Kyle wanted to take me on a date. There was no way that could happen.
Unattractively smacking my chest a few times, I gave him a weak smile that said I was going to be ok and that I definitely didn’t need the Heimlich or mouth-to-mouth.
“I’m sorry, Kyle,” I began with the lamest excuse in the book—but at least it was delivered with a show of confidence that I somehow always managed to pull off. “You seem like a really nice guy, but I just kind of moved back here and I’m going through a lot with the new job and all.”
And a vengeful ex who leaves me hot and bothered—and completely unable to think about anyone else.
“No, I understand.” He smiled back—one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Totally understand. I mean, I wasn’t suggesting right now. Just, you know, if you feel like grabbing dinner, or even coffee sometime just as friends, that would be cool.”
Feeling like the worst person in the world, I nodded and took another bite of the wrap that had just tried to kill me. I didn’t know what to say.
“So, what else do you do, besides work here?”
My eyebrows went up. “Well, not a whole lot at the moment. Currently looking for a new place to live since they found mold in my old apartment building.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “So, other than work, not too much. I’ve just been so focused on studying the past few months that I haven’t really made time for much else. I was working at this daycare part time until I started working here—so, yeah, basically just working,” I paused to laugh, “nothing except work, go to the gym, go back to my friend’s apartment, and try to find a new place of my own.”
“A real party animal,” he joked and we both laughed.
Maybe dinner with him—at some point—might be ok.
“Yeah.” I rolled my eyes. “The pink hair is reminding me of my grand aspirations that one of these days I’ll start having some fun again.”
He laughed. “Well, in a heroic attempt to bring some fun into your life and hopefully not come off as needy since you just shot me down.” Ouch. “Do you happen to like country music?”
“Ahh… you know I moved here from Texas, right?” I giggled. “Pretty sure the reason that so many people open carry is to quickly get rid of any residents who don’t like country music.”
“Good point,” he said with a soft laugh, gathering up his trash into a ball. “So, I’m actually in a band. Country music. We are going to be playing at Peak’s Pub on Saturday night if you want to come. No pressure. Not a date. Just looking for as much support as we can get so that they invite us back, so feel free to bring friends.”
“Oh, that’s awesome!” Living in Texas had given me a healthy craving for good, live music at any event. “Yeah, I’ll definitely see if I can make it.”
“Great.” He beamed and stood, picking up both his trash and mine. “Alright, well, have a good afternoon and maybe I’ll see you on Saturday.”
I mean, I wanted to go to support him. He was a friend of sorts and he had been so helpful last week, showing me the ropes. I just didn’t want him to read something into why I was there. Chewing on my lip, I pulled out my phone and shot Ally and Tam a message in our group text asking about their plans on Saturday. Chicky-buffers.
The conversation made time pass too quickly.
Closing my eyes briefly, I pictured Temperance card before I made my way back downstairs. For the second time in just as many weeks, I stopped short in the main lobby of the building.
Chance. And Betty.
That woman was going to be sprinting in the pool on Monday.
“Betty!” I drew both of their attention. The innocent smile on her face was totally fake. Meanwhile, Chance’s gaze raked over me the same way it had every day this week; the same way it had every day in high school nine years ago. Ravenously.
“Jessa.” I ignored the shiver he sent through my body.
“Oh, Jessa! I didn’t expect to see you again today.” Yeah, I bet you didn’t Miss Betty.
“Can I help you with something?” I put my hand on her back, tempted to push her right out the door.
“Oh no, I just ran into this nice young man here while I was waiting for my ride. He was a few minutes early for his appointment, so we were having a little chat.”
“How nice of him.” I wasn’t sure what was worse—continuing to let him talk to her or pulling him away into our daily, designated alone-time. My torture hour. “I think it is time for his appointment now, though, so we should get started.”
“Of course. You two kids have fun.” I bit back a groan.
Was it bad to want to trip an old woman, recovering from hip replacement, on her way out the door?
“That was rude of you.” He smirked as we began to walk to the gym.
Glaring at him, I replied, “No, it wasn’t. Trust me.” Betty knew exactly what she was doing.
“She’s your patient?” he asked. I didn’t turn away in time to miss his perfectly arched eyebrow.
“You know I can’t answer that.”
“You just did.”
I huffed, spinning and pointing at the first machine where we would start with stretching.
“Hey, Chance.” Monroe came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder, like she was claiming him or something. If she could see the look on his face, she would know that that was as far from the case as possible. “See you after your session?”
Her words dripped with desire.
To my surprise, he growled, “We’ll see,” and walked towards the machine. Monroe smirked at me like she’d won something.
She could have him, I repeated to myself, ignoring the pangs of jealousy and anger that stabbed in my stomach during the entirety of their brief conversation.
“Jealous, J-bird?” I couldn’t tell if he saw it—or if he just wanted to see it. He also had gone back to my nickname on day two; I knew his abiding by my request wouldn’t last long.
“Of course not,” I answered sweetly. “Quads, hamstrings, and then I’ll help you with your ankles.”
