SIDNEY CROSSED the street in front of my truck, and I had to stop myself from beeping the horn. Her deep brown hair was down around her shoulders, hiding the silver streaks I knew were underneath. She wore plaid tights under a black skirt that hit mid-thigh that switched as she walked and an oversized bright blue coat. She had a cute punk-rock librarian thing going for her today that was doing a number on my ego.
It had been over a week since the night we danced, and I didn’t think she understood what kind of challenge she’d laid down with those rules of hers. I swear my dick was hard for days. The only relief was from my own fist, picturing her pressed against me, head tilted all the way back, pupils blown wide, and the perfect way her tongue wet her bottom lip before she pulled it between her teeth. Even in my memories, the need to soothe the red dents with my tongue was overwhelming. Fuck, my mouth watered just thinking about it.
But nothing, and I do mean nothing, topped the crashing disappointment that sank low in my gut when she’d shrugged and walked off. Because I was a hockey player, of all things. That was supposed to get me laid, not cock-block me.
Her rules landed like a challenge, and I’d been looking for her ever since. Here she was, dropped in my path like it was meant to be.
I parked in a teacher’s spot, not giving a single shit if I got a ticket. If I didn’t hurry the fuck up, she’d disappear again. I practically jumped out of the truck, feet pounding on the cobblestone path, and tried to catch up to her. When I turned the corner, her blue coat had vanished in the sea of students heading to class.
Where the fuck is she?
I huffed out a breath, pushing down the disappointment of losing her, and headed toward the coffee shop. Was it stalker behavior to show up earlier next Monday and wait, hoping to see her? Probably.
What the actual fuck was wrong with me? It had been one night. Not even. Nothing but a fucking moment between us, but her rules had dug their claws into me ever since. I hated it as much as I enjoyed the thrill of finally being interested in someone.
“Hey! Aren’t you Jaxton Ryder?”
Small hands clamped around my arm, halting my steps, and a blonde stared up at me, her doe eyes wide. I gritted my teeth, stopping a sudden sneer from crossing mouth when she leaned against me. It took every ounce of self-control not to shake her off.
“I know you’re him. You took us all the way to finals last year.” Her voice was sickly sweet. She was trying to be cute, but that shit was not attractive.
Alex nearly fell off his chair this morning, laughing, when I put on a beanie and grabbed my sunglasses. His smug ass thought it was hilarious that I believed I could pull off a “Clark Kent”—his words, not mine—and walk around unrecognized.
Fucking great.
“I heard you’re playing next weekend. Maybe I can come by after the game?” she said, her voice soft, attempting to be seductive, but she couldn’t hide the underlying hint of desperation.
I didn’t miss the fact that she said “after” the game. Her baby blue eyes, bleach-blonde hair, and decent rack should’ve tempted me, but she had that needy gleam to her. She thought if she could catch me, she could keep me.
She was wrong.
I stepped back and removed her hand from my chest. “I’m sure the guys will be happy to see you.”
“You won’t be there?”
I deadpanned, making sure she got the point, “Oh, I’ll be there.”
Her face crumpled into a pout, but I turned before she could say anything.
“Have fun at the game,” I said dismissively over my shoulder and walked away. Maybe I sounded like a dick, but that girl had stalker written all over her. She’d no doubt gotten here early just to corner me on my way to class. The irony that I’d been considering doing the same to Sidney was not lost on me.
Today was the first day of my last semester of college. In a couple of months, I would have a degree in kinesiology, and then I would be off to play for the Boston Bruins. They’d drafted me three years ago when I was still playing Juniors. I was all set to go right to the pros, but my meddling mom had sent me a list of players who sucked it up and went to college. So here I was.
Unlike football and baseball, the NHL drafted most of their players before they got to college. They used a loophole where you didn’t physically sign the contract, but you were committed to the team. It was to the point that if you played college hockey and weren’t drafted, you were likely a second-tier player.
