Lucky Bounce: Game On, Part 2 by Jennifer Lazaris

9

"It's here! Game day is finally here!" Penn squealed, grabbing Holly's hands and doing a crazy little dance.

Holly bit back a laugh while Penn shimmied and waved her hands as they walked toward the Nevada Arena from the parking lot of one of the nearby hotels.

"Babe, are you dancing or swatting at bees? I'm not sure if I should be alarmed."

"Ha-ha." Penn brushed a lock of curly blonde hair away from her face, then playfully stuck her tongue out at Holly. "I'm just excited. And nervous. I want this so bad for West, Hol. I don't know what I'll do if they don't win this series."

"Penn, it's game one." She slung an arm around her bestie's shoulders as they followed a crowd thick with Kingsnakes jerseys down the street. "Why get yourself all riled up? Enjoy this. Have some faith in the team. And in your man."

Penn moved away from the crowd and paused to adjust the strap on her sandal. "I know everything you're saying is true. It's just different when you're in a relationship with a player. It's personal. I go home with West, and I want to see him happy."

"Yeah, true."

"You might not be in a romantic relationship with Eli, but since you're staying with him, you'll eventually understand. You'll see the mood swings. It's a total roller coaster. Or maybe West is just moodier than the other guys."

"Oh, joy," Holly said, lifting her gaze skyward. "Just what I want, to babysit Eli's gigantic ego after a loss."

Penn elbowed her. "Come on, Hol, cut the guy some slack. This is a big deal in the course of his life and his career. They live for this. The playoffs are everything. These games are important, especially after losing the Western Conference finals last season. And then there's the arena curse..."

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Holly asked, making a face.

"No, but it doesn't matter if I believe it. They struggle to win in that arena. If they think it's cursed, even jokingly, it's going to loom in the back of their minds. And that's not good. Hockey players are a superstitious bunch."

"Which reminds me, I'm going to make a note to ask Eli if he has any superstitions or rituals he does before games," Holly said, typing a reminder into her phone.

Penn shrugged into her customized “Keller” jacket as they approached the arena. "I'm going to melt for the next five minutes, but I'm sick of carrying it."

"It turned out super cute," Holly admitted. "The jackets were a good idea."

"Wives and girlfriends around the league started doing this a few seasons ago for the playoffs, and it kind of took off. It's a cute way to show support instead of just wearing jerseys. Speaking of, I can't believe you aren't wearing any Kingsnakes gear. Not even a hat, Holly? Really?"

She glanced down at her jeans and plain orange t-shirt. "My outfit is blue and orange. These are Kingsnakes colors."

Penn wrinkled her nose. "That's all we get?"

"I don't have any Kingsnakes swag. When I was shopping for clothes after the apartment fire, hockey stuff wasn't exactly a priority over bras and underwear."

"Tell Eli to get you a jersey. I'm sure he'd be happy to buy it."

"Hell no," she declared as they lined up outside of the arena to get their tickets scanned. “He'll buy me his jersey. No way."

"Um, excuse me, are you Penn Foster?"

A giddy teenage girl with brown hair and braces gently touched Penn's elbow. "West Keller's girlfriend?"

"That's me," Penn replied, giving the girl a polite smile.

Holly smothered a laugh with her hand as the girl, who looked no older than fourteen, let out an excited shriek. A frizzy blonde-haired girl with freckles standing next to her began to giggle uncontrollably.

"I'm Lucy, and I'm like, his biggest fan ever. And this is my friend, Micki," the brown-haired girl said, pointing at the girl standing next to her. "I have his jersey and everything," Lucy babbled excitedly to Penn. "Can you tell him Lucy and Micki say hi, and that we love him?"

"Lucy and Micki," Penn repeated, nodding and playing along. "I'll pass along the message."

"Um, can we get a selfie with you?" Lucy asked. "Please?"

"With me? Yeah, sure." Penn shot Holly an amused look. "My friend, Holly, can take the picture."

"Are you anyone's girlfriend?" Lucy asked Holly, her squeaky voice hopeful.

"Nope, sorry."

The teenagers immediately shifted their focus back to Penn.

"I saw the post you made about the jackets on your Instagram story," Lucy told Penn. "They're soooo super cute!"

"Thank you. I'm glad you like them. Okay, girls, say Keller," Penn directed as the two teenagers flanked her. "On three. One, two, three..."