He complied, waiting until I crouched down to help him stretch before continuing, “Because you know I’d much rather have your mouth wrapped around me than hers.”
He sucked in a breath as I pushed his right ankle just slightly passed the point of comfortable.
“You ok, there, Chance?” I asked as though I wasn’t watching reruns of that scenario in my mind.”
“Perfect,” he gritted. “Remember the first time on the lift?” I bit my tongue. Looked like I hadn’t pressed hard enough. “So cold, but your mouth was so fucking hot and so wet.” Oh, I remembered. The thrill of being out in the open. Not that anyone on the slopes below could really see, but there was always a chance… The way he’d lost control, shouting into the silence on the mountain as he came all over my mouth.
“That was nothing compared to your—“
“Ok!” I exclaimed, standing and completely interrupting him. “Let’s move on to something else.” Both in action and conversation.
Looked like my first defense of painful pressure was no longer effective.
I should be glad that even just a few days of these stretches was making such a difference on his muscles. Instead, I hated myself for being good at my job.
I heard him laugh as he stood up behind me. I didn’t wait for him before I moved to the other corner of the gym. I needed to take control of this situation quickly before not even my newly-purchased panties could save me from my desire that was quickly drenching them.
“Running away?”
“Of course not. Just trying to stay focused.” I pointed to the next machine that would start to strengthen his leg muscles, adding a slight amount of weight to it.
“Glad to hear I’m distracting you.”
“That’s not what I meant.” But it was true nonetheless. I ignored the tingling that vibrated through my entire body, every cell searching through its internal memory of the night he was talking ab
out. “So, it’s been a week. Can you tell me now what happened to you?”
Now we would see who was running.
His entire expression darkened. “I fell attempting the Quad when I was practicing for the X Games. I broke my knee. Now I’m here.”
“Where were you?”
“In Canada.”
“No. I meant when you left here—when you disappeared. Where did you go?”
His scowl grew. I was getting deeper into SnowmassHole territory. If I wasn’t careful, he was going to freeze me with that ice-blue stare of his.
“No more questions.” It wasn’t a request.
And neither was mine.
“No more memories,” I shot right back.
The rest of the hour was spent in civility—a glass house amid the bombardment of memory-filled bricks even the silent tension between us launched at me.
I wanted this man. Just as much, if not more, than I had eight years ago.
And like back then, he was just as much of a danger to my heart.
If not more…
Nine years ago
“KING.” THE HARSHNESS OF MY tone caught his attention—currently divided between the two blonde snowboarders—seniors from the Hope’s Creek high school. They couldn’t snowboard; but they were still out here—in the middle of the night—with their shitty-ass rental boards because this is where we were.
And these were the Winter Games.
“What?” Emmett ‘King’ Jameson scowled at me.
I would be annoyed, too. But, I didn’t give a shit what he wanted right now. What I wanted was almost within my reach—if I could bring myself to take it.
“I’m challenging you.” His eyebrows raised. “Last run of the night is you and me.”
He broke out into a grin. “Seriously?”
He’d been taunting me for weeks that he was going to challenge me again. He never did though because he wasn’t good enough to beat me—and he knew it. King was smart; he was methodical. He’d designed and carved his own board last month and swore that he could beat me with it. He’d lost the challenge—and I’d ended up with his snowboard as my reward. If he had been a better rider, it would have been a different story; the board had definitely given him an advantage in the competition—just not enough of one.
But, the first rule of the Winter Games was that you couldn’t decline a challenge—doing so meant that you were banned from competing again. Experts never challenged beginners—there was no glory in winning an easy fight. No, the Games were about taking down someone who was better than you, working your way to the top—working your way to me.
I was undefeated. I was Pride.
And Jessa knew it. She knew what losing would cost me. But she thought I wouldn’t be able to see what losing would gain me; she thought she wasn’t worth my pride.
“I’ll gladly take the crown back from you, Pride. I am the King, after all.” He scoffed and all I wanted was to wipe that shit-eating grin in the fucking snow knowing that I would see it again soon.
He’d played no role in my decision. He didn’t even know the reason I was challenging him in the first place. And he was one of my best friends. Yet, I still wanted to rip his fucking face apart knowing that he was going to take my title from me.
I took my seat at the bottom of the slope, sipping some Fireball that one of the girls had brought.
Where the hell was she?
We were twenty minutes into tonight’s Games and Jessa still wasn’t here. I scanned the crowd of about twenty-five again, searching for her blue hair or her purple snowpants. She was such a fucking odd-ball with her pastel hair, bright clothes, and mystical foolishness.
I’d never wanted anyone more.
Or anything.
Including winning every snowboarding competition. A sad fact that I’d realized earlier in the day when she’d thrown down the gauntlet. I wanted her more than I wanted this and it fucking stung.
I’d never wanted anything more than winning until I was given the choice between winning and her. It was insane how quickly winning no longer mattered.
“Chance.” My twin, Channing, jogged over to me, her helmet in her hand. She was competing tonight, too, against Frost; she always challenged the guys. I didn’t blame her—there was certainly no girl here worth her time. “Did you really challenge Emmett?”
