Page 19 of Rise Above

woman with black hair asked. She took a sip of her water.

“We all played hockey together in college.”

“What!” Curly-haired practically shouted. “Davis,

you never said you played!”

“Down, Dre.” Davis snorted. “Clearly I wasn’t as

talented as these two.” He looked down, probably remembering his career-ending injury.

49

Rise Above

I rolled my eyes. “You picked school; you always

pick school.”

Aife finally looked at me, her gorgeous hazel eyes

scanning over my face. It was apparent she was sizing me up, but I couldn’t read the emotion in her eyes. She was a little difficult to read. Maybe she just wasn’t able to open up around strangers? She was an enigma, and I strangely wanted to know more.

The waitress came back and delivered our food. I

took the opportunity to see what Aife had ordered. Chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, ham, and apple juice were in front of her. At least she wasn’t shy about eating. Women that only ordered salad around guys annoyed me. Picking up my fork, I dug into my food and tried to not stare at the woman across from me.

“School over hockey,” Dre said incredulously. “Did

you get drafted?”

“No. Let’s drop it, Dre.” Davis’s tone quickly

turned cold.

Zeke’s ears perked up. The pest in him wanted to

poke the bear. “He got scouted and drafted. Why are you hiding your past, D?”

“Move on, please.” Davis pushed his food around

his plate. Hockey was still a sore subject for him. He had been an extremely talented player until his injury, just not as passionate as the two of us. The injury was a touchy topic, as it should be. Davis sincerely could have gone pro, but ankles were important in hockey, and injuries were a bitch. Unlike Zeke, I wouldn’t hound Davis over something out of his control.

50

Rise Above

Before Zeke could open his mouth again, I whacked

the back of his head. We shared a heated look where I tried to convey the fact he needed to shut up. He seemed to understand as he too began to eat. Davis shot me a grateful look.

“New question,” the other woman, Nat, said, “How

are your papers going?”

Davis groaned. “Let’s not go there on that one

either, Nat. I think it might kill me. My advisor tore my intro apart.”