She tries to sidestep me but I can read her like a map. I bend low and wrap my arms around her legs as our bodies crash together. She lets out a squeal but before she even knows what’s happening, she’s thrown over my shoulder as I continue my run.
Bri turns and runs with us while Cass kicks and pounds on my back, begging to be released. I can’t help but laugh as I smack her on the ass. “Would you put me down, you big turd?”
My laugh completely takes over and I have no choice but to stop and put her down before I hurt us both. I place her back on her feet and she narrows her eyes at me in annoyance. I step into her personal space and stare down at her. The annoyance instantly disappears from her eyes and is replaced with need and heat.
She leaves her stubborn little fists on her hips as I lean into her and kiss her deeply before releasing her with a wink. “Gotta go, babe,” I say, taking off with the boys and leaving both Cass and Bri staring after me dumbfounded.
A chuckle from beside me has me glancing over at Bobby. “Fuck man, you got it bad.”
With a roll of my eyes, my fist comes shooting out as I nail him in the shoulder, completely throwing him off the path.
The rest of the day flies by and before I know it, I’m finishing up my hockey training session and Coach is hollering across the ice for me to join him in his office.
I step off the ice and make my way to Coach Harris’ office as quickly as possible as I have got myself some plans for tonight. “What’s up, Boss?” I ask, flopping down into his chair, though, with all my hockey gear on, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
“Just checking your head is in the game,” he says with an accusing tone.
I’m instantly on edge, “It is,” I demand, “All my games have been spot on. I haven’t missed a beat.”
“Chill out, kid,” he says with a grin. “You’re right. Your games have been flawless, your training session with the boys are fantastic and your dedication to your role as Captain is commendable.”
“Huh?” I grunt, completely confused.
“What I’m saying is that anything hockey related is near perfect, but don’t act like I don’t notice you boys, once you step off my ice. Your head is a mess,” he accuses.
“Nah,” I deny. “I’m all good.”
He gives me an annoyed look and gets straight into it. “You’re running three times as much as the others, you’ve logged a shit load of hours in the gym, you’ve stopped your wild partying, and the moment you step off the ice, you sink away into your head,” he says, “Now, I know I may be getting old, but fuck me, Jax, I can see when something else is going on. Now, you have three seconds to tell me or you’ll be on during the next figure skating session doing your drills.”
Damn it.
With a sigh, I look up at coach. “There’s a girl.”
“Oh, shit,” Coach groans.
“Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” I say. “She’s kind of the girl I’ve been in love with since I was twelve.”
“What?” he grunts in shock then immediately starts choking on his own breath.
“We were together for six years before she up and left for New York without a goodbye and now she’s back,” I explain.
“I’m not seeing your problem,” he tells me. “It was years ago.”
“Yeah, well… I keep accidentally falling into her bed.”
“Right,” he says with an understanding nod of his head. “The way I see it, you both have some unresolved issues and you need to sort it out before you run yourself into the ground.”
“Agreed,” I say.
“Good, now get out of here,” I get up from my chair and turn to leave but he stops me in the doorway. “Jax,” he says with a more serious tone in his voice. “If your still in love with this girl after years of being apart, then I dare say she’s the one for you. You’d be a fool to mess that up.”
“How do I trust that she won’t leave again?” I ask, hoping he might have some sort of advice on the topic.
“Faith, Jaxon,” he says. “You know as well as I do that trust is earned not given. Maybe she just needs the chance to earn yours back.”
With that, he gives me one final nod and turns his eyes down to the paperwork on his desk before excusing me from the room.
I head back down to the locker room to change, with my mind once again in a rush of thoughts but one thing’s right. If I’m still in love with Cass after so long then maybe she’s the one and maybe I have been messing around. I just need to forgive her already, but then again, how the hell can I be sure she won’t leave again? I don’t think I could bear to be left by her again, it was horrible the first time, another go of it might just kill me.
I find Bobby in the locker room and sit down beside him to take my skates off. “All good, man?” he asks, referring to my meeting with Coach.
“Yeah,” I grunt. “He just wanted to bust my balls a little,” I explain, kicking off my skates and stripping out of my training gear.
“Heading home?” he asks as he stands and picks up his hockey gear.
“Nope,” I say with an unintentional grin.
He shakes his head and heads for the doors with a goodbye to the rest of the guys. I grab a towel and head into the shower. After all, I don’t want to smell like a dirty locker room when I’m sliding into Cass later. I strip off and step into the shower, feeling the warm water rushing over my sore muscles and realize that maybe Coach is right, I might be overdoing it a little.
Movement catches my eye and I turn to see Xander walking out of the showers, trying to pull a shirt on. His arm raises above his head and my eyes zero in on a massive purpling bruise to his ribs. In fact, there are smaller cuts and bruises all over him.
What the fuck?
“Dude?” I say, stopping him in his tracks. He turns to look at me and instantly realizes what I’ve seen.
“It’s nothing, man,” he says with a shake of his head before pulling his shirt the rest of the way down and leaving the room. I think about going after him, but I’m starkers and I’m not really in the mood to get my ass whipped by twenty towels for leaving the showers in my birthday suit.
