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16

A s much as I wanted to take credit for TU’s win on Friday, I had nothing to do with it. We played a tough game, and our only goal came from a surprise breakaway by none other than Rafael Castillo.

I could count on one hand the number of Hispanic hockey players I’d known, and all of them I’d met here in Texas. Coach had taken my suggestion to heart and assigned me to do one on one training with Rafe. Sellers thought I was being punished, but I liked Rafe. He was smart and hard-working along with stupidly talented.

Working with him made me a better player—and he made the most of his ice time.

Unlike last week, I didn’t fuck around in the locker room. Kane was holding court in the corner complaining about something stupid, but for once, I didn’t listen. He always had an issue, and I had Kenzie waiting for me.

I found her in the athlete parking lot, leaning against the side of my car. She looked completely at home, and when she spotted me, her lips curved into a slow smile I knew I’d see in my dreams.

“I thought you might have forgotten about me again,” she teased.

“Ha ha,” I deadpanned as I put my gear in the trunk. “Do you have your list, wifey?”

She shook her head. “I should have known better than to start with you.”

I’d seen the posts on TU’s social, and I knew I had a little bit of work to do to get her reputation where I wanted it. Thanks to Kane, too many people thought she was playing me. We were only trying to make the rest of her year here easier. After graduation, none of those anonymous assholes would matter.

In hindsight, we’d been lax with the public appearances, and while my roommates were convinced, not many others had seen us together.

I planned to fix that tonight.

Other players straggled past us in groups. They seemed like they were ignoring us, but we were spotlighted under the parking lot light, and let’s be real, Kenzie and I were the hottest drama at TU right now. They were watching.

I rounded the car and hauled her forward into a hug. To her credit, Kenzie didn’t smack me or back away. She didn’t even stiffen up. I probably could have given her warning, but I kind of wanted to see how she’d react.

Her arms came around me immediately, and she leaned into it, closing her eyes with a sigh. Holding Kenzie was never a hardship, but the way she relaxed made me think she’d needed the hug.

“You smell good,” she murmured into my chest.

I chuckled. “Well, I showered. What were you expecting?”

“A sweaty, gross hockey player who’d just worked his butt off for three straight periods.” Kenzie leaned back to frown at me. “If you’re tired, please say something. I know you have another game tomorrow and you’re probably?—”

I silenced her with a kiss.

She drew in a tiny breath, and her hands clenched the back of my shirt. I slipped my fingers under the jersey she wore and nearly lost my shit when I encountered nothing separating me from her soft skin.

A small voice in the back of my head reminded me technically, my dick hadn’t been involved before. It helpfully pointed out I wouldn’t be breaking my one-night rule if I spent the next several hours with her naked in my bed. Maybe the next day too. After all, if she never left, was it really the next day?

With a massive effort, I hauled myself out of the gutter, easing back from the kiss to rest my forehead against hers. Tonight wasn’t supposed to be about sex. As much as my dick disagreed, I genuinely wanted to help Kenzie knock down her good girl walls.

There had to be things on her list we could do together fully clothed. In public. With chaperones. Bonus if someone from TU saw us and posted about how happy she looked. I could arrange the last part for sure. Would it be too much to tag Kane?

I quickly weighed the options and decided to play it by ear.

Kenzie’s eyes fluttered open, a little dazed, and locked on mine. “What was that for?”

“I can’t kiss my girl after winning our game?”

She gave her head a little shake. “Yeah. Yes. Of course. Happy to provide… my lips? I’m going to stop talking now.”

I wiggled my fingers against her bare back. “Got big plans for tonight?”

A pretty little blush crept up her cheeks. “It was my sister’s idea, and don’t get me started on how weird that conversation ended up. Do you…” She trailed off and looked away for a second. “Do you like it?”

I tilted my hips forward, pressing her into the car and making it very clear how much I liked her fashion choice. “You could wear anything and I’d like it, but my opinion doesn’t matter. How do you feel knowing the only thing between you and the air is my name?”

Kenzie licked her lips, and I had to hold myself back from kissing her again. She deserved the time to find the answer to my question.

Slowly, she smiled up at me. “It feels fun, like a secret between the two of us.”

“I’m glad you let me in on your secret.”

A flash from my left followed by a whispered curse pulled me out of the moment. I’d completely forgotten we had an audience. From Kenzie’s startled expression, she’d forgotten too. We were supposed to be performing, but everything I’d said was the absolute truth.

“Come on, wifey. Let’s check another thing off your list before we hit my bedtime.”

