The next day came too soon. In truth, it seemed like a blur. Today, he needed to get ready for the pub crawl one of the guys put together. He still couldn't believe Aurora had actually agreed to drive them around. He was glad she'd be around, but on the other, it was a pretty dick move on his brother's behalf.

Tom looked down at his suit. He felt good. The dark blue collared shirt paired with blue jeans and brown loafers on his feet was formal enough without looking too done up. It was Thursday night, and the team wanted to go out and show potential prospects the night life in Orange County. Thursday was big in Newport because a lot of students lived nearby and their last class for the week typically ended on a Thursday rather than a Friday. Even during summer, Thursday was the unofficial night to start partying.

He rubbed his face, trying to decide if he wanted to shave the scruff off his face. He didn't particularly mind the scruff, but he wanted to still look professional even as the team bar-hopped from place to place.

A knock on his door interrupted him. After opening it, Michael stood there in nearly the same outfit as he was, except his shirt was forest green rather than dark blue.

"You ready? Aurora is waiting."

Tom furrowed his brow. "Why is she going again?" he asked.

"Look, I know the two of you don't get along, but the truth of the matter is, she's my personal assistant and she's going to be our designated driver," Michael said. "We're going to pick up Solis and a couple of the defensemen in the car. You know this. Why am I repeating myself? Do you even listen to me when I talk?"

"Wait," Tom said, furrowing his brow. "Aurora is going to be driving us from bar to bar? What's she going to do while we're inside?"

Michael shrugged. "Read, probably?" he guessed. "She might have work she needs to get done. I'm not sure." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Why does that matter, though? Why do you care?"

"Well…" Tom pushed past his brother to grab his jacket from a hanger in the closet. He didn't want Michael to look at his face and know what he was thinking when Tom had no idea what that was. "Is it fair to be asking her to work afterhours as a designated driver? I highly doubt that that was in her job description."

"Let me worry about Rory, okay?" Michael instructed. "You worry about keeping your phone and your wallet together. I take it you got your replacements?"

Tom forced a smile. "Tomorrow morning," he said, shrugging into his jacket.

"Are you ready then?" Michael walked past him and opened Tom's door. "Solis is waiting for us and I don't want to be late."

Tom pressed his lips together and kept his thoughts to himself. Right. Have Michael worry about Aurora. The problem was, Tom couldn't remember when Michael remembered anything about anyone who wasn't himself.

For the most part, the car ride was silent. It was strange, being in a car filled with potential teammates and no one having anything to say. Tom expected they would all start to open up as the night wore on and alcohol filled their bodies. Each guy was dressed similar to Tom, which made Tom relax more. However, after they picked up the last player, he couldn't help but have his mind wander.

Tom kept looking in the rearview mirror at Aurora. She wasn't wearing anything particularly special—just skinny jeans, tennis shoes, and an oversized hoodie. Clearly, she had no intention of coming into a bar. If anything, she looked ready to relax back at the hotel, maybe read, maybe take a bath, maybe just go to sleep.

The more Tom thought about it, the more that sounded much more relaxing than going on a pub crawl with the guys.

He blinked when this thought crossed his mind.

What the hell was happening to him? When did he ever want to stay back and enjoy the quiet when he had the opportunity to explore a new city, meet new people, and party in a different way? And yet, he couldn't hide the yawn that took over him if he tried. Looking at Aurora, he imagined what it might be like to hold her in his arms as they unwound together. Her head might fit on his shoulder, maybe he would play with her hair as she read a naughty passage from her romance book out loud just so he could tease her and she could defend it. He found himself smiling at the thought.

It didn't sound bad.

In fact, if he was being honest, it sounded kind of enticing.

He shook his head. All this, stemming from a kiss that probably meant nothing.

Why had he kissed her under the fireworks? Why had he reacted instead of just letting the night wear down on its own? Why couldn't he just keep his hands to himself? Why couldn't he just—

"You okay, man?" Solis asked, nudging Tom's shoulder with his own. "You have this weird face, like you forgot something or something."

"Oh, yeah." Tom could feel Aurora's eyes jump to the rearview mirror as if she were checking in on him too. He made sure to avoid those eyes. He couldn't be sure, but he was almost positive they might be able to see through him. To see things even he wasn't aware of. "I'm fine. Just thinking about that correction Cherney gave me this morning."

