Goal Lines & First Times (CU Hockey 3)

I fall on my ass, slamming my right ass cheek and hip into the ground. Ouch, fuck. “Seth, wait!”

He stops and turns to see me on my ass. “Shit, are you okay?” He comes back and helps me up.

“I will be if you let me explain.”

“Did you hurt yourself?”

“Just my ego, but hey, I’ve proven that can take a lot of hits.”

His wary brown eyes meet mine. “Okay, then. Explain. Are you on a date right now?”

21

Seth

Do I want to cry? Of course not.

Why would I want to cry over the fact the guy I’m seeing clearly had to make up some excuse not to spend time with me. To go out with some other guy.

Please tell me he’s not still talking to guys on that app.

I think two weeks might be a record for me.

“That wasn’t what it looked like.”

My eyebrows inch higher. “You sure about that?”

He hesitates, and I know I’ve caught him off guard—I can actually see the thought process going on behind his eyes.

“It’s fine, it’s not like we’re exclusive or anything. You can date whoever you want.” Somehow I manage to sound like I don’t care when I so do.

“We’re not exclusive?” There’s a hitch to his tone that makes me pause.

“You’re on a date with another guy. What do you think?”

He laughs and a shiver passes through his body. He’s not wearing his coat or a beanie, and even with mine my face feels like ice. “That wasn’t a date.”

It wasn’t? Everything I saw with my own eyes screamed date, but … all it takes is four simple words from Richie and I believe him. I have no idea why. I’m paranoid and suspicious at the best of times, and seeing him with that other guy made me realize that yep, I want him all to myself. And there isn’t a single part of me that doubts him.

“It wasn’t a hockey thing either,” I say pointedly, but the fight is leaving me.

Richie seems to pick up on it because he steps forward and works his arms under my coat. “I’m freezing.”

“You are—argh!” His frozen hand sneaks under my layers and presses to my back. I squirm against him. “Stop it.”

“Nope. You made me chase you out here, this is your punishment.”

His hands on me is punishment? Maybe we need to talk about the meaning of that word. “You still lied.”

“I didn’t. That’s Asher, the new guy on the team. His brother, the new coach, asked me to take him out and bond because he thinks it’ll help with our line. Jury’s still out on that one.”

I groan into his neck. “Fuck.”

“Mhmm.”

“I’m an idiot.”

Richie laughs. “It’s a nice change when it’s not me.”

“I’m sorry. I guess this is where I point out that I’m kinda jealous and paranoid. So if you want to tap out now—”

“Jealous, paranoid, and needy. I think I scored the hat trick.”

How the hell is he so perfect?

“And I guess this is where I point out that I’m not going to play games with you, Seth. If I tell you I’m doing something, I am. If I don’t want to hang out one night,” he snorts, “unlikely, but I’ll tell you. Lying and being sneaky isn’t me.”

“Richie …” I pull back a little because I need him to know this is serious. “I think I’m more of a mess than I realized.”

“Yeah, but you’re my mess now.” He meets my eyes. “Only mine. Yeah?”

“You want to be exclusive?”

“I thought we already were.”

I smile and lean in to kiss him. Maybe I should be more careful being this close to CU, but I’m struggling to remember why I should give a fuck. “Guess I should cancel all those ChatUp hookups, then.”

He pinches my back and kisses me again. “We both know there’s only one dick for you.”

“Well, let’s not forget about the Witcher.”

“Hmm.” His teeth graze my ear. “I still have that costume.”

Dear God.

Is it too early to leave now?

Richie shivers again. “I’m freezing my balls off.”

“Come on.” I nudge him back toward McIntyre’s. “You go back to your friend, I’ll hang out with mine, then when we get back to my place later, I’ll warm them up for you.”

“And just like that, you’re completely forgiven.”

We separate before we re-enter the warmth of the bar, and thankfully Richie’s teammate is still sitting in the same booth, sipping his beer. I give him an awkward smile-slash-cringe, which seems to amuse him so there’s that at least.

Still, I know what I saw when I walked in here. His interest wasn’t quite the same as Emma’s, but there was something.

We part, and I can feel Richie’s reluctance as strongly as my own, but I keep my feet moving. It’s been too long since I hung out with my friends, and they’d kill me if I ditched them now.