I finish off my shower wondering who the hell could have done that to him and more importantly, why? If he was in some kind of trouble, he knows he could come to us and we would have backed him up or at least helped to keep him out of trouble. If he gets caught fighting, especially on school grounds he’d be kicked from the team and the kid is too valuable to lose.
I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around my waist before heading back to my locker and pulling on a pair of jeans and a shirt. I promise myself to look into this thing with Xander or at least try, though the kid is a bit of a black sheep and if he wanted to tell us something, he would have done it already. With a sigh, I grab my things and jam them into my hockey bag and search my locker for my phone.
I look down at the screen and scoff at the missed call from my dad knowing he would be questioning me about the missing shit from my old room. I hit delete and bury my phone in my pocket. I don’t have time for his fake shit, I have much, much better things to be doing.
Chapter 15
Cassie
Brianna and I sit in the living room after a long Monday, me with my notebook, scrawling out lyrics while Brianna scrolls through Facebook, searching for anything worthy of her attention.
I scan over the last few pages of notes I’ve written and realize a change in my writing. It almost seems lighter in a way. I flick back a few more pages and compare the differences. Yep, definitely light, doesn’t seem so dark anymore.
I know the moment I left for New York, it was all about heartbreak, but then my parents died and a dark depression slipped into it. I feel as though being home for the past few weeks has begun to heal me, cleanse me from the inside out and I know exactly how it happened.
Brianna starts spilling out the latest gossip about who knows what while trying to talk over the sound of the T.V, which neither of us is paying attention to. T
here’s a knock at the door and we look at each other, both with confusion lacing our features.
“You invite anyone over?” I ask.
She shakes her head while giving a very un-ladylike shrug, though, ladylike is not something Brianna has ever claimed to be.
“So, I’m assuming I have to answer it?” I groan as I get up from the comfort of my couch.
“Yuuup,” she sings as her attention falls back to her Facebook.
I trudge to the door and open it up to find a very handsome man standing at my door with a pizza. How very romantic. “Are you lost?” I smirk as I position myself in front of the door and lean against the frame to block his entry.
The sight of him standing at my door has my heart warming, especially the fact that he feels he can just come and drop by unannounced like he used to, like he feels he belongs here.
“Not me,” he replies with a twinkle in his blue eyes.
I stare him down, trying to keep a straight face. “What are you doing here, Jax?” I question, though, the intrigued tone of my voice is a dead giveaway.
He shrugs his shoulders, “You know,” he says as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. “I was in the neighborhood.”
“Right,” I reply, leaning fully against the doorframe so I can cross my arms over my chest. I watch as his eyes dart to my now pushed up cleavage and grin as his eyes heat with excitement. “You just happened to have a pizza on standby in your truck?”
“Your Mom would have been the first to tell me off had I shown up empty handed,” he explains.
“True,” I smile, thinking of all the times mom had done just that. “I thought you were on a strict diet for hockey?” I ask.
“I am,” he says. “This is for you.”
I eye the pizza and take a deep breath, taking in the heavenly aroma, and knowing he would have bought me pepperoni. “And what are you going to eat?”
He lets out the smallest chuckle as he steps into my space. A seductive smirk crosses his features as the twinkle in his eye returns. He slides an arm around my waist and pulls me into him, sending a surge of electricity through my body. I lick my lips and my bottom lip instantly disappears in between my teeth. I’m practically panting before he’s even spoken. “You.”
His eyes darken as my body reacts to him. I feel him hardening and I press myself against him trying to relieve the ache he’s managed to cause in the last thirty seconds. He pushes me through the door and drops the pizza on the ground before crashing his lips against mine.
I moan into his mouth as he lifts me and takes us to my room. I don’t think I will ever get used to the feeling of his lips on mine again, it still seems like a dream, as if it’s all happening in my mind. Could this be real? Is he really starting to come around? I know it’s a long shot, but is he finally starting to forgive me?
I distantly hear the door slam and realize we must have left it open, either that or Bri has stolen my pizza and made a run for it. Actually, on second thought, there’s no way I’m leaving this room to find even a slice of pizza left.
Thoughts of pizza disappear from my mind the moment I’m thrown clear across the room, off Jax’s strong body and come slamming down into the center of the bed. He’s on me before I even have a chance to squeal. Urgency and need shine in his eyes and I know without a doubt he can see the same in mine.
My hands desperately find the waistband of my pants and I struggle to pull them down while he tries to rip my shirt over my head. I get my pants to my knees before giving up and using my feet to kick them off. My pants have hardly hit the ground before my fingers are clutching at his shirt.
His lips come down on mine and I have to pull away before I get lost in his kiss. “No,” I pant, “I need you now.”
He grins and pushes himself up off the bed and I must say, the undone belt buckle on the low riding dark jeans with no shirt, showing off his magnificent ‘V’, perfect sculptured abs and chest. WOW, I could come before he even touches me.
He smirks as he watches me checking him out. “See something you like?” he teases as he kneels one knee on the end of the bed, reaches forward, grabs me under my knees and hauls me to the end of the bed so my legs are dangling off.
