“WHO THE HELL’S SELENA?” The second I walked into our place, Mia showed me several Twitter posts.
A tightness I had no right to feel tugged at my chest, and I didn’t meet her probing eyes. “Jax’s agent set them up. He had to look steady. Basically, junior hockey players had a poor reputation, and the league wants him to look ‘settled down.’”
Posts about Jax running around with two girls were definitely going to have the opposite effect his agent wanted. I rubbed my palms over my face and took a deep breath, trying to shake off the feeling he didn’t need Selena at all.
I reached for Mia’s phone and flipped through the pics until my gaze landed on one of Selena tucked into Jax’s arm. Their faces were so close they were nearly kissing. A sinking feeling started in my stomach and plummeted to the floor. This didn’t look like fake dating. A sharp pain compressed my chest, and I struggled to take my next breath.
Mia peeked over my shoulder. “Doesn’t that bother you?”
I shrugged and did my best to clear the emotions from my face. “Why would it? We aren’t dating.”
Her brows rose, looking at me with skepticism. “Don’t lie to me. You might not be officially dating, but—”
I cut her off. “I knew this was going on. It’s a common part of the industry.”
“Just because you understand why it’s happening doesn’t mean you have to be okay with it.”
“Yeah, well, there’s nothing I can do about it.” I ignored the dip in my stomach as the truth of the words sank in.
“You sure about that? Have you talked to him?”
I put on my best imitation of a smile. “It’s fine. Really. Alright, change of subject.” I plopped down on the couch. “How was last night’s date with the guy in your class?”
She sat down beside me. “He spent the entire time talking about himself and his mother, of all people.”
I made a disgusted face at her. “Gross.”
“The guy’s a lost cause. So, if he asks, tell him I’m swamped. I’m hoping to ghost him until he gets the point or moves on.”
“So what you’re telling me is you don’t have plans tonight?” I asked, trying to sound innocent and in no way desperate.
She raised a cautious brow. “What are you up to? You never want to go out.”
I dropped my head back on the cushion and groaned. “I lost a bet with Jax, and now I have to go to his game.”
Mia squealed. “Oh. My. God. Yes. Yes, I want to go.” She was already off the couch and rushing toward her bedroom but stopped at the door. ‘What are we going to wear?”
I couldn’t help my devious grin. “You’ll see.”
“There’s more people than I thought there would be.”
By the time we got here, it was a half hour before puck drop, and the arena was filling with people. Mia’s arm hooked mine as she pulled me through the sea of people to stand at the top of the stairs overlooking the ice. There was row upon row of seating, all leading down to the rink in the center, where the guys were already warming up. I swallowed hard when I spotted Jax weaving through his teammates before shooting on the net. He moved like he was made for this. I watched the opposing team. They looked good. It would be a hard game. “They need to win this game. If the Huskies lose, they’ll be knocked back in rankings.”
“Of course you’re secretly following them.” Mia shook her head at me.
Before I could reply, an arm bumped into mine. “Hey, you’re blocking the way.” The man’s face was painted blue and yellow. He was looking me over, and a large vein pulsed in his forehead.
“Shit, sorry,” I said before he could make a big deal about me wearing the other team’s jersey.
“Let’s go before your gawking creates an angry mob.” Mia laughed beside me and tugged me down the stairs, ignoring the grunt of protest from the painted man as we cut in front of him.
“I wasn’t gawking.” I totally was. “I was just figuring out the arena.”
“Sure you were. You look like a kid at Disneyland.”
I hopped down the stairs behind her, trying to keep up. “It’s just bigger than I expected.”
The corner of her lip raised at my words, and I cut her off. “Whatever you’re about to say, just stop.”
“You’re no fun.” She stopped at the bottom row, practically pressed up to the glass, and glanced at our tickets. “Row 1, seats 2 and 3. This is us.”
A young security guard hurried down the stairs. “I’m sorry, girls, but you can’t sit here.”
Mia looked as confused as I was. “O-kay. Why is that?”
“This row is player-reserved seating only. There should’ve been a sign on it,” she said, looking down the aisle as if she thought it would magically appear. “I’m not sure what happened to it.” Her voice came out stronger. “I’m sorry, but you really can’t sit here.” Her hands wrung together in front of her, and her eyes shifted with discomfort.
