The Definition of Icing: A Dallas Demons Hockey Romance (Dallas Demons Series) (7 page)

“What? We’re getting coffee,” Amanda says matter-of-factly. “Nate just happens to be here, that’s all.”

“Luckily for you I subscribe to Dallas Demons Connectivity updates,” Lexi says. “I got this one when I was out last night. So it’s a good opportunity to prove to you he doesn’t care about that stupid message.”

“Amen,” Amanda adds, moving up in the line.

“No, no, no, I won’t do this!” I snap, getting angry. “I can’t face him.
I can’t
. I don’t ever want to see him again. And now he’ll think I’m
stalking
him.”

“Melodramatic much?” Amanda says, inching closer in the line.

“Don’t you think if he wanted me to be here he would have mentioned this last night?” I argue.

“Um, yes, Nate wants to be your friend, and I think possibly
more,
but he sure as hell wouldn’t invite you to come to a fan event with hundreds of people as a date,” Lexi counters.

Panic grips me. “I’ll get out of this car. I swear I’m going to open this door and get out.”

“No, you won’t,” Amanda says easily. “Because getting out in a drive-through lane is incredibly dangerous and sets a very bad example for Claire.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I anxiously wind my hair around my fingers as Amanda moves up around the bend.

There’s no way out of this.

Thanks to my so-called best friend and so-called loving sister, I’m going to be face-to-face with Nate in a matter of minutes.

And I have no clue how to handle it.

Chapter 7

Caffè Medici: My favorite coffee drink that has chocolate syrup and orange peel in it
—
Kenley

I’m having a panic attack.

This is a nightmare, one that has been thrown in my lap compliments of my best friend and sister. My chest is growing tighter with each inch forward Amanda moves her Volkswagen Tiguan in The Roast and Grind drive-through lane.

“Isn’t this
exciting?
” Amanda says cheerfully. “I can’t wait to tell Ryan we met a Dallas Demon today.”

“No, it’s horrific,” I say, turning my head so I’m not even facing the direction of the drive-through window.

“I vote that this is epic,” Lexi pipes up from the backseat. “We’re going to get coffee served to us by
Nate Johansson.
And we get to see true love reunited over iced mochas.”

“Would you
stop?
We’re not in love. I don’t even
know
him.”

“With a body like that, what do you need to know?” Amanda quips.

Bella squeals loudly in the back seat as if agreeing with that one hundred percent.

“No, no, you’re right, Kenley. You’re in
lust,
” Lexi corrects.

Then she and Amanda begin giggling like drunken sorority girls.

“Lust,” Claire yells joyfully from the backseat.

“No, Claire, don’t repeat Auntie Lexi. She’s having a bad time saying good words today.”

I feel my face burn in humiliation. “Well, that’s all one-sided, and now that Nate knows what I think, the friendship is done. Oh, and he’ll probably call the Dallas police and file a restraining order against me once he sees me in this car.”

Amanda pulls up to the menu board. “Hold on, time to place our orders for Nate.”

Oh, I want to puke. I’m so nervous my hands are clammy. I turn and glance in the backseat. Maybe Bella has a blanket I can hide under. Maybe there’s hope—

Amanda lowers the window.

“Hello, welcome to The Roast and Grind, what can I get for you today?” a teenage girl’s voice asks.

If she says Nate Johansson for my sister I’ll kill her.

“Hello, I’d like one large iced hazelnut coffee, and one small chocolate milk. Lexi?” Amanda says, turning around to take Lexi’s order.

“Large iced mocha,” Lexi says.

“
Kenley?
” Amanda says loudly, smiling sweetly at me.

I grit my teeth and lean across her to place my order. “One large Caffè Medici,” I shout in the direction of the microphone, “with dark chocolate syrup, please.”

“Okay one large Caffè Medici with dark chocolate sy— Oh, wait . . . hang on,” the girl abruptly says.

There’s a moment of silence, and then a different voice comes on.

“Do you want extra whipped cream on that, Kenley?” Nate asks. “Or some high-end cocoa powder sprinkled on top? Chocolate shavings? Perhaps curry chocolate flavored ones?”

I gasp in shock. GAH! Why did he take over the order-taking? Noooo!

“Um . . . yes,” I manage weakly. “Yes to all.”

“I’ll see you at the window.” Then the speaker clicks off.

As soon as Amanda raises the window up, there is a collective scream in the car.

“He wanted to talk to you!” Lexi yells excitedly.

“Nate heard your name and took over the order,” Amanda squeals.

They are both babbling at the speed of light about the awesomeness of this sign, but I still want to find a way to crawl under the floor mat and hide. So what? He talked to me for a coffee order.

Nate probably wanted to confirm it was me, the crazy lustful stalker chocolate chick, so he could have security by his side when we reach the window.

