“There is nothing wrong with us doing casual,” I say primly.
“I agree,” she drawls, turning to face me. “Except you like him more than just for casual sex.”
“And you know this how?” I ask suspiciously.
Jenna rolls her eyes. “You have about a hundred tells but it’s the way you talk about him, the glimmer in your eye, the eagerness with which I saw you watching the clock tonight, and the ferocity by which you’ve harassed me to come with you tonight because you’re too afraid to be alone with him in a public setting.”
Before I can even shoot down her theory, she adds, “Besides… if it was just sex, you wouldn’t have agreed to go to The Sneaky Saguaro and would have just gone to his condo.”
Hmmm. She’s not wrong.
She’s not entirely right either.
Regardless, I see this as an opportunity because no matter what she’s said, I’m going to The Sneaky Saguaro with or without her since I accepted Jett’s offer. I am not beyond using the leverage on her.
“Okay,” I say, my mind spinning with calculation. “You come with me tonight and put yourself out there to make new friends. And I’ll open myself up to the possibility—”
Jenna’s eyes glimmer with satisfaction.
“I said ‘possibility’,” I reiterate firmly. “Of something more than just casual with Jett.”
“Deal,” she says, a little too fast for my benefit. I feel like I’ve been hoodwinked, but I’m not too worried about it. Opening myself up to Jett is purely subjective. I don’t have to do anything with him I’m not comfortable with.
I’m not going to lie, the possibility of something more with Jett is intriguing because every day that goes by—whether we’re having sex or just talking—I find myself liking him more and more.
?
I’ve been living in Phoenix just over a month and there is so much to explore and try.
The Sneaky Saguaro, however, is not unknown to me. Before I even knew it was the preferred hangout of the Arizona Vengeance, Jenna, Felicity, and I had lunch here one day. It’s a fun atmosphere with a behemoth saguaro cactus rising up through the middle of the restaurant, straight up to the second-floor landing.
It’s a different vibe at night though. Gone are the families with kids gorging on platters of tacos and bowls of queso. Filled now with adults, mostly Vengeance fans, wearing their jerseys or clothing in the signature green, blue and silver team colors. You’ve got the married couples who are out on their date night to cheer on their favorite hockey team, groups of rowdy guys drunk on victory and sports, the puck bunnies—a term that I actually learned from Jett in one of our “after sex talks” about hockey—dressed scantily and looking to hook up with a team player or another handsome dude who shares a passion for the sport.
It’s festive and the mood is alive with energy, which would be a given considering the Vengeance won over the New York Phantoms tonight.
Jett was exactly where he said he’d be, on the second floor to the left of the staircase. The area is roped-off by the restaurant management and encompasses about seven tables reserved for players and their guests. The entire team doesn’t come out to celebrate every time, but all seven tables are filled when we arrive and there are several more people standing around talking and laughing. Fans wait outside the roped-off area for players to take photos or sign autographs. If you’re a lucky puck bunny who catches the eye of one of the single players, you will be brought inside the velvet ropes and made part of the team for the night.
I find it both amusing and sad at the same time for those women, but I think it’s mainly because I can’t understand it. My wild fun phase in college lasted barely a year before I settled down, and I can’t envision myself wearing skin-baring clothing to a hockey game and then trying to sleep with one of the players.
Jett met us when we came up the stairs and brought us into the inner circle. Of course, I know all of the players, having met each one on at least one occasion to discuss social media, and have since seen several of them around either while working out or when they’re visiting the executive offices for some reason.
While I met some of the family members at the Fan Day carnival, there are several here who Jett proceeds to introduce Jenna and I to. When that’s handled, we settle in at a standing table with Jett’s second line teammates who are all present, except for Riggs. He’s a prickly one, and we’ve been battling over his lack of interest in social media. I pester him relentlessly, and he probably hates me, but Jett has told me he’s been pretty antisocial since joining the team. Kane and his fiancée Mollie are here, Jim is solo since Ella and Lucy are watching my kid, and Bain, who is as single as Jett and currently eyeballing the selection of puck bunnies on the other side of the rope.