Two moms and no dads? I’m starting to understand why Jack found comfort in playing sports. He probably sought that paternal male approval through the various coaches and captains he encountered throughout the years.
I find myself lost in thought as I stare at him, piecing together the puzzle that is Jack. It’s strange how people are like diamonds with different facets shining as they become visible in the light.
As the conversation continues, the sky outside becomes completely dark and the candles melt down further. The jazz is slower and everything feels hazy as we share anecdotes and talk about our lives. My wine glass is empty again and so is my plate.
Riley starts collecting the dishes and Jack is quick to his feet to help. Logan pulls out his phone and announces that he’s looking up the scores to the last few pre-season games. The blue light of his phone illuminates his face as he busies himself.
I find myself alone with Austin. Giving him a polite smile, I pull my phone out of my dress pocket and check the time. It’s almost midnight. I also have a number of unread texts from Madison:
MADISON: Are you doing it? Are you flirting with him?
MADISON: You better be having a good night! ;) ;) ;)
MADISON: Text meeeeee
Swiping them all away, I shove the phone back into my pocket.
Austin takes the opportunity to lean in and start chatting me up.
“So, are you dating anyone?” He asks. His knee touches mine and I can see the sweat on his brow.
I pull away slightly. “Well, I recently got out of a long-term relationship.”
“Oh.”
“But I’m currently single.”
Something breaks in the kitchen.
“Oh fuck, I’m sorry.” Jack bends down and starts picking up the pieces.
“It’s fine.” Riley opens a cupboard and grabs a broom. “Don’t touch anything.”
She starts sweeping up the broken glass.
“So…” Austin catches my attention again. His damp hand touches my knee. “Do you want to get out of here?”
“I should go,” Jack announces loudly from the kitchen.
I look across the room, catching his gaze. His nostrils flare and his jaw is clenched.
“Well, thank you for coming,” Riley says.
Logan gets up from the table. “See you in a few days, bud.”
“Yeah.” Jack looks at me again before pulling away to the elevator. The doors open as he steps inside. He can’t get away any faster.
The doors close before I have a chance to react. My heart is racing in my chest.
“I should go too,” I say.
“Why don’t I drive you home?” Austin asks.
“No,” I say a bit too forcefully. “I mean, I already sent for a ride.”
I lie as I hold my phone up.
“Oh, okay.” The disappointment on his face is palpable. “See you around then.”
“Thanks for coming, Jem,” Riley says. There’s a twinkle in her eye.
“Thank you for inviting me. I’ll see you all at the next yoga class.” I smile politely at her before grabbing my purse and calling for the elevator. Once I’m inside and the doors close, I let out a long exhale. Jack’s cedar scent is still lingering in the air.
When the doors spring open, I rush outside. The cool midnight air feels good against my warm cheeks. Now that I’m on my feet I can feel just how much wine I’ve had.
“Jack!” I call out.
He’s standing on the sidewalk with his phone in his hand. He looks up at me. The muscle in his jaw pulses.
I rush over to him.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey,” he says, looking away. “What do you want?”
“I don’t want you to hate me.”
“Well, you’re doing a fucking great job at it.” There’s hurt in his eyes. He pulls his gaze away again as if it’s too painful to look at me.
“Jack—”
“Listen—” He looks at me with a dangerous stare. ”You came into my life like a tornado and every time I feel like I’m getting close to you, you push me away. And when you ask for space, you show up at my place of work. And now you show up on my night off and flirt with another man right in front of me. I want to give you your space but fuck. You’re making it damn hard. What the hell do you want from me, Jemma? Because my heart can’t take this anymore.”
“Jack, I—I’m sorry. I like you. I like you so fucking much and that’s what scares me.”
His expression softens. I can feel the wine affecting my judgment as I continue.
“I know we have chemistry together,” I say. “I know that. And maybe I’ve been manifesting all these scenarios where I bump into you because deep down I know I want you. Hell, not even deep down. It’s on the surface for everyone to see—I want you. I want you so fucking bad. You’re clever and cute and nice and…” I look into his sympathetic eyes. “And I can’t stop thinking about you, Jack. And I didn’t mean to hurt you. And I definitely didn’t want to flirt with Austin in front of you but the other day you told me to flirt with other guys and I didn’t know what to do because you look so hot tonight and I know I fucked up, and all I want to do is—”
He puts his hand up to stop me. Stepping forward, he takes my face in his hands and kisses me. He kisses me like I’ve never been kissed before. As his lips press against mine, I relax against him, pulling him closer.
When we finally pull apart, I lean my forehead against his.
“I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” he whispers.
I smile against his lips. “Me too.”
I exhale.
“I’m sorry about everything,” I say softly. “I know I pushed you away. I just hope I haven’t pushed you so far that I can’t make things right again.”
As he stares into my eyes, he pushes the hair out of my face. “Jemma—”
“I had my trust broken,” I say, “and I’m not ready to have it happen again. That’s why I’m so scared.”
“I know,” he says. “I won’t do that to you.”
