“Why hello there,” he says. He puts one foot on the step as if to come in.
“Hello.” I smile.
Pushing forward, he puts his arms around my waist and lifts me, wasting no time in kissing me. I happily kiss him back.
“God, I missed these lips,” he says, kissing me again before putting me down. “Oh—”
We both look down. Lilith is circling his legs, meowing up at him.
“Someone else missed you,” I say.
He bends down and pets her before looking back up at me. “Are you ready to go out?”
“You know, I was thinking… it’d be a shame if we didn’t catch up on all the cuddling we missed out on…”
He smirks. “Are you playing games with me, witchy woman?”
My smile widens. “Just a little.”
I take his hand and pull him up the stairs. He wastes no time pursuing me, touching my waist, kissing my neck.
As we enter my room, he looks at my small single bed.
“I have a love-hate relationship with this bed,” he says.
I laugh. “Maybe one day we’ll spend time in yours.”
“I have to get my own bed first. And my own place. Once that happens, we can break it in together.”
He sits down on the bed and pulls me down onto his lap. I put my arms around his neck and kiss him ferociously. His hands are instantly busy pulling at my shirt, trying to get it off. Within seconds I’m pulling off my bra and we’re both in nothing but our underwear. It’s just heated skin on heated skin.
His soft lips move down my neck to the space between my breasts.
“Jack.”
He looks up at me with his cute face. “Yeah?”
“I just want to look at you.”
He smiles and continues kissing my breasts, pushing me back onto the bed so that he can kiss his way down my belly to my underwear.
“Wait,” I say.
Hair completely disheveled, he looks up at me again, resting his warm cheek against my thigh. I simply stare into his beautiful brown eyes.
“What is it?” He asks.
“I’m just thinking about us.”
“About us?” He gently traces his fingers back-and-forth across my belly.
“My new instructor back there, Liz, asked if you were my boyfriend.”
Interested, he sits up on his elbow, causing his bicep to flex. I’m momentarily distracted by his gorgeous physique. He’s certainly the most physically in shape man I’ve ever seen up close, especially right now in the golden sunlight.
“Am I your boyfriend?” He asks, looking up at me.
God, he’s so fucking cute.
“I don’t know,” I say. “Are you?”
He readjusts his position so he can see me better.
“I thought you were afraid of that kind of commitment.” His fingers find my belly again, gently moving along the lacy trim of my underwear, grazing my belly.
“I wouldn’t say I’m afraid,” I say.
“You just don’t like labels.”
“That’s right. Once we say we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, it’s acknowledging that we might break up one day.”
Just like Brendon broke up with me.
He softly kisses my thigh, allowing his lips to trace against my skin. The warmth of his lips and his breath against my skin is making my body feel wild.
“Or we might not,” he says.
I tense my jaw.
Noticing my reaction, he continues. “And even if we do, who cares? All the fun things in life come with a little bit of risk. Imagine if I was afraid of losing a hockey game? I’d never play.”
“That’s true.” I’m lost in my thoughts for a moment.
“What do you want me to be?” He looks up at me.
“Your my… Jack.”
He laughs. “What’s that mean?”
“You’re my friend with benefits. My exclusive friend with benefits.”
“Hmm.” I can feel the vibration of his voice against my thigh. “But we’re closer than friends.”
“That’s true.”
He lowers his voice to a whisper. “I think that’s called a boyfriend.”
“No, there’s a difference.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Girlfriends and boyfriends make future plans together. They meet each other’s families, you know? As far as I know, I’m not taking you to see my parents for Christmas dinner.”
“Why not? Your parents would love me.”
I laugh. “How do you know that?”
“Well, because your mom is a witch-hippie like you. And I suspect she’d like any guy who makes her daughter happy, which I know I definitely do.”
I smile.
“And your dad would like me because I wouldn’t be able to resist playing poker with him and he’d clean me out. I’m young and dumb and have a lot of money to burn. Poker players love that.”
Laughing, I run my hands through his hair. “You’re not dumb.”
“I’m dumb enough to keep chasing you even though you always seem to keep me at an arm’s length.”
“Is this an arm’s length?” I ask, circling my fingers through his hair.
He gives a cute shrug.
“Come here.” I tug gently at him.
Smiling, he flexes his muscles as he lifts himself and kisses his way back up my belly and breasts until he reaches my lips.
“Is this better?” I whisper against his lips. I can feel his eyelashes against mine.
“Much better.” He smiles as he kisses me, resting his body comfortably on top of mine. When he pulls his lips away, I look up into his eyes.
“What am I to you, then?” I ask.
He hungrily looks down at me.
“You’re my witch-hippie sex goddess. Come here.” His lips find my neck and he kisses me ferociously.
“Jack!” I laugh as I squeal and squirm under him.
***
We spend the day having sex as sunlight crosses the room. It’s not until the room is glowing orange that I realize it’s golden hour.
“The sun’s about to set,” I say, combing my fingers through his hair.
“Is it?” He rolls over so that he faces the window.
