"So. You and Zach, huh?"

Haley looked over, not surprised to find Megan studying her. What did surprise her was the small frown on her friend's face, like she wasn't quite sure what to make of the news. Not that it was news. It wasn't much of anything.

Not really.

Haley tripped over the mat behind the bar then caught herself at the last minute. She tried to tell herself it was because Megan had distracted her with the question. Yeah, sure. It had absolutely nothing to do with thoughts of Zach.

With memories from last night.

Shit. If she wasn't careful, she'd end up way over her head. Zach wasn't like any other guy she'd ever dated—which should be a good thing.

No, it was a good thing.

And that was the problem.

And they weren't dating. Nope, not her. She just skipped the whole dating thing and jumped straight into bed with him. Because yeah, she was smart that way.

She grabbed a few glasses from the drain and hung them on the rack, doing her best to ignore Megan's stare. "No, not me and Zach."

"Really? Haley, I saw you making out in the bathroom. In the women's bathroom."

"We weren't making out."

"He had his tongue down your throat. What do you call that?"

"It's not what you think."

"You sure about that? Because, again—hello—he had his tongue down your throat. I'm not sure what else I could think."

"It was nothing, okay? He just—he was checking up on me, that's all."

"Oh? Is that what they call it now? That's one hell of a check-up, if you ask me."

"I didn't, so just drop it." She grabbed another two glasses, nearly dropped one and caught it at the last minute.

"So what's going on with you two?"

"I told you: nothing."

"Yeah, you keep saying that." Megan leaned against the counter and folded her arms in front of her. The collar of her flannel shirt pulled to the side, exposing the round disk hanging from a leather thong around her neck.

Love Fierce.

Haley had given it to her friend a year or so ago, right after a particularly bad break-up that had left Megan moping around. It was supposed to be a reminder not to give your heart to anyone who didn't deserve it, a reminder that they both deserved better. It had originally been a bracelet, but the clasp had broken and Megan had lost it.

Only to find out that Jason had it, and had it made into necklace, one he had worn for a while until the two of them actually got together. Now he wore one exactly like Megan's.

As a reminder of how they belonged together.

Haley wanted to roll her eyes every time she thought about it, and probably would have if it hadn't been so damn cute.

In a roll-your-eyes kind of way.

"Well?"

Haley's gaze flew to Megan's. "Well, what?"

"OhmyGod, you are so out of it today. What is with you?"

"Nothing."

"Fine, nothing. I don't believe you but whatever. Now what's going on with you and Zach?"

"I told you—"

"He waited for you last night. And I know he drove you home because your car was still in the parking lot this morning when I got here."

"Yeah? So?"

"So—" She drew the word out, filling it with expectation. "Have you two, you know, gotten together?"

"You mean, have we slept with each other?"

"Well, yeah."

"He's not my type."

"Since when do you have a type?"

Since for as long as she could remember: creepy, broke, and irresponsible. She should probably add loser to the list as well, except that was probably being redundant. So yeah, Zach definitely wasn't her type.

And why in the hell couldn't she stop thinking about him? It would be so easy to blame on Megan, since she kept bringing him up, but that wasn't it. Haley had been thinking about Zach from the time he dropped her off an hour ago before heading to his game day skate.

She didn't want to use the word obsessing, but it was pretty damn close.

"Well? Did you?"

"Oh God, you are so annoying." Haley crossed her arms in front of her and leveled a frown at Megan. It did no good, but she had to try. She finally exhaled, the sound long and loud and clearly advertising her frustration. "Yes. We slept together. There? You happy?"

"I knew it!" Megan jumped up and down, a silly grin on her face. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it."

"You're making a big deal out of nothing. It was just—"

"Oh please. The way you two have been butting heads? It was just a matter of time. This is so cool. Maybe we can all go out together one night, just the four of us, and—"

"Whoa. Back up. Stop. Just—stop." Haley backed away from Megan, her hands held up like she was warding off an attack. "I said we slept together. I didn't say we were seeing each other."

"But—if you're sleeping with him—"

"It was just sex, Megan. Not everyone falls head-over-heels in love after sleeping with someone, okay? And just because you're madly in love with Jason doesn't mean the same thing is going to happen with me and Zach. It was just sex. Got it?"

Megan's smile faltered then disappeared. Disappointment filled her eyes. Or maybe that was just a reflection of what Haley felt.

Ridiculous. Disappointed? What on earth did she have to be disappointed about? Nothing. Not a damn thing. It was just like she told Megan: they'd had sex. Nothing more, nothing less. She had to keep reminding herself of that. Just because Zach was an odd mix of strength and gentleness, that just because he touched her as if she were a rare treasure to be cherished, that just because he knew exactly where and how to touch her didn't mean anything. He was just observant. And considerate.

That was all.

Yeah, sure. As long as she kept reminding herself, she'd be fine.

"Are you sure that's all there is to it? Because you two would make a really great couple. I think he'd be good for you."