"Cherney is a fucking pitbull, bro," Solis said, nodding his head in commiseration. "One time, he went off on me for, like, fifteen minutes. I did exactly what he wanted. I'm not going to lie to you. I'm worried I'm on the chopping block."

Tom stopped thinking about Aurora for a moment so he could focus on Solis. Solis was worried about being traded? Granted, there were a few days until the deadline, so anyone could potentially be on that same block save for the ones who had a no-trade clause. He couldn't be sure but he thought Zachary Ryan, Brandon Thorpe, Alec Schumacher, Kyle Underwood, and James Negan were all guaranteed to stay in Newport or retire here. Tom wanted one of those as well but he knew he had to earn his place. He couldn't just expect one.

"What makes you worry about it?" Tom asked out of curiosity. This was the perfect way to distract himself from Aurora and those eyes. And everything that happened yesterday that was still on his mind. And everything that still could happen that he didn't know if he wanted to happen. He shook his head. He was getting carried away. More than that, he was confusing himself. "I mean, have they given you any indication that they're considering trading you?"

"Besides the fact that I'm twenty-nine and my stats have taken a nosedive the past three years?" Solis asked. "This is a young man's game. You're older than I am, but you and your brother make an excellent team. You can get each other points, you know? I don't really have that with anyone here. That's what's tough. As a defenseman, I try to be offense-minded because I know that's what Cherney likes, but that's not my game. I like playing back for a reason. I don't like skating up to take a shot and then being forced to skate my ass off to come back. But I also get that that's what they want here. That's the game, and I don't get to tell people how to do it."

"Maybe a trade would be good," Tom said. "I mean, maybe you'll find a better place to call home."

"I'm sure you know, coming from Pittsburgh, there's no better place than Newport Beach," Solis said. He leaned back in his seat. "Although, I do have a Cup. I can cross that off my bucket list. I did contribute in some way."

"How's your knee?" Tom asked, glancing down.

"Not terrible," Solis said with a half-hearted shrug. "I looked forward to the summer to recuperate, but with the Gulls' summer program…" He shook his head. "It's not as strenuous as the season, but it's still enough to push you, if that makes sense. In a good way."

Tom nodded. "You're a tough motherfucker," Tom said.

"I'm breaking down, are you kidding me?" Solis laughed. "I just need some booze in me and I'll be all ready to go."

Tom laughed. After another ten minutes, Aurora pulled into the first parking lot. There was what appeared to be a small bar with thin, black letters spelling out the word Luxe. For a second, Tom thought this was a mistake. How would the amount of people waiting in that line all cram into this small building? It almost seemed too small for the amount of hockey players that would soon be inside.

Glancing at Solis as he adjusted his jacket told Tom that Solis wasn't concerned. Which meant Tom wasn't concerned.

"Do they know we're coming?" Tom asked, eyeing the line and biting his bottom lip. He had just spent the whole day at Disneyland. The last thing he needed was more lines, especially when his company was men and not Aurora. He noticed a few women play with their hair and make eye contact with him. Tom was flattered but his interest wasn't piqued.

This wasn't normal.

How could he completely ignore beautiful women who wanted him?

He shook his head. He needed a drink. Now.

"You think we're waiting in that?" Solis asked. He started laughing. "No way, man. They know us. We're going to walk right in the front door. The bartender is a Pittsburgh fan too, man. They couldn't keep you and your brother out. I got you."

Tom felt himself sigh in relief. He needed to get a drink in him as quickly as possible.

As he was led toward the bar by Solis, he had the sudden urge to look back at Aurora, to tell her that he wasn't going to do anything stupid. But he forced himself to continue to look straight ahead. He knew if he looked back, he would get out of this pub crawl and hang out with her. And that sounded great—up until she told him she wasn't interested in dating boys when she could have her pick of a man. Up until she rejected him because he wasn't good enough for her and probably never would be.

No. He didn't want to risk it. At least, not right now.

Their kiss was amazing. It was probably the best kiss he had ever had in his entire life.

But that was all it was. He didn't want to assign meaning to it when there shouldn't be any.

Even though he wanted nothing more than to do it again.