"Keller!"

Holly handed them back the phone.

"It looks great," Micki said, excited. "Thank you so much. We'll tag you and West on Instagram."

"Nice meeting you both. Enjoy the game." Penn waved as the girls hurried back to their parents.

"That was weird," Holly said. "You're kind of a celebrity."

"Hardly. It happens every once in a while, but most fans don't approach me. The jackets might change that, though."

"Get ready to be accosted by gaggles of teenagers who love your man."

"It's hilarious when we run into the younger teenage fans at the grocery store or something. They either go utterly mute when they see West or completely freak out. West doesn't know how to handle the screamers."

"Can't say I blame him."

They got their tickets scanned and entered the arena. People swarmed the concourse, buying jerseys, beer, popcorn, and pizza. The mood was high as fans spilled down into the arena bowl to find their seats.

"Do you want to get something to eat now, or should we go down to our seats?" Penn asked.

"Let's go down. How much time do we have before the game starts?"

"Oh, we have time. Warmups should be starting soon. I bet the others are already down there. Except Nic. She's always running late. Then again, she has an infant, so it's understandable."

"She's not bringing the kid, is she?" Holly asked as they walked through the concourse toward their section. "Doesn't seem like the best atmosphere for a baby."

"No, he's too little yet, and it's too noisy. She was looking for a pair of those headphones to use when he gets a little older. They should help with the music and crowd noise, not to mention the goal horn."

"No one's going to think I'm with Eli because I'm sitting in these seats, will they?" Holly asked. "I don't want people getting the wrong idea."

"I don't know, but it's none of their business. Most of the wives and girlfriends are cool, but don't be surprised if Shay says something."

"Oh, I hope she does. I can't wait to meet this piece of work," she muttered as they walked down the arena stairs toward their seats.

"That she is. I wish Sam would end it with her once and for all. She's a total menace." Penn bit down on her lip and shook her head. "She's just one of those women, you know?"

"What women?"

"Outwardly perfect. Long blonde hair, perfect makeup and clothes, designer everything. But she's awful. Outwardly an angel, inwardly a hell spawn. When I first started dating West and sitting down here with the other WAGs, she made some backhanded comments about me not being good-looking enough to be with a star goaltender. I haven't talked to her since, other than stuff having to do with team functions."

"That proves she's an asshole, because you're gorgeous. You and West are perfect for each other. Despite my initial feelings about him, I know he's crazy about you, Penn. He's proved me wrong over and over. And he better keep doing it, or I'll string him to the net by his sack."

Penn snorted with laughter. "Yikes, Hol. But let's face it—West's a catch. He's the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes on, and he's with me. Do you know how weird that is? He could model. In fact, he has done some modeling."

"Stop." Holly held up her hand. "You're beautiful, Penn. Don't let anything Shay says bother you, okay? She really does sound like a See you Next Tuesday. Her opinion means shit. West's opinion means everything."

"You're so fiercely loyal." Penn stopped and gave her a clumsy hug. "That's why I love you."

"Hey, you two!" Zoe waved at them from their group of seats. Hannah sat next to Zoe, wearing Brandon's jersey and her jacket. When she saw them, she waved, too.

Penn returned the wave as Holly did a cursory check of the rest of the WAGs and families, many of which she didn't know personally. "Which one is Shay? There's like fifteen blondes," Holly said. "Seriously, why is everyone freaking blonde?"

Penn laughed. "I never thought about it, but yeah, there are a lot of blondes, me included."

"Normally this is where I'd joke and say gentlemen prefer blondes, but I know these guys. Gentlemen doesn't exactly describe them," Holly teased.

"Ha. There's Shay. She's the one not wearing a jacket," Penn said. "Because of course."

"We're sitting behind her?" Holly rubbed her hands together in mock glee. "Oh good. I can watch the show."

Penn shot her an amused look. "I don't have to tell you to be nice, do I?"

"I'll be nice. Until she doesn't deserve it."

They walked down their row toward Zoe and Hannah.

"I'm glad we're sitting with our group of ladies. Looks like Hannah's holding seats for Nic and Bella. Oh, and there's Brandon’s and Ryder's parents at the end of the row," Penn said, waving.

Holly sank down into her seat and glanced around, acutely aware of the stares from some of the other WAGs. She knew they had to be curious about her.

