by Daphne Slade
“Yeah, and I don’t even think that way. Cute? Handsome? Even Hot? Yeah, sure. But straight-up sexy? You were just so damn...”
“Sexy. Let’s leave it at that. I’m totally fine with that one.”
She laughs. “Yes, sexy.”
“In which case, we are the perfect match because I feel the same.”
Before she can respond, I have her lying back on the bed, and I’m already going to work on her underwear.
“Let me show you just how sexy I can be.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Noah
Despite the concern about getting caught, I refused to take Grace up on her offer to leave in the wee hours of the morning well before the sun came up.
“We have practice starting at seven on weekends. After that is the best time for you to leave, so you have no choice but to stay.”
We’re both on our stomachs and she idly scratches my back from the nape of my neck far enough down to teasingly tickle my ass. Now I know how it feels, all those times she had her hand on Matt in one way or another. Knowing that it extends into the bedroom has me both raging with resentment that she ever did it with him, and eternally grateful that I’m now the beneficiary.
“You trust me alone in your apartment already?” She smiles, tapping her fingers along my neck.
“Especially if it means I come back to find you tied to my bed,” I say with a grin before turning over to grab her and bury my face into her neck.
She laughs and slaps my shoulder as I tickle her with my stubble. “If you really do have to be there at seven, you’d better get a move on. I, myself, am going to sleep. It’s an ungodly hour for a Saturday.”
Grace is still naked since we didn’t bother getting dressed after the last time. The thought of her scent in my bed from sleeping in it drives me wild. I briefly wonder if we can’t go a third time before practice.
As though reading my mind, she says, “You’re already risking enough. Don’t screw up now by arriving late just for the sake of sex.”
“You say that like sex isn’t worth it.”
“Over the NHL?”
“Mmmm,” I say, pondering that.
“Go!” she insists, pushing me off with a laugh.
“As you wish,” I grumble.
I get up and walk over to my dresser to pull out some underwear to throw on. After pulling them up, I turn around to face Grace and find her with a grin on her face.
“What?”
“Just ogling you,” she says.
“Language like that will definitely have me late for practice.”
She breathes out a laugh. “So…how are we going to do this, Noah? Me sneaking to your place in the dead of night? You coming to mine after I hang the proverbial sock on the door for my roommate Erin?”
“I guess I’ll just have to find ways to kidnap you. Good thing I have a getaway car,” I say, lifting my brow and grinning.
Still, she does have a point. No more trips to the Den of Iniquity.
I kneel on the bed and lean in toward her. “If that’s enough to stop us, it’s not worth it is it?”
She rises to meet me halfway. “Not at all. So, let’s do this.”
I grin. “That’s the spirit.”
Today, I end up leaving for practice at the same time as Reid and Cole.
“Someone is getting a late start. You finally find the magical unicorn who was good enough to keep you from practice?” Reid teases.
I keep a straight face, but inside my stomach drops a little. This thing between Grace and me is going to be harder to keep secret than I thought.
“It’s Saturday, I’m allowed to sleep in at least once.”
“Oh man, we’re screwed if Noah’s already slacking off. Do I need to get you an alarm clock?”
“Won’t happen again. From now on, I promise to continue making the rest of you slackers look bad.”
Reid laughs and punches me in the arm.
“Hey, if I literally walk through the front door ahead of you maybe Coach will go easy on me,” he says, walking faster.
I leave it alone, mostly because Cole is watching me a little too closely. Depending on how you interpret his look, he can seem either calm and serenely indifferent, or unsettlingly perceptive. Today, I note the latter.
“What?” I finally say with a sigh.
He just continues to walk in silence for a bit, staring ahead. After a few steps, he finally looks at me with a hint of an empathetic smile. “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
“And what does that mean?”
“We both want the NHL, you probably more than any of us. You’re entitled to have a life, just…don’t slip up with this, Noah.”
I should have known he’d be the one to figure it out about me and Grace. His ability to play defense, noting where the puck is before it even gets there, only proves how observant he is elsewhere in life.
I walk in silence with him for a bit. “How did you know?”
A wry smile comes to his lips. “Matt told me last night that Grace finally dumped him. Lucky for you he didn’t put it together with that idiotic dare you took him up on. Yet.”
Both of them being defensemen, and Cole being the candidate least likely to give him shit for it, it’s no wonder Matt confided in Cole.
“How was he?”
He slides his eyes to me. “I guess we’ll find out.”
“Shit,” I say.
Cole claps his hand on my shoulder. “Just keep feigning ignorance. Hopefully, you’re a good actor.”
We reach the arena and head straight for the locker rooms to get changed. Thankfully, Matt isn’t there yet. Maybe I can get dressed and out on the ice before he arrives.
I’m in my gear but have yet to put my skates on when he finally does roll in. My instinct is to avert my gaze, but I’m smart enough to curb that reflex and instead give him an idle look before calmly returning to my skates.
