Playing the Game (The Renegades) (Volume 3) (28 page)

She turned to her computer, absently clicking through
to a job search site. She typed in a search for PR jobs in the
local area and scanned through the listings. She loved her job
here, and rules were rules. If she was serious about jumping into a
relationship with Tyler, she wouldn’t be able to continue working
with the Renegades. But if she found another job…

She looked up as her door slowly opened. It was
Tyler.

“
You forgot your coffee.” He moved
towards her and set it on her desk. His eyes no longer had sparkle,
they just looked dull.

“
Tyler, I—”

He put his hand up to stop her. “You know Paige, my
ego is kind of bruised right now, so if you don’t mind I’m not in
the mood to talk. I’m just going to leave.” He placed his hand
across his chest and scrunched his face up in a wince. Without
looking into her eyes he turned and walked slowly towards the door.
Opening the door, he paused and looked back. Then he was gone.

CHAPTER 33

Tyler was happy to be back on the ice with his team,
but they still had to win this game or they weren’t going to make
the playoffs. Kaden was in net and Sam was playing wing on the top
line with him. Now if only they could score.

As usual, Kaden was playing the net insanely well. He
let only one goal through, but that was all Boston needed if the
Renegades couldn’t manage to score. Tonight was supposed to be
their victory party and the start of the post-season, but they had
to earn that spot.

It was the third period and they were still down 0–1.
Patrick had already taken an elbow to the nose; it looked like it
might be broken, but he continued to play. Tyler took the face off
and passed the puck to Kris, who sped down the ice with Sam
following behind. Tyler took the pass from Kris, knocking it
towards the net, but it bounced off the post.

“
Fuck!”

He skated to the back of the net to recover the puck
and get it out to Sam. As he bent down to shoot the puck, a Boston
player put his shoulder into him, knocking his head right into the
glass. Tyler slumped to the ice and sat there for a moment.

Looking up he saw JR Rancy laughing. “Fuck you,
Kidd.” Then Rancy skated away.

No penalty was called, and Tyler still couldn’t get
up off the ice. He didn’t want to be down, he wanted to play, he
needed to get up. But the arena was spinning. He closed his eyes
for a moment, hoping he could focus. Fuck. When he opened them back
up the trainer was skating out to him.

“
Ty, you okay? Let’s get you in the
back and take a look at you.” He grabbed Tyler around his shoulders
and helped him get to his feet.

“
No Gary, I’m good. I just need to
sit for a few minutes.”

“
No, Ty, I think you should go get
checked out.”

“
I just got the wind knocked out of
me. I’ll be fine.” He truly believed he would be fine. Whether it
was just the wind knocked out of him or not remained to be seen,
but he wasn’t leaving this game, even if it meant finishing it
riding the bench. He needed to be here with his team.

“
You okay Ty?” Kris skated to him
and helped him to the bench.

“
I’ll be fine. I just need to sit a
minute.”

Coach Walker looked to the trainer for the same
information.

He shrugged. “He says he got the wind knocked out of
him and just needs a minute. He won’t go get checked out.”

Coach Walker looked at Tyler.

“
Coach, I’m good. Just let me sit
for a few, catch my breath.”

“
All right, Morris take the face
off. Pat, jump on that line with him.” Coach barked out
orders.

Time was ticking down and they still hadn’t scored.
Tyler didn’t feel right, and waited until the last three minutes of
play to tell Coach Walker he could go back out. He knew he wasn’t
going to help them win at this point, but he was going to be out
there with his team.

The score board counted down and the arena was
quieter than it had been lately; most of the seats were already
empty. The buzzer sounded and Boston had won. So many emotions ran
through him, anger, defeat, grief. He bent over and rested his
hands and his stick on his calves. His breathing was fast and his
body shaking.
What just happened
?

Looking around he saw Kaden on the bench, his mask
still on, staring at the floor. Patrick sat against the boards, his
legs sprawled out on the ice, and Kris knelt beside him, his head
hanging. Sam leaned against boards by the bench, breathing hard,
and his eyes looked empty. They all ached just like him. A dull
pain ripped through him, and he couldn’t breathe. He slowly skated
towards the bench, towards his players.

