“My hangover cure works every time. You should stop doubting my methods and try it sometime.”
I stick my tongue out. “Gross. Blended raw vegetables and protein powder? Nah, I’m good.”
“It’s more than that.” She shrugs. “Don’t knock it until you try it.”
“I’d rather not drink. Like ever again.” I plop down on the bench next to Taylor, letting out a loud groan. “That should take care of the problem.”
“So…” She gives me an odd look. “What happened last night with you know who?”
Taylor knows better than to say his name around the rest of the team.
“What do you think happened?”
Her eyes widen, and she covers her mouth with her hand, surprised. She slowly lowers her hand, speaking between her fingers. “You guys hooked up. Wow! How was he? Does he live up to his reputation?”
I nod. “Oh, yeah. In every way.”
“Lucky girl. When are you seeing him again?”
“It was a one-time thing. He knows the deal.”
She raises her eyebrows. “Are you insane? You need to make it a permanent thing.”
“Things got weird this morning in front of his team.” I keep my voice low enough so the other girls on the bench with us can’t overhear. “He asked me about Kellan.”
“You told him?”
“Well, no, but Shannon was there. She made us all breakfast. My dad’s rules came up, and when Shannon asked about them, she guessed the reason behind them. He looked like he was going to jump out of his skin when I told him he knows the guy.”
“What did you tell him?”
“It was awkward. I kinda yelled at him in front of his friends and then brushed it off, like I would tell him later.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“No need to. We’re not together. I don’t owe him an explanation about my past. It’s none of his business.”
“If he knew the truth, he would probably beat the shit out of Kellan. Wouldn’t that make you feel better?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. It was so long ago. I’m over it now. There’s no reason to dig up the past. I just want to move on with my life, you know.”
“Yeah, I get that.” She lifts a towel from the bench and wipes her face. “If you never get close to anyone, you never have to tell them anything. Isn’t that the Bex Bryant way?”
“It’s for the best. Don’t you think?”
She frowns. “If you say so.”
I say so.
Chapter Thirteen
Preston
I think Bex broke my dick. It’s been four days since we had sex, and now I get hard every time I think about her. She’s across the cafeteria with her teammates. But she has no idea I’m here. If she does, she hasn’t shown the slightest indication. Anyway, I’m like a twelve-year-old boy all over again. And she doesn’t want a repeat. Or so she says.
After I fill my plate with grilled chicken and vegetables, I pay the cashier for my meal and head over to the table in the corner of the cafeteria to sit with my friends.
“About time,” Jamie says, peeking up at me. “Where have you been?”
“I stayed behind to talk to my professor.”
His eyebrows rise. “You in trouble?”
I set my tray down on the other side of the table from Jamie, sitting next to Drake. Trent and Tucker are missing for some reason.
“Nah, nothing like that.” I lift the fork from my plate and dig into the broccoli. “He wanted to talk to me about my last paper.”
“Did you fail?”
I shake my head. “No. He wants to use it as an example for future classes and asked me if I was okay with him sharing it.”
“And here, I’m supposed to be the smart one in the family,” Jamie deadpans.
I roll my eyes at him. “You wish.”
At the end of the table, a few girls are picking at their salads. Some of my teammates must have called them over. I’ve never seen them before.
“Who invited them?” I ask the guys.
Drake follows my line of sight. “They’re with Tucker and Trent.”
“All of them?” There’s at least six girls. “Where’s Trent and Tucker?”
“You didn’t see them on your way up here?”
I shake my head, and he continues, “They’re dealing with some chick they were both hooking up with.”
I cock an eyebrow at him. “At the same time?”
“No. They weren’t fucking her at the same time, like in the same room. She thought Tucker was Trent. I guess she didn’t know they are identical twins.”
The Kane twins are known on campus for swapping places—and not just in class.
I laugh so hard it shakes the table. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How is there a girl left on this campus who doesn’t know the Kane twins by now? They’ve played this game with how many girls?”
Drake shrugs. “I was wondering the same thing. It’s common knowledge at Strick U. Maybe she’s a transfer student.”
“Or a freshman,” I add.
“I’d love to hear their conversation,” Jamie says, taking a sip from his water bottle. “Can you imagine her reaction? But your dicks looked the same. How was I supposed to know?”
Drake snorts and soda sprays from his nose.
With a disgusted look, I wipe it from my arm and onto my track pants. One of the girls at the end of the table squeals, stealing my attention. She’s a knockout blonde, with long hair past her shoulders. Her clothes are so tight they look like they would be a challenge to remove. She catches me staring in her direction and smiles. I turn away from her, uninterested, because for once, I don’t care about another meaningless hookup.
The only girl I want is across the cafeteria, showing off. Bex is out of her seat, dressed in mesh basketball shorts and a fitted Under Armour tee, with both hands raised in the air. She pivots her left foot, pretending to fake out an opponent, and then demonstrates a jump shot. Her feet leave the floor, her form perfect, as she makes the imaginary shot.
