Page 22

Tobie

After the awkwardness of the last practice, I hadn’t wanted to come to watch the guys again. But if I’m here, the group of girls watching won’t ogle Reid, Javier, and Caleb again. At least, not so openly this time.

The same group of girls are back, giggling and pointing as they watch the guys on the ice.

Caleb is missing. I thought he might be late, but he never shows up.

When Reid and Javier skate over to me during a break, I ask them why.

“He finally pushed Coach into doing something about him practically living on the ice,” Javier explains.

“Two compulsory days off.” Reid pulls off his helmet and scratches his head. “He’s not allowed in the arena or the gym until he gets some rest.”

“Oh, should I see if he’s okay?” I curl my fingers into my palms so I’m not tempted to flatten Reid’s light brown hair sticking up.

Reid shakes his head as a guy skates over. “He’s going to be like a bear with a spike in his paw from being deprived of his practice time.”

The guy who is fast approaching is big, fair-skinned, with the palest green eyes I’ve ever seen, and the most perfectly sculpted cheekbones that make me wonder how he lucked out. And he does nothing to hide his curiosity about me. “Hey.”

I smile as he leans against the plexiglass. “Hey.”

He cocks his head as he studies me. “So, you’re seeing these two fools, eh?”

Another accent I can’t place. At least not at first. “Beau Ahern, the best left wing on the team.”

Reid bumps his shoulder. “That’ll be me, Irish.”

But Beau is still studying me, his head cocked slightly. “Which one do you like more?”

“Uh…”

We briefly discussed what we’d say if anyone asked how we met and decided to keep things simple.

At the last hockey game, they were leaving the arena, and I’d gotten myself stranded, so they helped me get back to my dorm .

At no point did we discuss any other questions people might have, like this one.

Beau’s smile is still openly curious. “You have to like one of them more. I’ll not ask if you like Caleb. He’s just grumpy enough to be third on your list.”

The volume has dropped in the arena, and it takes no stretch of the imagination to think everyone is doing their best to eavesdrop on our conversation.

Being the center of attention in some situations is fine. But when I’m surrounded by people who are from a different world than me, I always look to crawl somewhere and hide.

“I like them the same.”

His eyes crease. “It’s Pollyanna, isn’t it? It’s the floppy hair and puppy enthusiasm. All girls love the floppy hair.”

Reid laughs, and Javier snorts a laugh.

“Maybe I love the way Javier listens to me like I’m the only person in the world,” I say quietly.

Javier straightens as Beau slowly nods.

“But I do love the way Reid helped me through something I didn’t think I could get out of on my own.” Namely, heartbreak. “And Caleb is actually one of the sweetest, most thoughtful men I’ve ever met under that grumpy exterior, so if I had a list, he would not be third. None of them would.”

Beau’s stare lengthens, and then a slow smile stretches across his face. I get the sense that I just passed some sort of test. “You coming to the big game, Tobie?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Though I’m sure Reid, Caleb, and Javier will have forgotten all about me long before then.

As he skates away to join the other players on the ice, I turn to Javier. He’s staring at me, and he’s not the only one. Reid has lost his smile.

“What?” I run a hand through my hair, embarrassed.

“You meant that?” Reid asks. “About me helping you and the stuff about Caleb and Javier.”

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.” When they keep staring at me, I start thinking I said something I shouldn’t have. My eyes slide to Beau. “Why did you call him Irish?”

After strapping his pads on, Beau is laughing as he stuffs a helmet on his blond head.

Reid gives him a look, glances at me, and angles his body so he’s blocking my view of him like he’s jealous.

It is sweet. I absolutely would never have a chance in a million years with a guy like that, but Reid seems to think there is a real danger of him catching my eye.

A smile twitches Reid’s lips. “Because he’s Irish.”

I swallow my smile. “And you got stuck with Pollyanna?”

He scratches his jaw. “Just ain’t fair, is it?”

The coach blows his whistle, and Javier rests his hand on the plexiglass with a smile. “Walk me to class after practice, beautiful?”

The beautiful must be for the eavesdroppers, and the hand on the plexiglass may be some kind of hockey player sign of affection because the girls watching from the stands sigh.

