Page 75 of Game Misconduct

“Okay, valid point.”

“I’m going to hang up now,” I announce.

“Have fun! Use protection!” Elsy shouts.

With a chuckle, I stab the console screen to end the call, then turn to Bex.

“Nice game,” she says with a grin. “I liked the goal.”

“Did it just for you.” My voice comes out rough and husky, and I clear my throat.

“Showing off?”

“Just a bit. Can you blame me?”

Her hand fists in my tie, yanking me toward her. “It was hot as fuck.”

Our breath intermingles, and when her mouth finally meets mine, I fucking melt into the kiss. Her hands thread into my hair, carding through the damp strands.

“Where are you taking me?” she murmurs against my lips.

Is my apartment too forward?

“Where do you want to go?”

“As long as I’m with you? Anywhere.”

I know just the place.

Shifting the car into gear, I pull out of my parking space and navigate through the garage and out onto Causeway Street. Most of the post-game traffic has died down, but there’s still a fair bit of congestion on the road. Once we’re free of the concrete garage, Bex turns on the radio, smooth jazz filling the car. Her hand falls to my thigh, and the simple domesticity of it warms me through.

Miss Edna’s ice cream shop in Charlestown is in the complete opposite direction of where we both live, but as I pull into the uneven gravel parking lot, I feel as nervous as I did on my very first date here when I was fifteen. My palms are sweaty, and I discreetly wipe them on my suit pants before turning off the car.

“Ice cream?” Her red-tinted smile is teasing, but it can’t hide the nerves in her eyes.

Same as mine. Maybe for different reasons.

“This is where I grew up.” The faded white-and-red curtains in the window are exactly the same. “I lived a few blocks from here. I don’t come back often, not since my mom died. But Miss Edna’s… This is home.”

Bex takes my hand. “Show me. I want to know everything.”