Page 15

S UMMERLUVIN STARTED FOLLOWING you .

Seeing the notification, I do what I never do; I follow her back. Social media isn’t something I spend a lot of time on, but my curiosity wins when I see her profile. Oddly enough, the entire hockey team is already following her.

summerluvin

aidencrawford : I see you’ve reconsidered your stance on following athletes.

summerluvin : Temporarily. But I have to say, I’m disappointed.

aidencrawford : And why’s that?

summerluvin : No nude cereal box ad. Unfollowing.

aidencrawford : I’ll do a private one just for you. Can’t afford to upset a fan.

summerluvin : pass.

aidencrawford : You have other suggestions?

summerluvin : You, clothed, not trying to distract me from my research.

aidencrawford : pass.

I shove my phone back in my pocket and climb the steps to the psychology building. The reason for my irritated mood is sitting in the lounge like a prince.

Is Donny Rai seriously Summer’s type? Preppy and Academic? Finding out she dated Donny was a huge shock. Kian was the one to tell me, because he knows everything about everyone at Dalton. Sometimes I think he runs our school’s gossip page.

“Rai.”

Donny turns in his chair, and his friends eye me as if the doors to the building had jock repellent that I managed to break through.

“What’s up? Need a tutor for English 101?”

I’ve never been the one to incite violence off the ice, but right now, nothing is as appealing as the idea of my fist driving into Donny’s jaw. Though, his uninspired insult misses the mark because I’m sure he’s aware of every student on the dean’s list, and I’m one of them.

“I’m good. You’re not my usual type for tutors.” I revel in the way his jaw clenches. “I want to talk about Summer.”

“Do you need my permission?”

“Apparently, I do because you seem to think you can control her. She’s been working hard on her paper, and I’d appreciate it if you cool your drop-ins. She’s stressed, and you’re not helping.”

“I’m just trying to give her some of my expertise.”

“She has plenty.”

He laughs. “You met her like what? Five minutes ago? I’ve known her for years, and she trusts my opinion. You should be glad I’m even willing to help her.”

Prick. “Look, I’m telling you how she’s feeling and that her project won’t be any better with you breathing down her neck.”

An air of tension settles between us until he steps back. “Fine. I want to see how this pans out anyway.”

I falter. “What does that mean?”

He releases a sardonic breath. “Give it up, Crawford. If she lets you hit, you’ll be on the curb faster than you can finish.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sorry, does all the brain damage you’ve amassed make it hard to hear too?

” My clenched teeth feel like they’ll turn to dust from the pressure.

“Summer’s not going to sleep with you because you act like you care.

That girl has spikes around her thicker than your head.

I’d tell you not to waste your time, but you’re already doing that.

So, I’ll be watching when you inevitably fail.

” The air of arrogance that oozes out of every pore follows him out the door.

Later that evening, it’s closing time when I skate off the ice to head to the showers. My solo practice session went longer than intended, probably because I imagined Donny’s face as the puck.

Though we won our last game, it’s the worst we’ve ever played. And when I entered the arena, Kilner made sure to castrate me for the shitty performance.

When I twist off the faucet and pull a towel around my waist, light footsteps sound against the tiled floors. As I open the door, the faint smell of peaches hits my nose before I see her.

“Summer?”

She spins, long brown hair in waves down her back.

Full lips part when her gaze drifts to my low-hanging towel.

Then as if clearing her thoughts, the fire of anger lights her expression and she marches right up to me, almost walking into the stall before faltering.

She crosses her arms to create some type of barrier between us, and I stifle a laugh.

“Trust me, you won’t be laughing when I’m done with you.”

I beam. “I hope not.”

She glares. “Care to explain why Donny just became a student aide on my paper?”

That jackass. I should have known that smirk was bad news. “I didn’t say anything like that to him.”

“You said plenty. Don’t try to pretend you didn’t go all macho man and screw everything up.”

“I was trying to help.”

“I never asked for your help!”

“You wouldn’t. You could be hanging off a damn cliff, and you still wouldn’t ask for help.”

“But you did it anyway? Maybe I didn’t do anything about Donny because I know how he is. He’s pissed about what you said, and now we’re stuck with him. Why couldn’t you leave it alone?”

“You were stressed,” I try again.

“And how does that affect you?”

“Because I ca—”

The creak of the door cuts me off before Kilner’s voice drifts through the locker room. “It’s the damn plumbing in my washroom. I need it fixed, Brent.”