“Sure.”

As Reid and Javier return to practice, I glance over at the stands, and the girls who were whispering and laughing aren’t focused on the guys—they’re focused on me.

I look away.

On the ice, their intense warmup would be the equivalent of a full workout for me.

Someone thumps beside me, yanking my focus away from the ice.

It’s a blonde girl. She’s beautiful in a pair of blue skinny jeans, a tank top, and a peach-colored sweater over the top. She’s still wearing her coat, so she must have just arrived. I don’t think she was sitting with the girls opposite.

“You’re new,” she says, still not looking at me.

I smile. “Yeah, I’m Tobie. I just?—”

“Won’t be sticking around when you get what you came for, huh?” Her voice is saccharine sweet, her expression open, but I’m getting the impression she doesn’t like me one bit.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

She gestures to the ice. “The players. You’re here to watch them practice, huh?”

“Caleb invited me,” I say defensively. “I didn’t just walk in.”

“But it’s not the hockey that interests you, huh?”

I don’t respond because whatever I say will be the wrong thing.

Still smiling, she gets to her feet and says off-hand, “Maybe next time you should sit up in the stands with the other puck bunnies. That way, you won’t distract practice when you stop showing up.”

What’s a puck bunny?

She walks away before I can ask.

I watch her make her way down to the ice and start chatting with the few players still lacing up their skates. One guy ruffles her hair. She sticks out her tongue and shoves him away. Since he’s built like a tank, he doesn’t even sway.

So the players know her and like her. Is she dating one of them?

Why did it feel like she’d prefer I left instead of sitting higher in the stands?

Javier, Reid, and I leave the arena together. They’re casual in sweats, and their hair is damp from what must have been a fast shower to be in and out of the locker room in under fifteen minutes.

Reid laces his fingers with mine, and Javier curls his arm around my shoulder and tucks me into his side in a move that feels so natural, I can’t believe it’s happening for the first time.

“What was Hallie saying?” Reid asks.

“Hallie?”

“Hallie Stewart, her brother is Lincoln, one of the defensemen,” Javier explains. “We all call him Sweet.”

Yeah, well, Hallie is less than sweet.

I consider telling them about what Hallie said and how I pulled out my cell phone and quickly searched to discover what a puck bunny is.

Nothing pleasant.

“Oh, nothing important,” I say vaguely. I’m not at the arena to cause trouble. Soon, Hallie will never need to worry about seeing me again.

Reid and Javier share a look that tells me I need to work on my lying face.

“Don’t you get bored with practice?” I ask to distract them.

Reid shrugs. “Not really. It’s what makes me better. Do you ever get bored with studying library science?”

“Yes,” I say without thinking.

“Because?” Javier asks.

Because it’s not what I want to do at all. I feel like I’ve made my bed, lain in it for the last few years, and now it’s too late to get out of it.

“Tobie?” Javier prompts me.

“Isn’t the science building the other way?” I glance around and realize I just spent the last few minutes unaware that eyes are tracking us across the quad.

One corner of Javier’s lips kicks up in a half smile. “It is. But we pass the library this way.”

“And doesn’t your ex have a study period right about now?” Reid’s expression is angelic.

Ah .

These guys are pros at this fake-date business.

They slow our walk to a crawl as we stroll past the library, and Javier tells me about one of the biology labs he’s working on.

It’s pretty dry stuff, but you wouldn’t know it from the way Reid keeps laughing like Javier is cracking epic one-liners right after the next or the way Javier’s eyes keep straying to my lips as he nearly kisses me a million times on our way.

“What are you guys up to now?” he asks, taking his arm from my shoulder.

Reid shrugs. “Figure we’d just hang out.”

“And Caleb?” I ask.

“Probably busy sneaking onto the ice as we speak,” Javier says. “But rest is important. If he keeps pushing himself like that, he’ll hurt himself.”

The clock tower bell rings, and Javier draws me toward him and kisses me softly on the lips. “See you later, Gatinha .”

“Later.”

And as he goes to class, Reid squeezes my hand. “How about we watch a movie?”

