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TASHA

F or the second day in a row, I was woken up by my phone. Letting it ring, I rolled over, burrowing deeper in my bed. There was no way I was getting up, not when it felt like I had just fallen asleep. When the ringtone stopped, I hummed, feeling myself slowly going back to sleep, only for it to start again.

Nope. Not answering.

Wasn’t until it started for the third time that I groaned, rolled over, and grabbed my phone from my nightstand. Whoever it was better have a good reason.

“What.” My words came out harsh.

“Is that how you speak to your mother?” The voice on the other end of the line made my heart stop. I was not expecting my mother to be the one calling me.

“Sorry.” I cleared my throat and started again. “Good morning, Mother.”

She made a sound between a hmm and a tsk. “I've been trying to reach you the last few days.”

My eyes were still closed as I responded. “I told you I was going on vacation with some friends.” Of course, she didn’t remember that part. Too busy only talking about her and my father’s gala to pay attention to what I said.

“Anyway.” Immediately glossing over what I just said, she continued. “Your father and I have been talking, and we think the gala is the perfect time to make the announcement.”

There was something about her tone that had my eyes opening. Nothing ever good happened when my mother used that tone. Like the time I was forced to do an apprenticeship at their law firm right out of high school when I didn’t want to.

“What announcement?”

“Your engagement.”

My entire body froze at her words. Engagement?

“What the hell are you talking about?” I demanded.

“Language,” my mother scolded. “We’ve talked about this.”

“No, we haven’t. What engagement?”

“I told you. With the merger happening with Caplin Brown , we all want a united front, so the decision was made that you and his son will marry.” My mother said it so casually, like she didn’t just drop a bomb on me. Like she didn’t just make a life-altering decision for me.

“Did you just say that in order for your firm to merge, I have to marry someone’s son?”

“Yes. Now, they are going to be at the gala in three weeks so the two of you can meet before we announce the engagement. I…” My mother kept talking but I was long gone.

My parents wanted me to marry a stranger so they could merge their company with another? There was no way they actually agreed to that.

“Did you already agree?” I interrupted my mother mid-sentence.

“Of course.” Red hot anger grew in my throat.

“You agreed without even asking me.”

“It’s not a big deal. ”

“Not a big deal?” The voice that came out was one I never used on my mother before, but I was fuming. “This is my life, Mother, not yours to throw around.”

“Tasha Nichole Davis, you will not speak to your mother like that.”

“I am not doing it.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I am an adult, Mother, and capable of making my own decisions. That also includes who I am going to marry. And I am not going to marry some stranger to benefit your company.” I made sure to put emphasis on ‘your’ because it certainly wasn’t mine. I wanted nothing to do with it. Never had.

“Tasha— ”

“I am your daughter! Not some pawn for you and Dad to use whenever you please.” My whole body shook with rage.

I was hurt. Beyond hurt at how easily my parents agreed to some deal without even telling me. They wanted to use me for their own gain. Again. And they truly thought I would be okay with that. That I would roll over and be like, “Sure. Sounds good.”

“I—”

“The answer is no.” With that, I hung up before she could say anything else. My phone fell to my bed as I sat there, my chest heaving with each breath.

My parents wanted to marry me off. They were practically selling me as if I was a piece of property and not their blood relative. They were willing to sacrifice my life, my future, and my chance of falling in love so they could prosper. I knew my parents were ruthless but not this much.

Trevor’s face flashed through my mind. Doing what my parents wanted would mean I’d have to give him up. He wasn’t even mine but the thought felt like someone reached into my chest and tore my heart out. I would lose him before I even had him.

Gasping for air, I shook my hands out. No. I wasn’t going to allow that.

I was not letting my parents dictate my life. And definitely not who I would be with. Not when the person I wanted was right in front of me and all I had to do was reach out. To hell with my parents. To hell with everyone .

I was up and out of my bed in a matter of seconds. Throwing on a pair of shorts, I grabbed my phone and shoes, not even bothering to brush my hair or change out of my sleep shirt. Snatching my keys, I all but ran out of my apartment. Forgoing the elevator, I booked it down the stairs and outside to my car. I barely noticed the splatter of rain against my head as I ran across the parking lot.

I was numb as I got in my car, started it, and pulled out, heading in the direction of the only person I wanted to see. The only person who mattered.

The ride passed by in a blur, it was only 8 o’clock in the morning so the roads weren’t too busy yet. I was stuck in a state of disbelief, anger, and hurt. Before I knew it, I was shutting my car off and walking up the front steps of Trevor’s home.

It was a cute white brick house that had large windows and a beautiful patio out front. What stood out the most was the dark blue door. The same blue color as the Toronto Knights colors. I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not.

