Page 22

Chapter

Nineteen

HADLEY

Hadley: OMG I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to end up as your roommate and then I couldn’t explain to Hunter why it would be a bad idea…

Jonas: It’s no problem, nothing to be sorry about. It’s not a bad idea. We’re friends. And now roomies ;)

“Good morning, roomie.”

I spin away from the coffee maker at the sound of Jonas’s voice behind me.

Wearing only a pair of glasses and low-slung athletic shorts, his chest is bare, and my brain short-circuits.

It’s those glasses again. Is he going to wear them every morning?

The mix of smart and sexy makes my mouth go dry, and my hand wobbles as I grab the coffee carafe.

My brother plays hockey. My mom has been married to multiple hockey players. I’ve dated athletes before. Logically speaking, it makes sense Jonas’s body looks like it’s been sculpted out of marble by Michelangelo.

But the rational part of my brain that knows this is superseded by my hormones.

I can’t deal with the reality of a shirtless Jonas standing in the kitchen with me.

Am I drooling? His pecs are smooth and defined, with a scattering of freckles I want to trace like constellations.

He has more than a six-pack—are there eight abdominal muscles visible?

And those cuts in at his hips that point down, down, down.

I flush, my cheeks on fire. Swallowing, I try to remember how words work.

He points behind me. “Hey, do you need help with that?”

His voice is still gravely with sleep. God, the sound of it conjures pillow talk and what it would be like to wake up spooned next to him.

“Hmm?” is all I manage, blinking away that vision.

A smile spreads across his face, slow like honey, and my belly twists. “You’re not much of a morning person, huh? Well, that’s okay. We’ll get you some coffee.”

Brushing past me, he reaches for the appliance on the counter next to me. My reflexes are off, and I don’t get out of the way fast enough. I’m hit with his scent—something piney and clean.

We’re standing too close, I’m being awkward, but I can’t force myself to move. I like the proximity too much.

“There.” Opening the cupboard above me, he grabs two mugs, and I’m treated to the view of his biceps flexing right in front of my face.

I might pass out.

How am I going to survive this summer? What was I thinking, saying yes to this crazy arrangement?

Well, I remember what I was thinking. I couldn’t say no to Hunter, couldn’t explain why his housing solution has one tiny little flaw. He texted my mom about it before I could say no. The rent is covered, and they both agree it’s perfect.

The apartment is in the process of changing hands.

Cooper and Jasmine are headed to Denver together.

He’s going to play for the Avalanche organization, and she chose a grad school out there.

Caleb has moved into his room, and he keeps to himself.

Evan is still around here somewhere, but his schedule is pretty random.

A guy on the team named Levi is taking Hunter’s spot in the fall, but it’s available for me until then.

He and Natalie moved to Chicago over the weekend.

Despite his broken foot and his lack of ice time this season, the Blackhawks took a chance and signed him.

He’s healing well and his scans look good, and he’s always been one hell of a player.

He’s starting with their minor league team, the Wolves, this fall.

He convinced Natalie to find an accounting job in the area and get an apartment with him.

I’m thrilled for them both, but it’s weird to be here without him. Without that buffer.

When he suggested I take his room for the summer, I couldn’t tell him I made out with one of his roommates and liked it entirely too much. That I’ve been fighting feelings for Jonas all year. We’re friends, but sometimes I have trouble remembering, and attraction to him hits me like a bus.

Like now.

I’m probably sex-starved. That’s gotta be my problem. I need to go out, find a guy, and scratch this itch. Then I won’t notice Jonas so much.

The thing is, the pickings are slim in the summer. I haven’t met anyone lately who I wanted to go home with. So here I am, turned on and tongue-tied in my kitchen with no decent options.

“What time is your first class?” Jonas asks, pouring me a cup of coffee and putting it into my waiting hands.

Blowing on the hot beverage, I shuffle to the fridge and find the creamer. I like coffee, but my true love is coffee creamer. After tipping in a heavy pour so it’s almost milk white, I clear my throat and answer.

