Page 108 of Scoring Lessons

“Let’s meet at Tim’s. We need to talk about this.”

“No.” I needed to avoid my teammates until I could figure out what to do about her. I barely understood as it was.

“It’s either Tim’s or I show up at your place and embarrass you in front of Olivia.”

I gripped the wheel with an annoyed sigh. “I’ll see you in twenty.”

“Smart man.”

When I took a seat next to Parker at the bar, he handed me a beer.

“Spill.”

Aly leaned forward with an eyebrow raised. “What are we spillin’?”

“Nothin—”

“I think he has a crush on Olivia,” Parker commented casually.

I hit him in the arm. “What is the matter with you?”

“Oh, God.” Aly’s laugh was unrestrained. “I knew it. Since that night⁠—”

“What night?” Parker asked.

Aly waved her hand, dismissing him. “I could feel the tension between the two of you. Does her brother know yet?”

I took a small sip of my lukewarm beer, letting the citrus taste travel down my throat. “There’s nothing to know.”

“Bullshit,” they said at the same time.

I rubbed my hand against my face as I leaned against the barstool. Knowing these two, they weren’t going to stop bothering me until I came out with the truth.

“It’s complicated,” were the words I settled on.

Aly leaned against the bar and crossed her arms. “I’m sure it isn’t.”

“You just need to get your head out of your ass and talk to us,” Parker added.

Was Parker the best option, considering how he’d never been a relationship kind of guy? Probably not. But my options were looking grim.

“You know the list from the book?”

Parker rolled his eyes. “Duh.”

Aly frowned. “What book?”

“We have a book club now, and we’re reading this hockey romance where—” Parker stopped talking then settled his gaze on me. “No.”

I thinned my lips.

“With Olivia?” Parker palmed his forehead in shock. “Oh, my God. You fucking idiot,” he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. “This is so much worse than I thought.”

“It started as purely transactional. Just to tick things off the list.”

“Then you had sex, and now everything is complicated, isn’t it?”

I hesitated, running my fingers through my hair. “We haven’t exactly had sex, or kissed, for that matter.”