Offside: Rules of the Game Book 1

As the second intermission started, Siobhan and I made our way up the stairs, heading into the concourse to stretch our legs. And, hopefully, to regain feeling in our lower halves. Not only was the arena cold, but the seats were rock hard, and my butt had gone numb. We might as well have been sitting on the ice surface below.

She sighed. “Maybe the third will be better.”

“I hope so.” It was difficult to believe it would, but Chase decimating Luke could be good for the Falcons’ morale. Or Chase’s morale, at least. I pointed to the pink sign at the far end of the hallway. “I need to run to the bathroom.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’m going to hit the concession for a hot chocolate. I’ll turn into Elsa soon if I don’t get something to warm me up. Do you want one too?”

“That would be great, thanks.” It would pale in comparison to the hot chocolate from End of the World with Chase, but Shiv was right—the arena’s chill had seeped into my bones. Next time I was at Northview, I would have to remember to bring a blanket.

When I turned the corner to exit the women’s bathroom, I caught sight of Amelia and Jillian standing outside. Icy dread flooded my body faster than I could blink. Couldn’t escape them at home, couldn’t escape them at the arena.

They were wearing short skirts with bare legs, which struck me as highly impractical, given the venue. Heck, even my outfit wasn’t cutting it, and I was in jeans with a flannel button-up beneath my puffy coat.

Jillian’s eyes flickered over to me, and she nudged Amelia, leaning in to say something under her breath, burgundy-painted lips moving silently. I was in the process of walking around them when Amelia turned, glowering at me with heavily made-up eyes.

“You’ll be happy to know that your boyfriend injured Luke.”

She wasn’t entirely wrong. I was not broken up about Luke leaving the game.

Pivoting a quarter turn, I came to a stop and straightened my shoulders. While it may have been two on one, at least I had height on my side. Now that we were face to face, I was more perplexed than ever by their nightclub-esque makeup and outfits.

“And?” I gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Refs saw the whole thing. He’ll do his time in the sin bin for it.”

Nothing more could be done, anyway; it was too late to review the call. I supposed the Bulldogs could try to make Chase answer for it during the third period. Operative word being try. So far, they hadn’t been successful in actually hitting him—aside from a single cheap shot from behind. I was going to take that up with Derek later.

Amelia jutted her delicate chin, her dark eyes flashing with anger. “He might be out for more than just this game, thanks to Carter.”

“Oh.” I kept my tone flat, face impassive. Was I supposed to care? Luke could retire for all it mattered to me. In fact, I’d welcome it. Then I wouldn’t have to see his face at games.

My attention traveled behind them, searching for Shiv in the crowd. Maybe I could text her.

“He was gunning for Luke. It was a super dirty hit,” Jillian added, voice dripping with contempt.

Cue record screech. I’d seen a million dirty things on the ice tonight, and the majority of them had come from the Bulldogs.

I leveled them with a steely glare. “You’re joking, right? Did you see Paul take a run at Chase? The only difference between Chase’s hit and the one Paul attempted was that Paul missed.”

Amelia’s face darkened. I’d struck a nerve by bringing Perfect Paul into the argument. In her eyes, he could do no wrong. Probably because he was second in line for the throne after King Luke. Plus, Paul taking himself out by mistake was more than a little embarrassing.

“Totally different,” she snapped. “Everyone knows Carter’s cheap.”

As Amelia finished her sentence, Siobhan approached, holding a cardboard tray containing our drinks.

She bristled, glaring at Amelia. “What’s your problem?”

“What’s yours?” Jillian butted in, putting a hand on her hip.

Shiv raised a sculpted eyebrow, wielding a disdainful you’re beneath me look that would rattle even the most confident person. Being knockout gorgeous like she was helped with the intimidation factor too.

“Chase is my friend. And hockey is a contact sport,” she said, like they were the dumbest people on earth. “Put on your big girl panties and get over it.”

A bark of laughter erupted from me before I could stop it. Jillian opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it again. Amelia squinted, her eyes darting back and forth like she was trying to formulate a retort. A beat passed, and background chatter from people milling around filled the silence between us.

“Well, this has been unpleasant,” I said cheerily. “See you later.” I wasn’t interested in the digs aimed at Chase they would eventually come back with.

Shiv and I turned and weaved through the crowded concourse. She handed me a hot chocolate from the tray and removed the other one before tossing the tray into the blue recycling bin we passed.

“Sorry for butting in,” she said with a slight frown. “Who was that, anyway?”

“Um, no one important. Just my roommates.” They’d be no one soon enough. Practically counting down the days until they were.

“No wonder you want to move out,” Shiv muttered beneath her breath. Then she spun to face me, her turquoise eyes wide. “Oh my god. Wait, did I make life miserable for you? Holy shit, I have such a big mouth.”

“Nah. You didn’t make it any worse than it already was.” If anything, putting them in their place lately had helped keep them in check. A few months ago, I would have let them run me over, and I would have cried over it every night. “Let’s hope we find a place soon, or we’ll both be living with the guys.”

Halfway through the third period, it looked like things might improve. Chase got a shorthanded goal, assisted by Dallas. The energy in the arena shifted…until the line changed. Then the defense completely fell apart and they immediately let in another goal for the Bulldogs.

From over on the bench, Chase shook his head, clearly frustrated.

For the remaining ten minutes, the Falcons made an admirable effort to make a comeback. Chase was practically killing himself trying. But it wasn’t enough, and the clock ran out with a score of five-three Bulldogs.

