Clipped by Love (Bellevue Bullies 2)

“Yeah.”

She makes a face. “Ugh, I need to get the long-wearing kind.”

“No.”

“No?”

“You don’t need it.”

“I don’t?”

“Nope,” I say, moving my nose along hers. Pulling back, I smile down at her and say, “All you have to do is smile, and boom, you’re gorgeous.” Like I wanted, she grins up at me, and I smile back before whispering, “See, perfection.”

Her face fills with color as she hides her face in my neck. “Stop,” she mutters.

But I shake my head. “Never.”

I’ll never stop.

“By the way, I won,” she says and I know it’s to change the subject.

I can’t help but laugh as I nod. “I fully accept defeat.”

“Against me?” she asks, feigning shock, and I nod.

“Only against you.”

It’s been four days since I found myself in Jayden’s bed and my body is still humming. He was not playing around; Jayden put it down, hard-core, and I’ve never felt so damn good in my life. But at the same time, the way he looked in my eyes, the way he moved against me, and I swear the way he made me feel has completely freaked me out. There was no control. I had made sure not to wear panties, planned to ride him like a cowgirl the way I wanted, but then I got down there and he really wanted to watch TV. Completely took me by surprise and kinda threw me off my game. And then when things heated up, he was the one taking control.

And that had me swooning.

I mean, like my heart was coming out of my chest, fireworks going off around his head, and little hearts swimming around us. It was utterly girlie and disgusting but…I liked it. A lot. More than I would ever want to admit, and I tried to hide my face to try to get my wits about me, but he kept coming at me. Line after line that wasn’t a line. He spoke from his heart, and a little piece of me just broke. Now, I’m not saying I’m falling for the guy, but man, he is making it hard not to.

But I can’t let that happen.

I fell way too hard before. Like face first in love with Seth, and I won’t allow that to happen. Not until I am completely sure that Jayden is it. When I look at him and know that I can’t go on without him is when I’ll allow myself to fall. Until then though, I’m gonna keep my heart locked up tight behind my ribs. That’s my plan, at least. But when I look across the locker room, watching as his arms flex with each pull of his laces, a little piece of me knows I’m fighting a losing battle. But I’m gonna fight it. I have to.

Because if I fall, I’ll fall hard, and that scares the bejesus out of me.

Looking up, his eyes meet mine and a little grin pulls at his lips as his cheeks fill with color. It’s adorable and completely unlike him, but it gives me chills to know I’ve caused it. For the last couple nights, we’ve been watching TV together with only stolen touches here and there. Jace and Markus are on to us, and we keep having to throw them off. I even sat on the other end of the bed last night, which pissed him off, but it needed to be done.

We have to keep this a secret, not only for me but for him too. I can’t let what happened to Seth happen to Jayden. No matter if he hurts me, I can’t let his career suffer. He cares for so many people, he cares for me, and even when I was being a bitch to him, he looked out for me. I have to look out for him. It’s the only right thing to do, and this is the only way I feel. At least until I know that he isn’t going anywhere, and then I’ll discuss it with my dad.

Which has my heart palpitating in my chest.

But then I remember that we are at the rink. It’s time for business, and quickly, I tie up my skates before finishing getting dressed. I hit the ice first, which I like, gives me time to warm up before the warm-up. As I skate around, I stretch out my neck and back, but somehow, I know exactly when Jayden’s skates hit the ice. He doesn’t skate with me, which I’m a little disappointed by. Then I mentally kick myself for that since I am the one pushing for him to keep this quiet, but then Markus is skating with me. And really, it’s hard to be disappointed or sad when Markus is around.

He’s a riot.

“So, ready for the dance team tryouts?” he asks, doing the robot, and I raise an eyebrow.

“What?” I ask, confused. Surely they don’t expect me to dance. I’m a hockey player, for shit’s sake!

“We get to help pick the dancers for the dance team. It’s like the best part of being on the team.”

“Oh,” I say with a chuckle, but then I look at him, deadpan. “Yeah, no, that doesn’t excite me.”

Especially since I know that wrestler chick is trying out.