“A bit.” I wince. “Coach won’t like this.”
“Hold on.” She walks over and places her hands on my back, massaging deep into my muscles. The sharp pain instantly dissolves. I drop my head back and close my eyes. “Oh, that feels good.”
She pulls back.
I turn around. “Why’d you stop?”
“It’s just…” She looks up into my eyes. I can see the desire in them.
Reaching for her, I gently pull her into my arms. Her soft curves feel comfortable against my body. And there’s that delicious cinnamon scent again.
Pushing her hair behind her ears, I look down into her eyes.
“It’s just…” I repeat.
Her lips flicker into a subtle smile.
Lowering my head, I close my eyes and kiss her. Her soft lips yield to mine. I can taste the minty toothpaste on her breath.
The teapot starts whistling. I ignore it as I tilt my head and deepen the kiss. She follows my every move as her hands move up my chest to my shoulders. Her tongue wrestles with mine.
The teapot whistles even harder now to the point where the pot is about to boil over.
We finally pull apart as I turn off the burner and pull the teapot off the heat.
“Oops.” I look at her and smirk. She smiles as she shyly wipes her mouth.
Finding some mugs hanging on the wall, I set them on the counter and pour out two cups of chai tea.
“So,” I say, putting the teapot back on the stove and handing her a cup. “What do those rocks mean?”
I point to the colorful rocks on the small table by the door.
“They’re not rocks,” she says. “They’re crystals.”
“And the difference is…?”
“Crystals have healing properties and they give off certain vibrational energies.”
“Like sex,” I say.
“What?” She laughs.
“Sex has healing properties. I mean, I always feel better after it happens. And sex definitely gives off vibrational energies.”
She wrinkles her nose and laughs. “Yeah, I guess. You know, you can be pretty clever sometimes.”
I smirk. “You’ve noticed.”
“And pretty damn egocentric.”
I shrug. “When I want to be.” I grin again as I stare at her. “Do you have any more observations about me you’d like to share?”
“No matter what answer I give, I know I’ll end up being called judgy.”
I pretend to seal my lips.
She giggles as she sips her tea.
“So, if the crystals are for healing, what do you need healing from?” I lean back against the counter.
“Well, the onyx protects me from evil. That’s the black one. And the rose quartz is for a broken heart…”
She pauses and cringes as if she didn’t mean to say that. The room is quiet for a moment.
“Someone broke your heart?” I ask.
She doesn’t respond.
“I hope it wasn’t me,” I say.
She laughs and looks away. “No, it’s not you.”
I look up at the framed picture of her with the lanky guy. “Is it that guy?”
Her eyes widen as if she forgot the picture was even there. “Oh, shit.”
Putting her mug down on the counter, she rushes over and places the picture face-down on the table.
“It’s not important,” she says, turning back to me. “We don’t have to talk about that.”
“Why not?”
“We barely know each other!”
“This is how we get to know each other.” I sip my tea. It’s bitter and not at all what I usually enjoy in the morning.
“Is that really what we want to do?” She asks.
“Sure. Why not?”
“For one, I literally just got out of a relationship, hence the heartbreak. I don’t really want to spill my heart out to a guy I barely know.”
“Wow. You know, that kind of hurts my feelings. I feel like we know each other. At least a bit more than barely.”
“Do we?” Her big brown eyes look up at me.
“Of course. I know that you’re a really good yoga teacher. And because of you, I know what my root chakra is.” This makes her laugh. I take a step closer. “I know that you’re a really good dancer which—as we’ve established—means you’re good in bed too.”
Smiling, she shakes her head and looks away as if annoyed and shaking away everything I’m saying, but I know she’s loving it.
I continue. “I also know that you can be a bit judgy sometimes.”
“Really?” She puts her hands on her hips and narrows her eyes, tilting her head to the side so that her long wavy hair cascades down her waist. ldquo;Do you really want to go there?”
I chuckle and ignore her as I continue. “Plus, you’re a witch, obviously, because of all the tarot cards and crystals. That’s an easy one though. I also know that your ex-boyfriend was horrible in bed.”
She covers her mouth with her hands and starts to laugh. “Jack!”
“What? You said he never moved. How good could that be?”
She continues laughing. It’s insanely cute.
“I’m not done yet.” I take another step closer so that I’m standing right in front of her. “We also know each other intimately,” I say, lowering my voice. This catches her attention and she looks back up at me with her dark eyes. “I know that despite your Stevie Nicks wardrobe, you like to wear sporty thongs under those long hippie skirts.”
I push the hair off her shoulder, gently brushing her neck with my fingertips. Her lips part and I can hear her breath.
“I know that you really enjoy being kissed on your neck. I also know that you moan whenever I touch that sensitive spot where your leg meets the rest of your body.”
“Jack!”
I smirk. “And you know a lot about me. You certainly know what I like.”
Her cheeks flare pink. It’s cute the way she gets embarrassed as if she’s never flirted with anyone before.
She pulls back. “Maybe we’ve already gotten to know each other too well.”