I look up into his eyes. “I really want to go swimming with you. I’m tired of simply dipping my toes in. I want to dive deep into the water with you. That’s all I want to do. It’s all I think about doing. I want to know what we could be.”
He smiles again, slowly and sweetly. “If you want to go swimming, then let’s go swimming.” His voice is deep and tempting.
I stare at his handsome face. I’m not sure if it’s his delicious lips, the pinot noir, or the late autumn breeze, but everything about this moment feels perfect.
Leaning in, he kisses me again. We kiss until the sound of a door opening nearby causes us to pull apart.
Jack grabs my hand and pulls me around the property so that we won’t be seen.
“Poor Austin,” I say. “Do you think I broke his heart up there?”
Jack smirks. “He’ll get over it.”
I suppress a smile.
“Do you want to call for a ride or should I?”
“Actually,” I say, “I was thinking you could walk me home.”
“At this time?” He raises his eyebrows.
“If we cut through the park, it only takes fifteen minutes.”
“Are you serious? You’re going to walk through a dark park in the middle of the night after having three glasses of wine?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
He laughs. “I hope you don’t do this regularly.”
I smile and shake my head. “I only do it with cute hockey players.”
He smirks. “Again, how often to you do this?”
“Come on,” I say. “Let’s go.”
Taking my hand again, he intertwines his fingers intimately with mine as we head down the hill toward the park.
JEMMA
Orange street lamps light the park’s winding path which will eventually lead to the cobblestone walkway of Apple Tree Lane. Jack and I walk over crunchy autumn leaves as crickets chirp in the gr
ass and an owl hoots in the distance.
We walk side by side and hand-in-hand. We keep looking over at each other with shy smiles. My cheeks are warm from the wine and the kissing. I tighten my grip on his hand.
“We learned something about each other today,” I say. “How come I didn’t know all that stuff about you?”
“Because we’ve never really talked about our past.”
“Then why does it feel like I know you more than that?” I look at him for a lingering moment.
He smirks. “I like knowing that you grew up in a tent.”
I laugh. “It wasn’t a tent. It was a van that they turned into a tiny home. It was basically one big room.”
“You didn’t sleep in bed with your parents, did you?”
“Ew, no! I slept in a bunk above the driver’s seat.”
“But you still shared a space with them? Like… at night?” He’s looking at me with an inquisitive stare.
“I know what you’re getting at. Yes, they were intimate sometimes. I learned real quick how to use my pillow to block out the noise. And when I got older I bought myself some headphones so I could listen to music. It blocked the noise better. And it distracted from the… you know… the rocking.”
He laughs. “You poor child. What a torturous childhood you had to endure.”
“You know, most people make fun of the fact that my dad was in jail but you managed to make fun of me for something completely different.”
“Nah, I’m not making fun of you. Okay, yes I am. I missed making fun of you.” He looks up at me with a heart-melting smile.
Looking away, I shake my head. “Why do you have to be like that?”
“Be like what?”
“Cute.” I look back at him.
He smirks. “I’m sorry, I can dial back the cuteness if you want.”
“Naw, you don’t have to.”
He smiles and squeezes my hand as we continue walking.
We slowly reach the cobblestone path onto Apple Tree Lane where we can see the restaurants and storefronts. The only places with action are the usual late-night restaurants and bars surrounding my place.
As we step out onto Apple Tree Lane, I hear Spanish guitar music playing distantly out the window down the lane.
“Do you actually think I was flirting with Austin earlier?” I ask.
Jack laughs. “A bit. But I could tell you were faking it.”
“How?”
“You’re way more engaged when you flirt. Your eyes brighten and you tend to wet your lips. Exactly like you’re doing now.”
Not even realizing that I’m doing it, I stop instantly.
The Spanish guitar becomes louder as we get closer to my studio.
“You were still jealous though,” I say.
He smirks. “Only because you were giving him your attention when I wanted it.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s the exact definition of jealousy.”
He squeezes my hand, stopping me in my tracks as he pulls me close to him.
“Can I finally take you out on that date?” He asks.
I look around at the hazy orange streetlights and the empty post-midnight street.
“This kind of feels like a date already,” I say.
“Minus the extra guy flirting with you all night. That wasn’t ideal.”
I laugh. “Well, we did have alcohol, conversation over dinner, and stars. All that’s missing is some slow dancing.”
He confidently pulls me in closer, slipping one hand around my waist.
“What are you doing?”
“You know exactly what I’m doing,” he says.
He slowly starts to sway me to the distant Spanish music. His warm hands send a shock to my core.
“Can’t you hear the music?” His lips are close to my ear.
The woman sings sadly in Spanish as the music drifts down the lane.
“Yes.”
“Good,” he says, his fingers touching the small of my back. “Then just dance.”
Relaxing my body, I settle against him as I place my arms around his neck. Thanks to my heeled boots, I’m not too much shorter than he is. With my face next to his, I can smell his clean sweater scent mixed with that delicious cedar cologne. Closing my eyes, I inhale him as I rest my cheek against his.
