“Hmm, how much will you pay me?”
I kiss him again. “Can’t you give me a freebie? Is hooking like drugs? Give the first one for free and they’ll keep coming back?”
“Umm, I think hooking is nothing like that, but I wouldn’t know. Seriously though, you’re not mad? I expected you to at least be pissed at West for even asking.”
“Eh. I expect it from him. Last year, he literally forced me and Cohen to get to know each other better—”
“Did he lock you in my dad’s office too?”
“No. He did the adult thing and set us up on a playdate like we were two-year-olds.”
“In his defense—”
“Ha ha, I am a two-year-old. You’re funny.”
“Also, in your brother’s defense, he never asked me to tutor you. I did that myself. Of my own free will.”
That does make me feel a little better about it all. “Good to know.”
“Also, also—”
I slam my mouth on his and lick my way past his lips. He lets me. Until he doesn’t anymore.
He pushes against my chest. “I want to tell you everything. You might not be mad, but I don’t want you to wonder. That first day I approached you in the locker room, I’ll admit, I did it because your brother asked. But that same night, when Rhys went to the park and you were freaking? That was a total coincidence, and I saw something in you then that I knew you would never show the team. I saw a glimpse of the real you that night, and that’s what drew me in. I … I’ve been yours ever since.”
Kole’s eyes flutter shut, like he doesn’t want to look at me while he confesses that, but I want to see those hazel orbs looking at me the way they do. He sees me. The real me.
I’ve broken down walls for him and let him in. I don’t know why it was so easy to do when it comes to Kole, but I do know I wouldn’t have made it through these last few months if it weren’t for him.
He brought me back when I was on the brink of self-destruction. That wouldn’t have been good for me or the kids.
He gave me an outlet to finally grieve over the loss of my dad and stepmom.
He helped me pass my classes so I could stay on the team and keep the one thing I know I can do well in my life.
He didn’t fix anything, he was just there, offering what I needed and wanted. A safe outlet to work through my shit and stop fighting the world.
Kole has given me so much already, and even though I feel like I don’t deserve him, I want to try like hell to keep him.
“Say something,” he whispers.
“I’m trying to think of the exact moment I knew I was yours, but I can’t find it. Maybe I lied to myself when we were fuck buddies, so I didn’t notice how much I was falling until now.”
“You’re falling for me?”
“Well and truly. Which is super inconvenient.”
Kole snorts. “Why?”
“Because our future is—”
“Our future. We don’t have to think about it now. We have time.”
“But if I get a contract with Buffalo, and you—”
“You know what I heard? I heard Buffalo has hospitals. Crazy, right? Maybe med school will suck. Hell, maybe we won’t even make it until then. But shit, we can’t hold back on the off chance someday in the future it will be too hard. We have at least two and a half years until you graduate. I’ll probably go to med school at UVM—”
I gasp. “You traitor.”
“Oh no, I can’t become a catamount,” he cries dramatically.
“I don’t even know why we’re discussing our future when clearly we don’t have one. I can’t date someone at UVM.”
Kole just smiles.
“What?” I ask.
“You and your school spirit. Considering how standoffish you were at the beginning of the year, and from what I understand all through last season too, it’s good to see you find your passion again. And be a nice human being.”
I poke him. “You take that back. I’m not nice.”
“Oh no, never. And you’re definitely not the most adorable part-time guardian to your younger brothers and sisters either.”
“Shut up.”
Kole pushes me onto my back and rolls on top of me. “You’re not sweet. At all.”
“Nope.” I throw my head back while my mean boyfriend leaves kisses down my neck.
“You’re not patient—”
“Definitely not.”
“Hmm, actually, yeah, you’re not patient on the ice. Or in bed. But with your brothers and sisters—”
“Can you please stop pointing out all my flaws?”
Kole works his way down my body but looks up at me through his lashes. “That’s where we’re different. You see them as flaws. I see them as the things that make you mine.”
I run my hand through his hair. “Yeah?”
He nods. “Because I’m the only person you let see you like that. If you opened yourself up like that to the other guys on the team, there’s no way you can lose the Frozen Four this year.”