My long strides ate up the distance as I walked along the cobblestone path to the coffee shop. A buzz of noise greeted me when I entered. The place was so packed students with early classes, the line stretched around the wood bistro tables to the front entrance. It was set up exactly like every other cookie-cutter cafe chain, cash at the front and pickup line down the side.
I removed my beanie, tucking it into my pocket, and my gaze landed on the girl directly in front of me. A grin lifted the corner of my mouth, and my heart beat in my ears.
Found you.
Sidney’s foot tapped incessantly, and she’d checked her watch at least three times in the past thirty seconds. She hadn’t seen me yet, but I couldn’t look away from her. Sidney stepped fully in front of me and glared at the cute barista, who was trying to skip her to take my order.
“I’ll have a large dark roast. Please.” Her voice was sharp. The type you would expect from a coach, not a mini-skirt-wearing co-ed.
Entertained, I waited my turn quietly and watched her walk to the other end of the counter without spotting me. I quickly placed my order, ignoring the way the barista was leering at me, and circled around the cafe so I could approach Sidney from behind. I stepped into her space, not touching but close enough to drop my mouth to just above her ear and whisper, “There you are, Trouble. I’ve been looking for you.”
She shivered, and my gaze followed the goose bumps that trailed down her arms. We were frozen for one blissful second before she spun around and laughed. “Oh, shit!”
A low chuckle rumbled in my chest, and my grin turned up in the corner. “Surprised to see me?”
She turned back to face the counter, and my mouth quirked at the tinge of pink that crawled up her neck. “I didn’t expect to see you again.”
I put a hand to my chest. “I’m hurt you don’t remember I go here.”
She huffed out a half laugh. “Oh, I remember. Plus, I wasn’t exactly in my right mind by the end.”
“No, you weren’t. What do you say we try that again?”
“Oh, so you’re looking to get your ego hurt?” Fuck, I loved the sass on her.
Before I could answer, the overeager barista turned a carnal smile my way and leaned all the way over the counter, giving me a perfect view of her full tits. “Made yours special.”
I grabbed my coffee, ignoring the phone number written across it in red marker and the lipstick print of her kiss. She gave me a little smirk.
“Thanks,” I said, voice flat.
Sidney’s gaze pierced mine before she rolled her eyes.
There wasn’t enough light in the club to make out their color before, and I was momentarily sucked into their depths. They were brown around the edges, lightening to a crisp apple-green center. She was gorgeous, and her annoyed expression at the barista was fucking adorably hot.
“That happen a lot?” Sidney gestured to the barista.
“Sometimes.” I shrugged and took a sip of my burning hot coffee and tried not to wince when the hot liquid touched my tongue.
Sidney chewed on her lip, and her eyes zeroed in on the scrawled number on my cup. She looked annoyed, but there was an underlying emotion there I couldn’t make out. The same electric current from the bar pulsed between us and held me frozen in place.
I knew it was fucking real.
Her chest rose rapidly, clearly as affected as I was. I lowered my head to her ear so only she could hear me. “Seriously, I want to see you again.”
“Sidney… Sidney… going once, going twice.” The barista called her name in a snarky, acidic tone. Jerking her gaze from mine, Sidney blushed the sweetest shade of pink. I wanted to reach out and direct her attention back to me, but the barista huffed, refusing to be ignored. Sidney and I turned to see the employee’s jealous expression as she looked between us.
“How about Friday?” I asked, but Sidney had already stepped away to grab her coffee.
I moved to follow, but a giant of a guy stood in front of me. “Hey, man! Great game Saturday. You better be taking us to finals this year.”
“That’s the plan, buddy.” I normally kept to myself, but people coming up to me was inevitable since we’d won finals last year. I tried to spot Sidney before she disappeared again, but I only got a glimpse of her walking toward the door. Fuck.
I disentangled myself, refusing to lose her again, and shouted over my shoulder. “I’m out. See you at the next game.”
I pulled my beanie low over my eyes, avoiding people’s stares, and followed through the door. I pushed it wide in my hurry and jerked back when it hit something solid.
