A Valuable Trade by Jaymee Jacobs

Author:Jaymee Jacobs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, hockey, sports, dallas, comets, jaymee jacobs, jacobs, dallas comets, jaymee
Publisher: Jaymee Jacobs

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A lot of the time, I liked sitting in the middle of the table, completely surrounded by my loud, boisterous men. I can get just as rowdy as them. Usually I like the way everyone talks over each other in order to be heard and the way that, after a few beers each, the ties and suit coats come off, the top buttons of their shirts come undone, and they relax and let loose after a game. It’s a fun atmosphere to be a part of, and it’s even more fun to be right smack dab in the middle of it all—the one who gets reached across for the pepper or the one over top a high five gets slapped.

But I really don’t think I can be amidst that tonight at this table with all these guys. Sure, I had a blast at the game, but it’s easy to get into the games—especially when it’s a close game and a big one on top of that. Hockey’s such a fast-paced, emotional game, and I don’t think it’s possible to not get swept up in it. I’ve since come down from that high, and now I’m back in the funk that I’ve been in since I woke up on Wednesday morning.

I strategically pick a chair at one of the corners of the table because that will minimize the amount of people who can sit around me, and I’ll only be forced to interact with whoever sits next to me and across the table from me. The guys argue—like usual—over where they want to sit, who they want to sit by, and which seat will give them the best vantage point to check out the hot bartender or the television, whichever their preference is. Mark takes the seat next to me and asks, “How did you get relegated out here at the end?”

Smiling, I come up with my best white lie. “I just didn’t wanna get elbowed on both sides tonight. You guys eat like pigs.”

“But pigs with table manners,” he laughs, tucking the cloth napkin into the collar of his shirt. “Does it make me a cannibal if I order the ribs?”

I look at him with a cocked eyebrow and open my mouth to offer the first snappy retort I can think of, but Mark interrupts me and exclaims, “Stock! Come sit down here, with us!” When I turn my head to see Bryan, my mouth is still wide open and I’m sure my eyes are, too, looking stunned and unsure. The tips of his ears are red as he ducks his head and takes the seat across from me without a word. There aren’t many other available seats at this point, and chances are he would have been forced to sit here in the corner anyway. Just my luck. This man is unavoidable.

Mark, who invited Bryan to sit down here with us, ignores him and talks to me again. “So George, what have you been up to all week? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.

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