Fear shoots through me. Okay, I will move out of state by tomorrow if Nate has a Dallas police officer standing next to him when we drive up.

We move up another car length. And now we can see Nate clearly. He’s holding up a coffee, posing for a picture with it, and then hands it to the driver of the car.

Nate’s wearing his silver and black Dallas Demons jersey, and I can see his tattoo sleeve as he leans forward and passes some iced drink to the driver. I have a complete profile view of his dark-brown hair, the stubble on his jawline, the olive color of his skin.

“Oh wow,” Amanda whispers, lowering her sunglasses to study Nate. “He’s
gorgeous.
”

“Isn’t he?” Lexi says. “He’s gorgeous on TV, but Nate’s even sexier in person.”

“Stop drooling over him,” I plead. “Act normal when we get to the window, please.
Please
. If you love me at all, we’ll act like this is a
happy coincidence.
”

That’s today’s lie I’m telling myself.

And this is what I could say to him:
“Hey, Nate, imagine seeing you here. What a happy coincidence this is. Oh, yeah, and that status I posted about your smokin’ hotness? I’m obviously hormonally and social media challenged, and I’ll fall off the face of your universe once I pay for this coffee. Thanks!”

Another car moves up, and now there is one BMW between me and complete humiliation.

My throat is dry. I feel dizzy. My heart is racing so fast I can see my white tank top flutter.

Nate waves goodbye to the car in front of us, and now it’s our turn.

“Eeeek!” Amanda squeals. “Go time!”

“Ahhh!” Lexi yells. “So exciting!”

“Yaaaay!” Claire chimes.

Bella lets out a big squeal, and everyone laughs except for me.

Amanda eases up to the drive-through window. I can’t hear anything over my heart pounding in my ears.

“Good Lord, he’s perfect,” Amanda murmurs before lowering her window.

I gather every inch of courage I have to look at Nate.

And he already has his espresso-colored eyes locked right on me.

“No curry flavored chocolate today,” Nate says, passing my drink to Amanda. Then he flashes me an amazing smile, one that sends my whole body into tingles.

“Hello, Nate,” I say, taking my coffee from Amanda. I anxiously fidget with the cardboard holder on it.

“Did you get my messages last night?” Nate asks, leaning over the window to get closer to the car.

Messages? He sent me messages?

“Uh . . . I haven’t been online today,” I admit.

Nate grins as he passes the chocolate milk to Amanda.

“Okay. Well, I’ve sent you a couple so check it when you can,” Nate says. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Nate Johansson. Here’s the iced mocha.”

Amanda takes Lexi’s drink from him. “I’m Amanda, Kenley’s sister. And back here is Lexi.”

Lexi leans in between the two front seats, and I think she’s going to pass out from seeing Nate so close.

“Hi,” she squeaks.

“Hey,” Nate says, smiling easily at her.

“And these are my nieces, Claire and Bella,” I say.

“Puck Sluts!” Claire screams at the top of her lungs.

Nate wrinkles his brow for a second, and I want to melt into the floorboard. Then he roars with laughter. Okay, could it be any more obvious what we were just talking about prior to lowering the window?

“No, sweetie, we’re going to aim higher for your future,” Nate says good-naturedly.

“May I get a picture, Nate?” Amanda asks.

“Oh, sure,” Nate says. He leans out the window and flashes her a model-perfect smile.

Oh he’s beautiful.

Amanda snaps a picture with her cell. “Thank you, Nate.”

“Hey, I’m going to be switching to the counter in ten minutes. Kenley, can you come inside?”

My heart springs to life. Nate’s asking me inside. Does that mean he wants a few moments with me in the middle of this fan madness?

Or does he want to grill me about that stupid status?

And that thought sends my springing heart into my stomach with a loud crash.

“Of course we can,” Amanda says, handing him her credit card.

Nate waves it away. “Nah, this one is on me.”

“Nate, no—” I begin to protest.

“See you inside,” Nate grins, cutting me off.

“Thank you,” Amanda says. “We’ll be in shortly.”

Then she hits the button to raise her window. After it’s closed, and she pulls forward, the second freak out in the car begins.

“He’s into you,” Lexi declares. “Nate’s
so
into you.”

“I just got a picture of my future brother-in-law,” Amanda teases.

“Stop it,” I beg. “What if Nate is inviting me in to ask what my problem is? What if his message was to re-affirm he’s not interested?”

Amanda groans as she begins hunting for a parking space. “Yes. That’s exactly what he thought when
he couldn’t take his eyes off you
just now.”

“We’re customers. Nate had to be nice.”

“Kenley, if you don’t stop this nonsense, I swear I’ll scream like Pinkie Pie,” Amanda threatens.

