Page 13

CHAPTER 13

AXEL

“ H ug it out, guys!” Ethan shouted, breaking the silence as only he could.

Instead of doing just that, I acknowledged Jace with a sharp nod and pushed off. I heard his sigh and wondered, was it relief or exasperation? I didn’t know and wasn’t sure why I cared.

We got razzed relentlessly for the rest of practice.

Teammates started calling me and Jace stupid nicknames, but the one that stuck was ‘Hot n’ Honey’. Thank you, Ethan. What an ass. Even the usually quiet guys like Silas and Maddox got into the teasing, and if Coach hadn’t been there, I probably would have given them all the finger and skated right off the ice.

By the time we got to the locker room, I was exhausted. Not just physically, but mentally. Not sure what, if anything, I was going to say to Jace when I had to actually talk to him again. I grabbed my shampoo and bodywash from my stall and headed for the shower room.

I was halfway done scrubbing up when I heard Jace’s voice and my body went rigid, my dick included. Frantically, I searched for any thought that would gross me out; toenail fungus, jock itch, hemorrhoids…and nope, I was still half hard. Whatever. It's not like I hadn't seen guys with semis or erections in the shower before. I wouldn’t shock anyone. It happened, especially after a practice or a game. We were all pumped up with adrenaline. It was a totally normal reaction.

Only, I hadn't been hard until Jace walked into the room and that realization was disturbing as fuck. I'd never reacted to a guy that way before. That was definitely new. New and unwelcome because it was Jace. I wasn’t upset that he was a guy, I was upset because it was him. Didn’t have any issue with it, it just never occurred to me that I’d be turned on merely by the sound of someone’s voice. A man’s voice.

I quickly glanced over my shoulder and spotted Dane and Jace on the other side, their backs to me. My eyes immediately locked on Jace’s body, water sluicing down his long back and over a tight, round ass that had my cock jerking hard. Stunned, the bottle of shampoo squirted out of my hand and onto the tile floor and the resounding splash had Jace and Dane turning towards me. Jesus Christ. I bent over to quickly pick it up and faced the wall again.

Just scrub up and leave.

Thankfully, they carried on their conversation, and I recited stats in my head to calm my dick down. When I finished washing up, I wrapped a towel around my hips and prayed that my boner would stay gone. Just for the next few minutes, of course.

I scampered out of the shower room and headed back to my cubby. Ethan, Finn, and Colin were getting dressed as I walked past them.

“We’re heading out for a bite and then back to my place for drinks. Join us?” Ethan offered.

“Sure,” I replied, surprising myself.

Ethan smiled. “Great, because you look tense as fuck.”

“I need to get laid,” I admitted, and everyone chuckled.

Fuck did I ever. Then I could screw away this crazy day.

“Jace’s friend Hailey was asking about you,” Ethan commented with a grin.

“What? How do you know that?” I asked as I stood in front of my cubby and grabbed my jeans.

“I ran into her today.”

“Is she blond, green eyes, big dimples?”

Ethan nodded. “That’s her.”

She was pretty, but I wasn’t interested, and I wasn’t one to go after someone else’s girl.

“I thought she and Jace—” I started.

“Nah,” Ethan waved me off. “It’s a casual thing. Jace doesn’t do long term.”

“Right.”

If —and that was a big if —the story that Jace told me about Preston was true, it was no surprise that he was sour on relationships. Still, the idea of sleeping with someone who’d slept with Jace…I didn’t like it. At all. In fact, just thinking about him and Hailey together made me irritable as fuck.

“It’s still a no,” I replied as I tugged on my briefs and jeans and threw aside the wet towel. “She’s not my type.”

“Oh yeah, you like brunettes?” Finn blurted out.

At that exact moment, Jace stalked into the room, his dark hair slicked back. Droplets of water ran down his neck and chest, and my eyes caught on his left pec and the cougar tattoo that covered it. His biceps flexed as he reached up and ran a hand through his hair, the strands falling around his face in a messy tangle. Why couldn’t I stop staring at him? This weird preoccupation was beyond my comprehension. And all logic.

“That’s not what I meant,” I added, ignoring the heat in my cheeks, and scowling at Finn.

“Sorry,” Finn replied, nervously glancing at Jace and then back at me.

Wait. What was going on? Did he catch me looking at Jace?

“What are you guys talking about?” Jace asked as he threw me a glare and headed for his cubby.

This time when he offered me his back, his ass was, thankfully, covered. But only in a thin white gym towel, wet, almost transparent, and clinging to those perfect cheeks like a second skin. It was…obscenely hot. The curve of his ass was on full view and my cock liked it way too much. God, I needed to fuck this ridiculous preoccupation away. ASAP.

I held my t-shirt in front of me, covering my crotch, and willed my dick to ease up.

“Axel here needs to get laid.” Ethan smirked. “I suggested Hailey but apparently, she’s not his type.”

“You mean, human?” Jace retorted.

“Haha,” I bit back. “But, seriously, I don’t want your leftovers.”

“You dick,” Jace hissed as he started towards me.

“Oh shit, here we go,” Ethan announced. “Ding, ding, ding! Get ready for round two.”

All the guys chuckled, but there was nothing funny about me and Jace facing off.

“What’s going on?” Dane asked as he entered the room.

“Honey insulted Hot, and Hot got back at him,” Ethan replied matter-of-factly while our teammates continued to laugh.

Dane was the only standout in the room, walking over to stand between me and Jace with a worried look on his face. Or, maybe it was irritation. Our captain wasn’t happy about playing referee and I was skating on thin fucking ice. If I got on Dane’s bad side, there was no way he’d support my efforts.

“It’s fine,” I bit out, staring at Jace’s mouth, his full lips curled up in a pouty smirk. “It’s nothing.”

“Jace?”