"I'm here!" Nic called from the end of the row, holding a bag of popcorn in one hand and a beer in the other. "The babysitter was a little late."

As she squeezed past a few other people to join the group, the buzzer sounded and thumping, bass-heavy music began to play.

"Just in time." Zoe smiled as Nic plopped down next to her. "You almost missed warmups."

The Kingsnakes exited the tunnel to loud cheers and whistles from the pumped-up crowd.

"No one screams this much during a regular season game for warmups," Penn told Holly. "They're really pumped up."

The team skated in a circle around their zone in a blur of orange, white, and blue.

"I didn't realize our seats were this close," Holly told her. "Not glass level, but still fantastic."

"Oh, Fally's parents just got here." Nic glanced at her phone. "They just texted." She stood up and turned around, then waved to an attractive couple in their early sixties a few rows back. "I'll have to go say hello at intermission."

"Is West's dad here?" Holly asked Penn.

West and his father weren't on good terms, and there had been a falling out before he'd made things official with Penn.

"I'm not sure. I imagine he'd fly in from New York for a few games, but he hasn't reached out to West. His mom isn't here today, but she's coming to the next game." Penn gave Holly a curious look. "Do you know anything about Eli's family? He never talks about them."

Holly shifted uncomfortably in her seat and stared out over the ice at the Kingsnakes players taking shots on the net. She'd promised Eli she wouldn't say anything about his family, and it was one she'd keep, even if it meant not being completely upfront with Penn.

"He doesn't talk about his family. He's pretty close-lipped about that stuff."

"Do you know if they're here at the game?"

"I don't think they are."

"You mean he doesn't have anyone here cheering for him?" Penn asked, her mouth dropping open. "That's awful."

"Yeah."

Penn was right. It did suck, and it had to make him feel bad that he didn't have family here in the stands. "Well, he has us, right?"

"It's not the same," Penn murmured. "But yeah, he has us."

San Jose came out to warm up on the other side of the ice, and they were met with vehement boos and jeers from the crowd. The Vegas fans banged on the glass and hurled insults at them as they skated past.

"Wow. Kingsnakes fans don't play," Holly muttered.

"We'll get it just as bad from their fans when we go back to their arena," Zoe chimed in, waving a hand dismissively. "Trust me, this is nothing."

Holly pulled out her phone to take a few notes on the atmosphere for the feature, pausing to study everything that was going on.

Fans huddled around the glass, turning their backs to the rink and taking selfies with players who stood nearby.

She snorted with laughter when Eli photobombed a guy and his girlfriend. He skated up behind them and gave them a huge, cheesy grin.

As the team warmed up, she couldn't help but notice that he was the one who always put a smile on another player's face, either by joking around or with his crazy antics.

He hadn't been kidding about being the guy who kept things loose. Obviously, that attitude carried from the locker room out here onto the ice.

"You'd never guess he was about to start an important series," Holly murmured as he tossed a puck over the glass to a little boy.

"He always picks a kid out of the crowd before a game," Nic told her. "Lots of guys do that occasionally, but Eli does it every single game. The fans know to watch for it."

Eli's face lit up as much as the boy's when the kid caught it. He touched the glass with his glove, and the little boy held up his hand and did the same. It reminded her of their time with Hunter at Castle's Cupcakes. He was so genuine with little kids.

"And then there's my husband," Zoe commented, pointing at Ryder, whose expression resembled a general about to go into battle. "So focused and serious."

"West is always the same, playoffs or not. Same rituals, same everything," Penn told Zoe. "It never changes."

"Because goalies are weird and superstitious," Nic said, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. "It's their nature."

"I won't argue with that," Penn replied. "Fally looks as serious as Ryder though, Nic. That's unusual. He's usually more relaxed."

"He's worried about this series," Nic confided. "He'll never admit it, though. Not to me, anyway."

"Hello, Penn. You didn't introduce us to your friend."

Holly glanced up into the watchful, light blue eyes of Sam London's infamous girlfriend, Shay, who stood in the row in front of theirs.

Oh, here we go.

Shay gave Holly a quick once-over, her shrewd gaze assessing. She was probably itemizing every article of clothing and finding it lacking.

"This is my best friend, Holly," Penn replied, her voice cool. "Holly, this is Shay."

"Sam London's girlfriend," Shay said smoothly.

"Uh huh," she replied, making sure she sounded bored.