She laughed, as I’d intended, and rose up on her tip toes to kiss my cheek. “Thanks, Reece.”

After we’d settled into the car, I held out my hand. “Where’s the list? I’m picking this time.”

She raised a brow in a silent comment about my choices thus far, but handed over her phone with the list pulled up.

I scrolled through the extensive numbered entries, a little surprised to see several sex-based items she definitely should have experienced before now. What the hell was wrong with Kane? He’d been with her for five years—five years of unlimited access and time—and he’d never let her go down on him?

Damn I was tempted to pick that one and drive straight to my house. She wanted to give a blow job? I volunteered as tribute.

She expected me to pick something sexy though. I scrolled a little farther and smiled, closing her phone before handing it back.

“Well?” she asked.

“I have the perfect choice. I just need to text someone really quick.”

After a couple of messages and a promise to run shirtless at the next 5k, I’d gotten what I wanted. When we pulled up to the Lucky Duck Pet Rescue, Alexis waited by the door. She looked better than I’d seen her before. The dark circles were gone from her eyes, and she’d put on some healthy weight. I was glad my donation had given her the chance to hire the help she needed.

Kenzie’s brows drew together as her gaze bounced between me and the sign on the non-descript white building. “What are we doing here?”

“Number thirty-four on your list was adopt a pet.”

Her eyes widened, and she slapped a hand onto my thigh. “I can’t have a pet in the sorority house. I mean, maybe a fish or something confined to a tank, but nothing they’d have here. That was more for future me.”

I picked up her hand. “I know. We’re here to play with the adoptable pets, to give you a feel for what future you might want.”

“At ten p.m. at night?”

I shrugged, glancing through the windshield at the disgruntled owner waiting for us. “Cats are nocturnal, and Alexis owed me a favor. We don’t have to go in, but don’t let what you think you should do hold you back from what you want to do.”

Her jaw firmed, and she nodded. “Okay, as long as Alexis is okay with us bothering the animals this late.”

I laughed as we got out of the car. “Are you kidding? The animals are going to love it, and Alexis will love making them happy.”

Alexis ushered us inside, gave us a rundown of the rules, then retreated to her office to make headway on her never-ending paperwork. Kenzie made a beeline for the kitten enclosure, and her happy sigh when she saw the cute little fuzzballs made the entire night worth it.

Twenty minutes later, we were sitting on the floor of the largest playroom, covered in kittens. Kenzie laughed as a sleek black one with huge ears attacked the toy she was swinging around. Even if I wanted to get close to her, the army of baby cats wouldn’t allow it.

When I wished for chaperones, this wasn’t what I had in mind, but I didn’t hate it. If someone had tried to tell me last year I’d be taking a girl on a date to a pet rescue, I’d have assumed they had a concussion. Fake date. Sort of. The line between fake and real was getting fuzzier by the moment. Kind of like Kenzie’s pants.

I genuinely wanted to spend time with her. She was an amazing person with a sharp sense of humor hidden under her kindness. She listened, she cared, and she demanded more from life than what she’d been given. On top of all those reasons, she was the only girl who’d tempted me to break my one-night rule.

There were other people I liked spending time with, but none of them inspired the very detailed fantasies I’d started indulging in the shower. What was the difference between a fake relationship and a real friendship with benefits?

Kenzie looked up from her adoring fans and caught me watching her. “What?”

I shook my head, not ready to explain my convoluted thoughts. “You seem like a cat person.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure until we came in here and I got to pick. Then it was easy. I’m definitely adopting a cat as soon as I have a stable environment.” She looked down at the black kitten with bat ears, and I could practically see hearts floating out of her eyes.

“Why was adopting a pet on your list?”

“Brighton is allergic to pet dander, so we could never have pets as kids, and Toby isn’t into animals. He thinks they’re all dirty and a waste of time.”

“That tracks.”

“Actually, it was you who inspired this entry.”

“How so?”

An orange and white mix with legs longer than its body tumbled off the cat tree behind her and landed on her thigh. The black kitten growled at the intruder until it left the sanctity of Kenzie’s lap.

“The way you guys are with Henry and Sunny. They cause trouble and make messes, but you love them anyway—unconditionally. It would be nice to feel like something loved me no matter what.”

My heart squeezed at her sad tone, and I bit my tongue to keep from saying something I’d regret. Before I could figure out the right words, Kenzie offered me a wobbly smile and held up the black kitten.

“I’d take this one home right now if I could. He gets me.”

I rubbed his forehead with one finger, right between the bat ears, and a loud purr rumbled from his little body. When I stopped, he swatted at my hand with an indignant meow. Kenzie chuckled and set him down, where he immediately curled up in her lap again.

