Page 39

Greyson

Days following Thanksgiving, I’m walking out of the arena after a long as fuck practice session when I suddenly come to a halt as I take in the scene that’s unfolding in front of my eyes.

Is he serious?

If murder was legal, Kyle would be rotting on the side of a deserted road by now—I don’t know what’s with me and wanting to murder those who wronged Lilly, but I can’t help it.

I don’t care enough about him to even bother digging him a grave, or even leaving him in a more visible area. No, Kyle deserved to rot on his own, in the middle of buck fuck nowhere.

He had the fucking audacity to walk up to my girl and try to kiss her.

Fucking kiss her.

I’m not a violent person, and other than my “brother” I’d never hit anyone before. But as soon as I saw his lips close to hers, my fist clenches, and I drop my gear, charging toward him and slamming my fist in to the side of his face, hard .

He stumbles to the side, clutching his che ek and shoots me a glare. “What the fuck?” He hisses, taking a step toward me.

“You think you can kiss my girl?” I ask him, it’s a rhetorical question, and the answer to it is no, he cannot kiss my girl.

“She’s not your girl,” he growls, taking another step toward me. “And the sooner she realizes that the better.”

He’s correct, she isn’t my girl technically . But she is my girl.

The more time I spend with her, the more I realize how much I like her.

I fucking liked her.

Had a huge fucking crush on her in fact.

The taste of her is still very much on my lips, and to me, that's staking my claim.

But I knew we weren’t forever, and I knew my heart would break into a million pieces if I tried to pursue more. Because why would she feel the same way about me?

It’s a cruel twist of fate—developing feelings for someone who seemed so far out of reach, yet so close. It’s laughable really, me agreeing to “fake” date her—one of the terms for that being not developing genuine feelings…yet here I am, developing feelings for her. And I wish I could reel them in, but it seems impossible when anytime I look at her my chest tightens and my heart jumps.

She’s consuming me.

She’s taking over my mind.

And I don’t know what the fuck to do about it.

“She’s every piece of my girl.” I tell him as I wrap my arm around her waist and place a kiss to her head.

And there’s that strawberry scent again.

Kyle scoffs, wal king closer. “You think just because you play hockey, that you’re some big hot shot?”

Absolutely not.

“Kyle, just leave.” Lilly sighs.

“Because you’re not,” he continues. “You play around with a stupid little black thing, swinging your club, and looking like an idiot on those skates.”

Okay, one, it’s called a puck. Two, it’s called a stick. And three, it’s actually a skill to know how to not only skate, but to multitask while doing so.

But do I voice those thoughts to him, or do I punch him again?

I of course punch him.

This time he’s expecting it, because he punches back. But I don’t feel any blows to me. I’m in a rage, and all my anger is solely for him. I could feel my knuckles cracking under the pressure, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was beating his stupid face until it was swollen and bruised.

I wanted to hurt him so badly, for not only trying to kiss Lilly, but for everything he put her through. For hurting her. For cheating on her. For harassing her. For making her cry. For even breathing near her.

I wanted to hurt him until he was begging for mercy.

But then multiple arms pull me back, and my mind returns to the present.

Adrenaline courses through my veins. My hands are sore, but when I take a look at Kyle through the rage in my eyes, I can’t help but grin. His face is bloodied, his eye is closed shut, and his lip busted open.

I did that?

I’d d one that?

Holy fuck.

And you know what, it was fucking worth it, and I am not going to apologize.

“Greyson.” Lilly’s soft voice fills the air.

I turn to look at her, only to realize I can’t move because all the hands on me. I glance at Hunter and Chase, my eyes conveying with them to let me go, and they do. Shaking my body, I walk toward Lilly and smash my lips on hers.

She’s taken aback at first, but then she wraps her arms around my shoulders and kisses me back, just as desperate as I’m kissing her.

Strawberries, that’s all I can smell and taste.

She’s fucking my brain up, making my heart pump twice as hard, and making me fucking lose control.

I want her, so fucking badly. Now and forever.

But I can’t have her forever, I can only have her now. So, I’m going to be fucking selfish and take everything I can from her with the time I have.

