefaced. He glances at Jacob, then at me, and mutters, “Meant it as a compliment.”

One corner of my mouth lifts. I believe him. “You think I haven’t heard that line before?” I shake my head. “Come on, at least be original.”

“I didn’t know you work here, Skylar,” Jacob says.

“Yeppers, I do. Drinks?” I remind them, still smiling.

“Chocolate milk, please,” Jacob says.

I take their beverage orders and turn toward the kitchen to fill them. I guess none of Jacob’s friends recognizes me as the girl he was making out with in the kitchen Friday night. Probably just as well. I still don’t know what came over me that night.

Okay, yes, I do know. Jacob came over me.

Even seeing him now has my girl parts warming up. So this is going to be a challenge, running into him on campus, and seeing him every evening in the training. I’m not sure what to do about it. His vehement defense confuses me after he rejected my lust-drunk offer to take our make-out session to a bed.

I’m so distracted I overflow his glass of chocolate milk all over the counter. “Shit!”

“What the hell, Skylar?” Edrick, one of the cooks, calls out.

“Sorry, sorry.” I hastily mop it up. I pour the milk into a clean glass and add it to my tray. Damn.

It’s kind of cute that he drinks chocolate milk, like a little boy, and yet he’s all man, so big and muscled. I suck in a breath, square my shoulders, and hoist my tray to go serve them.

I’m prepared for knowing smirks or something like that, imagining Jacob has told them how he knows me. But there’s nothing, only polite smiles as I set their drinks in front of them.

I start to turn away, but Jacob says, “Hey, Skylar.”

I turn. “Are you ready to order?”

“Um, yeah, but I was going to introduce you. These are my housemates—Ben, Grady, and Hunter.”

“Hi, guys. Nice to meet you. So you all live off campus somewhere?”

“Yeah. Oak Street.”

I nod. That’s only two streets over from where I live, the neighborhood full of big, old houses that mostly house college students since it’s so close to campus. So great—we’re neighbors.

The guys give me their orders, and back to the kitchen I go, stopping on my way as another customer flags me down to request coffee refills. “You bet!”