His eyes are focused on me, narrowed with suspicion and contempt. “You got anything you want to confess?”
I finish lacing up the first skate. Mostly to calm my nerves before responding. “Such as?”
“Drop it, Noah, I know you somehow got Grace talking and asking about you since school began.”
“What?” A genuine look of surprise crosses my face as I bring my eyes back up to him.
“Did you finally manage to wriggle your way into her good graces by spreading lies about me?”
I cough out a laugh at the irony. So, he doesn’t know about Grace and me. It’s more amusement than relief that I feel, but both fit the bill. “Why the hell would Grace listen to me about anything? In case you hadn’t noticed these past three years, she fucking hates my guts.”
Thanks to you, you son of a bitch.
He’s still filled with righteous anger, wanting to lash out. I’m tempted to say something more about his problems not being my problem, but I know that will only piss him off.
Instead, I go for his weak spot.
“Speaking of which, I thought Coach Egler made it clear that this kind of shit stays off the ice. Whatever is going on with you and Grace, deal with it outside of practice. It has nothing to do with me.”
The fire in him has a brief burst of energy before dying out. He storms to his locker and forces it open.
I finish with my second skate, catching Cole’s eye as I lace it up. He looks back with a wry smile but slowly shakes his head as though he thinks I’m crazy for digging my heels in with this.
Maybe I am.
But it’s worth it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Grace
When Noah left, I finally turned on my phone. Sure enough, I had not one but four voicemails from Matt.
First call: “What the hell was that text? We’re over? Call me.”
Second call: “Grace, stop dicking around. I know you’re upset but we should at least talk this out. Call me.”
Third call: “Ok fine, you want to be like this? Maybe it’s a good thing to call it
quits. [Long pause] Just…call me, Grace.”
Fourth call: “You know what, be a bitch then. This isn’t you breaking up with me, it’s me breaking up with you…bitch!”
I shake my head and delete each one. I guess Noah wasn’t entirely correct in that men want what they can’t have. I can’t tell if Matt wants me back or just wants to have the final say.
Either way, I meant what I texted him: we’re over.
I know exactly what to expect when I get back to my apartment. Sure enough, Erin is sitting on the couch with a mug in her hand staring at the front door as soon as I open it. She switches off the TV as I walk in.
“I made tea,” she says, blinking her eyes deliberately. “Enough for the both of us to sip on this morning.”
I catch the double meaning and laugh as I drop my purse by the door and walk over to join her on the couch.
“Don’t laugh. You better spill some of that tea because Erin is thirsty. Are you and Noah a thing? You’d better be, otherwise, I’m going to have a talk with him about taking advantage of my girl when she’s vulnerable.”
I think over everything I learned last night about Matt after Noah and I compared stories. I shake my head. “I hope you have all morning because I’ve got some scalding hot mess to pour on you.”
“Ohh!” She says bouncing up and down. “I like the sound of that, do tell. But first, about Noah—”
“Patience!” I say. “This one you have to hear on a timeline.”
She throws her head back with a groan.
“Trust me, it’s good.”
I tell her everything. From that first day of class and what Noah thought of me, to all the lies and mistruths Matt has been feeding the two of us.
“That son of a bitch!” she seethes, then purses her lips at me. “I could have told you that boy was no good. Now, at least I can finally say it.”
“Yeah,” I say, smiling over the cup of tea she’s finally poured for me.
“But forget about that one. Tell me more about last night with Noah,” she urges, bending one arm on the back of the couch and leaning her head on her fist to face me. “Details, details!”
“No!” I laugh, wrinkling my nose.
“Ugh! Was the man at least good in bed?”
I just smile over my cup.
“Thank god!” Erin laughs and kicks one socked foot out to tap my thigh. “So are you two going to make it official?”
I pull my cup away and frown. “That’s where it gets complicated.”
“How?”
“He’s the captain of the hockey team.” I turn to tilt my head at her with a pointed look. “And Matt is on the hockey team.”
“Ahh. And we all know Matt can’t handle anyone else playing with his toys.”
“Thank you, Erin,” I say in a dry tone.
“Grace, please,” she dismisses. “That’s exactly what he treated you like.”
“Either way, hockey is important to Noah. He wants to go to the NHL.”
“Really?” She says with a grin. “My girl done gone and got herself a pro—well, not a baller. What do they call it for hockey? Pucker?”
We both laugh.
Mine ends in another frown. “And then there’s my parents.”
“What about them?”
“You know what they’re like. Matt was perfect because he was going to medical school—or so I thought.” I scowl a bit before continuing. “But a professional hockey player? One who wants to live in the midwest?”
I breathe out a laugh as I stare ahead. “It’s bad enough I ended up at Devington instead of the official family alma mater. Now, I’m dating someone who has a future that’s so far off their radar it probably won’t even register.”
“And what about your radar?”
“What?” I ask, turning to her.
“What do you want?”
“You know what I want. I’ve already applied to—”
“No, that’s what your parents want for you. Frankly, I wonder if med school is even right for you.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, sitting up a little straighter with indignation.