“Talk like Rarity, Mommy,” Claire demands, asking for the voice of another pony.

“Auntie Kenley needs Scream Voice,” Amanda responds.

“There’s a space,” Lexi says. “Up on the right.”

Now there’s a weird feeling of dread and excitement coursing through me. We all get out of the car, with Amanda holding Bella on her hip and Claire grasping my hand.

“Why is your hand wet, Auntie Kenley?” Claire asks.

Lexi snorts. “Nervous much?”

I feel my cheeks burn, and I ignore Lexi.

“It’s hot,” I say simply. “I’m sweaty. I’m sorry.”

We enter the coffeehouse, and it’s complete madness inside. There’s a huge cardboard cutout of Nate, explaining the promotion, and people are taking pictures with it. Then there’s a line of people at the counter, snapping pictures of him handing out drinks in the drive-through lane.

And there are lots of Puck Sluts, all filling out forms and jamming them into the box to win a
Date With Nate
.

“Oh, wow, this is a fundraiser for animal rescue,” Lexi says, reading the cardboard cutout with Nate’s image on it. “It says all the proceeds from today will go to a no-kill shelter.”

Animals must be a passion of Nate’s,
I think.

“Ladies, time to fill out forms,” Amanda declares, waving a handful in front of me and Lexi.

“Oh no,” I say, shaking my head. “Absolutely not. This is mortifying enough.”

Lexi rolls her eyes. “Hello, Nate would be thrilled if you won.”

“Mommy! Can I have a muffin?” Claire asks.

“Sure, baby,” Amanda says.

“We’ll get in line for the muffin,” Lexi says. “You can fill out forms.”

“Great,” Amanda says. “Oh, Claire, see those people leaving up there? Let’s get that table.”

Then Amanda takes the kids and races to the open table. I turn to Lexi, who is grinning at me.

“You’re going to be dead to me after this day,” I tease.

“I’m going to be your bridesmaid after this day.”

“Would you please stop with that?”

Lexi laughs. “Just calling it like I see it.”

We get into the long line, and I watch as Lexi casually sips her iced mocha.

“What on earth do you see, anyway?” I ask. “Nate gave us drinks. So what?”

Lexi sighs. “Oh, I don’t know. The way Nate got on the mic the second he heard your name? The way he teases you? Paid for our drinks? Oh and stared at you the entire time we were in front of his face?”

I begin blushing. “But he turned me down.”

“Sometimes we all do things we don’t mean,” Lexi says slowly. “Because his eyes don’t match his words, that’s for damn sure.”

We inch up in line, and Nate is chatting and taking photos with the drive-through customers. I watch how he interacts with his fans, and he genuinely seems to be enjoying himself.

When we are about fourth in line, Nate switches to handing out orders at the counter. I shift my gaze to the menu board, trying to act cool.

“He’s looking,” Lexi whispers in my ear.

“Did I just flashback to high school?” I quip, thinking of how many times we whispered that to each other over a boy.

“Trust me, Nate’s looking.”

Butterflies shift through me at that thought. I don’t know what to think. Nate doesn’t want to date me, but he can’t stop staring at me?

Now it’s our turn. I smile nervously at Nate as we stand face-to-face.

“I didn’t know you were coming today,” Nate says.

“I didn’t either,” I say. I turn and nudge Lexi on the shoulder. “This one here knew about it and suggested we go.”

“Lexi, right?” Nate asks.

“Yes, hi,” she says, her voice reflecting surprise he remembered her name.

“Well I’m glad you came,” he says, shifting his attention back to me.

Okay. Okay. He’s not acting like a guy who is disgusted and freaked out about my status from last night.

The jazzy coffeehouse music cuts off overhead.

“Hello, my name is Andy Gregson, the owner of The Roast and Grind,” a man up front with a microphone says. “Thank you to everyone for coming out to support Purr & Wag Rescue, and to welcome our newest member of the World Champion Dallas Demons, Nate Johansson, to our city.”

A big cheer goes up and Nate smiles and waves to the crowd.

“A few things: Nate will be finishing up here in an hour, so we’re cutting off the line right now for service,” Andy says. His announcement is met with boos, which makes me smile. “Second, Nate has generously offered to match the total raised today dollar for dollar to aid Purr & Wag Rescue.”

Another cheer goes up for that, and Nate simply smiles.

“And lastly, it’s time to see who has won a Date With Nate!” Andy says, which makes every Puck Slut in the coffee shop squee with excitement.

An employee brings up the box, and Andy reaches inside and withdraws a slip of paper.

“Okay, here we go,” Andy says, handing the paper to his female employee and letting her read it.

“The winner is Amanda Parker,” she says.

My mouth falls open as I see my sister walking up with the kids in tow.