“We’re good,” Jace replied quietly and then smiled at his friend. “Just the usual locker room trash talk.”

More like a prelude to another tussle.

“You two need to figure out your shit. Like right fucking now,” Dane demanded and motioned for us to move away from each other. “Come to a peaceful ceasefire. Whatever it takes.”

I did as our captain commanded and stepped back.

“Did you hear me?” Dane asked.

“We’ll work it out,” I promised.

Why did I even bother lying? Everyone knew things weren’t fine and how the hell were Jace and I going to work this out?

I shoved aside my mounting frustration and finished getting dressed, reaching for my t-shirt, hoodie, and parka. The usual locker room chatter quieted. I swear, I didn’t let out another breath until I noticed Jace and Dane leaving.

Then I waited around with Finn until Ethan was done with his twenty-step hair routine. Like every player, Ethan was superstitious and refused to cut his hair at this point in the season. He had a longer mullet than me, but with his sleek black hair, he looked like he’d stepped out of a fashion show rather than a stinky college locker room. I couldn’t care less what I looked like at this point. Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I conceded that I look like one of those wolfhound dogs, minus the grooming. I was okay with that. The shaggier, the better.

But instead of heading into town, we headed back to Ethan’s, ordered burgers and wings, and downed shots. Not the ideal post-practice combo but we didn’t have a game for another two days so we could afford to let loose.

Three of us turned to ten, and then twenty, and then a weeknight party was underway.

Alcohol lubricated some of my nerves, and my tongue, and after a while, I was having a good time hanging out with my teammates. Finn laughed so hard at one of Ethan’s jokes that he snorted vodka up—and then out—his nose, which everyone found hilarious, including me. Then, some of the girls from the Kappa Delta sorority stopped by, all of them friendly, pretty, and talkative. They loved Ethan, of course, the party master. I still hadn’t really clicked with anyone and wondered if I was ever going to get laid again.

“The rest of the guys are heading over,” Ethan declared as he sat down on the couch beside me and nudged my arm. “Including Jace.”

“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” I said as I took another shot and slammed the glass on the coffee table.

“Seriously, what’s the real deal with you and Honey?” Ethan asked.

I scoffed at the mention of Jace’s nickname, but the alcohol was playing wicked havoc with my mind. Suddenly, I pictured Jace standing in front of me, naked, like he was in the shower room. But instead of water, a long, slow drip of golden, liquid honey slid down over his body, over that peach of an ass. How sweet would that taste?

“I need more booze for this conversation.”

And for that image in my head.

Ethan rolled his eyes and poured two more shots. “Spill.”

I took the shot, and gave thanks to clear, liquid courage.

“It’s not my place to say,” I announced.

“Is this about Preston?” Ethan added.

I stared at him. “You know about that?”

Ethan nodded. “Just that they dated, and it was bad. Preston treated him like crap, hurt him badly. Made him question himself.”

“Preston’s my best friend,” I admitted.

My only friend. No way was I going to admit that.

Ethan choked on his drink and coughed.

“How did I not know that?”

“Do you know everything that goes on with this team?”

“Pretty much.” He smirked as he leaned in. “Look, I don’t know you that well, or Preston at all, but I can say for sure that Jace is a good guy. He might act cocky and yeah, he can be a smart-ass, but which of us aren’t? I know for sure that he’s been through some tough shit. He worked hard to get here. And he’s nice to everyone, always friendly. If a teammate needs cheering up, or just someone to talk to, he’s there. I haven’t heard, or seen, a bad thing about him. Not from anyone.”

That didn't make me feel any better. The longer I was here at Sutton, the more people that I talked to that knew Jace, the more I questioned Preston. I knew for sure that something had to give. One way or the other, I was going to get the truth. Even if I didn't like it. Then again, Preston was a great actor. If he’d been feeding me lines all this time, then I really was a complete fool.

“Enough about Jace,” I replied, ignoring Ethan’s intent gaze. “I need to forget about him, hockey, and school. I need a distraction.”

“Well, let’s take care of that.”

Ethan waved at two of the Kappa Delta girls, the ones he’d introduced earlier as Rina and Waverley, to come join us. Ethan talked me up, flirting like mad, while I grunted a few responses and tried to make conversation. I forced myself into social mode, and made eye contact with Waverley, a cute brunette (thanks Finn) who leaned into me and started asking me the usual get-to-know-you questions.

A few minutes later, Ethan stood up and offered his hand to Rina, and they took off upstairs.

I turned to Waverley, tentatively sliding my arm around the back of the sofa, and she curled tightly into me, warm, and smelling like roses and vanilla. She gave me a flirty grin and licked her pink lips. I should’ve been turned the fuck on, ecstatic that this beautiful woman seemingly wanted my attention. My cock, however, wasn’t impressed with this turn of events. Nothing stirred below the belt, and it made me even more frustrated. Still, Waverley looked at me expectantly, so I leaned in to give her a kiss. I’m sure once I had a taste of her, my libido would kick-start.

I was just about to take her lips when I heard a door slam and Jace’s name called out.

My head snapped back like I’d been sucker punched.

“Are you alright?” Waverley asked, confusion in her eyes.

“Uh, yeah,” I whispered and bit my lower lip. “Just, uh, the noise surprised me. You want to get out of here and go someplace quieter?”

“How about you come home with me?” she asked, a rosy flush staining her cheeks.

I should have said ‘yes’. I should have said ‘hell yes’ and ‘let's leave, now’. Instead, I sat there like an idiot, frozen to the couch. Why didn't I just get up, take her hand, and go? What was wrong with me?

When I didn’t respond, Waverley pulled back, her smile gone.

“Or, maybe we can have another drink first,” she offered, and stood up. “I’ll be right back.”

Judging by the annoyed look on her face, she was not, in fact, coming back.