“Oomph.” Sidney made a loud squeak sound and tripped forward. She lifted her cup out of the way, narrowly avoiding spilling it everywhere.
“Shit, sorry.” I caught her arm, stabilizing her before she could tip forward. Nothing like being hit with a door to ruin her morning.
“Uh-huh.” Sharp green eyes narrowed on me. “Didn’t save enough time by skipping the line?”
“Hey, I didn’t skip the line. She just got mine ready faster.” Even I didn’t believe my bullshit.
Her brow quirked. “You mean when she leaned over the counter and gave you her number?”
“What? Jealous?” I tipped my head to the side and gave her a playful smirk. “Did you want her number? You could always go back and ask her.”
“She’s not really my type.”
“Oh yeah? What’s your type?” I knew I wouldn’t like the answer before she said it.
“Skinny emo musicians.”
My hand covered my heart. “Damn, that stings. Why do you have to do me like that?”
There was a gleam in her eyes as she worked to secure her lid and looked at her coffee like she’d saved her child’s life and murmured something under her breath about stupid guys and coffee gods.
Sidney faced me with one hand on her hip. I was a big guy, standing at six foot three and two hundred pounds of muscle, refined from years of playing hockey, but I was inclined to think she could take me from that look alone.
My apology halted, my tongue twisted, and my brain full-on stuttered. “It’s a nice morning out.”
Commenting on the weather? That was the best you could come up with?
She was equally unimpressed, and a crease appeared between her brows, making me want to slide my thumb across it until it relaxed.
“Is it, though?” She tilted her head to the side, and smirked. “I’m running late and barely made it to my favorite coffee shop, only to have some hot, self-entitled hockey player cut in front of me.”
“First, as I said, that was all the barista. Second, you think I’m hot, huh?”
“Are you really fishing for compliments? Isn’t it a little early for that?” She sounded flirty, and a hint of hope rose in my chest.
“How else am I going to get you to notice me?”
“Oh, I’ve noticed you. I’m just not interested.”
“Ouch.” But she was interested. It was written in the way her chest was rising with rapid breaths, the slight pink hue of her cheeks, and the heat in her gaze. “Your rules, right?”
She patted my shoulder, delivering her next blow. It just enticed me further. “Yuppers. You should really give up now.”
“I like a challenge, Sidney.”
Her teeth gnawed on her bottom lip as she scanned my face, no doubt wondering if I was serious.
So fucking serious.
I itched to know what would’ve happened the other night if she didn’t have her stupid rules in place and what it would take to get her to break them.
“Well, you’re not going to win this one.” She huffed out a laugh and took a few steps toward the second exit door, bringing me back to reality.
How long had we stood in the coffeehouse entry?
She made a show of opening the door. “After you.”
I eyed her apprehensively as I walked through; she looked too pleased with herself to trust. “Thanks.”
“It’s the polite thing to do.” Sidney’s mouth quirked at the side, and her words were beyond sarcastic.
The tension built between my shoulders. This girl was under my skin, and I was finally in a position to catch her.
Nothing about her made me want to be polite. I walked through the door, and my mouth twitched at the high-pitched squeak she made. She let out a little groan of exasperation when she saw me smiling but struggled to contain her smirk. I love that I was getting to her.
There was a long path that connected the cafe to the building my class was in. I didn’t like the idea of splitting from Sidney, having already lost her twice, but before I could say anything, she stopped to shove her BCPT textbook into her overfull bag. A thrill went through me as I realized we were in the same class.
Man, she looked good, bent over. The little minx scratched her face with her middle finger as I walked by. Guess she didn’t like me checking out her ass.
“Behavioral Change, yeah? Looks like we’ll be spending the semester together.”
She sucked in a breath and, her brows pinched together.