A loud thump came from the glass behind me, and I turned to face a scowling Jax. His gaze was pinned on my half-turned back. When his gaze met mine, I mouthed, “What?” but he just shook his head.
The security guard piped up, attempting to speak loud enough for him to hear her through the quarter-inch gap between the protective glass panels. “I’m so sorry, Jax. I was just telling them that the team holds these seats on reserve for friends and family.”
“It’s okay, Steph. They’re with the team. From now on, treat them like they’re one of us.”
Shock registered across her face. It was clear she wasn’t expecting that. She gave me a sidelong glance, obviously trying to size me up, and then a moment of recognition crossed her face.
Great…
Steph left, glancing back at us a few times before snapping a pic of me with her phone. I was about to say something, but Jax knocked on the glass again and gestured to me to walk toward the back of the rink.
I followed him to the last bend in the rink. He pointed down to a steel handle on my side of the boards. Realizing it was a door, I shoved down on the handle, and it swung in toward me.
Jax didn’t give me time to move out of the way before crowding me and ripping off his helmet.
“Off, now,” he commanded, glaring at my jersey.
I glanced around, but there was no one this far back in the arena. “Jax, it’s a bit cold to not have a jersey.”
He raised a brow. “Do you have a shirt under it?”
I nodded in response, trying hard to keep the smile off my face. I knew he’d be pissed about the jersey, but this was so much more.
“Good. Take it off.”
A thrill rolled through me, and I fought to keep the tremble from showing. He was even taller wearing his skates. I smirked. “What if I don’t want to take it off?”
“Sidney, do not fuck with me right now. Take. It. Off.” He growled the words, and tingles traveled down my spine.
I lifted the jersey over my head and immediately wrapped my arms around my chest from the chill. Jax reached back and pulled his jersey over his head, leaving him in just his pads. I swallowed hard and took it when he pushed it into my hands. “You don’t wear anyone’s number but mine.”
I sucked in a breath, doing my best to ignore the thrill his words created, and my skin pebbled for an entirely new reason. Not sure how to react to his display of possessiveness, I tugged it over my head and let his jersey engulf me. He leaned forward, close enough that all I had to do was lean in and we’d be kissing in front of everyone, but he wasn’t looking at me. Instead, he patiently rolled up each of my sleeves, revealing my wrists.
Jax leaned back, giving me an appreciative look, and his tongue wet his bottom lip. “You look good wearing my name, Trouble.”
Instead of acknowledging his words, I scrunched my nose up at the smell of his gear. That didn’t stop me from taking another breath. “You smell gross.”
He hauled me into a tight hug and buried my face in his chest, ignoring my pitiful attempt to break free. “You like it.”
He was right. I kind of did. He was warm in the chilly arena, and his salty scent was doing all kinds of things to me. I still said, “You’re entirely too sure of yourself.”
He leaned back and tilted his head to the side, gaze boring a little too deep into mine. “Not as much as I’d like to be.”
What exactly did that mean?
I tugged at my sleeves. “Won’t you get in trouble for this?”
He smirked. “Worth it.”
He tightened his hold momentarily before releasing me. “I have to go back and get ready. Lucas’s girlfriend, Piper, should be here any minute. She’ll sit with you.” Jax stepped forward and leaned his head down, so close his mouth brushed my ear. “I’m happy you came, Trouble.”
He released me, grabbed his helmet, and got back on the ice, shutting the door behind him. He caught me watching as he was about to go into what I assumed was the locker room entrance. His gaze roamed over me, and he wet his bottom lip before slipping through the door. Heat pooled in my stomach, washing away the chill in the air.
Mia bumped my shoulder with hers. “Girl, you’ve got it bad.”
A few minutes later, Piper arrived with an enormous smile. She had long golden-blonde hair with beachy waves and stunning clear blue eyes. She looked like she’d just moved here from California. “Hey, guys, I’m excited to finally have someone to sit with. I was ecstatic when Jax called and said you guys were coming.”
I rolled my eyes. “It was under duress, I promise.”
Piper sat, effectively blocking my escape. “Well, now that you’re here, let’s have a bit of fun, shall we?” She looked between us, waiting for an answer.
Letting out a big dramatic breath, the corner of my mouth kicked up into a grin. “Fine.” I drew out the word as long as I could. They both laughed at me, and Mia hit me with her mitten.
Piper rubbed her hands together. “First food!”