My face hurts from smiling. I’m in awe of her, and now considering going over there. But I don’t want a lecture about how Saturday night was a one-time thing. She’s told me so in every text message. I should accept it, heed Coach Bryant’s warning. But I don’t care. I keep telling myself he will understand. That he will make an exception for his favorite player.
“You look like a creeper, Parker.” Drake snaps me back to reality.
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
He points at Bex. “You like Coach’s daughter.”
I laugh. “No, I don’t.”
“She slept at the house,” Jamie says. “In your bedroom. Don’t give us that shit about being friends, because you don’t have any friends that are girls.”
“I do now,” I challenge.
I hate pretending like we’re friends, when all I want to do is rip Bex’s clothes off every time I see her.
“I call bullshit,” Drake says. “Man up and go over there.”
“I’m good right here.” I shovel a forkful of chicken into my mouth, avoiding Drake’s gaze.
“We’ve known you for how long?” Jamie asks. “Oh, wait, your entire life. You don’t think we know you well enough by now to see you’ve got it bad for Bex Bryant.”
“Keep your voice down,” I growl. “Do you want everyone in the cafeteria to hear you? Coach will lose his fucking shit if he finds out.”
“She did more than sleep in your bed,” Jamie smirks. “I share a wall with you, remember?”
“I didn’t think anyone was home.”
“You two were fucking all night and most of the morning. It was hard to miss the show you put on for the house.”
I’ve been denying I had sex with Bex for days. But these guys know me better than anyone. Even if Jamie didn’t hear us, he could read the lies on my lips, see the deception on my face. We’re too close for him to miss the signs.
“Keep that information to yourself,
” I spit back, annoyed. “What happened this weekend doesn’t leave our house.”
Jamie holds up his hands. “No argument here. I don’t want you to lose playing time over a girl.”
“Me either,” Drake says. “No girl is worth fucking up your career.”
An awkward silence passes between us, where we eat our food, too busy chewing to speak. And it’s nice. The interrogation about Bex was getting on my nerves. All it would take is one person to overhear our conversation and tell Coach Bryant I betrayed his trust. I already feel guilty about what I did. But being with Bex felt good. It still does.
Bex spins around, and our eyes meet. I haven’t been able to steel them away since I first noticed her in the cafeteria. She raises her hand and waves.
Her simple gesture tugs at something inside me. A wave of nerves shoots through my body, and my mouth goes dry. Why does she do this to me? I smile in return. She licks hers, focusing on my face.
Before I know what I’m doing, I get up from the table.
“Don’t do it,” Jamie warns.
I ignore him and stroll over to Bex’s table, as if I’m drawn to her like a magnet. She has this strange hold over me. And now that I know how she feels, how she tastes, and the sexy moans she makes when she comes, I need more. I can’t control myself.
“Parker,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. “What can I do for you?”
I want to kiss the smug look from her face and then bend her over this fucking table. She’s killing me. I never knew I could be so drawn to someone, so addicted to being around her. But I am.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
She thinks over my question and nods. “What’s up?”
I grab her elbow and tug hard enough to get her to follow me away from her table. She locks onto me, her eyes burning into mine. I want to kiss her, right here in front of the entire cafeteria.
I lead her in the direction of my table. “I need to see you again.”
“We had a deal.” Her voice is low. She’s careful not to speak too loud with everyone watching us. “What part about one-time did you not understand? You should be used to hooking up with girls and forgetting about them the next day. This shouldn’t be any different.”
I place my hand on her shoulder, and I can feel watchful eyes on me. But who the hell cares? What I want to say to Bex needs to be said before I go crazy. She has to know how I feel.
“I meant what I said last week. I don’t want to stay away from you. And now that we—”
“Don’t finish that sentence. Not in public.” She sighs. “I like you, too, but for so many reasons this can’t work.”
“Name one.”
“For starters, my dad will murder you if he finds out.”
“What does it matter if you’re with me or some other guy on campus?”
She turns away from me, and I slide my hand under her chin to guide her eyes back to mine.
“You’re making a scene,” she says. “Everyone will know there’s something going on between us.”
“Maybe I want them to know.” I drop my hand to my side when she shakes me off. “If you were my girl, I would never hide you. I’d want everyone to know you are with me.”
“But I can’t be your girl, Preston. You know how this will end. Even if we see each other until the end of the school year, that’s where it will end. You’ll get drafted into the NHL and leave me behind. It happens all the time. I don’t want to be another statistic.”
“You never told me why your dad has these rules to begin with, and why you go along with them?”
She grinds her teeth. “I’m not ready to have that conversation.”
“I want to know you, Bex, but you’re not making it easy for me.”
“Everything comes easy to you,” she counters, and then her tone changes. “We can be friends, like we talked about before. Let’s see how that goes.”
“Friends hang out together,” I remind her. “They don’t ignore each other’s texts and calls and run away from them on campus.”
She laughs, most likely getting a kick out of what she’s been doing all week to avoid me. “I’m well aware.”
“Come to this party with me on Saturday.”