The golden sunlight is shining on his face, illuminating the flecks of honey in his brilliant eyes. His naked body is a sight to behold, like a statue of a bronze god.
Lilith jumps onto the bed and settles against him. He looks down at her.
“Hello there.” He scratches her head. She closes her eyes, pushing her head into his hand and purring loudly.
“Wow. She likes you.”
He smirks as he stares at me. His eyes land on the dresser next to the bed.
“Will you read my fortune?” He asks.
“What?”
He lifts his head, gesturing at the dresser next to the bed. “Those are fortune-telling cards, right?”
I look up at the dresser where my tarot deck is propping up the Lovers card. Hoping he can’t see exactly what card is on display, I lunge up and grab the cards, shuffling them before he notices.
“Sure,” I say.
Pulling on my silky black robe, I light some incense, turn on a lamp, and sit back on the bed.
“So, you want your fortune told?”
“That’s right.” He grins as he flexes his arm, resting his head on one hand while petting Lilith with the other.
“That’s a dumb request,” I say.
He laughs. “What? Why?”
“Because you already know what fortunes you have.”
“What do you mean?”
Putting the cards down, I start counting on my fingers. “Well, first of all, you’re on a professional hockey team. Second, you’ve got more money that you can spend. And third, you’re currently in bed with a naked woman.”
“Not just any naked woman. I’m in bed with you.” He lowers his head and kisses my knee.
I smirk. “You don’t need cards to know that.”
“Ok
ay, then.” He says. “What did that fortune teller lady at the coffee shop say? I have to ask a question that can’t be answered by a yes or no answer, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm, let me think.” He stares into the cat’s half-closed eyes as he pets her. “How about… what do I have to do to get Jemma to be my girlfriend?”
I look at him with unamused eyes.
“Seriously?” I stop shuffling.
“What?” He asks innocently. “I want to know!”
A card slips out of my hand and lands face up. We both look down at it.
It’s a woman in a beautiful gown. She’s holding a goblet in each hand—one silver, one gold. The water pouring out of the goblets is flowing into a river of energy in the shape of an eternity symbol. The bottom of the card says Temperance.
Jack looks up at me. “What does it mean?”
“What do you think it means?” I ask.
“Two goblets… maybe I have to take you out for drinks. Maybe if you’re drunk, you’ll admit that we’re meant for each other.”
I laugh. “What do you really think it means.”
“I was being serious! Okay, if you want a deeper answer…” He studies the card a bit closer. “I guess the goblets are flowing into each other—you give what you get. Maybe if I treat you like a girlfriend, you’ll treat me like a boyfriend. So… I should take you out for drinks more often.”
He grins smugly.
I poke his nose. “You’re tricky, you know that?”
“What do you think it means?” He asks. “Time?”
Shocked, I look at him. “Yeah, it means patience. How did you know that?”
“Temperance. Temps means time in French.”
“Right. I keep forgetting you’re French.”
He says something in perfect French, speaking so quickly that my grade nine French skills fail me completely. His voice purrs almost as much as Lilith does.
“It’s really hot when you speak French,” I say.
“Then maybe I should speak it more often and drive you crazy trying to figure out what I’m saying.”
“You’d probably just torment me, calling me your little witch.”
“Ah, ma belle sorcière.”
I smirk. “I’m going to assume that you’re being nice.”
“Always.”
I smile as I pull on my lip.
“You know…” I look into his eyes. “Maybe I can call you my boyfriend… as long as we don’t have to make any drastic plans for the future.”
His smirk widens. “I can agree to that.”
He pulls me close and kisses me.
“I think this calls for celebratory drinks,” he says.
“Right now?”
“Yeah, let’s get out for a bit. I’ll be busy for another couple of days. I’ve got a home game and another road trip after that, so this is the last chance we can go out before next week. Unless that’s too far in the future and you change your mind about us by then.”
“Oh, shush. Don’t be so dramatic. You know I’ll still be around next week.”
“Do I?” He smiles as he pulls me closer to him, causing an annoyed Lilith to jump off the bed. He starts kissing me, pulling my silky robe off my shoulders.
“As long as you’ll still be around too,” I say.
“Of course I’ll be.” He playfully presses his nose against mine before kissing me again. “How about those drinks?”
I nod. “Let’s take a shower before we go out. I don’t want to smell like sex.”
He buries his nose in my hair. “You smell like sex all the time.”
I smirk. “You know what I mean.”
He kisses me one last time before pushing off the bed and standing up. He stretches, giving me a beautiful view of his naked body. Turning around, he walks to the bathroom as I admire his toned ass.
“Don’t keep me waiting too long!” He calls out.
“I’m right behind you.” I get up off the bed, leaving my robe behind.
Looking down, I see Lilith pawing at a tarot card that fell on the ground. She’s chewing on the corner.
“Lilith!”
I push her off and grab the card. Flipping it around, I see a woman in a gown dancing with a handsome man in a suit. The man has angel wings which turn into red, fiery wings. The card sucks the breath out of my lungs.
