“I won’t miss it for the world. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
As I end the call, I put the phone in my back pocket and look out at the water.
I don’t think I’m getting myself into trouble.
Am I?
Besides owing Jemma money and earning a somewhat embarrassing nickname from my teammates, I’ve been on somewhat good behavior. Somewhat being the operative word.
Leaning my head against the window frame, I sigh.
I really need to be smarter about this. I can’t be distracted from what I’m here for—hockey.
I’m ready to commit to this team fully. I’m a Seattle Blade now. This is my team, my city, my home. I’ve worked hard for this and I’m ready to put my roots down. I’m ready to put my team first, always. And this is the year to prove that.
My phone lights up with a notification. Money has been deposited into my account. I smirk to myself. Now it really feels real.
JEMMA
“Alright everyone, breathe in as you lift your arms.” I walk around my class inspecting my students. “And breathe out. Release the stress from your day and thank your body for all it has done for you.”
Passing by the front windows, I see that the sky is darkening outside. The foot traffic along Apple Tree Lane has all but stopped for the night as most stores closed hours ago. The restaurants are open but there’s not much activity on a Wednesday night.
It’s the last class of the day and all I’m looking forward to is a hot shower and cuddling in bed with Lilith and a good book. Ten more minutes.
“Release your arms, drop them gently to your sides.”
I notice someone is standing outside, waiting. Based on the way the orange glow of the streetlight is framing his broad shoulders, I can tell that it’s Jack.
My heart instantly picks up its pace. I pull my gaze away, pretending not to notice that he’s there.
“Breathe in again. And out. Namaste.” I bow my head.
“Namaste,” the class chants back to me.
“Thank you, everyone, for another incredible class. I’ll see you all next week.”
Everyone starts rolling up their mats and collecting their things before leaving. I chat with a few stragglers as the rest of the class filters out.
Looking up, I see that Jack is waiting right outside the door.
I hate that I feel so hot and flustered just knowing that I’m about to see him. No guy should be able to elicit such strong feelings out of me.
“Thanks for the class, Ms. Reeves,” a tiny old lady says. She’s the last person left to leave.
“You’re welcome, Madeline.”
The old lady shuffles out the front exit where Jack is waiting, holding the door open for her.
“Such a polite and handsome young man!” She smiles up at him.
He smiles politely at her. “I try my best.”
Once Madeline is out of earshot, I cross my arms and tilt my head as he walks in. He lets the door close behind him, allowing us to be alone.
He’s wearing ripped jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black motorcycle jacket. He’s got a black bandana around his head, keeping his hair out of his eyes. He looks down at me with a self-absorbed smirk. He’s clean-shaven and looking extremely handsome, kind of like a rock star.
“Here for another private lesson?” I ask.
He looks at me with that cute rascal-like expression of his.
“I’m here to give you your money.” He hands me an envelope.
“Oh.” My fingers brush against his as I take the envelope. I can smell that delicious cedar scent that I’ve come to associate with him. “Thanks.”
“Disappointed that you can’t hold it over me now?” He asks.
“What? No, of course not!”
“I’m just kidding.” He gives me a lazy smirk.
Pulled in by his magnetism, I catch his dark brown eyes and stare for a moment.
He gestures to the envelope. “There’s something else in there too.”
“Anthrax?” I ask.
He laughs. “Tickets to tomorrow’s game.”
“Really?” I open the envelope. Sure enough, there are two very official-looking tickets for tomorrow’s Seattle Blades game against the Helena Hellcats.
“It’s just a pre-season game so the stats don’t count but it’s my league debut so you can watch me play.” He slips his hands into his jacket pockets. There’s a proud smile on his face.
“You want me to watch you play?” I look into his dark sparkling eyes.
“I thought it’d be a nice apology gift for taking so long with your money.”
I watch him for a moment. “But you know that I don’t watch hockey, right? Like, at all.”
He shrugs. “So? There’s a first time for everything.”
“How do you know that I’d even enjoy this?”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“Hockey just seems like one big display of…”
“Of what?”
“Toxic masculinity,” I say.
He bursts out laughing. “What the hell does that even mean? I mean, everything we do is masculine because we’re men, obviously. But toxic? I don’t think so.”
“I mean, like… violent and barbaric.”
He laughs again. “These aren’t gladiator games. We’re not ripping each other’s heads off or anything. Hockey’s about team-building, competition, strategy, athletics… seriously, everything about this sport is amazing.”
“But don’t you guys fight?”
He touches his chest. “I don’t. Some guys do, like Marcus and Austin, but it’s rare. I promise that you’ll see the opposite of toxic masculinity, whatever that is.”
I smirk as I look back down at the envelope.
“Come on, hockey is beautiful,” he says, his voice is soft and sincere. “But don’t take my word for it. You have to see it for yourself.”
Pulling on my lip, I reconsider. He’s just so full of pride and excitement for what he does, it’s kind of cute.
“What’s on your mind?” He asks.