My heart dropped. Damn.

To be fair, they had been on a long winning streak until now—losing eventually was unavoidable. But the timing wasn’t great. I hoped this wasn’t going to ruin Chase’s mood, since we planned to hang out later.

Or do other things later.

I wasn’t sure what those things might be yet.

As people filtered out of their seats, I told Shiv I was going to see my brother and shot Chase a text saying the same. Then I waited by the visitor dressing room, not particularly caring who I might run into. But Derek was one of the first out for a change.

“B?” Derek shot me a confused smile as he emerged from the hallway. “What are you doing here?”

My irritation ramped up a notch. Of course he wouldn’t know; we had barely spoken in weeks.

“I was here with a friend, watching Chase.”

He frowned. “Carter?”

“Yes, Carter. And what the hell was that with him, anyway?” I gave him a little shove. He stumbled back, clearly not expecting it.

Regaining his footing, he shot me a look. “What are you talking about?”

“Hitting Chase from behind.” I threw my arms up. “That was dirty.”

“Refs didn’t seem to think so.” Derek shrugged, but he couldn’t hide his guilty expression. He knew he’d been wrong.

“You and I both know they miss stuff all the time,” I said.

“Why are you so upset about the other team?”

Other team? I didn’t play for the freaking Bulldogs, but okay.

“Why are you starting shit with Chase to impress Luke?”

“I’m not,” he said. “Hitting is part of the game.”

I stamped my foot. “Bullshit, Derek. You never make hits like that.” I could count the number of times Derek had made an overly aggressive check on one hand. This was definitely personal.

“I still don’t understand why you’re hanging out with Carter.” Derek shook his head. “Are you cheering against us now too?”

“Maybe I am.” I drew in a breath and exhaled heavily. “Just don’t, okay? If you’re not going to support me in this, the least you could do is stay the hell out of it.”

Spinning on my heel, I turned and walked away. I navigated around the throngs of people crowding the arena lobby, impatiently side-stepping anyone in my way. The confrontation with Derek had soured my mood; now the noise and bustle of the crowd was wearing on my last nerve, and I was eager to get out of here.

In the distance, Chase stood with a group of people. I couldn’t make out who he was with, but he was grinning, appearing largely unfazed by their loss.

My stomach fluttered, emotions softening at the sight of him. Other, more primal parts of me came to life as I drank in his broad shoulders and tall frame, clad in a perfectly tailored charcoal suit. Six feet and three inches of beautiful, muscular male, and he was all mine. I was more than a little happy to be going home with him. Though I wasn’t entirely sure what would happen when we got there. I had been mulling that one over for a few days now, torn between brain and body and heart.

But my mood tanked again as I emerged into a small clearing to discover a pretty brunette to Chase’s right, hanging off him. Or trying to, anyway. She laughed, tilting her head back to showcase dazzlingly white teeth framed by bright red lips. Don’t get me wrong, Chase was funny, but she was clearly playing it up. Then she tilted in, placing her hand on his forearm. I stiffened. Whoever this girl was, she was way too comfortable with touching him. Chase withdrew his arm and took a step back, looking about as uncomfortable as I felt.

She wasn’t taking the hint. At all.

My chest tightened, my heart picking up speed. I tamped down on a movie reel of flashbacks from my former life that cued up inside my head. This was not the same. He was not the same. I trusted him.

Despite that, I had the nearly overwhelming urge to turn and walk the other way.

With no small amount of trepidation, I straightened my shoulders and continued forward. Finally, I came to stand beside Chase, gently touching his firm shoulder.

“Hi,” I said.

He swiveled to face me, and his eyes lit up. “Hey, baby.” Ducking down, he gave me a quick peck on the lips and put his arm around my waist, pulling me against him. His familiar scent enveloped me, firm body warming mine, and the turmoil within me receded.

Chase nodded to the girl. “This is Kristen. Kristen, this is James. My Bailey. I mean, Bailey, my”—he faltered, brow creasing—“girlfriend?”

His sheepish stumbling was so adorable, I couldn’t hide my ridiculous, goofy grin. I probably looked like I belonged in a toothpaste commercial. Chase was rarely anything other than confident and completely self-assured, which made his slip especially endearing.

Not to mention, girlfriend did have a nice ring to it.

As I turned my attention to Kristen, my smile went from real to fake. But I could pretend to be polite, at least. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” She smiled back at me, but it didn’t reach her eyes either. I had a feeling I was going to have to get used to that.

As we walked up to Chase’s truck, he reached past me and opened the passenger-side door. Then his hands landed on my waist, and my entire body thrummed in response to the contact, warmth flooding my veins. He moved in closer, his mouth finding mine, and I closed my eyes as my lips parted against his. The kiss was soft and brief but loaded with promises about later.

We pulled apart, and I looked up at him, raising my eyebrows teasingly.

“Did you give yourself a promotion back there?”

He froze on the spot and opened his mouth, but shut it again quickly, his brow furrowed. It may have been a first for Chase. Immediately, I felt bad. I had thought he would banter back.

“I didn’t—”

“I’m messing with you, Carter,” I said softly. “I like it. I mean…if you like it.”

He grinned, squeezing my waist. “I definitely like it.”

A rush ran through me, excitement mingled with desire. We stood in silence for a moment, both smiling.

“Movie night?” I asked.

“Sounds perfect.”

We both knew we wouldn’t be watching a movie. At least, not first.