“Yeah, I can see the resemblance. Happy when he’s being petted, then salty when you stop.” I raised a brow at her.

She threw a stuffed mouse at me, and immediately, three kittens went for my face to destroy the flying toy. Alexis knocked on the door not long after to let us know our time was about up. Kenzie took her time saying goodbye to the kittens and gave the black one a gentle kiss on his head before she set him on the top tier of the cat tree where she’d found him.

While Kenzie went to the bathroom, I sidled up to Alexis and asked what it took to adopt a kitten. She burst out laughing.

“I knew it. You’re gone for the girl, and she wants Satan in there.”

“You named that poor cat Satan?”

She gave me a hard side-eye while she locked up. “When you’ve been at this as long as I have, you know which ones are troublemakers. Pegged you right from the beginning. You know we’re a no-kill shelter, so Satan is safe here as long as he needs. Unfortunately for you, he’s popular. I don’t think he’ll be here much longer.”

I scrubbed a hand down my face. “You didn’t answer my question.”

She scoffed. “Yes, I did, just not the one you asked. Adoption is easy. Fill out some paperwork, pay the fee, take home your demon cat.”

“You don’t do background checks or something?”

Alexis propped her hand on her hip. “Do I look like the FBI? I know you, so you get special treatment. If you can live with Henry, you can handle Satan.”

“I’m not calling him that.”

She waved my objection away. “Call him whatever you like, but he’ll need regular vet care, food, toys, plenty of space to destroy, the works—and cats regularly live up to ten years. You ready for that kind of commitment?”

Her gaze shifted to Kenzie as she came out of the bathroom, and I picked up she wasn’t only talking about the cat.

I swatted at her, just like poor little Satan in the kitten cage. “Go away. And thank you.”

“I’ll hold him for a couple days,” she whispered, then straightened to address Kenzie. “It was wonderful meeting you. I hope you had fun. We always love when people can come in and help socialize the animals.”

Kenzie beamed. “I’ll definitely be back, and I want to talk to my sorority about doing some charity work with your organization if that’s okay?”

Alexis’ smile softened. “I would love that. Reece knows how to reach my personal line.”

They chatted as she walked us out, and I sighed, knowing I’d be back right after I called Gavin tomorrow. Kenzie was quiet on the drive to her place, staring out the window at the blurry trees.

“Reece?” she asked quietly. “Why don’t you spend more than one night with a girl?”

I stayed silent, juggling responses, until we pulled up in front of her house. “Why do you want to know?”

She unbuckled and turned to face me. “You’re not what I expected. The prevailing gossip says you’re a fuckboy who only cares about himself. I was fine with that assessment as long as you fulfilled your end of the deal, but I don’t think they know you at all.”

“Since when do you listen to gossip?”

“Since I became one of their favorite topics. I feel like I know a lot about you, and the one-night rule is the only part I don’t understand. You don’t have to tell me, but I’m here to listen if you do.”

Out of all our conversations the last few months, we’d never discussed who my family was—other than the night she’d fallen asleep on me. She thought I was a normal well-off guy with a family business and a potential future in hockey.

I knew she wasn’t interested in snagging a professional hockey player or she could have simply stayed with Kane, but the number of zeros in my bank account turned people. I wasn’t ready for her to treat me differently.

“It’s late. You should get inside.”

She shook her head. “You’ll tell me one day.”

“Maybe.” Likely, since I already had to fight the urge to spill my guts to her on the regular.

Kenzie leaned over to kiss my cheek. “Thanks for a fun night.”

I kept my hands locked around the steering wheel, so I didn’t drag her across the car and onto my lap for a real goodnight kiss. “Night, wifey.”

She went inside, and I stayed parked in front of her house until I saw the final light go out. Her bedroom. I drove home on autopilot, thinking about how much I’d changed since my senior year of high school.

How much I was trying to change now.

I pulled into the driveway and sat there staring at the dark house where I’d found a life outside my family’s money. Why was I still letting it control me? I’d spent the last couple of years exclusively choosing self-absorbed women, but not all of them were like that.

Kenzie wasn’t like that. She didn’t want to be in a relationship, so why was I holding us back on the chance she’d change her mind? Even if she did, I trusted her.

I trusted her.

“Fuck.” I slapped my hand on the steering wheel and put the car in reverse. Apparently, we were both trying out new things. Tonight was supposed to be about her—about her needs and wants without anyone else getting in the way.

But right now, I needed her .