Shay flashed a fake smile. "You know, it's interesting that you're sitting in the family section, Holly."

She gave Shay a dismissive look. The woman was fishing for information, and she could fucking stuff it.

"I'm just saying, I didn't know that just anyone could sit in our section, Penn." Shay brushed a lock of blonde hair over her shoulder. "I'm not bringing my outside friends in to sit with us, so why should you get to?"

Penn opened her mouth to speak, but Holly cut her off. "Listen, princess. You don't know shit about who I am or what I'm here for. And if you're going to insult me, don't do it through my friend. Have the lady-balls to say it to my face."

Nic let out a strangled cough to cover her laugh as Hannah elbowed her in the ribs.

Shay narrowed her eyes. "I'd watch your mouth, honey. No one talks to me that way."

Holly cocked her head. "Maybe they should. What the hell are you going to do about it, anyway?" She gestured to the women sitting on either side of her. "Are you going to get me kicked out, honey? Go ahead and try it. I've got a ticket, so I'll just let you explain to the usher that you're trying to kick out the starting goaltender's girlfriend's best friend. You're just trying to stir up shit. Why I'm here or who I'm with is none of your fucking business, understand?"

Shay glared at her. "You've got to be kidding me. I'll—"

"You'll do nothing, because you don't want to fuck with me. I promise you that. Now turn around and keep your fucking trap shut. No one here wants to hear the noise coming out of your ignorant mouth."

Shay sucked in a breath and whirled around to face the ice, but she didn't respond.

Nic did a happy dance in her seat and mouthed "yes!" at Holly.

Penn elbowed her in the side. "Her head's going to explode, Hol. I can almost see the steam coming out of her ears."

"She needed to be taken down a few notches by someone," Holly replied. "You guys have too much to lose within the community of wives and girlfriends, but I don't."

Shay sat down in a huff, and Holly grinned at her friends. Zoe gave her a thumbs up from behind her covered hand, and Hannah stifled a giggle.

Yeah, this was going to be a fun game.

* * *

"Jeez, Bells. Late much?" Hannah asked Bella as she scooted past Penn and Holly, then took her seat. "It's almost the end of the first period."

"So what?" No one's scored yet." Bella brushed her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and gestured toward the rink, where San Jose had just iced the puck. "I didn't miss anything."

"Where were you?" Penn asked. "Getting your hair done? Wow, it's super light now."

"Yeah. I didn't realize when I made the appointment that it was the same day as the first game of the series. Don't tell Jet, Han, okay?"

"I'm not telling Brandon anything." Hannah held up her hands. "I'm staying out of it. Now hush, my fiancé is taking a face-off."

Bella rolled her eyes. "You'd think she never saw my brother do this before. He's a center. It's part of his job."

"It's the playoffs," Hannah muttered, gesturing to where Brandon stood inside the faceoff circle to the left of the San Jose goal. He was practically nose-to-nose with the opposing team's center as they waited for the linesman to drop the puck.

The other players took their positions around the circle during the opening guitar riff of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck."

"I hate scoreless games," Nic complained. "It's endless anticipation and anxiety. Good in one way, bad in another."

The music cut off after the linesman dropped the puck and the centers battled for it. Brandon won and flipped the puck to winger Sam London, who didn't have a clear shot at the net. He sent it skidding across the ice to defenseman John Cohan.

Co wound up and one-timed the puck. It careened past the goaltender and hit the crossbar, then flew down into the net.

"Bar down!" Hannah screamed, and they all shot to their feet. The goal horn blared, and the players attacked the larger-than-life John Cohan with hockey hugs.

"That was one hell of a shot." Holly peered up at the replay on the big video monitor above the rink. "That had to be at least a hundred miles an hour."

Penn did a happy dance with Zoe, Nic, and Hannah while Bella snorted with laughter.

"I'm pretty familiar with hockey, but I have no idea what bar down means,” Holly said to Bella. “Do you know?"

"When the puck hits the crossbar then goes down into the net," she explained, taking her seat.

"For someone who claims not to like this sport, you sure know a lot about it."

"That's because I spent my life in rinks. I did homework at Brandon's games and practices. It's not that I don't like hockey. I'm just kind of over it. I'm happy for my brother, but hockey is always last on my list of things to do," Bella admitted. "It disappoints my family that I'm not into it, though."

