“Benny!” I step out of the way before we end up in a head-on collision. Benny is Benji’s older brother. They’re only a year apart, and they could almost pass for twins. I have no idea what his parents were thinking naming them something so similar.

“Hey, Lily. How’s it going?” He’s laden with heavy-looking boxes.

“Uh, good.” I look over his shoulder, past him. “I didn’t know you were still working here.”

“I picked up a couple of shifts this week ’cause they needed some help. You look—” He glances at my horrible outfit. “Well.”

“Thanks. You, too.” This is so awkward.

“So I’m guessing it’s done for real this time with Benji, eh?”

I knew the question was coming. I haven’t seen Benny since before the camping trip.

“Yeah, it is.”

He nods. He looks like he’s about to say something, but his walkie goes off. “Shit. I gotta go. They need these upstairs, like, ten minutes ago. Guess I’ll see you around.” He gives me a weak smile and hurries off.

I heave a sigh of relief that there wasn’t more to that conversation. Eventually I’m going to have to get my stuff back from Benji, but that’s not my concern right now. There’s a seriously hot hockey player waiting for me.

Randy’s still talking to parents when I return to the rink. Now he’s discussing something with a dad whose son, who can’t be more than eight, is staring up at Randy like he’s a god. I totally understand the feeling from a very different perspective.

Randy smiles at me, then looks back at the dad and kid. “It’s been nice meeting you, but we gotta head out. You keep it up, buddy, and I’ll see you in the pros in a few years, hey?” He holds out his fist, and the kid bumps it, his smile toothy.

Once they’re gone, he turns to me. “Wanna get outta here?”

“Sure.”

He slips a finger under my backpack strap and lifts it from my shoulder. “Let me take that for you.”

I’ve got two bags and a purse, so I let him be a gentleman. That’s the heavy one anyway, and it’s sweet of him to offer.

“You guys played amazing last night. That was an awesome goal you scored.”

“You watched?”

“I saw the highlights reel. I was at work until late.”

“Right.” He nods. “I wish you coulda been there. We woulda had a good time last night.” His grin is lascivious.

I hold in a shiver of anticipation. I sure hope today we get to have the same amount of fun, although I assume the post-win high must make for some incredible sex. Fingers crossed I get to enjoy that sometime in the future. Casually, of course.

“Do you have a car here?” Randy asks as he opens the door.

I’m hit with a chilly gust of wind. Late October brings the colder temperatures. I should’ve brought my winter jacket, but I’d figured it would warm up today, not get colder. “No. I planned to take the bus.”

“That works out well.” He jams his hand in his pocket and pulls out a set of rental car keys, twirling them around his finger.

“Sure does.”

I follow him to a Jeep with seriously tinted windows. He unlocks the door and helps me in. He doesn’t even try to feel me up, although there are kids and parents in the parking lot, so that might be why. It’s chilly inside, but at least there’s no wind. Randy tosses my bag on the console, then climbs in and turns the engine over. Country music blares through the speakers.

He rushes to turn it down and blasts the heat, wearing a sheepish grin. “Sorry ’bout that.”

“Country, eh? I didn’t figure you for the type.”

“No?” He frees the tie from his hair, then gathers up the fallen strands, pulling it back into a little nub. “What kind of music did you think I’d listen to?”

“I don’t know. Pop? Dancy stuff.”

“Really? Huh.” He moves my bag to the backseat. “Why’d you think that?”

“I don’t know. You’re always at the bar, and that’s what they play there.”

“I’m not so big on the bar scene lately.” Randy digs around in his back pocket and tosses his wallet on the seat next to him. “You don’t have to work until five, right?”

“Right.”

He stretches his arm across the headrest and fingers my hair. It probably looks like crap. Much like the rest of me. “So we have a few hours to kill.”

“Yup.” My stomach is doing all sorts of acrobatics. It feels like there’s an entire amusement park inside there, and I’m on all the craziest rides. The one I want to get on is sitting right beside me.

“You wanna go get something to eat? You must be starving.” Now he’s drawing lines on my neck, or something. Tiny pleasure currents are being radio-signaled through my body. They’d be attached to a satellite in my underwear—if I was wearing any. I’m not very focused on his words. Instead I’m staring at his mouth.

“Lily? You wanna go for lunch? My treat.”

I snap out of my vagina-induced trance and look down at my outfit. “Sure. We can hit a drive-thru or something.”

“Drive-thru? I was thinking an actual restaurant.”

And I’m thinking about how tinted the windows are, and how roomy the backseat of this Jeep is. He hasn’t even tried to kiss me yet. What kind of casual-sex business is this?