"Megan, I don't have good luck with relationships. You know that. The last thing I need is to even think about another relationship. I mean, hell, look at the mess that happened with Jimmy. Thanks, but no thanks." Haley grabbed a pile of clean rags and placed them around the bar, then tucked one into her waist apron. They were officially open, but the place was virtually empty. In another hour it would be bustling, especially since it was a Friday.

Haley almost wished the crowds would start coming in now, just so Megan would stop bothering her.

"I really, really can't stand him."

"What? Zach? But I thought—"

"Not Zach. Jimmy. The bastard."

Haley snorted. "I'm not real fond of him either."

"I still don't understand what you ever saw in him."

"Neither do I. Now can we please not have this conversation? I really don't feel like talking about that asshole. It's done and over with. Time to move on."

"Is it? I mean, he showed up here last night, Haley. What if he shows up again?"

"He won't."

"But what if he does?"

Haley blew out an exasperated sigh, her mind searching for words that would ease Megan's worry. "If he shows up again, you can say something to your father, okay? Will that make you feel better?"

"Yeah. I wish you would have let me say something last night—"

"It wouldn't have mattered. Your dad wasn't even here last night."

"Maybe not, but he could have still done something. Called some of his buddies and had them find Jimmy, maybe knock some sense into him and warn him off or something."

"Yeah, because having the cops track him down would have helped." Knowing Jimmy, it would have had the opposite effect and only made him angrier. A finger of cold fear trailed along her spine, causing her skin to pebble. Haley shook the sensation off, told herself it was nothing more than her imagination.

"I still think—"

"Megan, it's over. Can we just drop it and move on to something else? Please?"

"Okay, fine." She hesitated, a sly smile curling her lips. "Then tell me about Zach."

"No. We're not talking about Zach, either. There's nothing there to talk about."

"But you guys would be so good together!"

"No."

"Oh, come on. It's been brewing for a while. I had a feeling you two might get together months ago."

"We are not together."

"But you could be—"

"Megan, stop!" Haley had to swallow her laugh, afraid it might come out as a cackle of frustration instead. It was hard enough to keep herself from fantasizing and playing what-if when it came to Zach—she sure as hell didn't need Megan feeding into it. "Find something else to talk about."

"Fine." A pout formed on Megan's lips and caused her nose to scrunch up. Haley almost laughed again, wondering how long before Megan burst and started asking more question.

She finally sighed and moved over to the large cooler, pulling back the lid and staring into the chilly depths. It didn't need filling, Megan should know that—she had already checked it thirty minutes ago.

She sighed again and slammed the lid, then looked over her shoulder at Haley. "I wish you were going tonight."

"Going where?"

"The game. It's going to be weird because I'm sitting with Courtney and I don't really know her."

"Who's that?"

"Harland's wife. They have the cutest little boy. Noah. He is so adorable."

"I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I guess. Maybe." Megan hesitated, uncertainty flashing in her eyes. "Jenny's going to be there, too."

"Jenny? Oh, Jason's sister. Yeah, so? What about it?"

"I don't know. I—I don't think she likes me too much."

"Why do you say that?"

Megan shrugged, her hands twisting the tail of her shirt. "Just a feeling."

"You're probably reading too much into it. She seemed nice enough to me the one time I met her." A little nosey, maybe, but Haley wasn't going to say that to Megan—especially since she was almost a hundred percent positive that Jenny was going to become Megan's sister-in-law sometime in the near future.

"Yeah, I guess." Megan glanced around, like she was expecting a crowd to suddenly appear in the empty bar. She stepped closer and lowered her voice. "I think her and Tyler have something going on."

Haley grinned and leaned forward, lowering her own voice. "Why are you whispering?"

"I don't know. Because I am. I don't want anyone to overhear."

"Why would anyone care?"

"Are you kidding? Jason would have a fit. It's like a rule or something."

"You lost me. What's a rule?"

"That you aren't supposed to date a teammate's sister."

"That's stupid."

"Hey, I'm not the one who made it."

The door opened behind Haley, letting in the sounds of low voices and laughter. She glanced over her shoulder, watched as the first two customers of their day made their way to one of the tables, then grabbed two menus from the neat stack on the shelf.

"I still wish you were going tonight."

"You know I'm working. I agreed to take Sammie's shift."

"That makes for another long day for you, doesn't it?"

"Not too bad. It's a short shift so I get off at ten."

"Maybe you'll feel like hanging out after? I think the guys are coming here after the game."

"Sure. Maybe." Or maybe not, because Zach had said something about stopping by her place after the game. She wasn't about to tell Megan that.

"You should. It'll be fun."

"I'll play it by ear."

Megan nodded then busied herself with a final sweep of the bar to make sure everything was ready. Haley stepped past her and headed out to the floor, ready to start another day. She felt bad for not telling Megan the truth, but she did it in self-defense. It was hard enough to keep herself from fantasizing and playing what-if when it came to Zach—she sure as hell didn't Megan feeding into it.

There was nothing between her and Zach, nothing but sex. She had to keep telling herself that.

But it was the thought of meeting up with him later tonight that made the busy hours go by so fast.