Good. I needed to get under her skin the way she burrowed under mine since she’d been pressed against me at the club. My body hummed with a rash idea, and I picked up my pace, putting a decent amount of distance between us. Then I pulled one of the weirdest asshole moves there was. I held the door open way too fucking early and waited. It always looked super polite, but it put the other person in an awkward position. Do you pick up your pace? Do you smile? Do you keep smiling all the way there, or do you smile twice?
Two girls walked through. “Thanks, Jax,” they both said in a singsong voice, as if I was holding the door for them. I took a step back, nodding in their direction, but my gaze stayed on Sidney.
Her brows pulled together, and she bit the side of her cheek, trying to figure me out. She must have noticed my mischievous grin because she slowed down, ignoring me altogether. Her movements were exaggerated as she casually checked her phone, taking her time. I could see a slight grin as she turned her head away from my stare, looking sexy as hell. That earned her points in my book. She wasn’t backing down—she was enjoying the game.
“Could you go any slower?” I called out.
“Some of us like things to last more than a few seconds.” By the way her eyes sparked to life and dared me to say something back, she knew exactly what her words implied.
I couldn’t hide the laugh from my voice. “Fast or slow. All that matters is everyone gets to their destination. Right?” I held the door at the top, forcing her to walk beneath.
“Sure, keep telling yourself that, big guy.” She was so close, the top of her head skimmed the bottom of my arm, and her shiny, dark hair bounced as she walked. I couldn’t help but breathe her in. She smelled delicious, her citrus-vanilla scent immediately drawing me back to the night at the club. I shook my head and did my best to snap out of the memories.
I tried to reach the next door first, but she beat me by a second. She spun and hauled it open for me. Her eyes narrowed in challenge. “Don’t worry. I’ve got it.”
She stood there, hot as fuck, and I had to take a beat to shake out my head. She looked fucking devious. Somehow she turned opening doors into a fucking dare, like she knew exactly how to get to me.
Game on, Trouble.
“Thanks, but I wasn’t worried. I knew I could count on you.” I wet my lips and walked toward her, giving her a side-eye. As soon as I got past her, I hauled ass up the stairs, taking two at a time. The stairwell was crowded, but people moved out of my way when I wore my game face.
Sidney was forced to slow down, trying to avoid bumping into people, and I could hear her apologies as she struggled to follow me. Her laugh was breathy as she panted, finally breaking through the students. We shared a conspiratorial glance, and I grinned. I couldn’t fucking help it.
My heart pounded in my chest as I beat her to the next door. I pulled it open and did a little bow, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. “After you.”
Already at a half run, she had the advantage and raced past me, yanking the classroom door wide with so much force she nearly hit herself. Her coffee sloshed as she dodged the impact, and she looked at the now near-empty cup with disappointment. She was going to miss that.
I stalked toward her, blood rushing through my ears as adrenaline pumped through my veins. God, I loved chasing her. I moved slowly, no longer in a hurry to get inside. She was cornered between the door and wall, exactly where I wanted her.
“I win.” She smiled triumphantly.
I hummed in appreciation. There was something about this girl I couldn’t resist. “That’s a case of perspective.”
I placed one hand on the door and the other on the wall, effectively trapping her between my arms. A thrill went through me when her wide eyes darkened when they met mine. The world quieted around us, all my attention on her shallow breaths that came out in pants as her gaze dropped to my mouth, and her tongue snuck out, wetting her bottom lip before biting it. Fuck, I wanted to free her lip from her teeth and replace them with mine. My heart pounded in my chest, and it took everything for me not to close the distance between us. She visibly shivered, watching me with dark eyes, and it took an obnoxious amount of willpower to back away. “I wouldn’t want to break your rules.”
Her brows pinched together, and I inwardly smiled at her look of disappointment. When this was over, she would be chasing after me. I clenched my jaw, leaving her before I did something desperate, and walked into the room. We were still five minutes early, but the class was practically filled to the brim. It was tiny, with only a few rows of desks, not surprising for such a specialized course.
Looking up, I couldn’t help but grin. There were only two seats left.
