Gross.
“Dude, what is your problem?” From out of nowhere, Asher skated full speed at Leo. They crashed into the wall. “You trying to get her injured before our first game?”
Leo untangled himself from Asher with a smirk. “Got a thing for her, man?” he said, skating away backwards making an obscene gesture.
Asher didn’t even glance my way before skating after him to join the game again.
It started and ended so fast, no one else even noticed. Guys pushed each other around all the time. However, for the rest of practice, Asher made it his business to hit Leo any chance he got. By the end, other guys began to notice and run interference. I half expected Dad to step in, but he let them play. You had to be tough to play hockey. Fighting came with the territory.
However, I didn’t need some new kid fighting my battles.
I went to the locker room and changed to drive home like always, but instead of getting into my car, I waited beside his.
Guys trickled out of the building. If any of them noticed me standing there, none of them said anything. I only hoped Joe would be the last guy out like usual. This conversation didn’t require any brotherly interference.
I figured half the team had gone home before Asher came walking out. My heart beat faster at the sight of him, which only made me angry. I didn’t want to be attracted to him.
Asher caught sight of me, his eyes lighting at first, but then his brows pulled low. “What did I do now?” he asked.
“I have three brothers. I don’t need another one.”
“You think that was me being brotherly?”
The way he said it made my cheeks flush. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t need you or anyone else protecting me. I can take care of myself.”
Asher shook his head as he stepped around me to open the trunk of his car. He tossed his gear in the back with more force than necessary and slammed the trunk shut.
I stood in front of the driver’s side door. Asher strode toward me, his jaw clenched. How did he manage to be so pretty and masculine all at the same time?
“That guy was out of line.” Asher braced a hand on the roof of his car and leaned close.
“My problem. Not yours.” He smelled good after his shower. With three brothers I’d become more familiar with masculine scents than I wanted, but Asher used something I’d never smelled before. I liked it.
“You’re my teammate,” he countered.
“So is Leo.”
Asher frowned. “He’s not acting like it.”
He might be right, but that didn’t change anything. “I don’t. Need. Your. Help.” I punctuated each word with a jab to his chest with my finger.
His frown deepened. “Fine.”
“Fine.”
“Good.”
It occurred to me how close we were. My hand still touched his chest. I brought it back as though he’d burned me.
I nodded. “Good. I’m glad we cleared that up.”
His lips twisted with the beginnings of a smile. “Me, too. Now, are you going to let me in my car or not?” He gestured to his door, the one I still blocked.
Mustering as much dignity as I was capable of, I walked to my own car. It wasn’t until I started the ignition I noticed Asher hadn’t moved to get into his own car. Instead, he stood there, still watching me. I probably should have felt creeped out, but I didn’t. His eyes followed me out of the parking lot and I gasped at the wave of emotion passing over me from the heat of his stare.
I didn’t want to like Asher, but no way could I deny my attraction.
“It doesn’t matter,” I admonished myself out loud. We were teammates. And enemies. I couldn’t have a crush on Asher Sloan.
No crush didn’t mean I couldn’t love his music. Over the next couple of weeks, it became my ritual to shower after dinner and sit under my open window in shorts and a sports bra while icing my shoulder while listening to Asher sing and play his guitar. He went outside every night. And after just a few weeks, I already dreaded the colder weather that would soon keep him from unwittingly serenading me.
We still had another couple of weeks before our first game. Practices became more intense and so did the pressure to play well. Leo let up a little on the ice after Asher laid into him, but the look in his eye said we weren’t finished.