Elijah's POV

After shaking hands with the Knights for a game well played, we headed back to the change rooms. I didn't hesitate to peel off all of my gear and skates, shoving them into my hockey bag.

God, I was exhausted. I was sore in different places now that the adrenaline wore off, thanks to the Knights and their rough plays. I couldn't wait to go back to my apartment, change into some pjs, cuddle with Latte and crawl under my blankets and go to sleep. After this game, I needed it.

"What a fucking game!" Our goalie, Kaemon, shouted as he plopped down onto the bench, rubbing a towel over his damp hair. He leaned his back against the wall and picked up his water bottle, taking large gulps out of it.

"That was a killer goal first period, Mateo. I swear I blinked and all of a sudden the puck was in the net," Flynn said. Mateo laughed and smirked at him.

"Yeah, it was pretty good, wasn't it?" Mateo answered. He then turned and nodded his head towards me, his smirk widening. "Of course, then Elijah had to go all beast mode and get all the goals after that."

I smiled sheepishly, scratching the corner of my mouth. "Well, I couldn't have exactly done it without you and Leigh. You guys made some great passes."

"Awee, you're so sweet. Keep talking like that and you'll melt the ice around my li'l ol' heart." Leigh placed a hand against her chest. I shook my head and chuckled, laughter bouncing around the change room.

I got up from the bench, grabbed my towels, and headed to the showers. I moved into an empty stall, and after peeling off my sweaty athletic clothes and hanging up my towels, I spent the next few minutes scrubbing away the sweat from my hair and body with soap and shampoo. Once I was done cleaning up, I wrapped a towel around my waist and stepped out, drying myself off.

"Are you guys down to go out to dinner tonight?" Mateo asked when I wandered back over, my towel replaced with a navy blue sweatshirt and jeans. I sat back down in my spot on the bench, spritzing cologne along the back of my neck, Leigh helping me put my silver necklace back on.

"Hell yeah, I'm fucking starving," Kae answered. Flynn and Ares expressed their agreements, as did Leigh.

"Yeah! I could go for a burger." She said.

"Elijah?" Mateo called out, "You down?"

"Yeah," I nodded with a smile, adjusting the necklace around my neck. Mateo smirked.

"Great. We'll meet outside of Luxe's Family Diner," He stood up from the bench with his hockey bag shrugged over his shoulder. He waved, praised us for a good game, and after throwing on his beanie, he left the change room. After he left, I stood up from the bench.

"Good game guys, I'll see you soon at the diner," I said to my teammates. "Meet you at the car, Ares?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a few," He nodded.

I threw on my coat, and after grabbing my hockey bag and stick, I walked out of the change room with Leigh in tow. We said goodbye and parted ways once out of the change room, and I headed down the hallway towards the main lobby.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, quickly checking the time and my notifications, and texted back a quick message to Preston. I glanced up just as I entered the main lobby, and my eyes widened when I spotted Luka leaning against the wall by the front doors dressed in a long black coat, glancing down at his phone in hand.

"Luka?" I called out, brows furrowed. He lifted his head and turned, his eyes meeting mine. He flashed me a friendly, charming smile, and shoved his phone into his coat pocket.

"Hey Elijah," He greeted, standing straighter as I walked over.

"What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in a while. Been a couple of months." I mentioned with a tilt of my head, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, it has been," He chuckled. "One of my high-school friends goes to Kendall West, and he plays on the hockey team. I saw that he was facing your team tonight, so I thought I'd come watch you both play."

"And you didn't bother to text me and tell me you were coming?" I questioned.

"Well, that's because I wanted to surprise you," He smirked. I shook my head and rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, you sure did."

Luka laughed. The smirk on his face morphed into a softer smile, his eyes watching me intently. "You played really well out there, Elijah."

I bit my lip, fiddling with my necklace chain, my words slightly stumbling over each other. "I...You think so?"

"Mhmm..." With his hands in his coat pockets, Luka stepped closer to me, forcing me to tilt my head up to look at him. "You glided on the ice with the puck so fast and seamless. It was almost like an art. Just incredible. I was also amazed at how fast you shot all those goals, it was almost inhuman."   

A vibrant blush coated my cheeks, taken aback by his compliment. I cleared my throat, glancing away from him. "W-Well...I wouldn't really call my plays that incredible..."                                                                                                                                                                       

Luka rolled his eyes, scoffing. "You really need to learn to just say thank you and accept when someone compliments you."

I snapped my gaze back to him, the blush on my face burning hotter. "W- What are you talking about? I always accept people's compliments!"

"Are you kidding me? No, you don't," Luka snorted. "Not once have I heard a thank you come out from your mouth. Every single time that I compliment you, you just deny it."

"I do not!" I argued. Luka scoffed louder.

"Yes, you do." He rebutted. "Wow, you have a gorgeous singing voice. Oh, I don't think it was anything special. Wow, these pancakes taste phenomenal. Oh, they're just some random recipe that I looked up online, they're nothing special. Wow, you played incredible out there. Oh, I wouldn't really call it incredible. Wow—"

"Did you come here just to annoy me?" I cut him off, rolling my eyes at his horrible impersonation. Luka chuckled softly.

"No, of course not. I just wanted to see you." He said. I frowned.

"Why me? I'm sure Preston would like to see you too."

"I know, I went over to see him before your game," Luka said. "He already knew that I was coming down to visit, so I hung out with him while you were out and played with Latte for a bit too."