He takes my knees and slowly separates them as if he’s opening a long awaited gift. His eyes flame and I can’t hold back any longer. “You need to touch me now, Jax,” I demand.
“With pleasure,” he groans as he drops to his knees before me and throws my legs over his shoulders.
Holy shit, this man is hot.
He dives in like a fucking pro on Christmas morning and I’m instantly seeing stars. In fact, I see stars four glorious times before he collapses on the bed beside me, utterly spent.
“Wow,” I pant as I try to catch my breath. “You can come over here and do that any time you please,” I grin.
He lets out a laugh before pulling his jeans back on. “In that case, I better feed you, so you have enough energy for tomorrow night.”
“Is that a promise?” I ask, getting out of bed on shaky legs and slipping on my silk nighty.
“Fuck,” Jax says, taking in my attire, “It’s a damn guarantee if you’re going to be wearing that,” he says as he pulls me into his hard body and lets his hands roam over me, feeling the silk under his fingers.
“Well, if you give me a little warning next time, I bet I could find something a little more exciting than this,” I grin, thinking of the whole Victoria’s Secret collection in my top drawer.
We head back out to the living room to find Bri asleep on the couch with the empty pizza box resting on her full tummy. With a chuckle, Jax pulls out his phone and takes a quick picture before explaining himself. “It’s Bri,” he says, “I’m bound to blackmail her one of these days, especially with you as her roommate.”
I roll my eyes and watch as he swiftly picks her up off the couch and pops her down in her bed. He returns a moment later with a DVD from her room and orders Chinese while remembering all my favorite dishes. He slides the disc into place and snuggles with me on the couch until the food comes, reminding me of the millions of times we did this as kids.
I have barely finished my dinner before I’m also falling asleep on the lounge. I’m pretty sure Jax finishes the movie with me snoring on his shoulder before he dumps me in my own bed with a kiss on the cheek.
I wake to my alarm and groan as Bri comes bounding in at six in the morning. Why the hell did we make this stupid pact to run every damn morning? “Oh, thank god,” she says in relief, noticing that Jax didn’t stay the night. “I wasn’t sure if I’d walk in on your morning screw or not.”
“You could have always knocked,” I suggest.
“Oh, hell no,” she laughs, “I mean, I don’t want to see you getting it on, but I’m sure watching Jax in action would be a real treat.”
“Ugh, you’re so annoying,” I laugh as I get out of bed and pull on my training crop and running shorts.
“I know,” she smiles, “But you love it. Now, let’s go.”
I follow her out of our house while I tie my hair back and attempt to close the door behind me with my ass. The chilly Denver morning has me desperately wanting to rush back inside to my warm bed, but I’m not that weak. I took on this stupid pact and I will see it through.
We start off with a slow jog to get our bodies warmed up before getting into a proper run when a shiver takes over my body. I glance around me, having the strangest feeling of being watched. I take a good look, but in the darkness, I find nothing. I’m probably just imagining things.
I turn back to face the path, only to have my strange feelings and thoughts interrupted by Chatty Cathy next to me. “So, what’s the story with Jax?” Bri asks. “Last I heard, you were heading to the wedding with a broken heart and now he’s showing up at our door with dinner for me and three orgasms for you.”
“Four orgasms actually, but thanks for keeping count,” I laugh.
“What are friends for?” she grins.
I ro
ll my eyes and get on with the story. “My stupid brother invited him to be one of his groomsmen. None of the pricks thought it was a good idea to tell me, though,” I explain.
“Yeah, I kind of figured he was there,” she muses. “But it doesn’t explain how things changed.”
“Well, if you’d quit interrupting me, I’d be able to tell you,” I say as I give her a pointed look. She holds her hands up in surrender then makes a show of zipping her lips and throwing away the key.
I roll my eyes at her immaturity but can’t help cracking a smile. “Well, it was up to the speeches part of the night and Logan and Carter mentioned our parents, and I got a little emotional and started crying, so I ducked outside and Jax followed. He made me feel better before he tore into me with an interrogation and I guess he finally got the answers he was after because he seemed… I don’t know, at ease, I guess.”
“Wow,” she says. “So, what does this mean? Are you guys back together?”
“Honestly, I have no idea,” I tell her with a sigh. “He hasn’t really told me where we stand, so I’m taking what I can get at the moment.”
She seems deep in thought for a moment before cringing and turning to me, “And if he’s still screwing around and giving the rest of the girls on campus anything they can get?”
“Then, you may as well shoot me now,” I tell her. She gives me a look to suggest I’m being a moron which I must agree, I might have taken that a little too far. “Look,” I say, explaining myself. “You and I know two very different Jaxon’s. You know him as the trophy winning manwhore on campus, where I know him as the man who loved and protected me since I was a kid. He has strong values and is a respectable man, no matter who he portrays himself to be now. I guess I just have faith that while he’s trying to sort out this thing with me that he wouldn’t consider sleeping with someone else.”
She watches me for a moment and must decide she likes what she sees and moves on. “Ok,” she says with a nod, “Out of everyone on campus, you’re the only one who knows the real Jaxon, so I’m going to take your word for it.”
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