On my way across campus Saturday night, I garner several strange looks. It’s worth it. Easton might have me braving a party at the hockey house for him, but just to rile him up, I’m wearing Ryan’s jersey as a joke.
I take it from the amount of blue and green hockey fan gear I spot on and off campus, the guys won their home game this afternoon. When I reach the square at the center of town, Reagan sends a text to our group chat saying she’s running late, but she’ll try to be there later. Hana responds to say she can’t make it after all, apologizing for bailing on us to practice choreography for her upcoming solo.
“Shit,” I mumble.
That leaves me heading to party with the hockey team and their crowd alone. Wearing an Elmwood jersey.
I hesitate in front of the coffee shop, debating waiting for Reagan in there. Another text pops up on my screen. I roll my lips between my teeth.
Hat Trick King: You’re still coming, right?
Maya: Ohhhh, that was tonight?
Hat Trick King: 🙁 🙁
Maya: Kidding. Almost there. Picked out my outfit just for you.
He replies with a heart. The rush of delight is ridiculous. I tamp down on it to keep my feelings in check. We’re friends. Nothing more.
My pulse skitters again at the thought of him walking with me the other night and because he was the only person to recognize I was upset when he found me on campus. He’s the kind of friend who buys me food and lets me cry all over him while he held me.
I close my eyes, murmuring firmly. “Just friends.”
The hockey team’s house isn’t much further. It’s just off the square with historic charm and a wraparound porch. I’ve heard the freshmen have to dorm in the school’s housing for athletes on campus, but the rest of them live here like a frat house.
I blend in with the group of people entering ahead of me, planning to slip by Noah as he greets them. An arm stops me in my tracks once I’m through the door. Cameron grins at me, shaking his head.
He whips off his baseball cap and scrubs at his hair before putting it on backwards. “And where do you think you’re going?”
I gesture to the sounds of music and chatter down the hall. “The party I was invited to.”
“Wearing that? Noah, get a load of this.”
His teammate turns around and busts out laughing. When he recovers, he braces a forearm against the wall, subtly blocking me from leaving the entryway with his huge frame.
“What, is there some cover I didn’t hear about?” I lift my brows. “I thought girls got into every party here for free.”
“Hate to admit it, because fucking Elmwood, but you pull off the red,” Noah says. “You’re asking for trouble wearing that in here.”
“So? People have to exist all the time with fans of teams they don’t like occupying the same space.” I grin. “The Devils and Rangers fans, the Eagles and Cowboys fans—they manage. Mostly. Can’t you handle it like big boys?”
Noah opens and closes his mouth. Someone else comes through the door behind me. The guy takes one look at my Elmwood jersey and boos at me like a shitty ten year old. Or a sports fan.
“There. That.” Noah snaps his fingers. “We can’t have that. We’re celebrating tonight.”
“It’s for your own good. We’ll find you something else to put on if you want to stay.” Cameron cups a hand next to his mouth and shouts. “Easton! C’mere.”
“I’m good.” I flip my hair. “I did my makeup to coordinate with these colors.”
Noah snorts into his fist. He claps Easton’s shoulder when he rounds the corner from the hallway.
“What’s up? Did the beer run fall through? Brody texted to say it’s all good—Oh.” Easton spots me.
I wiggle my fingers in a little wave. “Hi.”
“Hey. You came.” His attention lowers and he lets out a rueful laugh. “And you’re wearing your brother’s jersey to a Knights party.”
Biting my lip around a smile, I twirl to show off. “I remembered how much you liked it the night we met. Told you that you’d love the outfit I picked out.”
He hums. “I’d like it more if it was on my floor.”
My mouth pops open. “Yeah, you wish.”
Cameron stands sentry at Easton’s side, smirking. “You’ve got two options if you want to party. Change…or change.”
I squint, making a show of tapping my finger against my chin in thought. “I think I’ll go with…option three.”
Offering an innocent smile, I flip them off. A huff of amusement shakes Easton’s shoulders. He prods his cheek with his tongue, eyeing me up and down.
It doesn’t bother me that his friends were joking around with me over this, but my stomach tightens. His expression says I’m a five-star feast and he’s fucking starving.
“Your call, E.” Noah smirks, slinging an arm across Easton’s shoulder. “But you’d better stick by her side in case she needs a bodyguard. You’ll have to fend off everyone here.”
Easton’s eyes don’t leave mine and a smug grin tugs at the corners of his mouth. “I can’t let you in here like that, sweetheart. Not while you’re wearing our rival team’s jersey.”
“And if I don’t want to take it off?” I challenge, mirroring his grin with a sassy one.
He gives his friends sidelong glances and comes forward, dipping his chin with a playful smirk. “I can work with that. What’s it gonna be? Take it off, or I’m taking it off for you and burning it in the fire pit.” He lowers his voice. “One way or another that jersey’s coming off, baby.”