“Um, nine. I have three classes in a row, though, and I’m done by early afternoon.”

He smiles again, sending my stomach somersaulting. Maybe caffeine will help combat this irrational response. I take a sip and burn my mouth.

Walking around, Jonas settles on a stool at the counter and nudges one with his foot, a clear invitation. “Not a terrible schedule.”

I sit next to him, trying not to stare at the bare skin on display. Is he going to walk around shirtless every morning? Would that be torture or the best reason to wake up?

“What about you?” I manage some words. “What are you doing with yourself this summer?”

“I got permission to start one of my clinical rotations. It will lighten my load during hockey season.”

“What does that mean?”

He gives me a rueful grin. “Sorry, I forget to explain the jargon sometimes. Clinicals are basically like an internship, where I observe various types of medicine and serve in different parts of the hospital to get experience in every area.”

“Oh, that makes sense. What areas are you working on this summer?” Why can’t I take my eyes off his long fingers, caressing his coffee cup?

“Pediatric nursing. So I’ll have three twelve-hour shifts a week in the peds unit at the hospital, and I need to keep studying for my nursing exam.”

“Kinda intense.”

“Better than every day during the season. This gives me a little more breathing room next year.”

I sip my coffee and try to make normal conversation. I’m not at all still distracted by his bare chest. “What about your family? Don’t they miss you?”

Jonas drinks his coffee and nods his head. “Yeah, for sure. I’ll definitely go visit them a few times. I adore my family.” He huffs a laugh. “But they are the opposite of quiet. I have four sisters, three who are older and married, and eight nieces. They make the hockey team seem chill.”

He stands, drains his cup, and sets it on the counter. “Speaking of hockey, I’m also conditioning. I think I’m gonna go for a run. It was nice to chat, though. Good luck with your classes today.”

He smiles that entirely too cute grin of his again and ruffles my hair. He moves towards his bedroom, but I want to lean into his touch, stand and wrap my arms around him, press my body to his. But Hunter?—

Wait a minute. Hunter isn’t here. They aren’t teammates anymore. I swallow.

“Jonas,” I whisper his name, and it comes out husky and desperate.

His eyes widen, and he turns back from the hallway to me, still planted on the stool. “Hads? You okay?”

I wet my lips. This attraction isn’t going away. I don’t want anything serious, but what would be the harm in giving in? Just for the summer?

He comes closer, assessing me. “What’s wrong?”

I shake my head. “Nothing. But here’s the thing. I pushed you away for an entire year because you’re a jock. I was worried you’d be like my dad or my ex. But now that I know you…” I laugh, and it has an almost hysterical edge to it. “You’re nothing like them.”

“Um.” He grabs my hands, still staring at me with his clinical gaze. Probably trying to make sure I’m not having a seizure or something. “Thank you?”

“So what if we… I mean, how would you feel if we were to…” Oh god. I’m terrible at propositioning hookups, it turns out. I clear my throat and try again. “What if we were… together? For the summer?”

“Together?” He echoes, and now it must be his turn to have a medical emergency. “Together, together?”

“But, like, casual. Fun. No one gets hurt. Because we’re just friends who hang out and kiss sometimes.”

He raises a brow and comes out of his trance. “In that case…”

Cupping his hand around my jaw, he brings his lips to mine.

Fireworks shoot off in my belly and shivers race along my spine.

Heat pools between my legs as he slips his tongue into my mouth to twine around mine.

I fist my hands in his hair and tug him closer.

I want more, faster, deeper. I want everything.

When he pulls away, panting, I’m dazed and disoriented. Why did he stop?

I’ve kissed other people since Jonas last spring. I don’t know how many, but I’m not a nun. I convinced myself that those were good kisses. But none of them have even come close to how I feel when I’m with him.

“Have a great day, Hadley.” He smirks at me, and there’s no way I will have anything besides this kiss on repeat in my brain for the foreseeable future.