“Or we could work on the paper you keep trying to pretend you don’t need to do.”

He releases a heavy sigh. “Guess so.”

Minutes later, we’re lying on our bellies, side by side, in his bed. It’s not exactly conducive to studying hard, but Reid insisted on wanting to be comfortable.

When I glance at him, he has his head braced on his elbow, and he’s looking at me. I wonder if he didn’t have another agenda when he suggested we study on his bed.

“I’m here to help you study, Reid.”

He flashes me a grin. “No reason I can’t help you in return.”

I frown. “With what?”

His eyes dip to my breasts.

I blush. “Stop it. We should be studying.”

I refocus on the book I’ve laid open, but I feel his attention linger on me.

I glance at him. “What?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing.”

But as I return to flipping through a textbook, I still feel Reid watching me.

“When was the last time a guy kissed you?”

“Before Javier today? You did a couple of days ago.” I turn another page and pick up a bright yellow highlighter. We discussed the paper and the question, and this seems relevant to it.

“Before that?”

I shrug. “Not sure. Is this something you can use for your paper?”

His breath is warm against my neck as he leans closer to peer down at my book.

“Reid?” I prompt.

“Turn the page,” he says.

“Or I could give you the book,” I offer.

His eyes flick up. “Then I wouldn’t have a good excuse for being this close to you.”

I swallow my smile. “Quit flirting.”

“I don’t need that page for my paper.”

“Why do I think you knew that before you leaned over to my side of the bed?”

He widens his eyes. “Me, do a thing like that?”

Shaking my head, I resume focus on the book.

Five minutes pass before Reid says, “I wasn’t asking about the sort of kiss me and Javier gave you.”

I turn the page, distracted. “What kind of kiss?”

“The intimate kind. Pussy worship.”

I stop turning pages and study the guy eyeing me so innocently, that I struggle to believe those words just came out of his mouth.

“What?” Reid asks when I don’t respond.

“I’m formulating a response.”

“A yes or a no?” His grin is playful.

“No.”

His eyebrow lifts.

I blush. “Not that kind of no. The no, we’re not talking about this kind of response.”

“Because you’re embarrassed?”

“Because it’s none of your business if someone has…” I can’t bring myself to say pussy worship out loud. “Quit flirting or seducing me or whatever this is.”

“It’s not a seduction,” he says with a wink. “If I wanted to do that, I’d be showing up at your door at night with no pants and a trench coat.”

I lower my head so he won’t see my smile. “People get arrested for that kind of stuff.”

“Only when they don’t belt the trench coat tight enough, and the wind blows it open,” he says cheerfully.

I flatten my lips and choke back my laugh. There’s no stopping my shoulders from shaking.

“Are you laughing at me, Tobie Myers?”

“Of course not,” I tell him severely and turn a page I haven’t read.

Seconds pass.

“Tobie?”

I turn to Reid.

And I’m suddenly breathless when he brushes a soft kiss on my lips. “I would.”

“Would what?”

“Pussy worship.”

I clear my throat. “I’m good.”

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Well, in case you ever change your mind, I wouldn’t mind if you thought about me spending an hour giving your pussy all of my attention.”

“An hour ?” For the love of God, Tobie, do not get drawn into this—whatever this is.

He nods firmly. “An hour.”

And he picks up his book and resumes reading.

Only this time, I’m the unfocused one. My eyes keep straying from my open book to the man lying on the bed beside me, and I can’t stop thinking about what he would do for that hour.

Could I take an hour?

Wouldn’t my mind explode with pleasure that intense?

Marc and I did oral. Not a lot, but certainly not an hour’s worth. That would feel… I fidget and get breathless at the thought.

Reid turns toward me.

I jerk my head away and yelp as I tip. Thump . One second, I’m on the bed, and the next, I’m on the floor, and Reid is peering over the side, lips flat, clearly trying not to laugh. “You okay?”

I scramble to my feet. “Fine. Just lost my balance.” And my place in a book I wasn’t reading. I pick a page at random.

“You sure?” he asks in a neutral voice.

“Sure.”

And for the next hour, I could not tell you a single word I read.