A shiver works down my spine. I peer up at him through my lashes.
The idea of cocky hockey players pulling something like this on me would normally send me running in the other direction. But that’s the version of myself that’s been stuck by avoiding guys like Easton, instantly on guard to protect myself from getting hurt again by someone that doesn’t care about me.
I’ve never given anyone else a chance.
But Easton…I think I want to give him a chance.
Rather than uncertainty about his intentions, I’m having fun. This is similar to the camaraderie I had with Ryan and his friends growing up, before I started dating his teammate. Part of me missed this feeling when I closed my heart off from this side of myself.
Easton stares me down, as captivated as he was by me dancing on the bar when he came to my rescue.
It spurs me on with confidence, flooding me with a sense of deviousness. I’m down to play this game, and I’ll do it better than them.
“Oh yeah? Sounds serious. So I should take it off?” My lips curve slowly as I lift the hem with each taunting question to reveal bare skin. “Right here? Right now?”
Easton’s buddies cheer. His eyes snap up from the expanse of skin I’m showing off.
He shoots an annoyed look at his teammates. “Hang on—”
“I guess unless you want me partying with you in my bra, one of you better go get me something to put on.”
Before I lift the jersey to reveal it, Easton moves. Within two strides, he’s in front of me, using his body to block me from his teammates’ view. I swallow as he pulls me in close, fisting the material at my back. The guys continue to joke about defeating the enemy, but I’m trapped in his intense blue gaze.
He shifts closer, lips brushing my temple. “I don’t want to see you wear another guy’s stuff, Maya. Not even my teammates’ clothes. Come with me.”
My stomach dips at his voice in my ear and his scent surrounding me. I bite my lip around a smile.
“Fine, hotshot. You can have it your way. This time.”
He smirks. “Good girl.”
Then he bends to haul me over his shoulder, carrying me up the steps. A laugh escapes me. His boys hype us up and it stirs a comfortable, warm glow in my chest. I cling to him so I don’t overbalance us.
“Is this how you get all the girls to your room?”
His big hand squeezes the back of my thigh, holding me steady. “No. Just you.”
“So this is our thing?”
Another squeeze of my thigh. “It could be if you were my girl. But you’re not mine.”
“Yet,” I tease when we reach the top of the staircase.
“Yet,” he echoes, the smile evident in his voice as his thumb rubs absent circles that send tingles up my thigh.
Butterflies fill my stomach when we enter his room. It’s surprisingly cozy with a decent sized bed, and it’s cleaner than I pictured after growing up with a hockey player for a brother.
When he sets me on my feet with care not to drop me, I’m struck with curiosity because it’s hardly the room I’d expect of a notorious playboy that takes a different girl to bed every night.
“No roommate? That’s a nice perk.”
He chuckles, closing the door. “Team captain gets the big room with my own bathroom. Last year I was rooming with Cameron down the hall.”
I peer around at the Bruins posters, hockey gear taking over the corner by the tall windows, and his disorganized desk with half-scribbled scrimmage notes.
Photos of him with his teammates and family dot the walls. The one where he’s wearing the same green Heston University t-shirt stretched tight over his broad chest catches my eye. He’s holding a boy several years younger than him on his shoulders with a woman that has to be his mom. It makes me smile softly.
I hold my arms out in the middle of the room. “You’ve finally got me where you’ve been trying to get me for like half the semester.”
“Four weeks, if we want to be exact.”
I blink, mentally counting how long it’s been since the Heston vs Elmwood game in October. I’m surprised he’s kept track.
“Well, you’ve got me here.”
“Just for a shirt.”
Without breaking eye contact, he reaches behind his head and tugs, stripping off the shirt he’s wearing. My mouth goes dry at the sexy, effortless move. I stare at the hard planes of his bare chest. His muscles flex, abs and biceps contracting.
I swallow.
Then swallow again, because once isn’t enough.
Easton hands his shirt to me. The cotton is soft and warm between my fingertips. It’s more faded than the photo of him with his family. He offers me privacy to change by turning around.
I wait a minute, studying his shoulders while he tousles his hair. My heart beats hard. Squeezing the shirt, I leap off a cliff I haven’t jumped from in years.
“Okay,” I say.
He turns around, brows pinching when he sees I haven’t changed. I hold eye contact with him while I peel off my brother’s jersey, dropping it to the floor.
His lips part. He pushes out an uneven breath, gaze dragging over me while I stand before him in my bra and jeans. The bra isn’t anything special, a simple gray racerback that does the job to support my breasts without killing my back.
Still, he can’t look away.
His throat bobs. “Damn.”
A small puff of laughter falls from my lips at his reaction. This is even better than his face when I showed up in the wrong jersey again.