"Wow, so you'll tell him you're coming over but not me? I see how it is." I shook my head in feigned annoyance, leaning against my hockey stick with crossed arms. Luka smirked.

"Well, you look cute when you're surprised, so."

"I do not," I denied.

Luka shrugged. "Sure you don't."

I shook my head, fighting the urge to roll my eyes again. I pulled my phone back out, briefly checking the time.

"Well...since you've missed me so much, would you want to come have dinner with me and my teammates? I was about to head over to the Luxe's Diner." I asked in an attempt to change the conversation. Luka raised a brow.

"You want me to?"

"Why not? You can meet them," I smiled softly.

"Okay, yeah. Sure, I'd love to," Luka returned the smile. "Do you need a ride?"

"I was gonna carpool with one of my teammates, but I can let him know that I'm getting a ride from you instead," I suggested.

Luka hummed. "Whatever you're wanting."

I sent a brief text to Ares, letting him know that I was catching a ride to the diner with a friend, and then I followed Luka out of the athletic centre. As we stepped outside, the cold November night breeze swiped icily against my face, but after a long game, it felt heavenly.

Luka led me over to his car, hands shoved in his pockets. When we reached his car, he unlocked the doors, letting me know I could my hockey stuff in the back seat. I would never stop being impressed by it—a black Mercedes. While I knew next to nothing about cars, his looked sleek and clean and luxurious, and I don't think I'd stop being amazed by how nice it was.

So much so, that I was hesitant to put my hockey bag and stick on to the back seats, afraid of dirtying up his expensive car, but Luka insisted anyway. After tossing in my bag, I closed the door and slid into the passenger seat, a hint of lavender mixed with Luka's woodsy cologne engulfing my senses.

The drive to the family diner from campus didn't take long, and roughly ten minutes later, we were pulling up to Luxe's Diner. The diner has been a staple since I first came here with Preston and our roommates first year—almost every Leighton student came here on a regular occasion, turning the restaurant into a college hangout place.

As Luka and I headed into the restaurant, the place loud and bustling with people, I glanced around and noticed Mateo and Leigh were already seated at a long table with eight seats.

"Elijah, you made it!" Mateo called out, as we reached them, a grin on his face. "Who's this?"

"This is Luka, he's a good friend of mine from Faith," I introduced them. "He surprised me by coming down to watch the game, so I thought he could join us for dinner to meet you guys."

"It's nice to meet you guys," Luka greeted with his warm, charming smile.

"Likewise!" Leigh returned the smile. "I think Elijah's mentioned you a couple of times, actually."

"Oh really?" Luka raised a curious brow, turning his gaze to me, "You talk about me?"

"Your name's been mentioned once or twice," I shrugged dismissively and sat down at the table next to Leigh, brushing off the smug look he gave me.

Luka chuckled softly. He humoured me by not pushing it further, and after shrugging off his coat, sat down at the table on my right side.

It didn't take long for Kaemon, Ares, and Flynn to join us at the restaurant, a waitress came to take all our drink and food orders. Conversation bounced around the table, blending in with the bustling environment. Mateo and Kae were the main culprits for our table's loud behaviour, with their constant jokes and banter, but that was typical behaviour for them.

"So, Elijah, is this your new bae?" Kae spoke up once our food arrived, nodding his head towards Luka. I paused mid-bite of my roast beef melt, snapping my gaze to him.

"What? No—Luka is just a friend," I quickly denied. Kaemon arched his brow suspiciously.

"I don't believe you. He's way too hot for you to be just friends with him," He replied bluntly. A vibrant blush burned hotly on my cheeks, and beside me, Luka started laughing. "Like, if I were into kings, I would totally go for him."        

"Kae, I swear—" I began to say, face on fire, but Luka cut in.

"While I am flattered to hear that, it's true that we aren't together. We are just friends," Luka confirmed on my behalf. Kae pouted, shoulders slumping.

"Boooo," Kae gave a disapproving thumbs down, taking a sip of his soda.

"Leave poor Elijah alone. His Prince Charming will come in and swoop him off his feet soon, I just know it," Leigh chimed in, flashing me a wink. I shook my head and groaned.

"Guys, we've already established that I'm gonna be alone for the rest of my life, let's just leave it at that," I said, picking up my glass of Sprite.

"You? Alone? There's no way," Luka disagreed. I glanced at him after sipping my Sprite and frowned.

"Yeah, way. My ability to get dates is about as good as dead."

Luka scoffed. "Let's just make a pact and say if we both aren't married by 30, then we'll just marry each other."

"No way, I'm not doing that."

"Why not? Are you saying you don't want to be married to me?"

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Woooow, I'm hurt," Luka feigned hurt, hand against his chest. "Just so you know, I come with many, many perks."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" I stared at him, unconvinced.

"Well, not only am I good-looking, but I would spoil you rotten." He said. "Shower you with gifts and flowers. Make you breakfast in bed during the holidays. I'll give you massages after a long day and draw you a bath with candles and essential oils—"

"Wow, why don't you marry me instead?" Leigh cut in with a whistle, fanning herself. Laughter bounced around the table, and I shook my head.

I had to admit though, everything he said did sound nice.

"As beautiful as all that sounds, I'm still saying no," I told him. Luka shrugged.

"Well, my offer still stands if you ever change your mind," He gave me a side smile, one that caused my heart to skip a beat. Then, his eyes left me, and he was digging into his fries, dipping them into his sweet and sour sauce.