“Yeah.” I took another sip and handed her the bottle.
“Why?” She drank too even though her blue eyes bored into my matching ones.
Channing Ryder wasn’t a SnowmassHole. Mostly because she wasn’t an asshole. She was, however, one of our crew—Frost, King, and me. And she tried her damnedest to make sure we knew it—half the time people mistook her and her boyish attire for me. Especially in our snow gear.
In spite of that, she didn’t need to know why I challenged King; he didn’t even know. “Don’t worry about it, Lil.”
Bright blue caught my eye and I immediately stood. “Aren’t you and Frost up soon, anyway?” I brushed past her to my target—and my prize.
The way Jessa filled out her snowpants and jacket was more impressive than fucking Vanna White. Long, ocean-colored curls escaped from underneath her hat and over her shoulder.
“Where have you been?” My tone was too harsh, but every muscle and nerve in my body was on edge.
My words were greeted with the fiery disapproving stare that she frequently inflicted on me. “I was studying.” Her arms crossed over her chest. “Are you really going to do this?”
“Are you really going to be mine?”
The frigid air crackled between us.
“That’s what I said. But, I’m warning you right now, Chance. Whatever happens, I won’t let it affect my dreams. I know what I want and it means going back to Texas for my degree.” She almost looked like she didn’t even believe the words that were coming out of her mouth; I certainly almost didn’t. She’d been fucking turning me down for weeks… months… Every minute that she wasn’t here I wondered if I’d imagined our conversation earlier.
“I don’t care.” And right now, I didn’t. One obstacle at a time. “The only thing I care about happening is you and me.” I stepped towards her, hauling her against me. Her head tipped up to mine and my mouth felt like cotton with the need to taste her and her warm sweetness. “As soon as fucking possible.”
Wide hazel eyes stared into mine. “Ok.”
Fuck it. I wanted one kiss before I went up there. My head dipped slowly. She didn’t pull away—a good sign.
“Pride!” Emmett’s grating voice cut through the air, severing the moment.
Our breaths mingled, but that was as much as I was getting right now.
“You better be right here when I’m done.”
“What happens then?” she whispered breathlessly.
“The fucking rapture.”
I never did anything that wasn’t completely certain that I could win. And because of those choices, I always won. And I earned the right to be proud not just of the accomplishment, but the implicit prudence that went into every decision that I made.
I smacked my snowboard against the ground, knocking off the snow that had collected on it from getting off the lift.
The dilemma that I faced tonight was that I couldn’t win without losing—either my pride or Jessa. I’d prepped myself, the excuses I would give to my friends later when I told them that I lost on purpose—when I told them that I was thinking with my dick. But excuses were all that they were.
She was so much more.
Like the mountain, she was strong and fierce. Grounded and free. I admired her beyond words. And I wanted to conquer her beyond reason.
I held out my hand, signaling to Emmett that he should go first. Watching him drop onto the slope, I strapped into my board. Emmett was good enough to come close to beating me on a day when I didn’t throw the whole competition. I didn’t need to see what trick he pulled; I was about to eat my pride—no point in knowing how badly.
Groaning, I
adjusted my snowpants. As loose-fitting as they were, Jessa had still managed to make them uncomfortable; my dick pressing against the front, knowing she was down there waiting.
“You’re good, Pride.” One of the newbies drew me from my thoughts.
Nodding, I pulled on my goggles and flew down the trail and up into the air. I pulled a frontside grab—one of the most beginner tricks you could do. The thud of my board crushed my pride underneath it as I landed.
I was met by the shocked silence of the crowd below. I watched their stunned gazes flick over me, mouths agape as the best snowboarder on the mountain lost to his best friend. King though… he had that smirk. Ironically, I didn’t care like I thought I would. My eyes just glanced over it, searching for the only thing that mattered.
I unstrapped from my board while it still moved, shoving the thing in Emmett’s direction. I didn’t know if he wanted it, but I didn’t want to be bothered with him asking.
Jessa stood frozen; her eyes on me, waiting as I came for her. Waiting for the snowsquall that had been brewing over the vast mountain of desire between us to finally make landfall and dump everything that we’d been holding back.
Unclipping my helmet, I yanked it and my goggles off my head, tossing them to the ground a few feet before I reached her.
“Mine,” I growled. “Only. Ever. Always.” The words were punctuated with my lips crushing hers.
It was worth it.
Losing was worth winning her.
Present
If I hadn’t seen jealousy spark in her eyes, I would have cut ties with Monroe the second she came over and acted like she owned me; I would have cut her down in the process, too.
But, I did see it. And I needed to feed it if I was ever going to get close to Jessa again.
This was how my girl worked. She had a plan; she had goals. She tried to ignore her desires and that was her downfall. How to win? Build those desires up so damn strong and then set them free with a single, simple act. I didn’t know what that was going to be yet, but I’d think of something. In the meantime, I had to watch my fiery Princess and her questions that I’d rather not revisit.
Enjoy the Ride (Winter Games Book 3) Page 7