Griz: A Fake Relationship College Hockey Romance

by E. Cleveland

  Griz leans into me. “I thought you said she’d drop the bridezilla act after the wedding,” he mumbles.

  “Bridezilla? Really? How original.” She rolls her eyes at me.

  “She put it as your name in her phone. She must score some points for originality there?” Griz laughs, like he’s enjoying how angry Clementine is. At the very least, it’s clear that he doesn’t give a fuck about her tantrums.

  For once, I don’t care either. I deserve to stand up for myself. I deserve to feel good about myself. I deserve happiness. I glance at Griz. I deserve him. I need to tell Griz how I really feel, just not this second. Right now, I’ve got something to say to my sister.

  “You’re right. I was wrong to change your name to bridezilla on my phone.”

  “You don’t have to apologize.” She acts like she’s a queen pardoning a peasant.

  “I wasn’t.” I shut her down.

  Her royal mouth is agape.

  “Bridezilla makes it sound like you were bitchy because of the wedding, and that’s not true. So…”

  “Exactly,” she agrees.

  “It’s all the time,” I say.

  “What?”

  “All. The. Time. You were a bitch before you started planning a wedding, and you’re still one after your honeymoon. That’s just who you are. It’s your essence.” I finally stop holding it all back from her. I’m tired of always letting her comments slide. I’m sick of compromising how I feel about myself for the luxury of hanging out with her.

  I pull out my cell phone and open Clementine’s contact information. “Let’s see. I’ll change that now. B-I-T-C-H.” I spell out the first half. “Zilla.”

  Our waitress lays plates of eggs and bacon in front of us while the guys help her match every meal to an owner. My sister and I don’t participate. We’re in our own thing, a mini stare-down, across the table from each other.

  The waitress leaves, and it’s pretty quiet at our booth. All of us start eating like we can’t feel the electric cloud of anger weaving between us. I feel it.

  “It’s been a long day. How about we all just relax a bit?” Julian gives my sister a tired smile.

  “Exactly. Today has been long. That’s why I don’t need to come here and listen to this.” She points her fork across the table at me, and I want to knock it out of her hand.

  “Bitchzilla,” I mutter. Yes, it’s immature. No, I do not fucking care.

  “Come on.” Julian looks at me.

  The scorn on their faces, it almost quiets my voice. Normally, that would be the end of it. I would stop and get my anger under control. Or, better yet, apologize and pretend that I never felt the anger at all. I would keep that all buried deep inside like a shipwreck of unexpressed emotions.

  Griz squeezes my hand in his, and I take a deep breath. I find power in his hand on mine, and I borrow it.

  “Are you saying you don’t see how she talks to me?” I fire back. “Don’t you see how she talks to everyone? Bitchzilla fits. Bitchzilla is perfect.”

  Julian was clearly not expecting any blow-back. “Uhhh,” he answers.

  “You know what? I’m not doing this. We’re taking our food to go. Come on, Julian. We’ll just drive through tonight.”

  “That sounds like a perfect plan.” I don’t try to stop her when she barges out of the booth. I think it throws her. She probably expected me to toss myself at her feet and beg her to stay.

  “To go? We’re going to bring eggs to go? Mine are sunny side up, babe,” Julian whines.

  “So what? Let’s get some containers and get out of here,” she demands, stuffing herself back into her winter coat. Julian gets up slowly.

  “There will just be yoke all over the box. Nobody takes sunny side eggs to go. That’s not a thing.”

  “Can you forget about the eggs?” she hisses. “Leave the food. We are going. Now.” She marches out the door and leaves him behind. Julian throws some cash on the table and sighs. He follows her out of Rosie’s, but it’s without any enthusiasm.

  There are a few other customers scattered around the place. They give us some curious glances, but no one is scandalized. Nothing crazy happens when you stand up to Clementine. Apparently, the world just keeps on turning.

  “I’m proud of you.” Griz wraps his arm around me. I can’t help but look at his lips. I want to feel them on mine. “Did that feel good?”

  “Sort of, yeah.” I smile up at him.