I give a slight shrug. “This is just weird for me. I told you that I’ve always had an aversion to jocks and sports of all kinds.”
He smirks. “You don’t have an aversion to me.”
“I do though.”
He gives a half-laugh. “Not in bed.”
He shifts slightly forward allowing me to smell his intoxicating scent again.
“You just had to bring that up, didn’t you?”
He smirks deviously. “Only to see you wrinkle your nose the way you do when you’re annoyed. Exactly like that.”
I don’t even realize I’m doing it until he points it out. I force myself to relax my face.
“So, will you come?” He asks.
“I’ll have to check my schedule.”
“Your website says you don’t have any classes tomorrow night.”
“You checked my schedule?” I raise my brows.
“Sure. How else was I supposed to know which tickets to get you?”
I suppress a smile as I absently play with a long strand of my hair. “Well, it’s bold of you to assume that I don’t have any plans.”
“What else are you gonna do? Get your fortune read?”
With a laugh, I hold up the envelope. “There are two tickets here. Who should I bring?”
“Anyone you want.”
“A guy?” I watch for his reaction.
He shrugs. “If you want.”
“That wouldn’t bug you? It wouldn’t threaten you at all?”
Cocking his head to the side, he thinks for a moment.
“It’d hurt my feelings a bit,” he says. “But it wouldn’t threaten me. I mean, if I’m funding a date that ends with you possibly getting laid, I want to be the one to… you know…”
“Do me?” I finish his sentence.
He pulls his hands out of his pockets and puts them up in defense. “You said it, not me. I would never use t
hose words.”
I let out a laugh. “Which words would you use?”
His smile widens. “If I tell you, you might call me toxic.”
“Do I even want to know?”
He laughs. “I promise I’d only use the most respectful words. Words worthy of a goddess.”
My cheeks burn. I shake my head and look away.
“I was wondering when you’d start blushing,” he says.
“Oh, stop.” Still holding the envelope, I bring my hands to my heated cheeks.
“And you’re wrinkling your nose again! So cute.”
“Jack!”
I playfully nudge his ribs but he resists, nudging me back.
“You know, maybe I will bring a guy to the game just to annoy you.”
“Impossible,” he says.
“What? Impossible to annoy you?”
“Impossible that you’d bring a guy.”
I open my mouth in shock. “Why would you say that?”
“I bet you’ve scared away every guy in Seattle. I’m the only sucker who stuck around after being thrown outside butt-naked.”
I laugh. “Okay, I still feel bad about that, but I was very tired and I just got dumped—”
“—you also just got laid, so you’d think it would even out—”
“—and it’s not like I do that to every guy,” I continue, ignoring his interruptions.
“Well, I don’t know that for sure.” He smirks.
Ignoring him, I look down at the envelope and take a deep breath. “You say you don’t want to fund any dates of mine but I bet you didn’t even pay for these tickets.”
“Sure, I did. I paid for them with my time, skills, and achievements.”
I put my hand on my hip. “That doesn’t count.”
“Yes, it does! If you get on the big-league team, you can get free tickets for your friends too.” He covers his mouth and widens his eyes. “Oops, I said a dirty word. I said the word ‘friends’. We’re still not friends, right? I just have to check because our relationship status is a bit confusing right now.”
I give him a wry smile and hold up the envelope. “Our ‘relationship status’ is that you are no longer in debt to me.”
“That’s kind of wordy. Are there any shorter versions we can use?”
A hot wave of emotion flows through my body. Looking up into his dark eyes, I narrow mine. “Why did you give me these tickets?”
He smirks and puts his hands back in his jacket pockets. “I told you. They’re a token of goodwill for being late with your money.”
“But why are you being so nice to me?”
He scratches the back of his head. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
I give a half-shrug. I don't want to remind him of all the times I’ve pushed him away in our very short time together.
“So, will you come?” He asks.
“Maybe.”
“Come on.” He nudges my arm with his elbow. “You want to go. I can see it in your eyes.”
I smirk. “I’ll think about it. Thanks for the tickets. And the money.”
“My pleasure.” He opens the door and steps outside. “Hey, if you do watch the game, remember to look for number twenty-one. And tell your date to watch me too.”
I smile. “Bye, Jack.”
“Bye, Jemma.”
The door closes behind him as he takes off down Apple Tree Lane. I watch him leave before I lock up the studio and turn off the lights.
Making my way to the living space, I shower and get ready for bed. As I sit in bed with Lilith, I stare at the hockey tickets sitting on my dresser.
“Should I go?” I ask Lilith. She sniffs at my nose as her whiskers tickle my cheeks. “He says they’re just an offer of goodwill but he’s just so flirty and cute, and I think he actually likes me. Should I open this door?”
I bite my lip.
“If I open this door, I might not be able to close it.”
Lilith meows. I smile as I press my forehead against hers.
“Good answer.”
JEMMA
Madison and I are walking through the crowded halls of the hockey arena looking for the section where our seats are supposed to be.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” I say.