I laugh. “I’m not asking you to marry me. I just want to get to know you. We can be friends, can’t we?”
“I… I don’t know.” She looks away.
“You don’t want to be friends with me?”
“It’s not that. It’s just…” She looks up at me. “If we’re friends and we’re having sex, that’s basically a relationship.”
“So, you just want sex.”
She gives a slight shrug. “Maybe.”
“But that’s so boring compared to what we could be.”
She looks up into my eyes. “What could we be?”
“Whatever allows me to flirt with you without you pushing me away.”
She takes in a deep breath. “I don’t know what that is.”
“Let me take you out for dinner.”
She’s stunned for a moment. “You want to take me out on a date?”
“Did I use the word date?”
“You know that’s what you meant.”
I smirk. “Dinner, date… does it matter? We had fun on our other dates.”
“You mean the hookup at the club?”
I laugh. “I meant the tarot reading at the coffee shop. That was fun.”
“You think that was a date?”
“Was it not?”
She looks away and shakes her head. “I don’t think I can.”
I sigh. “Fine. I get it. You want nothing to do with me.”
I put my cup down on the counter.
“What’s wrong with just having sex?” She asks.
“Because I like you. I want to know more about you. I think you’re smart and interesting and beautiful. I mean, you started your own business. You turned a taco restaurant into a yoga studio. How cool is that? I want to know about that. I want to know about you. I want to know why you have a picture with a woman who looks like she lives in the woods. I want to know how your idio
t ex-boyfriend lost an incredible woman like you.”
She suppresses a smile.
“I really just want to get to know you,” I say. “Is that so bad?”
I reach for her fingers, touching them intimately. She looks down at our mingled fingers.
“I’m not ready for anything serious,” she says.
“That’s okay,” I say.
Lilith meows. Jemma pulls her hand away from mine and picks up the cat, holding her in her arms.
I stand by the counter alone.
“I think I just need time to be single and independent,” she says.
“By sleeping with guys, no strings attached?”
“Not guys plural. Just one guy.” She looks up at me with a curious gaze.
“Is that one guy supposed to be me?” I raise my eyebrows and touch my chest. “Is this going to be something we do again? Or should I leave Ms. Independent alone? I’m getting a lot of mixed signals here.”
Jemma shakes her head as she lets the cat jump from her arms onto the floor. She rubs her face. “I don’t know. I’m just confused.”
“Do you want me to stay? Or should I go?”
She doesn’t answer.
I sigh. “Okay. I can take a hint.”
I walk over to the door and pull on my shoes.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
“I get it. I understand breakups.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I was in a long-term relationship in high school. When I started playing with the junior team and traveling all over the country, we decided to break up. The long-distance was too much for her to handle. It was difficult, especially since I was finally doing well in my career. I had to sacrifice one love for another and it felt like a punishment, you know? Like a punishment for success.”
She stares at me as if lost in her thoughts.
“What did you do to move past it?” She asks.
“Well, I didn’t keep any pictures of her. That’s for sure. And the simplest thing I did was move on. I focused on hockey and found new goals to strive for.”
“And it clearly worked out for you,” she says.
“Clearly.” I look at her from across the room. There’s an ocean of space between us, along with an awkward silence. “I guess I’ll leave then. I know I probably shouldn’t do this but—”
I walk over to her and lean in, kissing her on the lips. She doesn’t resist, kissing me back instead.
Pulling back, I look into her eyes one last time. “Goodbye my judgy witchy two-night stand.”
She smiles. “My name is Jemma.”
“Am I allowed to know that much about you?”
She smirks and pushes me. “Get out of here.”
“Bye, Jemma.” I interlace my fingers with hers one last time before pulling away and stepping outside.
“I’ll see you when you bring me my money,” she calls out as she leans out the door. Her long wavy hair falls on either side of her face.
Smiling at her, I take a mental picture of her one last time before walking down the alley. If she wants her space, that’s fine. I’ll be on the road soon anyway. But I have a sneaking suspicion that she’ll be going back on her words. There’s just something about the way she kisses me that tells me everything I need to know about her feelings for me.
Still feeling the tingle of her kiss on my lips, I walk away.
JACK
Giving Jemma her space, I spend the next few days training with the guys in the gym and on the ice.
We’re really starting to get good at passing to each other and figuring out each other’s rhythm and quirks. Connor likes to pass on the backhand while Austin tends to hog the puck. It’s not intentional. He just gets so focused that he gets tunnel vision. He’ll pass it if I tap the ice twice though.
The puck hits my stick and I shoot it straight into the net.
“Nice one, Casanova!” Barkley says. His shoulder-length black hair is dripping with sweat.
“Casanova?”
“It’s a fitting name for a guy who ditches his team for a woman,” Logan says from the sideline.
I laugh.
“And look at that smile!” Austin adds. Although his blond beard hides most of his mouth, I can see his smile in his crinkled blue eyes. “This must be some woman!”
“She’s cute, playful. Beautiful beyond belief.”