  He leans toward me, and I can feel the energy off his lips before they touch mine. I can feel how intensely we both want this kiss. It wakes me up inside. It makes everything that matters so clear, and everything that doesn’t stops existing.

  “Uh, guys. Sorry to interrupt.”

  It almost stops existing.

  “There’s a little problem.” Julian hovers at the end of the table. My sister is nowhere to be seen.

  “What?” Griz snarls and moves back from me.

  “We, uh, left our suitcases at your apartment. I have to go get them before we can go, so do you have an extra key I can use, or…” He waits for me to answer.

  Isn’t there another option? Like, burning all their belongings? Tossing them in the trash? No, as much as I’d love to light up Clementine’s stuff, I know that’s not the answer.

  “Yes,” I sigh. I tug the spare key off my ring and hand it over. I expect Julian to leave now. He doesn’t.

  “What?” I frown.

  “The key.” He looks down at it in his hand. “Should I just leave it on the counter? Or somewhere else?”

  “Yes, just leave it on the counter.” He still hovers until I look at him.

  “Great. Well, bye.” He turns and heads out.

  It’s awkwardly quiet in the restaurant. I feel like the people at other tables are pretending not to notice my sister’s big storm out. If they have functioning eyes and ears that would be impossible though.

  “That went better than I expected.” Griz breaks the silence, grabbing my hand in his. He grins.

  I can’t help but laugh. He has a way of making the worst moments perfect. When he’s beside me, he has a way of making everything okay. I missed him. I don’t want to miss him anymore.

  25

  Yoga Pants Kink

  Griz

  I hold the door open with my shoulder until Hattie walks outside. The sky looks like a pillow of goose feathers busted open, with clusters of snowflakes falling everywhere. There’s already a thick blanket of snow covering the sidewalk.

  “I didn’t know we were getting a storm.” Hattie’s eyebrows lift to the sky. “There’s no way they can drive back in this. That means we’re going to have to go deal with my sister and her stupid pouty face again.” She tenses back up.

  I’m proud of Hattie for getting in the ring and giving her sister the verbal beat down she deserved, but that doesn’t mean I want to watch a rematch.

  “What if they spend the night at your apartment and we go to my place? Hector House is a lot closer from here. We shouldn’t really drive in this.”

  “And there’s no way I can let her drive in it either.” She sighs and digs out her phone. She presses call on Bitchzilla’s number and holds the phone to her ear. I slow my pace a step or two, giving her a bit of privacy. Turns out you can still hear every word at a step or two, so privacy is a bust.

  I don’t listen in on her call. I barely hear a word she says because… yoga pants. Her thighs look strong, ready to squeeze around me. Her ass makes me crazy. It makes me want to rip the stitches out of that spandex and fuck her while she’s still wearing them.

  “Yeah, I’m being serious. You guys stay there. Griz and I are going to his old place. It’s just up the road from the restaurant.” She stops outside my vehicle. I get out the snow brush and remove about fifteen pounds of it off all the windows.

  “Because, I can be mad at you and still not want you to die, Clementine.” Hattie’s voice is terse.

  We both get in the car, and I turn it on. I let it run, waiting for th
e windshield to defrost first. I’m not taking any risks when the visibility is this bad out.

  “I love you too,” she says reluctantly. “No... wait. Why does he want to talk to me?” Hattie frowns and her voice goes even flatter. “Hi Julian.” She pauses. “Yes. I’m sure. On the counter. Uh-huh. Will you just leave the key on the counter!” She shakes her head. “Yep. Bye.”

  “That Julian, he’s an interesting guy.” I laugh and pull out onto the empty street. This has got to be a blizzard with how fast the snow is piling up, but I’m not concerned. I’m driving slowly and safely for the couple blocks back to the house.

  It’s the kind of snow that you can’t take your eyes off. Even driving through it at this snail’s pace makes it hard to see through.

  “There’s a lid for every pot, they say.” Hattie sums it up.

  “It’s hypnotic when it falls like that.” Hattie stares out the windshield.