I was drenched from head to toe from the pouring rain, but I didn’t care as I rang the doorbell. Didn’t care that I literally rolled out of bed and probably looked like a drowned rat.

When he didn’t immediately answer, I rang the doorbell again, blinking away the water running down my face. A very drowsy, very ruffled Trevor answered the door. It took him a second to understand that I was in front of him.

“Tasha?”

“I…” My breaths were ragged, almost as if I ran all the way there.

“Are you okay?” Trevor looked more awake as he opened the door farther, his bare chest coming into view. I shook my head at his question.

I wasn’t okay. Nothing was okay right now.

“My parents want to marry me off to some random guy.” The words flew from my mouth. My voice was hoarse, like I’d been screaming, when really, it was from the burning hot fury inside of me. Saying it out loud sounded even crazier than my mother saying it on the phone.

“What?” Trevor took a step toward me, confusing marring his features.

“I said no.” I shook my head, water flying from my hair. My body shook but I wasn’t sure if it was from the rain, the adrenaline, or what I was about to say. “I told her no because I’m tired of them trying to dictate my life. Tired of letting stupid things stand in the way of what I want.”

Trevor stood there in his doorway, staring at me as I continued while drenched to the bone.

“But I realized when I hung up with her that I’m letting my fear of getting hurt stand in the way of what I truly want.”

“What do you truly want, Tasha?” Trevor’s voice was soft, but I heard it as if he was whispering it in my ear. I didn’t even hesitate in answering.

“I want you.”

“Me?” He took a step forward. I nodded, feeling like my heart was in my throat. I couldn’t read his face to know if I said the right thing, or if I was about to have my heart stomped on.

“Are you sure?” Trevor asked, taking one more step outside, the rain now hitting his bare chest and instantly soaking him.

“Yes.” My heart pounded so hard in my chest.

The longer Trevor looked at me, the less confident I became. I was probably making a huge mistake. Maybe I ruined my chance with him by having my walls too high. I started to take a step back when Trevor spoke again. What looked like determination flashed across his face.

“Good, because I've wanted to do this again since that night five months ago.” Without another word, he covered the distance between us, hands cupping my cheeks before planting his lips on mine.

The moment our lips met, everything around me went silent. The anger sizzling at the back of my throat extinguished, and all I could focus on was Trevor’s lips against mine.

My hands slid up his slick chest as he tilted my head back to get a better angle. When his tongue gently traced the seam of my lips, asking for permission, I couldn’t stop the moan from spilling out of my mouth and into his.

Fuck, he could kiss. Last time, I freaked out and left before I could truly appreciate it. But not this time. No, there would be no leaving.

Pulling back to get some air, I kept my eyes closed, my entire body sizzling. I gripped Trevor’s biceps to keep myself grounded. The swipe of his thumb on my cheeks prompted me to open my eyes.

Trevor gazed down at me with a soft look on his face. His hair stuck to his forehead, rain clinging to his eyelashes. My eyes tracked a trail of water dripping down his jaw, my lips practically begging to follow after it.

“Let’s get you dried off,” he murmured.

I nodded, not trusting my voice

Stepping into his apartment, I awkwardly stood on the mat right by the door. Aside from the fact I was dripping water everywhere, this was the first time I’d ever been inside his place.

“Coming?”

“Uh…” I glanced down at my soaking wet clothes dripping onto his rug.

“It’s just water, Sunshine. I can clean it up later.” The soft smile he sent me almost made me melt into a puddle of goo. Slipping off my shoes, I gently placed my hand in his.

I wanted to look around at the place, but all I could focus on was his back as he tugged me after him. The muscles moved with each step he took. My eyes trailed down to the waistband of the sweats he wore. I admired how they hung low on his hips. I mentally scolded myself for not paying more attention when he was facing me a moment ago.

Walking into his room, my eyes immediately darted to the bed in the center of the room. Swallowing thickly, I stood in the middle of Trevor’s room, my mind trying to play catch up.

“You can wear these,” Trevor said.

I drew my eyes away from the bed to the clothes in his hands. It was suddenly sinking in that we were really doing this.

“Hey.” Trevor’s voice was soft as he stepped toward me, stopping when his chest was inches from mine. His hand came up and gently grabbed my chin, tilting my head back to look up at him. “Nothing is going to happen if you don’t want it to.” His eyes bounced back and forth between mine. “And as much as I want to throw you on the bed and continue what we started outside,” those eyes darkened slightly, “we both are exhausted. So go get dried off and changed. I’ll be here when you get back.”

How is it that he knew exactly what to say? Despite wanting to also continue what we started a moment ago, he was right. Now that the anger dissipated, it left exhaustion in its wake. One look at Trevor’s face, and I knew he was just as tired as I was.