He watches raptly, eyes burning as I pull on his green Heston University t-shirt. It nearly drowns me, hitting me mid-thigh.
It’s like being enveloped by him, wrapping me in his scent as if his strong arms are locked around me.
“Better?” I prompt.
My cheeks flush at my throaty tone. I’m trying—failing—to act cool. It’s impossible. Easton’s unwavering attention has a stronger effect on me than I anticipated when I invited him to turn around.
“You wearing my shirt? Hell yes, baby,” he rasps.
Heat thrums in my core. We stare at each other. Time ceases to exist. There’s only the hot ache radiating throughout my body the longer he gazes at me like I’m the only one in the world that he wants.
Everything in me begs for him to—
He takes a step in my direction, then another, moving closer like he’s pulled by an invisible tether drawing him in. Each step causes a fresh surge of sparks in my core. His attention drops to my mouth. My heart races and air rushes from my lungs in a dizzying exhale picturing what’s coming.
A knock at the door makes both of us jolt.
Noah opens it and pokes his head in. Easton whirls around, partially blocking me from sight.
“Come back to the party. They’re here.” He makes no apologies for interrupting us. Instead, he smirks at my change of clothes and Easton’s lack of a shirt. “You look good like that, Maya.”
“I’ll be right down.” Easton sighs.
He crosses to the door and shoves his snickering friend into the hall. The moment we had is over. We should go join the party.
I twist my fingers together, surprised at the disappointment rising within me.
Easton closes the door once Noah is gone. Then he catches me off guard by striding over, quickly eating up the distance between us. My stomach drops. He almost knocks me over when he reaches me, cradling my face in his hands.
The excitement that subsided races through me once more.
His eyes bounce between mine. I lick my lips. He exhales in relief before his mouth descends on mine, capturing my lips in a kiss.
A tiny cry catches in my throat. He makes a sexy, rough noise in response, sliding one hand to cup my nape.
My hands are trapped between us. I curl my fingers against his chest. The kiss sweeps me away with every slide of his tongue, every ragged sound he utters against my lips.
His grasp on me tightens, as if he still can’t get enough of me while he’s devouring my mouth. All I can do is hold on and kiss him back.
“If you don’t come down, I’m sending in reinforcements!”
Noah’s shout from the top of the steps filters through my awareness.
We break apart, both of us short of breath like two teenagers who just learned how to make out. My lips tingle and a soft laugh leaves me when Easton rests his forehead against mine. He brushes hair out of my face with a crooked finger, skimming his knuckles across my cheek.
He kissed me like a man possessed, as if he wanted to erase any man who ever touched my lips before him. Yet now, he’s gentle. My drumming heart swells, making my breath hitch.
I swallow. “It’s going to be so obvious what we were doing up here.”
The corner of his mouth lifts in a crooked grin. He traces my lower lip with his thumb. The touch makes me press my thighs together at the rush of tingles spreading through me.
“I’ll distract them. Come down whenever you’re ready.”
Easton kisses the top of my head, lingering for another moment before he rummages through his drawers for a new shirt. He pulls it on as he heads downstairs first.
Tucking my hair behind my ears, I go into his bathroom to study my reflection. My lips are swollen and tinted a darker pink than the lip balm I put on. A flush fills my cheeks, and my eyes are bright.
Easton’s shirt is baggy on me. It makes me look like a girlfriend wearing her boyfriend’s shirt.
And I don’t hate it.
I slide my lips together. I haven’t been someone’s girlfriend in a long time. The few other guys I’ve been with after Johnny were all safe options, but never anything serious enough to progress to a relationship.
The girl in the mirror looks so much more sure of herself compared to the one who got her heart broken by her manipulative cheating ex.
I lift my chin, a smile playing at the corners of my mouth.
Once I fix my hair, roll the sleeves of Easton’s shirt, and tuck part of the front hem into the waistband of my jeans so it looks more put together, I join the party.
It’s crowded when I make my way through the front hall, passing people in the kitchen circled around the island to get to the living room where most people seem to congregate. Some of the players I recognize from the team’s goat yoga session are playing video games while other people watch the beer pong match set up at a table in the corner.
“Oh my god, hi!” Someone rushes me from the side in a blur of dark blonde hair.
“Lainey!” I laugh in delight, giving her a hug. “Hi. I didn’t know you’d be here. It’s been way too long without you around the psych department. Are you in town visiting your dad? How’s grad school?”
“Just for a little. We got lucky there was a break in the schedule for Thanksgiving next week.” She leans in to whisper. “Don’t tell Alex or my dad, but I’m mostly excited I get to spend some time with Hammy.”
Lainey Boucher was one of the first friends I made in Heston Lake after Reagan freshman year. She’s a brilliant psychology major and helped me manage my packed course schedules with advice on graduating early.
