The Bargain

Chapter 5

~AZRIEL~

Exactly eighteen minutes later, Azriel and Cassian emerged from the locker room with their bags. Rhys was going to catch a ride back to their townhouse with the Vanserra brothers. Eris was a senior and Lucien a sophomore; they could have passed for twins if it hadn't been for the brutal scar bisecting Lucien's eyebrow. And the fact that Eris lived and breathed chaos.

Azriel's didn't think he'd ever gotten out of his gear and into the shower as fast as he had after this game. Gwyn had come. And even though part of him had known she would, he still couldn't account for the burst of excitement he had felt when he noticed her slip into the seat he saved for her. She was it, the key to his future. He would ace the midterm retake, stay on the team, win the championship, and get drafted into the NHL. And yes, maybe he had a little fun flirting with her; not that she had returned any of what he gave her. But that didn't make it any less amusing or stop him from noticing the way her cheeks had bloomed with a delicate blush.

Other girls would have been drooling after the kiss he blew after that first goal. Hell, they might have even spontaneously combusted. But not Gwyn. Azriel had told her that she was shit at flirting to convince her that she needed his help with Tarquin, but the truth was, she probably didn't really need him at all. Yes, she was shy and awkward as fuck, but if she tried, if she actually tried, she could have any boy she wanted eating out of her hand.

Gwyn had her back to the locker room door, but her friend nudged her to turn around as Az and Cassian emerged. She swung around to face him and Azriel was greeted by her earnest, hopeful teal-blue eyes and constellation of freckles. Damn, she was hot, and in that effortless sexy sort of way that he didn't see much. Azriel seemed to attract a certain type of girl. The ones that wanted you to know they were sexy, the ones that tried too hard; the puck bunnies and sorority sisters. The ones that said they 'never did this' as they leaned in close and whispered in his ear what they wanted him to do to them. Or what they wanted to do to him.

Maybe that's why he liked messing with Gwyn in the coffee shop and then again tonight. Her reactions were real, genuine in a way he that he didn't see very often, in a way that he longed for. When she blushed, it wasn't an act; when she laughed, she was actually amused. And when she smiled, it was warm; like sunshine.

She gave him a tentative half-smile as she approached, like she wasn't quite sure what she was doing at the Sidra still.

"Berdara!" Azriel boomed. "Ready to go celebrate this win with me?"

"Isn't that something you do with your teammates?"

"Not tonight it isn't. Tonight, I celebrate with you. Come on, I'll take you to Nuala's." The diner just off campus served up the best burgers Azriel had ever tasted. His mouth was already watering at the thought of one. It was his favorite place to go, though usually he went with Cassian or Rhys. Occasionally, dinner with the boys was interrupted by a puck bunny trying to score with one of them. Sometimes the girls were all over him, hand on his thigh under the booth, body pressed against his, breath tickling his ear as they whispered their invitation to him. Sometimes didn't seem to matter which one they were after, any of them would do. It turned his stomach to be reduced to a piece of meat like that.

Nuala's was also a popular spot to bring a date. On any given evening, a couple could be found sitting side-by-side in one of its retro-style booths sharing one enormous milkshake from two straws. Not that he had ever done that: shared a milkshake or even had a real date. This would be the first time that Azriel had actually brought a girl to Nuala's. Not that this would be a date. Tonight would be all business between him and Gwyn. Now that she had decided to tutor him, they needed to work out the details. But he couldn't help wondering if she was the type of girl who would order a salad only to steal his fries. Or maybe Gwyn was more the kind of girl who would order a bacon cheeseburger and eat it with enthusiasm.