  I squint through it, trying very hard not to get distracted. It’s a relief when I pull in my driveway. There’s light glowing out of almost every window at Hector House. Against the storm, it looks warm and cozy. I’m in no rush to leave the car. I want to get her up to my room without a bunch of mascot-head drama.

  Shutting off the engine, we unbuckle our belts and sit still. The loudest sound is puffy snowflakes hitting the glass. It quickly builds up until the house is blocked by snow. Blue-tinged light casts over her face, the same way it did at Madison Square Garden. It feels like we’re hiding in our cozy fort again. It’s nice. Hattie gave me a glimpse of my dreams that night. I realized it as soon as we got out of that subway station and we walked to that building. The biggest part of that dream was the piece of the puzzle I didn’t even know existed. Sharing that pizza, those smiles, that moment with her. That’s the dream. Full-stop.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything back at the airport.” I turn to her. I’m speaking softly, but my voice feels too big for the distance between us.

  She shrugs. “It’s okay.” She knows exactly what I mean. I hate that.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot about what I wish I said.” I keep talking. “I should have told you that I’ve never felt this real with anyone before either. It caught me off guard, I guess. I never expected anything out of this. I knew it would be crazy, I hoped it would be fun, but…”

  I want to stop talking and fucking kiss her. I want to show her instead of explain. Sometimes, it’s worse to stay silent. Silence can cause more misery than the truth.

  “I never expected to fall in love.”

  It’s so quiet in here. Condensation climbs up the inside of the windows keeping a record of our breaths.

  Her eyes grow taller and begin to shine. “Me neither.” She wipes her fingertips under her eyes. “And I never expected to miss you so much either. The past week and a half has been awful,” she sniffles.

  “I missed you too. And I fucking hated it. Would rate it a zero out of ten. So, how about we don’t need to miss each other anymore? What if we stayed in this fake relationship, but like, forever maybe? And also, without the Ken-doll experience.”

  “If you’re going to commit, you’ve got to go boyfriend-level.” She laughs.

  “Right? Otherwise, you’re just getting ripped off.” Is restraint even a word when she smiles like that? I lean over the seat and pull her toward me. Every kiss makes me greedy for more. “You know you’ve ruined me?”

  “What?” Confusion knits her eyebrows together.

  “Never mind.” My cock throbs painfully against my jeans. From a kiss. Any game I once had, this girl destroyed. I never want it back. It’s not just the sex that’s imprinted on my brain. It’s the rawness between us. It’s how her smiles are enough to make me happy. It’s how life is less vibrant when she’s not around.

  And the sex… My cock will never be the same.

  “Want to go up to my room?”

  It burns in my veins, my need for her. She tilts her head back, and my fingers thread through her hair. I kiss her again.

  “Yes,” she whispers between kisses.

  When we step out into the night, a pile of snow plunks down on each side of the car. It’s still coming down heavy. I lead Hattie up the driveway to the house. I’m surprised that it’s not loud when I open the door. The sound of video games is coming from the living room, and the smell of food is coming from the kitchen, but we don’t cross paths with any of the guys. Not when we walk in. Not upstairs either.

  I bring Hattie up and lock the door behind us. “This is my room.” I turn on the light. “I know what you’re thinking…where are all his One Direction posters?”

  “Give it up.” She rolls her eyes and pushes my shoulder.

  “The answer is, they’re nowhere, because that’s not my kink.” I love making her blush. I want to see how far that pink travels over her skin.

  “But you do have one? A kink?” Hattie tilts her head, watching me closely.

  “You in those fucking yoga pants is wandering into kink territory.” I slide my hands down over the curve of her ass. Holding her firmly against me, I rock my hips forward until her eyes widen.

  “Ohhh!” She holds onto me tightly. “So, you’re serious about the pants?”

  “That I find you sexy in them, yes. Not that I have an actual kink for them. You don’t have to worry about me stealing yoga pants to jerk off into.”