She bites the inside of her cheek. “Where?”
“The Delta Sig house.”
Her eyebrows lift. “A frat party? That’s not really my scene.”
“Humor me.”
She sucks in a deep breath and lets it out. “Okay. Fine. Can I bring Taylor with me since this isn’t a date?”
“Sure, invite whoever you want since it’s a non-date.” I laugh. “That sounds so fucking stupid saying that out loud.”
She smiles. “You looked adorable saying it.”
“Men are not adorable. That’s something you say about an animal.”
“But you are…” she coos, “… adorable.”
“I don’t think friends are supposed to say things like this,” I challenge.
“I suppose you’re right.”
I dip down to whisper in her ear, “I guess I shouldn’t tell you how all I can think about is your tight, wet pussy. Or how hot you sound when you moan my name.”
She clears her throat. “Um… probably not.”
“Say it. Please.”
“What?”
“My name.”
“Preston,” she breathes.
“Fuck, you’re making me hard.”
She takes a step back from me. “Then stop doing this.” Bex motions her hands in front of her. “All of this. You. It’s so distracting.”
I laugh at her comment. “Touché.”
“I don’t see how we’re going to be friends,” she confesses.
“Me either. But we can try. We can be friends with benefits. No attachments. No breaking your last rule. What do you say?”
Taylor calls Bex’s name from the other side of the cafeteria, ending our conversation. She flags Bex down and yells about it being time for practice.
“I have to go,” Bex says. “I’ll see you around, friend.” Her mouth curves up slightly when she says the last part.
“Smart ass,” I mouth.
She winks, and then she’s gone.
Bex must be enjoying my slow, painful torture. Women are so hard to read, and Bex is like decrypting an unsolvable cipher.
“Dude, you are so fucked,” Drake says to me when I take my seat at the table.
“Tell me about it,” I mutter.
Chapter Fourteen
Bex
The week blows by in a blur of practices, late night texts from Preston, and tons of homework. Preston was equally busy, with little time to talk. Our schedules are similar, which makes it easier to align our non-date nights. Like tonight.
“Are you sure this dress isn’t too short?” I ask Taylor, who leans over to check out my backside.
“Nope. Your ass looks perfect in this dress. Parker will definitely approve.”
I shake my head, laughing. “I’m sure he will.”
Taylor chose a short, tight bandage dress from her closest, paired with red heels. She even made me wear makeup. I feel so unlike myself in this outfit and layers of eyeshadow and mascara. I’m like Taylor’s very own Barbie doll. She knows I hate picking out clothes, so she offers to do it for me.
My mom was never around to teach me simple things like how to dress. She wasn’t even there when I got my period. I thought my dad was going to have a nervous breakdown when he had to deal with me crying on the bathroom floor, freaked out by womanhood. But we got through all the weird, awkward times. Taylor helped me through the rest.
“This must be the house.” Taylor points at the last house on Greek Row.
A crowd of people pour out from the old Victorian. Much like the house Preston shares with his teammates, it has high pillars, a long, covered porch, and several floors. Except the lawn at the Delta Sigma Phi house is littered with trash. Plastic cups, crushed beer cans, and even a lacy bra are on the lawn.
We walk past a group of drunk girls in short skirts and tight tops, clasping red Solo cups of beer.
“I saw Parker with the twins,” a tall blonde says to her friend, slurring her words. “I couldn’t get anywhere near him.”
My Parker? What twins? Fucking hookers.
I attempt to eavesdrop of their conversation as we stroll down the walkway to the house. My mind drifts to a thousand different places. I’m a little jealous when I think of Preston with another girl, let alone two of them. Friends shouldn’t be this jealous, even though we’re not technically friends.
I still haven’t given Preston an answer. I’m afraid to plunge head-first into this arrangement and lose myself and my heart in the process. I know from previous experience that hockey players, especially ones as hot as Preston Parker, are bad for me.
Once the line moves, I climb the stairs and come to a halt when I spot Preston on the porch. He leans back against the house, tipping a cup of beer to his mouth. His usual gang of guys surround him, with Jamie on his right. Shannon latches onto Jamie, as if she’s afraid to let him out of her sight.
Preston glances over at me. His entire face illuminates. He looks sexy in dark jeans and a fitted black tee that hugs his muscular frame.
I bite my bottom lip, and he notices. Laughing, he walks toward me. He hooks his arm around my back. I take in the scent of his delicious, manly scent. He’s intoxicating.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t show.”
“I said I would come.”
“Hey, Taylor,” he says, now acknowledging her. “You remember Drake, Trent, Tucker, Jamie, and Shannon.”
Oh, right. Those twins.
How stupid of me to think Preston invited me to a party where he was hooking up with other girls. I almost laugh when I realize my mistake.
At the mention of their names, his friends look over at Preston. They wave at Taylor and me, and we do the same in return.
“They’re with me,” Preston tells a blond-haired boy sitting on a bar stool by the door, taking money from people.
Pucking Parker (Face-Off Legacy Book 1) Page 10
