Page 11 of Your Biggest Downfall (Ravens Hockey #3)

nova

My head was fucking throbbing. My mouth felt like someone had stuffed cotton in it. My bones ached painfully, and it was far too bright in this damned bedroom for it to be morning. Why didn’t I put my blackout curtains up yesterday?

Wait... I shot up and held my temples. Fuck, I regretted that.

I looked down at my shirt. “Shit.” Yeah, that was most definitely not my shirt.

I looked around the room, recognizing where I was.

“No,” I whispered.

There was no way I fucked Austin Hart and lost my virginity to him when I was passed out drunk. No fucking way.

I practically jumped out of bed and pulled at the hem of my shirt, confirming there was nothing in between my legs and...

“No,” I said softly. “No. No. No .”

“Whoa,” a deep male voice came from the door. “No, what?”

I whipped around to see Austin leaning in the doorway.

He had no shirt on, and the first thing I noticed was the tattoo on his chest. It wasn’t big, but there was what looked like a moon and a constellation.

I forced my eyes up his fucking six-..

. no, eight- pack, and then to his rumpled blonde hair.

His bright blue eyes held so much warmth.

In his hand, he had a glass of clear liquid, medicine, and a bottle of vodka.

“Did you pour an entire glass of vodka at whatever goddamn hour this is?”

“Water.” He held up the cup as he walked toward me and placed it on the nightstand I was standing in front of. “You look good in my shirt, you should wear it more often. I might even let you take it home to sniff when you miss me.”

“Austin,” I chided, then playfully hit his rock-hard chest.

Did all the players look like this? I was in the locker room a few times to make some thirst traps, but when I was at work, I was a professional.

“Ugh.” I threw myself onto the bed, making sure to keep my legs shut. “D—Did we sleep together?”

I was going to blame the booze for the haze in my memory. I didn’t want my first time to be something I didn’t remember, especially if it was with Austin Hart. No. I wanted to remember the entire thing.

Austin chuckled and sat down beside me, the mattress dipping under his weight. “Nah. You puked all over?—”

“I vomited on you because I saw my best friend with four guys in three of her holes!” I shrieked and jumped up.

It was all coming back to me. Oh no. This wasn’t my real life. This was why I should have never come to the damned party.

“Well, yeah, but also probably because you had too much booze, but sure, we’ll go with the first thing.”

“This isn’t funny, Austin,” I snapped. “I puked on you. This is so embarrassing. I work for you.”

“Well, technically, I work for you since, you know, you sort of help my career?—”

“Shut up,” I said and let out a small chuckle. This shouldn’t be funny.

“Listen. It’s fine. I’ve been puked on a few times before. Bodily fluids are just... that.”

“Who else has puked on you?” I tilted my head to the side, trying to believe something so unbelievable.

“Well, Evie has vomited on me a couple times,” he said while the corner of his lips twisted into a smirk.

“She’s a fucking baby!” I threw my hands up. This wasn’t helping my case.

He reached out and grabbed my thighs, bringing me closer to him. “But I promise you all I did was help you in the shower and then out of your pukey clothes and into bed.”

I hesitated, but he continued while rubbing small circles along the back of my thighs. “I would never take advantage of you like that, Supernova.”

“You swear we didn’t... ?” I asked again, hating that I was so vulnerable. My head was fucking throbbing.

“I swear.”

I nodded and then pulled out of his grasp. “I need to go make sure Luna is okay.”

“I saw her out there. She said she was going to get dressed.” He got off the bed and handed me a white pill. “It’s Tylenol,” he added.

“Thank you,” I said, nodding, and then grabbed the drink from the nightstand. Sipping it to make sure it wasn’t booze, I was grateful it was just water.

“Hey,” he said when I finished.

“Yeah?”

He brought his hand to my face and pulled away a rogue strand that had fallen forward. “I, uh,” he started to say but then stopped.

“What?” I asked, laughing a little at the otherwise confident guy, known for his social media thirst traps, snagging ladies, and fucking girls wildly at orgy parties, being hesitant.

“I wanted to say that even though we were drunk last night, I remember what you said about your mom and wanting to escape.”

“Oh,” I said, embarrassed. “That was just . . .”

I didn’t know what it was. I wanted to tell him it felt good to confess that to someone.

It was comforting to realize someone else carried the same weight—the urge to escape from the mess of real life.

I wanted to say how much it meant to finally be here, sharing this quiet understanding amid the storm of everything else in my world.

We were two wandering souls, briefly tethered by our mutual sense of loss and longing. The unspoken words lingered between us.

“It was what it was.” Austin shrugged. “I wanted to say I appreciated it.”

“Yeah,” I huffed out a breath. “I agree.”

There was a long silence where Austin stood there, staring at me intently. His gaze was intense, as if he was trying to get into my mind.

“Sorry about your mom and Ledger and shit. It sucks to feel left out.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “It does.”

Another long pause.

“I need to uh... I need to go. Do you know where my clothes are?” I asked quickly.

“Shit.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I put them in the washing machine because they kinda stunk. I don’t think they’re ready...”