Death.
Swallowing, I put it back in the deck with the rest of the cards and shove it into my dresser drawer. Choosing to ignore this obvious sign from the universe, I hurry to the other room and join my boyfriend in the shower.
JACK
We’re ten minutes into a home game. I’m sitting on the bench watching the first line do their magic. The crowd is going wild like I’ve never heard them before.
“It’s nice hearing them cheer for us, isn’t it?” Connor asks. He’s sitting on the bench next to me.
“Hell yeah.” I take a sip of my water.
“We’re gonna get the triangle going tonight, right?” He asks. He’s looking at me, then to Austin who is sitting next to me.
“Fucking right,” I say.
Austin grunts before spitting on the ground.
“Remember,” Connor says. “Eyes on the man, not the puck.”
I look over at Austin but he doesn’t look back at me. Instead, he keeps his eyes on the ice.
He has barely looked at me since our altercation during the last road trip. The tension between us has been spilling over into our game.
“Austin?” I ask.
But he doesn’t respond. It’s our turn to get on the ice. I hop over the boards and get into the play.
We instantly find ourselves on the offensive. I have the puck. I look up to make sure Austin is in position.
He is.
I pass it to him.
The puck hits his stick perfectly. It’s in his possession now.
Pass to Connor, I urge.
He hesitates.
An opposing player is now blocking Connor.
Shoot!
He hesitates again and his chance disappears.
Nobody is covering me anymore.
I tap my stick on the ice.
He looks up at me and quickly looks away.
“Austin!” I call out.
He doesn’t pass it to me even though the crowd is now calling him out.
“PASS!”
Instead, he shoots the puck. He shoots even though he doesn’t have a clear path to the net whatsoever.
The puck bounces off an opposing player and they take control, quickly skating the puck out of their zone.
As Austin and I skate toward the bench so that our replacements can take our place, I look at him.
“What the hell, man?”
We hop the boards and seat ourselves on the bench.
“I was open!” I tell him.
“I thought I had a path,” he grumbles.
Coach appears behind us. He bends over so that his face is between ours.
“What’s going on, you two?” He looks at us. “You guys played so well in the pre-season. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, Coach,” I lie.
“Something is going on between you two. Whatever it is, I want you guys to resolve it. Now.” Coach has that authoritative presence that sends a clear message: do this or don’t bother showing up.
Austin and I begrudgingly look at each other.
Someone nudges me on my other side.
“You guys okay?” Logan asks
I don’t respond. My throat is tight as I swallow.
“Don’t let this tear you apart,” he says. “You both know what happened to me and Coop.”
Logan famously got into a fight during a game with his own teammate, Harrison Cooper, when he was playing for the Cleveland Crushers. He got kicked off the team, leading to his trade to the Blades.
“Hockey is tough, man,” he continues. “You’re around a lot of guys, a lot of testosterone, a lot of competition
. Two things can bring you down in this game—jealousy and pride. Healthy competition is good but don’t let it get in the way of being a team, because that’s what this is really about. You guys are teammates, brothers. Don’t forget that.”
Austin and I look at each other.
“I’m really sorry, man,” I say to him. “I should have told you about Jemma. The truth was that it was still in the very early stages. We were in relationship limbo, not really sure what was going on between us.”
With an air of defeat, he exhales.
“You really like her?” He asks.
I nod. “I do. Even more than you think.”
And even more than I’m willing to admit to myself.
“I’m sorry, man,” I say. “I didn’t do this with any intention to undermine you. I wouldn’t do that to a teammate.”
I put my hand out.
“Bros?”
He pauses. A slow smile creeps across his face before clasping my hand.
“Bros,” he says.
“Yes!” We clasp harder, bringing each other in for a hug. “Now can we go out there and destroy this game? I want you to have a cool nickname too.”
He smirks. “Let’s do it, brother.”
We get our heads back into the game. Austin doesn’t end up with a cool name but he gets a goal and an assist thanks to our triangle positioning and our ability to adapt to the other team’s defensive strategy. Things get a lot smoother between us as the tension dissipates and we finally get our rhythm going
Over the next few games, we hit our stride. The competition of playing against the most elite players in the world is delicious. As an athlete, I’m in heaven as I find a new challenge every game.
Off the ice, I’m getting used to seeing my face and hearing my name on all the sports stations. And I’m slowly getting used to getting stopped in the grocery store or on the street for selfies and autographs. I learn quickly that people want me to sign the nickname ‘Blackjack’ along with my real name. I’m more than happy to comply.
Meanwhile, my relationship with Jemma is slowly building. It’s a bit slower than I’d prefer but I can’t go against the will of the mighty Temperance tarot card, nor can I go against Jemma’s wishes for things to go slow. Still, I celebrate the small victories like being able to call her my girlfriend. I know it’s not much but it puts my heart at ease knowing that she’ll be there waiting for me whenever I get back from a four-day road trip.
Jack: An Enemies To Lovers Sports Romance (Bad Boys of Hockey Book 2) Page 21