Clutching our hot coffee, we make our way around the concession lines. The smell of buttery popcorn and nacho cheese is in the air. The crowd is a sea of silver, black, and blue as everyone is wearing Seattle Blades shirts and jerseys. Madison and I stick out in our earth-toned clothes—her in fitted capri pants and a cardigan, and me in a long skirt and a tank top. People are looking at us like they know we don’t belong.
“What section are we in again?” Madison asks.
I double-check the tickets. “One twenty.”
“Over here.”
As we walk through the short hallway to our section, the skating rink appears in front of us.
“Oh my god!” I say. “The rink is huge!”
The ice is glowing crystal white, looking more high-definition than the television screens at the bar. The lights are bright and the air is cool and crisp. Goosebumps cover my body and I realize now why everyone was looking at my inappropriate attire.
A high energy pop song pumps through the stadium. The audience is huge and I suddenly feel very tiny.
“Come on,” Madison leads the way.
Finding our spots, we shuffle down the row, apologizing to the others as we squeeze by. I sit next to a blond woman wearing a blue Blades pullover with a glittery logo. She has earbuds in her ears while her gray eyes sparkle behind her thick-rimmed glasses. She gives me a polite smile which I return as I sit down.
Madison leans in and whispers to me. “This must be the family section, right?”
She looks around with her big blue eyes. Following her gaze, I see that the section is occupied by beautiful women, a few of them with children. Some of them are talking across the rows to each other as if they’re old friends.
Madison discretely points at the hand of the woman sitting next to me. The woman in the blue pullover is wearing a beautiful engagement ring. The diamond sparkles fiercely under the bright white lights.
“Wow,” I mouth to Madison.
We’re most definitely in the family section. Only the wives of rich hockey players would wear jewelry like that and come to games alone.
“Team members always get tickets to a specific section,” Madison explains.
“How do you know that?” I sip my coffee in an attempt to warm up. The bitterness tastes disgusting but the steam heats my frozen nose.
“My brother Sebastian plays football back in Alabama.”
“Oh, right. He plays professionally, right?”
She smiles proudly. “Best in the state.”
I look out at the ice. “So you must be used to sports… games?”
“Oh, hon. You’re so out of your element.” She laughs.
“I can’t even remember the last time I attended a sports event of any kind,” I say. “It must’ve been a soccer game during gym class all the way back in junior high.”
“Oh, you’re missin’ out.” She sips her coffee. “My family and friends would watch football every Friday night in high school. We’d have a tailgate party before watching Sebastian’s team play. It was really fun. Lots of booze, good food, hot guys. We should do it sometime!”
“Let me get through this first.” I look back at the ice. There’s nobody on it yet, just swirling lights. “Do you know the rules for this?”
Madison scrunches her face as she thinks. “It can’t be too different from football. Get the ball—or the puck—to the other side.”
The swirling lights lift off the ice and the music becomes louder. The high energy bass of Henry Sinner’s song ‘Goals for Days’ starts pumping through the stadium as the players filter out onto the ice. The crowd cheers as the silver, black, and blue skate around the rink. Madison and I join in.
“So,” Madison says suggestively as she leans against
my shoulder. “Which guy’s yours?”
I roll my eyes. “He’s not my guy.”
“Oh, you’re still sayin’ that?”
“I’m serious! We made it very clear the other day that there’s nothing between us.”
“That’s what you said after the first time y’all hooked up.”
I stay quiet.
I wasn’t planning on telling Madison about my second sexual rendezvous with Jack but considering she pointed him to my location that night, I knew it was only a matter of time before she got the truth out of me.
“Well, this time it’s real,” I say. “We certainly have chemistry but it’s not a good time. I mean, I’m still looking for someone to replace Chelsea at the studio. And I still have some of Brendon’s stuff in my apartment. Jack and I are keeping our space for the time being.”
“You call this space?” She points at the jumbotron where the camera is on Jack’s face.
I’m momentarily distracted by his handsome face and determined dark eyes. I turn away from the screen.
“He only gave me these tickets as an apology for taking so long to give me my money. I told you that.”
“And yet you came anyway even though you don’t know anything about hockey.” She watches me with a smug smirk.
“I’m bringing you, my dearest friend, out for an interesting and adventurous evening. This isn’t about him.”
Her smirk widens. “Oh, really?”
“Besides, anything can happen on a fun night out. There’s a reason for everything, right?”
Madison bites back a smile.
“What?” I ask.
Her smile widens. “I think you like him. Like really like him.”
“Why?”
“Because you actually smile when you talk about him.”
“No, I don’t.”
“And it’s not just when you talk about him,” she continues. “It’s after you see him, after you sleep with him. I’m sorry, but Brendon never made you smile like a hyena after a night of wild sex.”
“Madison!”
I look around, making sure nobody around us is paying attention to our conversation. The woman next to me doesn’t seem to be listening as she’s watching something about the game on her phone.
Leaning in closer to Madison, I drop my voice to a hushed whisper.
Jack: An Enemies To Lovers Sports Romance (Bad Boys of Hockey Book 2) Page 11