I looked down. What the hell... There are worse things than doing the walk of shame from Austin Hart’s apartment in only his shirt.

Maybe it’d win me some street credit from Luna.

Although I would absolutely be telling her what happened last night and needed the tea on how the hell she got two guys to fit in one hole.

“Fuck it.” The shirt was long enough, hitting me mid-thigh. It was probably as long as a dress, and with my boots, it looked intentional.

“You going to wear my shirt home, Supernova?” He quirked a brow with that smirk back in place. “I like that.”

“You are foul, Hart. I’m going to throw it in the trash the moment I get back, so ha .”

Oh, good one, Nova. You got him there.

He slowly swiped his tongue over his lower lip, pulling on it slightly.

“Sure you are, Supernova. I know you’re going to wear it at night while you graze your fingers around your tight little hole.

” He took a step closer to me, hovering his mouth over mine.

“Drench your fingers, baby, then bring them up and smear them along your lips while you imagine all the ways I can dress you up.”

“Ew, Austin,” I laughed, taking a step away from him. I was not about to give him the satisfaction of smelling the fact that I was indeed dripping and blushing. “You left me with no choice other than to wear it home.” I turned to grab my shoes and head out.

He let out a deep chuckle. “Don’t smell it tonight and think of all the ways I could destroy that sweet, tight cun?—”

“See you on the ice, Hart,” I shouted over my shoulder, not allowing him to finish.

This was the Austin I missed. This was my friend who, sure, fine, maybe I wanted to kiss... a lot last night, but I didn’t and he’s just a friend.

“Later, Nova.”

Somehow I walked carefully out of his room, trying not to be too obvious that I was squeezing my thighs together as I shut the door behind me. I swear I could hear him laughing. That fucking asshole.

“Babe, I’m so sore,” Luna sighed as she adjusted the towel on her head.

We were back at our apartment, lounging the rest of the day until I went to visit Mami and Aunt Mae.

“I fucking bet. I have no idea how you...” Luna started to laugh as I trailed off.

“No.” She suppressed her giggles. “What I can’t believe is that you looked at me and were so disgusted you turned around and puked on fucking Austin Hart.”

I playfully jabbed her in the shoulder. “He’s not like that. He’s actually really?—”

“Do not finish that sentence with nice.”

“Agh. Stop. He is nice, and he’s on the freaking Ravens, and last night was amazing, but we’re colleagues at work essentially. Hell, I’m just the fucking social media intern.”

“Uh, sorry. No.” Luna sat up straighter, grabbed my shoulders, and forced me to look at her.

“You are not just the intern who does social media. You make his freaking career. How many endorsements did he get last year because you boosted him up on socials? How many times did your thirst traps go viral, and now how many more females are attending the Ravens games because they wanna see hot hockey players do push-ups on the ice?”

I laughed. “They aren’t push-ups.” I sighed, then fell back onto the couch, pulling the belt of my robe a little tighter.

She had a valid point. But it didn’t change the fact that we were just two people who worked at the same place.

Before all of this, Austin and I were friends.

We’d planned Ledger’s retirement party together, laughed over stupid shit I’d make him video, and bonded over the fact we were both young and new.

He sat with me willingly during any interview and even convinced the guys to do them without too much of a hassle.

I enjoyed being with him, feeling a connection that went beyond work.

But then my mom’s diagnosis came, and everything changed.

He got weird, distant this season, and it never felt the same.

Last night, though, somehow brought it all back.

The friendship we once shared, the comfort of his presence, and the laughter that seemed to flow so naturally between us.

It reminded me of how he used to make me feel seen, understood.

The way his eyes lit up when he felt heard in my secrets.

And, yes, there was an undeniable attraction that made my heart race and my panties wet.

But life was still tangled and messy. My mom’s illness had overshadowed everything.

And Austin... Austin had to remain a friend.

He had the Stanley Cup to focus on and his career.

I couldn’t be the one to pull him down. I had my career on the line too.

I wanted to advance to something other than just an intern.

“I get what you’re saying and all, but I promise, Luna, we’re just friends.”

“Psh...” She grabbed the television remote and put on one of the latest episodes of Housewives .

“Friends,” she repeated softly. “Okay, sit in front of me so I can braid your hair.”

I pulled off my towel and sat on the ground in front of her. Naturally, my hair was quite curly—it was the Puerto Rican in me—but I liked to contain the curls, so braiding it was the best option.

“Are you going to tell me what it’s like with four guys devouring you, or am I going to pretend like I’m interested in Teresa’s new drama?”

Luna barked out a laugh. “Alright, nosy. Well first, it’s nothing to be puking about?—”

“Luna,” I groaned. “Stop.”

We both broke out in a fit of giggles.

“For real, it feels like . . .”

As she searched for the right word, I remembered what Austin and I had talked about. Although some details were a little fuzzy, going out felt good—last night felt fucking good.

An escape from the otherwise hellish reality of my everyday life felt amazing. Maybe Austin was on to something, because I would give anything to chase this feeling again.