Offside (Rules of the Game, #1)
Avery Keelan
CHAPTER 1
BLINDSIDED
Bailey
I was officially out of my element.
“Do you want something to drink?” Luke asked, his blue eyes twinkling playfully in the candlelight. He was wearing a gray suit with a white dress shirt beneath it—top button undone—and his blond hair slicked back neatly. “Now that you’re finally legal, I mean.”
“Sure,” I said. “Um, you pick something for us.”
We were celebrating my twenty-first birthday at one of the swankiest restaurants in the city. I rarely drank, and I couldn’t pronounce most of the words on the wine list.
As the only child of two well-to-do lawyers from Chicago, Luke had grown up dining at places like this every weekend. But as the youngest of four children born to a nurse and a teacher from a suburb outside Minneapolis, this was outside my wheelhouse. My family’s idea of a big night out was hitting Applebee’s, and even that had to be worked into the budget.
He nodded and reached for the wine list. “I’ll order a bottle of wine.”
Luke flipped through the pages, looking over the selection with the intensity of someone purchasing a new car while I fidgeted in my seat, wishing I hadn’t borrowed Amelia’s heels. They were half a size too small and pinched my toes like crazy.
Prior to slipping into these torturous shoes, I’d spent the better part of the afternoon putting on makeup and getting ready. My roommates nearly took an eye out helping me apply fake lashes; it was a serious ordeal, and one I vowed never to repeat.
I crossed my legs and surveyed the restaurant to distract myself, taking in the opulent gold accents and framed artwork lining the walls. The other tables were largely occupied by people at least ten years older than us, all well-dressed and well-groomed. I wouldn’t have chosen this place myself, given the chance, but Luke had surprised me. It was the thought that counted, right?
After another minute, he shut the menu and set it aside. As if we’d summoned him, our server instantly reappeared. He was astonishingly tall, reed-thin, and looked like he would blow away in a heavy breeze.
“What can I get you started with this evening?” He gave us a bland smile that said he didn’t believe we could afford to be here. It was half-true.
“We’ll take a bottle of the River Estates Cabernet Sauvignon,” Luke said, handing him the wine menu.
“Excellent choice.” The server gave us a little bow before turning on his heel and leaving.
I hoped he would return soon so we could order dinner. After living on peanut butter sandwiches for a month to afford the little black dress I was wearing, the thought of seeing a loaf of Wonder bread or a jar of Jif ever again made me want to hurl. Now I was ravenously hungry for real food, though the menu was written entirely in French, which I couldn’t speak, let alone read.
Luke reached across the ivory tablecloth and took my hand. He stroked the back of it with his thumb. “I’ve been thinking a lot about after graduation.”
“Do you have news?” Excitement bubbled in my stomach. I leaned closer, studying his face in the candlelight. “Who does Gavin think will bite?”
As captain of Callingwood’s Division I hockey team, the Bulldogs, Luke’s game had been solid over the last year. A number of NHL teams had showed an interest in signing him, which gave him a degree of bargaining power and almost guaranteed he would go to the league.
The big question now was which team he’d sign with. Specifically, which team his agent, Gavin Harper, could squeeze the best offer out of.
He drew in a breath and flashed me a tense smile. “That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about, actually.”
My stomach fluttered. “Okay.”
This was it. We were finally going to make a plan. Long-distance would be tough, but we could do it. It was only for a year while I finished college. I could fly to him, he could fly to me, and in the off-season, we could live in the same city. Plus, we could FaceTime every day. Totally doable.
Our server reappeared, pouring a small amount of ruby wine into each of our glasses and waiting expectantly. It took a moment to realize he was waiting for us to sample it, but I didn’t know what wine should taste like in the first place. I watched while Luke swirled the dark red liquid in his glass and tasted it, then nodded in approval. The server filled our glasses partway before leaving again.
“It looks like it’ll be Tampa Bay or Dallas,” Luke began.
“That’s great.” I took a sip of my wine, suppressing a grimace. It was astringent, like sour grapes and sadness. How did anyone find this enjoyable? “I know you’ve been hoping for that.”
“I have. But…” He trailed off.
“What is it?” A money issue? Or a disagreement over the terms? Luke wanted a clause in the contract to ensure he’d get playoff time in his first year, should the team make it that far. But not all organizations were willing to agree to that.
“I think we should take a break.”
My mouth went dry. “A break?”
Luke nodded. “I’m leaving soon. Let’s not make that harder than it needs to be.”
I blinked, trying to process his words, but my brain kept freezing like a glitchy computer. Error: does not compute.
“You’re not leaving until the end of the school year.”
“But you knew this was coming…right?” His expression was somewhere between pity and incredulity.
My breath snagged and my eyes pricked with tears. Of course I didn’t. If I did, why would I have poured myself into this sexy, low-cut dress I couldn’t afford, borrowed Amelia’s four-inch heels from hell, and put on this much makeup? Hell, I was even wearing lipstick. Lipstick.
Obviously, I thought we’d discuss commitment, not coming to an end.
“Wait.” I frowned, working through the subtext behind what he’d said. “Are you asking for a break? Or a breakup?”
He hesitated. “The second one, I guess.”
“You guess?” My voice climbed an octave, drawing the attention of the people dining around us. Several turned and stared. A few even glared. “We’ve been down this road before, Luke. This time it’ll be permanent.”
Luke cringed, making a lowering motion with his hands. “Let’s not make a scene, B.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I grabbed my wine and took an unladylike gulp. Gross. Slamming the glass down, I shot figurative daggers at him.
“Am I embarrassing you while you break up with me in public on my birthday? Is that why you did it here? So I couldn’t make a scene?” Hot tears welled again. I gritted my teeth and swallowed. Right now, it was easier to be mad than sad.
“No, it’s not—I didn’t mean for it to come out like this.” He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I wanted to be fair to you. I didn’t want to lead you on.”
“Right.” I laughed coldly. That he’d been thinking about it was a handful of salt in a fresh wound. I was wearing lacy underwear beneath this dress. I’d planned to sleep with him later, while he was working on an exit strategy. How could I have been so oblivious?
“I can’t believe you’re doing this after you begged me to get back together with you this summer.”
“But that’s just it,” he said. “We’ve been together for a long time. Pretty soon, the league will rule my life. Where I live, where I play, what I eat, everything. I need some time to myself.”
“Uh-huh.” I tried to disguise the waver in my voice. “Time to play the field and hook up with puck bunnies, you mean? Just like the last two times.”
During our two other “breaks,” I waited around for him while he slept with at least one other person. He groveled to get me back after both incidents, and foolishly, I forgave him. I thought he’d actually changed.