“I mean, you hate science.”
“Medicine isn’t all about science. It’s about helping people.”
“You can do that a million different ways.” She twists her lips. “But I guess not all those ways meet with the Arlington standards.”
“My parents just…expect the best from us. That’s all. Medicine is a safe career. A respected career.”
“And we all know appearances matter more than anything.”
I feel my irritation set in. “It’s easy enough for you. Science and math just come easily to you.”
“Because I actually like them as subjects. And yes, I chose medical school because it’s a solid choice where I can have an impact. But I damn sure didn’t do it for my parents' approval.” She laughs. “That ship sailed long ago.”
“How so?” I ask.
“You think they were thrilled about me coming up here to Devington?”
“It’s a great school.”
“Yes, but, one, it ain’t in Georgia. Two, it ain’t an HBCU.”
“A what?”
“Historically black college or university. Specifically, Spelman College, which is the Johnson family tradition, at least as far as females go. Which gets me to three, I ain’t with a Morehouse man. You think they were thrilled when they found out Clark was coming to dinner? A tall, skinny white guy, complete with red hair and freckles?”
I bite back a smile, once again picturing Clark, who is a good foot taller than Erin. They do tend to turn heads.
“But,” she continues, leaning in with a grin. “They saw how happy I was and how well he treats me and ultimately that’s what any parent wants. That you’re happy and secure. And Grace? Matt ain’t it. They should have realized that.”
“That much is true.” I no longer feel the bile of resentment in my stomach about Matt, which is also a good thing.
“And what does your gut tell you about Noah?”
An instant smile comes to my face as butterflies release in my stomach.
“There you have it,” Erin says with a grin as she pokes me in the shoulder. “So forget what you think your parents might have to say about it.”
“I’ll deal with that ship when it sails.” I fall back with a contented sigh. “Right now, I just want to focus on enjoying it. It’s one year. We just have to be secretive about it.” I turn to her with a warning look. “So no telling!”
She mimics locking her lips and throwing away the key. “Doesn’t that make it kinda sexy?” She adds with a grin.
“Sexy,” I repeat feeling a smile of pleasure touch my lips. “Still, I’d rather have normal.”
“Of course you would. That’s why Noah is so great for you, he defies that pathetic instinct. Just look at y’all’s official start. It doesn’t get any better than him finding you handcuffed and practically naked in bed.”
I wrinkle my nose with distaste. “I think I like the original one, where I turned around to look at the cute boy in class who had just made a joke in Latin.”
“Yeah, that’s the one you save for the grandbabies.”
“Grandbabies? Technically we haven’t even had our first date yet.”
“So how are you going to manage that? Wait, are you even allowed to go to his games?”
I stare ahead once again to consider that. “How would I explain it? By now the whole team probably knows Matt and I aren’t together. He’d definitely be the type to make some kind of inference from my presence unless I was so high in the stands he couldn’t see me.”
“Well, we’ll just have to make our own girls' night out of it then. We can watch together at a bar or something.”
I turn to her with a smile. “You know, you really are a good friend.”
“I am aren’t I?” She says, batting her lashes and laughing. “And you Grace, are the BFF who is about to save my ass with this damn history class I have
. I need you to review all my papers this semester?” She clasps her hands together with a pleading look.
I laugh. “Okay, okay.”
“See how well we work? Remember that when Noah gives you that big wedding and you need a maid of honor.”
“Maybe I should make it through Thanksgiving first,” I say with a smile. As soon as I say it, the reality of that happening hits me.
If Noah and I last that long, he’s in for a rude introduction to the Arlingtons.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Noah
Practice was grueling, but at least I’m noting a lot of improvement with the team. They seem to have recovered from their summer lull and are back in full form. It should be a good season.
After showering and changing, I pick up the phone to text Grace.
Me: I’d like to kidnap you tonight.
I put the phone aside and get at least some of my work for class out of the way while I wait for an answer.
It doesn’t take long.
Grace: Does it count as kidnapping if you tell me ahead of time?
Me: It sounds more fun than a date.
Grace: So I’m dating a psycho. Good to know ahead of time.
Me: Says the femme fatale caught wearing Agent Provocateur.
Grace: A psycho and a femme fatale. I guess this means we have to dress up as Bonnie and Clyde for Halloween.
I stare at the phone and grin. It’s a good sign she’s already thinking as far ahead as Halloween costumes.
Grace: Speaking of which, how should I dress for this kidnapping tonight?
Me: I know what my preference is….
Grace: I don’t think even femme fatales could get away with that. I’d need my trusty trench coat to cover me. Or the ability to kill any witnesses.
I cough out a laugh. I knew there was something more to that restrained, quiet girl who sat in the front of class.
Me: Now you’ve got this psycho all hot and bothered. You open to being snatched sooner rather than later?
Grace: Give me half an hour to shower and put on something that won’t lead to public bloodshed?