Bella stared out across the ice as John Cohan skated past the bench, tapping gloves with his teammates. "My dad especially."

"It has to be tough living in Brandon's shadow," Holly sympathized.

Bella forced a smile, then took a sip of her drink. "Sometimes. My life revolved around Brandon's schedule for a long time, especially as a kid. I'm never going to be a star at anything. Not like he is. I'm okay with that. The hardest part is being known as Brandon Lear's little sister and not just Bella, you know? But I'm not going to sit around and whine about it too much. I'm very privileged, and life is good."

"That's a great attitude to have," Holly told her.

"Bella has a great attitude?" Nic leaned forward in her seat and grinned. "Since when?"

"Since always," Bella declared. "You should be nicer to me, Nic. My dad told me that you're going to ask me to babysit Luke soon. I'm a good friend to have in a pinch."

"You know I'm just teasing you," Nic said with a wink.

Bella stuck her tongue out, and Nic snorted. "Maybe Luke should babysit you instead."

The last two minutes of the period ticked by, and when the buzzer sounded, the players headed off down the tunnel to the locker room.

"Seventeen minutes until intermission is over," Hannah said. "Who is going to get snacks with me?"

"I thought we could just order them from here?" Nic asked.

Hannah made a face. "Yeah, but I have to pee."

"I'll go with you," Zoe offered.

"What about you, Holly?" Penn asked. "I think I'll get something, too."

"Sure, let's go."

Holly followed Penn out of the row, but when she tried to climb the steep concrete steps to the concourse, she couldn't lift her legs.

"No," she gasped.

Not this again. Not now.

"Hol?" Penn turned around. Her pretty face was a picture of concern. "What's wrong?"

"Um, I kind of... tweaked my leg."

Holly backed up into the row again to let people pass, and Penn followed. "How? Are you in pain?"

"No, I'm fine," she said quickly. "But I shouldn't chance all those stairs right now. I don't want to make it worse."

Penn frowned. "Of course. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sure." Holly sat back down in her seat. Her legs felt so weak, and she was grateful to be able to sit once again. "Go on, I'll be fine."

"Do you want anything?"

"Nope, I’m good." Holly forced a smile. "Thanks."

"Okay, I'll be back in a few."

She stared down at her legs as Penn hurried up the stairs, then squeezed her eyes shut.

Every other time this had happened, she'd been crazy stressed. But tonight, she'd been having a good time.

Alarm bells rang long and loud in her head, but she resisted the urge to pull out her phone and look up her symptoms. The last thing she needed was more panic, and in the past, it had always gone away.

Hopefully, it would pass before the end of the game. The last thing she wanted were her friends hovering and worrying about her when they were here to have a good time.

* * *

"We destroyed them!" Hannah said gleefully, holding up her hands and giving them all high-fives. "Four–nothing Kingsnakes. Four–nothing!"

"She gets pretty feisty at these things, huh?" Holly laughed as Hannah did a happy dance.

"You have no idea." Penn grinned. "She's the ultimate hockey fangirl."

"I'm sure the guys are going to take forever to leave tonight," Zoe mused. "Should we head down to the family waiting area?"

"That sounds good," Nic said. "But I want to go talk to my in-laws first."

Hannah nodded. "And I should say hello to Brandon's parents.”

"I'll hang here. Ryder's parents couldn't make it for this game, but they'll be here next game," Zoe told them.

"Am I allowed in the family room?" Holly asked Zoe.

"As the captain's wife, I'm inviting you into the room. I know you said you're not a WAG, but right now, you're an honorary one, like it or not."

"Thanks, but it's kind of an ethics thing. Technically, I'm here in a reporter capacity."

"Babe, you're also here in a different capacity. You're part of the Kingsnakes family," Penn assured her. "Zoe is Queen Bee around here, and if she says it's okay, then it's okay."

"Queen Bee?" Zoe asked, amused. "Me?"

"Yes," Penn said firmly. "And Hol, it's not like you're going to use anything personal about us for the feature."

"True. But I don't need Shay running her mouth about me being there, either."

"Screw her," Zoe said emphatically. "I'm so glad you told her off. That was a joy to watch. You know, as much as I hate to admit to a WAGs hierarchy, there is one. And as the Queen Bee," Zoe gave a mock cough and glanced at Penn, who laughed, "it bothers me because I want to bring all the wives and girlfriends together. We might not all be great friends, but we are all here to support our guys. Shay is a menace to our group. She's made a lot of people uncomfortable. Maybe she'll think twice about running her mouth now after being called out."

