Page 41 of Rule Breaker

I opened the door to the restaurant and motioned for Maddox to go first. Man, the way he glared at me, you’d think I’d spat on him.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“If I can manage to block dozens of shots on goal, I think I can open my own damn door,” he snarled as he walked past me.

I rolled my eyes and followed him into the restaurant, which was surprisingly crowded for a Friday afternoon. “There’s no pleasing you, is there?”

“No.”

“OMG, Mad, stop saying that!” I chuckled.

A few patrons in the restaurant turned to stare at us. Oops. Thankfully, Phoenix, the owner of the place, recognized me and walked up to greet us.

“Kayden, how’s it going?” he asked.

“Great.” I nodded. “Phoenix, this is Maddox Rocher; he’s one of my teammates.”

“Nice to meet you.” Phoenix smiled at him. Maddox nodded, but offered nothing but his scowl. No surprise.

“Uh, table for two?” Phoenix asked.

I nodded, trying to ignore the sudden rush of heat in my cheeks. Why did it suddenly feel like I was on a date? I went out with Dane all the time and it never occurred to me it was anything other than two friends hanging out. Ignoring the strange urge I had to place my hand on Maddox’s back, I waited for him to follow Phoenix first.

We were led to a corner booth near the back of the restaurant. Maddox slid in first, his back to the crowd and I eased in beside him. I was waiting for him to tell me to move farther away, but when he didn’t say anything, I relaxed. Ourknees touched, but Maddox didn’t budge or tell me to fuck off. Progress.

“You guys need a minute with the menu?” Phoenix asked.

“I’ll have a double cheeseburger, onion rings, and a Diet Coke,” Maddox replied. “Thanks.”

“Same, but with fries, please.”

Phoenix nodded and took off towards the kitchen.

“So, about tomorrow night—” I started.

“Okay. One hour. That’s it. Now will you let it go?”

Side by side, he was so close, and I fought the urge to move closer. My mouth was dry, and I was in desperate need of water. Something. Anything.

“Cool.”

I was anything but.

Suddenly, I heard a voice calling my name. I turned around to find Ethan, Axel, and Finn heading our way. I waved them over.

“Come sit with us!” I shouted across the din.

When they got to our table, Finn slid in on the other side of the booth, then Ethan and Axel.

“What’s going on, guys?” Finn asked.

“We finished a study session. Gotta fuel up for tomorrow,” I replied.

“I thought you didn’t want to be around this guy,” Finn teased Maddox.

Maddox rolled his eyes and grunted. “I don’t want to be around any of you. But I’m on the team, so I don’t really have a choice. And we’re both in the same economics class. Like Kayden said, we were studying.”

“That’s not Kayden’s area of expertise,” Ethan smirked. “He’s just a pretty face.”