“Fuck.” I pull a distracted Summer into the stall and close the door. My hand covers her mouth before she can make a sound. Judging by the way her eyes flare, she might bite me.

“You can’t be in here,” I whisper. Her brows scrunch, and her grip on my wrist tightens like she’s trying to break it. “I’ll remove my hand if you promise not to scream.”

She reluctantly nods, and I uncover her mouth, still caging her against the wall.

She’s breathing hard, and I don’t mean to, but my eyes fall to her rising and falling chest that grazes my bare torso.

A water droplet from my hair hits her collarbone, making her flinch when it slides down her skin, leaving a wet trail as it slips between the swell of breasts.

I’m caught in a fervent trance when a sharp pain in my abdomen forces me to jerk back.

Summer pulls away her assaulting finger, and if looks were tangible this one would be throwing me off a cliff. She meets my sheepish smile with an eye roll.

Being this close to her makes me hot. That isn’t ideal because I’m in a towel, and she’s pressed against me so perfectly, just one wrong move, and everything is going to get even more uncomfortable.

I try to force the thoughts out of my head, but that’s impossible when she brings her lips between her teeth.

I have to hold in a groan. I’m wrapped in a bubble of her, and I feel like I’m damn near suffocating. What the hell is happening?

The sink running and crumpling paper breaks my attention from her. “Crawford? You still here?” He must see my gear on the bench because he stops in front of the stall.

I clear my throat. “Just finishing up, Coach.”

“Well, hurry up. They’re locking up early tonight.”

“Got it.”

His footsteps retreat, and Summer’s head falls back on a sigh.

“And Crawford? Tell your girlfriend no shoes in the shower.”

Then the door closes.

“Oh my God! That is so embarrassing.” Summer's cheeks flush pink. “You’re like a furnace!” She moves away, and wipes the water droplets off her arm and chest before swinging open the stall door. Puzzled, I pull on my sweats to go after her.

“That’s it?” I ask when she’s already down the hall. “You came all the way here for that?”

“Yeah, guess so.” The heavy doors bang closed behind her.

“W HEN A SKINNY fucker chirps, it is not a jab at your manhood!” Kilner grabs Dylan by the collar and shoves him with the strength of an enforcer. “Where the hell is your head at?”

In case you couldn’t tell, we lost. Bad.

Disappointment clogs the locker room air.

When I faced-off against Brown University’s centerman, I managed to get the puck in our possession except poor communications and unfortunate timing muddied the play, and Sebastian fumbled my pass, causing a turnover.

Brown’s counterattack from their forward left us scrambling to catch up.

Our defensive coverage crumbled like a termite-infested foundation after that, and Brown capitalized on power plays and netted two goals.

“Crawford’s too busy making sure he looks pretty for his next photo shoot,” says Tyler Sampson.

The energy drink ad let Kian stay in school, but it meant getting ragged on for months. Especially since Slink renewed the ads and one of the juniors saw the poster at a store in Providence.

“Fuck off, Sampson,” sneers Dylan, who’s only trying to get on my good side because he got ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“He’s just jealous you’re prettier than him,” whispers Kian.

I shrug him off and turn to Kilner. “We can win the quarter final. Today’s loss was a one-off.”

“One-off or not, we can’t afford to lose to Yale,” Sampson aims a sharp eye at me.

“That’s enough.” Coach steps forward. “Yale is tough, but with the right changes we can win.”

“What kind of changes?” Kian dares to ask.

“No more parties. No more drinking.” Coach glares at Dylan, who slumps on the bench.

“No more girls.” A chorus of groans erupt from the guys, and I don’t even recognize when my own leaves me.

Except everyone else does, because Coach eyes me suspiciously, and Eli snorts.

“Those are my orders. Your captain will enforce them. Now, get the hell out of here.”

I’m fine with rules and great with discipline.

Having self-control comes naturally, and I thrive on delayed gratification.

Except where Summer Preston is concerned.

After having her pressed against me in the shower, I’ve had a difficult time thinking about anything else.

I even Googled serial killer tendencies because I’m sure smelling someone's hair is a fucking weird thing to do.

But hers is different. It's soft and smells like sweet peaches.

I don’t even like peaches.

It’s bad, and I need my mind off her, but with Kilner’s new rules that isn’t happening anytime soon.

“The no more parties thing really has you upset, eh?” Dylan and Kian snicker as they pass me.