“Okay,” I replied softly. Sleep and then we could talk about…us.

“Take as long as you need.”

Before I could reply, he bent down and pecked my lips. His mouth curved upwards when he stepped back. The whole thing was so boyish and cute, I couldn’t stop the grin that spread across my face.

Taking the clothes from Trevor, I slipped past him to the bathroom hooked to his bedroom. I dared a peek over my shoulder and found him watching me. Picking up my pace, I quickly entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror, and while I was soaking wet and my hair stuck to my face, the look in my eyes caught my attention.

Despite everything that happened that morning, my eyes appeared brighter. My hand came up to touch my lips, still tingling from the kiss in the rain. A kiss that I would not be forgetting about any time soon.

Not wanting to keep Trevor waiting, I quickly peeled off my wet clothes, taking a moment to debate on keeping my underwear on or not. Even though it would be a little weird, I slid them down my legs and pulled on the T-shirt.. While the boxers were a bit big, they were surprisingly comfortable.

In the confined bathroom where no one could see me, I tugged the collar of the shirt up and sniffed it. It smelled just like Trevor, citrus-y and spicy, it was almost intoxicating. The front of it had the Toronto Knights logo, making me grin. Yeah, I was not giving this back any time soon.

Using his brush—a huge no, usually, but there was no other option—I quickly pulled it through my hair and put it back into a bun. I sighed at my reflection. The shirt hung down to my knees, covering the boxers completely. I looked like a little kid putting on her parent’s clothes.

Gathering my wet clothes in my arms, underwear hidden in the middle, I slowly opened the bathroom door and peeked out. Just as I slipped out, Trevor walked through the doorway holding two glasses of water.

“Make yourself at home while I go put those in the dryer.” With empty hands, Trevor reached to grab my wet clothes but I turned him down.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to.”

“I don’t mind, really.” With a genuine smile, he took them from me and left me alone in his room.

My inner snooper appeared, and I wasted no time walking around his room slowly, taking it all in. I didn’t know why but I was surprised at how…bland it was. He had a nightstand on each side of his bed along with one lamp. He had a giant TV hooked to the wall opposite of the bed. Below it was what looked like a chest filled with movies and a gaming system.

The only thing noteworthy were the few pictures he had scattered around. Leaning down, my lips twitched at the photos. All of them were of the guys and Trevor. There was one with Wyatt and him where they looked barely out of high school. I noted that even younger Trevor was cute. He was definitely the type you’d have a secret crush on, along with every other girl in the entire school.

While he was cute back then, now there was something more…rugged about him. Obviously, he was more muscular and had tattoos. It was clear he was someone who only got better with age.

The next picture was him with Wyatt and Bryton. They stood with their arms around each other, still clad in their hockey uniforms, grins so wide. Trevor and Wyatt looked a bit older in this one, so it had to be more recent .

“We took that picture right after we won our first Cup Championship.” Trevor appeared behind me. I didn’t even try to hide that I was snooping. “You can take the bed. I’ll be out on the couch if you need anything.” While it was thoughtful, that wasn’t what I wanted.

“No.” Walking over to the bed, I sat down, swinging my legs over.

“No?” He watched me get comfortable in his bed, eyebrows raised.

“No. Get in here.” I patted the spot next to me. While we may not have been doing what either of us were probably wanting, this was the next best thing. I wanted—no, needed—to be close to him. Just so I knew that I wasn’t dreaming or making it up.

“Tasha, I?—”

“I want you to.” He still had a skeptical look on his face. “Please.”

He finally relented as he rounded the side of the bed and slid in. Even though the sun was up, his room was pleasantly dark thanks to the black-out curtains over his windows, so falling asleep wasn’t something I was too worried about.

“Sorry for just dropping by,” I whispered a few minutes later as the two of us laid on our backs.

“You never have to be sorry.”

Three more minutes passed before I opened my mouth again.

“Thank you for the clothes and drying mine.”

“Tasha.” Trevor chuckled.

“Yeah?”

“Go to sleep.”

“But I—” I didn’t get the words out before I was pulled toward him, my body practically landing on top of his.

“Shhh. Sleep.” A heavy arm settled around my waist, keeping me in place against his side .

I laid there stiff against him as I inwardly freaked out. I tried my hardest not to think about the hard muscle under my right hand that was placed on his bare chest.

“Relax,” Trevor whispered, his hand softly squeezing my hip.

Taking a few deep breaths, I forced myself to loosen up in his hold. Mixed with the warmth radiating off of his body and the protective way he was holding me, I soon found myself dozing off, my exhaustion finally catching up with me.