When we first met, she was shy and practical without many friends, but she fell for her brother Theo’s best friend—and teammate. Then she came out of her shell.
He comes up behind her with eyes only for his fiancé.
“Whoa,” I tease. “Alex Keller.”
“What? You’ve hung out with me before,” he says.
His handsome smile is easygoing as he slides an arm around Lainey to pull her into his side for a kiss on top of the head. It’s not hard to see why she fell for him when she gives a happy sigh, resting her hand rocking the stunning engagement ring against his chest.
“Yeah, but that was before. Now I’m hanging out with Alex Keller, the Islander’s breakout star and rookie of the year.” My eyes go dramatically wide as I put on a fangirl voice. “Like, oh my god, can I get your autograph and a selfie?”
He shrugs with a chuckle. “Wild how things change, right?” He lifts a brow. “Like you at a party here.”
I open my mouth, but I’m lost for words.
Lainey tried to get me to come with her and her friends to the countless hockey house parties freshman year, but I was adamant about staying away from hockey players. I only tolerated Alex’s presence when we went for coffee or studied at the library because he was chill and in love with Lainey.
A familiar deep laugh tugs at me, drawing my attention like a magnet snapping into place with its mate. I’m smiling before I realize, searching the room.
It freezes when I spot Easton in the corner by the beer pong table. He’s talking with Elijah and a few other people. One of them is a girl standing closer than necessary to him.
The rush of jealousy nearly steals my breath, taking me by surprise. He’s not doing anything to encourage it from what I can see. In fact, he moves away when he shifts his weight. Is this how he felt seeing other guys talking to me?
Okay, I need to chill out.
We had one kiss. I’m wearing his shirt, but I’m not his girlfriend.
I shouldn’t be jealous over anything.
My lips press together when he laughs again, giving a carefree shrug.
“How’s Ferguson’s class? If I remember, you planned to take that this semester,” Lainey says.
“Oh, uh.” I run my fingers through my hair, trying to put it from my mind. “Yeah, it’s good. She’s tough, but you were right. Taking Yang and Nelson’s classes in the spring set me up for what Ferguson likes to throw at us.”
She beams. “That’s great.”
Despite my efforts, my gaze finds the corner of the room again. Something pulls taut in my chest.
Easton spots me. I thought he looked happy over there, but once he’s staring at me across the room, his smile shifts from cocky to warm and affectionate. He immediately starts towards me, barely sparing the group a goodbye. Relief sweeps over me and there’s an answering tug in my chest making me want to go to him.
Elijah moves in closer to the girl, and whatever he whispers in her ear makes her trail a finger over his chest flirtatiously.
When Easton reaches my side, he slips his hand into mine and squeezes.
I blink, willing the unwarranted sting to leave my eyes.
“Sorry I didn’t see you come down,” he says. “Elijah needed a wingman. Hey, Alex. What’s up?”
They slap their hands together. “Enjoying the down time.”
Easton’s thumb traces random patterns across my knuckles. “It’s good to see you guys. Lainey, I’ve got your favorite in the freezer. And the ranch dip.”
She gasps. “You’re the best. Alex grumbles whenever I get pizza rolls because the team’s nutritionist is even stricter than yours.”
Alex pats his stomach with a frown. “Look, those little lava pockets of cheese and sauce and bread are too fucking tempting to resist. If I try to eat one or two, it’s like I black out and suddenly I’m twenty pizza rolls deep.”
“I feel you, man. We have a house rule now that we only get them for special occasions. Want some?” Easton flashes each of them a secretive smirk, then directs it at me. “We used to have a secret kitchen party when Lainey came around.”
“Like VIP? That’s cute.”
“Exactly.”
I fight an amused smile, picturing the big, bulky hockey players on the team bending to make Lainey comfortable back when she was shy. Easton squeezes my hand again, not letting go as he leads us to the kitchen.
“Reeves,” he says.
Cameron hops off the counter, understanding what Easton wants with one simple word. He taps Noah on the shoulder. Noah helps him herd the few people nursing beers and chatting through the house to light the fire pit.
Before Noah returns, I hear him call, “Madden! Get out here. Handle the fire.”
It’s just the six of us in the kitchen.
Cameron puts the frozen pizza rolls in the oven while Lainey mixes the ranch dip. Once the tray is in, he braces his forearms against the island counter, lips twitching.
“Weren’t you wearing a different shirt?” His eyes flick to me and he chuckles. “That shirt?”
Easton rubs my back sedately before slipping his arm around my waist. He shrugs, an easygoing smirk tugging at his lips.
“Nah. That’s all hers now.” He leans in, his breath fanning across my neck. “I’m glad you came.”
My stomach dips at his proximity, remembering every detail of our kiss.
“Me too,” I whisper.