We chatted about nothing while we got our snack, then headed back to our seats, arms filled with food. The second we sat down, we dug in, blissfully eating the first few pieces.
Piper licked her fingers and said, “I could never do this with Lucas. He would have it all devoured in seconds.”
“Are you going with Lucas this summer?” Mia asked, curious.
“Oh yeah. I’ll stay near his training camp, but then I start school in September, so that’ll make it tougher.” Her voice was light, but she held herself a little tighter. “What about you and Jax?” Piper asked in between mouthfuls of food.
“What about him?” I replied, a bit guarded.
“Cut it out. You literally slept there last night,” Mia chimed in while she tossed a chicken bone in the bucket.
“Yeah, ‘slept’ being the operative word.” I didn’t dare mention the kiss.
Piper nearly spit out her drink. I had to pat her on the back until she got her breath back. She looked at me in shock. “You’re telling me you not only got invited to their place, but you spent the night?”
“Well, technically, it got really late, so Jax asked me to stay instead of driving home tired.” Okay, even I could hear how weak that sounded in the light of day.
Piper leaned forward, eyes alight with excitement. “You don’t understand what a big deal this is. I’ve known him longer than I’ve known Lucas. He never invites anyone over there. The man’s not a saint. He takes advantage of what’s offered to him, but they’re not allowed to stay the night.” Her smile turned wicked. “That is until now. Tell me, did you study in his room?” She must’ve read my expression because she clapped her hands together, getting more and more excited with every question. “Wait! Did you sleep in his bed? Did he give you something to wear?”
Mia spun to look at me with a devilish grin.
“I’m sorry to crush your hopes, but I’ve got other plans for after school. Getting into something right now would not be a good idea.” No matter how great he is.
“Oh honey, what you’re saying implies you get a choice in this matter.” Piper put her arm around me. “I get it, though. I have big goals, and Lucas would never hold me back.”
Mia raised her cup something deeper passing over her expression. Too quick for me to make out. “Cheers to men not holding us back from our dreams!”
All three of us clinked our plastic cups and took a long drink.
“Okay, what did you guys do to my girl? I left her, and she loved me, and now I snuck back to see her and she’s toasting to singlehood?” Lucas had a floppy smile on his face, and his eyes were pinned on Piper’s.
“Hey, baby!”
These two were too cute for words.
“You know I love you. I was drinking in solidarity with Sidney.”
Lucas’s brows pinched together, and he shifted on his skates. He took a long look at me, and his eyes searched mine, trying to sort something out. “Well, I better get back. Just wanted to give you a kiss before we got started.”
A few minutes later, the lights went down, and the announcer called out each player’s name as they skated out from behind their bench. The crowd’s roar became deafening when Jax’s name was called.
He did a lap around the rink before stopping abruptly on the other side of the boards, kicking up snow with his blades.
I jerked back on reflex, then raised a brow. “Show-off.”
“Wish me luck, Trouble.” His voice was barely audible over the noise. He placed his glove-covered fist to the glass and gave me an expectant look.
Mia smiled. “He wants a fist bump.”
I bumped my hand against the glass. “Good luck.”
He held it to his chest and played like he was swooning.
Piper giggled from my side. “You’re totally screwed.”
Nothing could’ve prepared me for watching Jax play. He danced around the other players like they weren’t even there. Like he was in control of every second he was on the ice. Hell, he was practically a god out there.
There were only thirty seconds left of the tied game, and I sucked in a breath, heart pounding in my chest when Alex passed Jax the puck. He took it straight up the middle, but he didn’t see the defenseman charging right at him. I jumped up from my seat and screamed at him to watch out. My body yelled at me to somehow magically protect him, but all I could do was watch as Jax’s opponent lowered his shoulder, going in for the check. At the absolute last second, Jax deked out of the way, and the asshole player went flying across the ice. I couldn’t believe I used to like that team.
Jax made the goal look easy, and his teammates wrapped him up in a huddle. Jax escaped his teammates, and his eyes found mine. The floor dropped out of my stomach while my heart tried to escape my chest. I wasn’t sure how I would be able to look at him again. Hell, how was I going to complete full sentences when he was around after this?
Piper knocked her shoulder against mine, smiling. “Right?”
Not moving my eyes from Jax, I smiled back, cheeks flushed. “Right.”
