Page 29

Rilee

“So let me get this straight,” Lexi says, stabbing a sweet potato fry like it insulted her. “You let Grayson paint your nails and somehow didn’t immediately crawl into his lap and whisper, ‘Take me now, Stormcloud’?”

I choke on my iced tea.

“Lex.”

“What?” she says, all innocent. “I’m just saying. That man stares like he knows all your secrets and wants to hold your hair back while you confess your sins.”

I groan and cover my face with one hand. “Can we not psychoanalyze the hot goalie?”

She leans in, eyes gleaming. “Girl, your face just went redder than that tomato bruschetta.”

I lower my hand and glare at her. “I hate you.”

She grins. “You love me. Now spill. What happened?”

I fidget with my napkin, trying not to smile. “We just sat on his floor and he painted my nails. And maybe he… blew on my fingers to dry the polish.”

Lexi makes a dramatic sound and drops her fork. “That’s the most erotic thing I’ve heard all week, and I had sex in a walk-in closet on Tuesday.”

“Please stop sharing.”

“No. Never. Because you are joining a hockey road trip like it’s not a walking fanfiction plotline.”

I chuckle. I made the mistake of texting her that Caleb had invited me to their upcoming away game.

“It’s one away game. And I’m not even going to the game. I’m just… riding up. Studying. Hanging out at the hotel.”

Lexi sips her drink, unconvinced. “You’re going to end up tangled in a hotel room sheet with at least two of them. Probably while pretending you’re just friends .”

I roll my eyes. “We are. Mostly.”

“Girl. You rode one of them like a mechanical bull, gave the other a blowjob, and let him massage your cuticles. That’s not mostly friends . That’s a reverse harem in progress .”

I groan and drop my head to the table. I didn’t tell her about the threesome—not because of shame, but out of self-preservation. She’d never let me hear the end of it.

Lexi pats my hair. “It’s okay. You’re living the dream.”

“I’m living a disaster.”

She leans in, softer now. “Yeah, but it’s your disaster. And honestly? You’ve never looked happier.”

I blink, surprised.

And kind of wrecked.

Because she’s right.

Even if I have no idea how this ends, part of me doesn’t want it to.

I’ve been sleeping better than ever. My stress level’s at an all-time low. I don’t even want to murder my anatomy lab partner anymore. It’s weird.

“Can I get live updates from the road trip? Like a play-by-play?”

I throw my balled-up napkin at her.

* * *

The other day Caleb had whispered (during sex) that he wanted to feel me without a condom on. I’d whispered something about my birth control pills. Later, during pillow talk, he suggested we both get tested.

Now I have. And the results are sitting in my inbox. I decide to be flirty and spontaneous and forward them to Caleb while he’s in class.

Me: All clear *smiling face emoji*

Caleb: * devil horn emoji* Evil woman. I have three more hours of lectures to sit through.

I smile and busy myself by packing for our trip to Chicago for the away game tomorrow. My phone buzzes again.

Caleb: What are you doing?

Caleb: Other than trying to kill me.

Me: I’m packing for the trip.

Caleb: Do you even need clothes on this trip?