“And she’ll call you out in the middle of Apple Tree Lane,” Logan adds.
The guys laugh.
“Come on, Casanova,” Barkley says. “Let’s keep practicing.”
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Marcus says, tapping my skate with his stick. “I’m sure some of us would like to trade our nickname for something slick like Casanova. Right, Gopher?” He looks at Barkley.
“Fuck off,” Barkley says.
The guys laugh.
Casanova.
I wanted a nickname but I was hoping it’d at least be a cool hockey one.
Either way, I don’t regret leaving the guys to see Jemma. The connection between us just gets stronger and stronger the longer we hang out together. And I know she just got out of a relationship and she wants her space, but the connection between us is undeniable. I know she’ll come around sooner or later. I’m just hoping it’s sooner, not later.
After practice, I check my phone and navigate to my banking app. Still no money. Damn.
No text from Jemma either. Not that I expect any from her…
Going back to Connor’s place, we spend the evening together. Nights are fairly boring. We usually have a quiet conversation over dinner. The conversation wears thin after a week and we usually end up talking about the morning skate and what we can improve upon. I tend to spend the rest of the night alone as Connor disappears upstairs for his nightly video-chat with Daisy.
I like the days better than the nights. At least during the day, I have the gym or the rink to distract me from my thoughts. At night there’s too much time to think. I try to distract myself by watching television, usually a baseball game. But there are a few moments where my mind wanders and I think about texting Jemma. I even go as far as grabbing my phone but I hold off when I wonder what to send her. I know she doesn’t want a relationship, not even a friendly one.
My phone lights up with an incoming call.
“Hello?”
“Jack, my beautiful boy!” A joyous voice says.
“Hi, Mom.” I lean against my basement window and stare out at the waves rolling gently down in the bay.
“How are you doing all the way out west?” Her creaky voice asks. She’s always been an older mom but since I started traveling a few years ago I’ve noticed her age more and more.
“Doing good,” I say. “I’ve had a week and a half of practice with my new team. We have our first pre-season game in two days.”
“Oh, I know,” she says. “I already have it set to record.”
I laugh. “You don’t have to record it, you just have to watch it.”
“Are you kidding? My son is going to be playing on national TV! I want the whole neighborhood to come over and watch it. I won’t miss a single second.”
I smile. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You sound troubled. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I pick at some peeling paint on the window frame.
“How’s the city? And Connor? How’s he treating you?”
“Connor’s great. He’s older, you know. You’d love him.”
“Older is good,” she says. “It means he won’t get you into trouble.”
“Come on, Mom. You really think I’ll get into trouble?”
“You’ve always been a rebel, ever since you were little.”
I smile to myself as I think about all trouble I got into as a kid. The stink bombs and melted toys in middle school evolved into cutting class to make-out with my high school girlfriend behind the bleachers.
“But I always got away with it,” I say.
“That’s the part that makes me nervous.�
�
I laugh. “Don’t worry. Connor has me well behaved.”
My mind flashes to Jemma.
“Sort of,” I add.
“Jack,” she says in a warning voice.
“Kidding, kidding.”
“This is what you’ve been working for all these years,” she says. “Be smart about this.”
I pick at the peeling paint. “I will. Hey, I have good news.”
“What’s that?”
“I should be getting paid soon. I’ll send you some money so that you can fly out and see one of the games. Would you like that?”
“Oh, Jack, that sounds wonderful but you know me. I can’t fly out there on my own. Besides, I won’t have my bed or blankets. I need my space.”
“What if I set up a space for you?”
“You have enough space for me there?”
I look around my small basement bedroom. “Not really. But I could always sleep on the floor.”
“Pssh, Jack. I’ll just watch you when you’re here in the city playing against the Castors. In the meantime, I’m fine watching from home.”
“If that’s what you want. I’ll make sure you get some tickets to the game. Enough for you and all your girlfriends.”
She chuckles. “Is it starting to feel like home there?”
Leaning against the window, I look out at the water.
“Yeah, starting to,” I say. “It’ll be better after my mentorship is complete and I can buy my own place. Shouldn’t be long—spring at the latest. Once that happens, I’ll have a place for you.”
She laughs a coughing laugh. “You don’t want me to live with you.”
“You can live next door then.”
She laughs again. “Sounds like a plan. Right now, I’m happy here with my electric blanket and an HD view of your face.”
“An electric blanket? Come on, you can at least turn the heat on!”
“Oh, it’s too much of a fuss.”
I sigh. She’s always been stubborn and overly frugal. She always put me first, spending all her paychecks on hockey gear and fees. Now that I’m a professional, I’m finally ready to return the favor.
“I’m sending you money anyway,” I say.
“Jack.”
“Don’t complain. It’s happening.”
She sighs. “Fine. Oh, I’m so proud of you, Jack! Playing in the big league. You’ve finally done it.”
“It’s not official until the whistle blows and I’m on the ice.”
Jack: An Enemies To Lovers Sports Romance (Bad Boys of Hockey Book 2) Page 10