  “What an oddly specific thing to say.” She smirks and presses her hands flat against my chest, urging me to sit on the edge of my bed. Hattie stands in front of me. Her fingers climb up the sides of her shirt, and she pulls it off. She’s got some kind of sporty-sexy thing happening when she stands tall in nothing but her bra and pants. “What is it, exactly, that you like so much about them?”

  “They’re like a promise of what’s underneath. I love how they curve here.” I run my hands down her ass and pull her forward. She moves in close. “I love how thin they are. Thin enough that you can feel this.” I press my lips against her pussy, and she rolls her head back.

  “See? If these were jeans, I’d never know how wet you are right now.”

  Hattie’s hands spread out over my shoulders then down against my chest. I lie back, pulling her on top of me. Straddling me, she slowly sinks down until we grind together. “Do you like my yoga pants now?”

  “The pants are great.” I slide my hands up the back of her legs and dig my fingertips into her ass. “But it’s what under them that drives me fucking crazy.”

  The glint in her eyes, the way she bites her lip, the flush of her cheeks…it’s all sexy. She’s come a long way from the girl who tried to hide herself from me. The confidence that radiates off of her now, there’s nothing in this world sexier than that.

  I pull my jeans off, and Hattie starts tugging at my shirt. She only gets it halfway up my body, so I yank it off the rest of the way. She’s still got her yoga pants on, and she’s taking this dry humping thing to a new level. If she doesn’t stop, I’m not going to make good on my promise not to cum on her yoga pants. I’m going to make her cum in them instead.

  I slide my hand beneath the fabric of her pants and underwear. She’s so wet that an involuntary growl rises from my throat.

  “Ohhh.” She closes her eyes tight as I slide my fingers inside her warm pussy. I use my thumb to play with her clit, and Hattie starts rocking on my hand.

  Grabbing her shoulder, I pull her down so I get a mouthful of her perfect tit. I pull her nipple into my mouth and fill her with my fingers at the same time. Hattie is moaning and bucking. Her pussy tightens around me with every pulse. I graze my teeth over the tip of her nipple and then suck it into my mouth.

  “Oh! Mmm,” she sinks into the sensation.

  “Oh, Griz,” she whimpers.

  “Cum for me, baby,” I whisper. Hattie stiffens up, her pussy clenches my fingers.

  She rolls her head back, moaning my name, “Griz!” When the last of her orgasm shivers through her, I roll her onto her back and rip those pants and her unde
rwear off her.

  “I need more. I need to feel you.” Hattie slides her hand down to my cock and starts to guide it to her entrance.

  “Just a sec.” I lean over, and the drawer in my end table squeaks as I pull it open. I grab a condom and tear the foil open with my teeth. It’s rolled down my cock quickly.

  “You do that so quickly.” Her eyebrows pinch. “It always makes me think that you’ve done that, like, a lot.”

  “You mean it makes you think of how many girls I’ve been with?” I move back between Hattie’s legs and she nods.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, don’t.” I pin her between my arms and kiss her slowly. “I never think about any of that stuff anymore. I was done with it before any of this. You are the only girl I want. And I want you so fucking bad.” I ease the head of my cock to her pussy, and she rolls her hips up to meet me.

  “You’re all I want too. And I want you to fuck me. I want to feel you inside me, ahh!” She gasps as I fill her with my cock.

  Our bodies roll together like ocean waves. I take it slow, kissing her neck, enjoying the moment.

  Hattie is more impatient. She wraps her legs around the backs of mine and pulls me in until my ear is next to her mouth. “Harder,” she whimpers.

  My cock surges, like he heard the message. I thrust into her faster and deeper, and she cries out, her fingernails dig into my back and it does something inside me. It turns me wild. I fuck her with an animalistic need.

  “Oh my…” Her voice squeaks up into a range human ears can’t pick up. Her body quivers with her orgasm, and her pussy squeezes me so tightly, I can’t stop my own.

  “Oh, fuck.” I bury my cock in her deep and shudder against her as I cum.

  Hattie goes from super tense to flopped back on the bed. I pull out and take care of the condom, but she still doesn’t move. I may have broken her.

  “You alright?” I climb back into my bed with her and pull the blanket and sheet up over us.