He stopped at every one of them and tapped them on
the shoulder. No words were exchanged—what was there to say? The
only thing that healed this pain was to win the Cup next year. Once
he’d acknowledged the last Renegades player, he paused and looked
up at the score board. 1–0. What a way to finish the season. His
body hurt, his head felt heavy. His team looked broken. This was
the taste of defeat, and none of them liked it.

They weren’t going to the playoffs.

After that hit to the head he’d taken last week his
game had been off. He hadn’t scored a goal since. Of course, that’s
all he’d heard about in the media: Scoreless Tyler Kidd.

Paige and Melanie stood outside the locker room and
announced to the media folks that each of them would be allowed
only one question. Eventually they had to tell the media to leave.
Tyler was tired and he could only answer the same question so many
times.

He had already rented out Mannie’s tonight. It had
been either going to be for a team party to celebrate their victory
and entry into the post-season, or a night to himself in an empty
bar, drinking away his pain.

Marco was at the bar waiting for him when he walked
in. “There’s the man of the hour.”

Tyler just waved and pulled up a stool at the
bar.

“
So, boss, is it just going to be
you tonight?” Marco asked, as he grabbed a beer, opened it, and set
it on the bar.

“
Yep.” Tyler nodded as he sat down.
“Think we can we put on some music?”

“
Absolutely.” Marco disappeared
into the back and turned on the speakers. He returned with a menu
in hand. “I have some accounting work to do, so I’ll set up shop in
that booth over there.” He pointed to the corner. “Holler when you
need something. Here’s the menu; chef is ready whenever you are.
Anything on the menu.”

“
Thanks, Marco.” He didn’t feel
like eating, but drinking on an empty stomach was a bad
idea.

“
No problem. Do you mind me
asking”—he slid into the booth with his laptop—“what happened to
that pretty gal you were after?”

“
If you don’t mind, I’m not in the
mood to talk about her. After that hit I took from Rancy tonight my
brain is rattled. Dirty bastard went right for my head.”

“
Did you expect anything less from
that piece of garbage?”

“
Nah. Hit to the head and no
penalty, par for the course this season.” He was shaken from the
hit, but all he could think about was Paige. What was she thinking?
He left her alone last night because he was too raw. He wanted her,
he needed her, but she’d pushed him away again. How many times
could he let her do that before he lost his mind?

He hadn’t planned on kissing her, but it had taken
every ounce of restraint to stop when she pulled away. Her lips
were soft and she tasted like vanilla, and he loved the way her
body responded with an arch at his touch. Then she left him.

His ego was bruised. She’d turned him down again. She
looked apologetic when he brought her coffee back to her office,
but he wasn’t in the mood to talk. He didn’t want to hear excuses
or reasons, he just wanted to kiss her. The way she’d responded so
quickly and so passionately told him she wanted him too.

That’s why he wasn’t about to give up. He’d found
what he didn’t even know he was looking for and he wasn’t about to
let her go. But he couldn’t understand why she was fighting it. He
just had to find a way to get through her walls. What if he told
her that Melanie knew about them? Maybe that would be the key.

He looked at the menu but had no idea what he wanted.
He just wanted to drink until he stopped thinking. Being out on the
ice while Boston celebrated had been awful. He stood up and reached
behind the bar for another bottle and pulled off the cap.

Tonight he needed to drink and forget.

But thoughts of Paige kept coming. She hadn’t even
watched the game, or not that he saw. Maybe she was secluded in her
office, pretending to work. He’d caught a glimpse of her after the
game, and she’d looked amazing in a pants suit. It was sleek and
contoured to her curves. Damn she was hot. Warmth filled his chest.
He wished she were here with him.

The door opened, letting in noise and light from the
outside. “Sorry Ty, I thought I locked that.” Marco moved towards
the entrance and called out to whoever was there. “Sorry, but we’re
closed for a private party.”