"I doubt it," Holly replied. "People like that never learn."

She glanced over at the stairs, wondering if her legs would work. She didn't feel as weak as she'd felt before, and that was a good sign.

"How do we get to the family room?" Holly asked Penn, wondering if she had to deal with climbing stairs.

"Just down those stairs, and then we hop on an elevator," Penn pointed past Nic and toward a little tunnel. There's a small VIP section down there to the left, and to the right is the elevator."

"Okay."

Maybe she had been stressed and hadn't realized it. After all, she'd had panic attacks when she thought everything was going well in the past. Maybe this reaction was similar.

Fifteen minutes later, the entire group headed toward the family lounge, and Holly sighed with relief when she realized all was back to normal with her legs.

Penn introduced her to some of the other WAGs. The room was a mix of pretty wives with little kids running around and girlfriends who looked like runway models. One thing was for sure: there was no shortage of beautiful women in the room.

"What?" Penn asked her. "You look lost in thought."

"It's just... these women are gorgeous. Don't get me wrong, I've done enough club spotting for the blog to know that hockey players love beautiful women. But seeing them all in one room is a little overwhelming. I feel like I'm backstage at a fashion show. The designer purses and shoes? Wow. I’m both awestruck and a little envious."

"Trust me, I get it," Penn replied. "I've always been content with my looks, but sometimes it can give your self-confidence a hit."

"If it helps, I feel the same way right now." Holly gave Penn’s hand a squeeze. "I'm pretty out of place with purple hair and a nose stud, so..."

"Hey, are you bitches talking shit about my friends?" Nic asked, then winked. "Knock it off, you guys. You're both gorgeous."

"Says the supermodel herself," Holly teased.

Nicole was the most effortlessly beautiful woman she'd ever seen. If Nic wasn't such a nice person and her friend, Holly would probably be jealous as hell of her beauty.

"Oh, please," Nic muttered. "You know, the boys will have a ton of interviews and stuff to do before they get out of the locker room. We might as well get comfortable. That couch over there is empty. Come on."

"I can't believe they have all this food to munch on. And drinks." Holly glanced around. "Is it like this all the time?"

"Yep," Penn said, nodding. "It's nice to have stuff to nibble on while we wait. The kids can play video games, and there are toys and stuff."

"Yeah, it is nice." Holly tilted her head toward the other side of the room, where Shay sat with a few other women. "I'm getting some epic evil glares from the Ice Queen."

Nic took a sip of water. "Ice Queen. Ha. That's a perfect description."

After a half hour of killing time talking and eating, they went out to the hallway.

"Holly, are you riding home with Eli?" Penn asked.

"I guess, since we're going to the same place. Unless he has other plans."

Reporters lingered in the long hallway along with a group of people wearing special passes. Eli was the first player out of the room, and Holly's jaw dropped at the sight of him.

His thick, dark hair was combed back away from his face, and the fit of his charcoal designer suit was impeccable. He always looked good, but tonight he looked like he could be right at home on the cover of a men's magazine. She'd seen him in formal wear many times, but something about this suit, with the crisp white shirt and the silver tie?

It worked for him. It worked for him hard.

Sexy wasn't even enough of an adjective.

An elbow to her ribs startled her, and she glanced to her left.

"Is it me or does Eli look especially good today?" Nic asked, narrowing her eyes as she studied him.

"You are more transparent than glass."

"She is, but he does look good," Penn admitted.

Eli paused to talk with a man she didn't recognize. He looked lit from the inside with happiness over the team's win, and her heart gave another little tug of... something.

He shook the man's hand as he bid him goodbye, then walked down the hallway toward them. Eli locked eyes with her and flashed a grin, showcasing those damned dimples.

Oh hell, she was going to give him this one. She smiled in return and lifted her hand in a wave.

"Ladies!" He held out his arms as he walked toward their group. "One down, three to go!"

"Woot!" Nic yelled, throwing her fist in the air. "Fucking right!"

He grabbed Holly around the waist, swooping her close to him. She let out a tiny shriek as he swung her around in a circle, and she clung to him awkwardly.

"Guess he's excited," Zoe teased as he set her down.