The kiss deepens, and we’re both gasping for oxygen, but each time I tried to pull away, I couldn’t. She was igniting something deep inside me, setting me to the flames. And she didn’t even know it. She’d never know it.

“Greyson.” She mummers, breaking the kiss.

“Hmm?”

“Your hands.” Her eyes dart to my hands that are clasped on her cheeks, and that’s when I realize my knuckles are bleeding, and they’re bleeding bad.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“We need to clean your knuckles before they get infected.” She says, her eyes softening as she looks at me.

Fuck, she's so beautiful.

“Bro, you literally battered him like a fish.” Theo snorts, clapping his hands together and laughing.

Only he would find his own joke funny.

“You’re so stupid.” Chase rolls his eyes at Theo.

“You’re just jealous that you’re not the one who came up with the joke.” Theo smirks.

Chase gives him an unamused look, fishing his keys out of his pocket—pun so intended—before glancing around the group. “And I’m off.” He huffs, walking across the parking lot toward his truck.

“Yeah, me too,” Theo grins. “Gotta go see a beautiful girl about…well bye!”

I watch amused as he runs across the parking lot. He drops his keys multiple times, and by the fifth time, he glances back to see if we noticed…we’re all staring at him.

“As much as we would love to stay and help clean those,” Nina gestures down to my hands. “I’ve got a lecture in ten and my Professor is so grouchy if we’re even a second late.”

I nod in understanding, we say our goodbyes before Lilly is taking my hand and dragging me back into the arena. Walking down the corridor, she pushes the door open to the medical room and pulls me in.

Pushing me onto the gurney, she walks across the room and raids the cupboards while I sit here, watching her…admiring her.

She’s so beautiful.

There’s a radio on Abigail's desk that she seems to have forgotten to turn off in the rush to get out of here, the song “I feel like I’m drowning” by TwoFeet plays at a low volume.

It’s almost ironic because that’s exactly how I felt before Lilly came into my life—like I was drowning. She became my lifeline, pulling me from the depths where I had been submerged for what felt like forever.

She brought me back to life.

Until her, I’d never truly felt alive.

But she made me feel alive, made me want to live.

“Let me see.” She kneels before me, placing a handful of stuff beside me.

Grabbing my hands, she carefully inspects the damage I’d done when I punched that fucker in his face. Her touch is soft, almost hesitant, like she’s scared of hurting me. But doesn’t she realize she could hurt me any way she wanted, and I wouldn’t bat an eyelid?

“Thank you.” She whispers, glancing up at me.

I wince as she dabs an antiseptic wipe on the cuts. “He deserved it.”

She smiles, moving onto the other hand. “I know,” she agrees with a huff. “But I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”

I blink, because I’d throw myself in front of a car if it meant saving her. Hell, I’d take a fucking bullet to the heart if it meant no harm came to her.

I reach out, cupping her face in my hands. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat for you, Lilly,” I admit, soothing my thumb against her cheek. “Because you’re worth it.”

She’s worth everything.

She smiles, her cheeks flushing. “Yo u’re worth it too, Greyson.” She whispers, barely audible, but I heard, and my heart clenches.

I stare at her as she continues tending to my wounds, and then a thought spring to mind…a thought I’ve been too nervous to ask her.

“Go to the ball with me.” I blurt.

“What?” She asks, unwrapping a bandage.

“The masquerade ball, go with me. As my date.”

Glancing up at me, she licks her lips before looking back down at my hand and wraps a bandage around it, making me hiss.

“Sorry,” she whispers, like she feels bad for hurting me. “But to answer your question…yes, I’ll go with you, as your date.” She grins sitting back on her heels.

Fuck, she looks so beautiful down there on her knee’s, and it has my cock jumping in my sweats.

Down boy , now is not the time to get horny.

“Come here.” I say, reaching my hand out to hers and dragging her up. Pulling her between my legs, I cup her cheeks.

So fucking beautiful.

“Greyson.” She whispers.

“I know, baby. I know.” I mummer before smashing my lips to hers.