Paige turned the corner. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t
realize.” Looking up, her eyes met Tyler’s. “Tyler? Oh, I guess
it’s a Renegades thing. Sorry. I’ll get out of your way—”

“
Wait, Paige,” Tyler
called.

“
I was just going to grab a drink;
it’s been a long day. But I can go someplace else. It’s
fine.”

“
Paige, please stay. It’s just
me.”

A frown creased her brow. “Just you? What do you
mean?” She looked around the empty bar.

Tyler sighed. “I rented the place out. I figured we’d
either be celebrating or I’d be here drinking my sorrows away. And,
here I am.” He tipped his bottle up to her as if he were toasting.
“But please stay. I would like some company.”

“
Hey, what about me?” Marco
complained from the corner.

Paige held back a chuckle. “I did come in for a
drink, so I guess I could stay for one.”

CHAPTER 34

She wandered over to the bar and slid onto a stool.
His eyes looked sad, and she couldn’t blame him. Even though she
hadn’t been with the team long, even she felt it, the ache in her
stomach and the disappointment in her heart.

“
I’m getting ready to order some
food. Why don’t you stay and join me?”

She longed to just say yes. Why couldn’t this just be
easy? Kissing him in the hallway had felt so easy, so right. His
hard, warm body pushed against hers, the way his tongue—

“
Paige?”

His eyes never left her face. “I…” She hesitated,
wanting to say yes. “I don’t know. Won’t the guys be here soon? I
don’t want to be in the way.”

“
No. I mean, the guys aren’t
coming, and you definitely wouldn’t be in the way.
Stay.”

The guys aren’t coming?
“But you rented the
place out?”

“
Yeah, and I’m enjoying it. But I’d
like it more if you stayed. After the night we had tonight, I know
you could use more than one drink. Plus, isn’t it nice that it’s so
quiet in here?”

That was the problem; it was just him and her. This
could be a really bad idea, so why did it entice her so much?

“
Well, I did want a few
drinks…”

“
And dinner.”

“
I don’t know about that.” She
shifted her eyes to the back of the bar. The atmosphere in the
dimly lit room was full of tension. Looking to the door, she knew
she should leave, but her body wasn’t moving. They’d been in this
position before, and that’s what started this whole thing. When he
was close he made her lose all common sense.

“
You’ve been avoiding my dinner
invitations. Now I’m here, and you’re here, and the chef is waiting
for our order. So, what do you say?” He leaned his elbow on the bar
and shook his hair out of his face.

She glanced down at the bar. He was right about that.
She had never answered him about dinner, and weaseled her way out
of his coffee invite too. Her stomach growled.
Dammit
. She
looked up and saw Tyler grin; he must’ve heard it too.

“
I think you should stay for
dinner.”

“
Okay, fine. I will stay and have
dinner. But this isn’t anything more than dinner.”

“
Why is that?” he asked, his
eyebrow arching and a smile on his lips.

“
Because I’m hungry.” She knew that
wasn’t what he was asking, but it worked.

Shaking his head, he chuckled. “You are something
else.”

“
So is there a menu or do I have to
guess what they have?” Paige took a drink of her beer.

“
Yeah, Miss Smart Ass, there is a
menu.” Tyler handed it to her and waved for Marco to come over.
“Marco, can we get more beer?”

“
Absolutely.” He set a few more
bottles on the bar. “Are we ready to order dinner?”

“
Almost,” Paige answered as she
glanced over the list of foods.

“
Marco, I’ll take a Chicken Club.
Paige?”

“
I will have a crispy chicken
salad.”

“
Sounds good. I’ll just go give
this to the chef.”

A few moments after Marco disappeared into the back,
the lights on the dance floor dimmed and the disco ball started to
spin. If she didn’t know better she would think Marco was setting
them up, but she wasn’t falling for it.

“
So, you doing okay after that hit
tonight?” When she saw Rancy slam Ty’s head against the glass she
about lost her mind.