"Ya think?" Holly adjusted her shirt, which had hiked up to her bra during his jubilant display. Her face was hot with embarrassment, but she wasn't going to give him shit for not being professional tonight. She didn't want to kill his high. And besides, he didn't have anyone here supporting him like the rest of the guys.

Anyone except for her.

"It's a very good night." He wrapped his arms around the entire group. "The boys will be out soon. Ryder and Fal were still talking to reporters when I left, and so was West. Brandon will probably be out first," he told Hannah. "Are you guys going out anywhere to celebrate?"

The women shook their heads. "Gotta get home and relieve the babysitter," Nic told him. "Parenting duties."

"Yeah, it's a stay home night for us too," Zoe agreed.

"Fuck that. I want to go out and have a drink and some food. I'm starving. His eyes twinkled. "Drink and sustenance are high on my list tonight."

"Do you want to ride home with me and West?" Penn asked Holly. "He carpooled here with Ryder, so I'm driving back. I can drop you off at Eli's."

"You're not coming out with me, Wilkes?" A disappointed look crossed Eli’s handsome face. "Shaw's spending time with his brother, Cade, who's visiting from California, so he can't go out with me."

"And you want me to fill in for him?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He laughed. "You could try."

Eli must have sensed her hesitation because he reached out and touched her elbow. "Just one drink and a good dinner. I promise," he said, his voice low in her ear. "Can you do that?"

She felt the other women staring at her before she caught Penn's eye. "Okay, sure. I can have dinner."

"If you give me your keys, Hol, I'll stop by Eli's and feed Miss on the way home. That way you don't have to worry about rushing back."

"Perfect." Holly pulled the key from her set and handed it to Penn. "The raw stuff. It's in the fridge. Thanks."

"Sure."

"Just leave her key with the doorman, Penn," Eli directed. "Ready to bail, Wilkes?”

"Yeah, I guess. Bye, guys! Penn, I'll text you later."

She waved at the group and followed Eli down the long hallway. "Where are we going? Somewhere loud and obnoxious? Or somewhere quiet and peaceful?"

"Not sure," he said as they entered the garage. "What do you want to do?"

"I'm not exactly dressed to go anywhere nice. Especially next to you in that suit."

"You're with me. You'll get in anywhere we go, or I won't go."

They approached his sports car. "You look like you want to celebrate.”

"I do. And I want to celebrate with you," he said meaningfully, holding the passenger door open for her.

Holly gave him a wary look. "Why are you opening my door? This isn't a date. Stop acting weird."

Eli smirked. "Are you going to question my motives for the rest of the night? I promised that I'd be totally professional for the next thirty days, and I meant it. I was just trying to be nice." He gestured toward the car door. "Remember nice, Wilkes?"

"Oh. Okay, then."

He smiled at her, turning her insides to mush. Damn, he looked so freaking good in that suit, and he smelled amazing, too.

Part of her wanted to bolt away to safety. She didn't trust herself tonight, and that was bad.

Reallybad.

Holly climbed into the car. When he closed the door, she took a few deep breaths as he rounded the front of the vehicle.

The confident way he moved as he walked, and even the way he was holding his keys? It was everything.

Right now, he was sex on a fucking stick. He looked ten feet tall and bulletproof. And those suit pants clung lovingly to all the right parts of him.

Jesus, was she sweating? Apparently, Eli in a suit was her kryptonite.

"Any place special you want to go?" he asked, sliding behind the wheel.

"No. You pick."

"How about Regal?"

Regal was half high-end restaurant, half live music club. The restaurant sat above the club, and the music was usually chill and laid back. She'd been there once or twice while following a few players for the blog.

"They have a dress code."

"It'll be fine. No one's going to turn away my guest after we just won the first fucking game of the series. Besides, I know the owner."

"Not cocky at all," she muttered.

"I'm being honest, not cocky.” He glanced over at her. "Come on, let's go have a drink and get some food. I'm in the mood to have a little fun. Have some fun with me, Holly. We can still do that, even if it means our clothes stay on." He shot her a grin. "We're friends again, right?"

"The jury's still out," she said dryly.

"Really? After the past few days, you're seriously going there?"

"Okay, yes. We're friends." She held up both hands. "I surrender."

"Then prove it. Celebrate with me."

Their eyes met in the dim light of the car, and she nodded. "Okay, friend. Take me to Regal."