We dance slowly together under the stars and the waxing moon. I can’t even remember the last time I was held so gently, so securely. I press my face against his neck, feeling his pulse. He tenderly pushes my hair off my neck, allowing it to fall down my back. As he does this, his warm fingers gently brush against my collarbone, sending a shiver through my body.
I pull back to look up into his lustful eyes. His lips look delicious. Leaning in, I kiss him slowly and softly. I can taste the spiciness of the whiskey on his tongue.
After the most perfect kiss, we stare at each other for a moment. He’s about to lean in and kiss me again when I stop him.
“Why do you like me?” I ask.
He laughs. “Is this a trick question?”
“I’ve pushed you away so many times. Why do you keep finding me?”
“Because I must be crazy.”
I laugh. “Jack, seriously.”
He shakes his head and tightens his grip on me. “Because you’re weird and beautiful. And you’re not afraid to hurt my ego a bit. Maybe I’m self-hating because I like it.”
I laugh gently. His hands are still on me, holding me tight against him.
“And you’re super hot,” he adds. “And good in bed. But you knew that.”
My cheeks heat up again. “You can be a bit crass, you know?”
He grins. “I know.”
“And it takes two to be good in bed.” I look up into his sparkling eyes.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He leans in to kiss me again but I pull back again. He gives me a questioning look.
“Sorry,” I say. “But if we don’t stop kissing now, we’ll kiss until the sun rises.”
His voice drops to something deep and dangerous. “Is that so bad?”
His fingers brush my neck again. It’d be so easy to melt into him but I resist temptation and pull back.
“Let’s take it slow,” I say.
“Slow?”
I nod. “Let’s go on a date before we hook up again. That way we can learn a little bit more about each other.”
He smiles. “I like that idea.”
We stare at each other as if we can’t get enough.
“Good night, Jack,” I finally say.
“Good night.”
I pull away as his fingers reluctantly leave mine.
Smiling at him one last time, I make my way into the studio and lock up behind me. Jack is standing outside with his hands in his pockets, making sure I’m safe before pulling away. When I make my way through the studio back to my apartment, I squeal.
Did that just happen?
My heart is racing and there’s a permanent smile on my face. I feel light on my feet as I dance through the kitchen.
Lilith meows. She’s perched on top of the fridge watching me with glassy glow-in-the-dark eyes. I stop and look up at her.
“The universe has spoken, Lilith. The universe has spoken and I’m listening.”
Lilith sleepily gets up, stretches, and jumps into my arms as I carry her up to my bedroom.
“What a weird night,” I say as I scratch her head. “Weird but good.”
My heart is beating and my cheeks are hot. I feel more exhilarated now than I’ve felt in a while. I didn’t expect to see Jack tonight, let alone end up dating him (if that’s even the right word for it). But something about it just feels right. The force of his energy is just too powerful, like a tidal wave of flirtatious energy that’s impossible to resist. Fighting the current is futile.
Placing Lilith on my bed, I open my dresser drawer and pull out my tarot deck. Grabbing the Lovers card from the bottom of the deck, I place it on the top of the dresser next to my rose quartz love crys
tals.
If this is what the universe wants for me, I’m ready to accept it.
JACK
After only five hours of sleep, I wake up to the rhythmic stylings of Connor and Daisy’s sex life.
It doesn’t help that I spent all night thinking about Jemma. I still have a smile on my face from last night. The chemistry between us is beyond anything I’ve ever felt with anyone else.
She’s falling for me. She won’t admit it, but she is. And if I push, I might just get her to fall a bit harder.
As I sit shirtless in bed, I rub my face. I told myself I’d focus on hockey and only hockey. But here I am, a few days before the regular season, and I’m already distracted by a potential romance.
No, not potential. Realized romance. I’m deep in it, and I only want to sink deeper.
The distant rhythmic banging continues upstairs, accompanied by the occasional grunts traveling through the air vents.
Desperate for some privacy by any means necessary, I leave the Saito house early and head to the Blades training facility on my own. Jemma’s yoga class isn’t until noon but the gym is a good place to kill time until then.
Considering we have a few days off before our next game, most of the guys are spending it resting at home. This gives me all the gym equipment to myself.
I spend an hour with the weights and battle ropes before sweating it out on the stationary bike. I check my watch. Twenty minutes until yoga. I feel a weird sense of anxious excitement in the pit of my stomach. I want to talk to Jemma about that date she promised me we’d go on.
As I climb off the bike, I see a familiar head of curly blond hair on the far side of the room.
“Jack!” Austin calls out.
Wiping my sweaty brow with my towel, I head over to him.
“How’s it going?” I ask.
“Fun night last night, huh?”
“Yeah. Hey, are you going to yoga?”
“Wouldn’t miss it. Jemma is teaching it, right? Man, she’s hot!”
“Oh. Right.” I shift uncomfortably as I remember just how hard he was trying to flirt with her last night. “Listen, I’ve gotta hit the showers. See you in a bit.”
I pull away into the locker room where I find my locker and lean against it.
He has absolutely no clue that Jemma is the woman I hooked up with that night at Barrels and Boots. I half-expected him to recognize her, at least from that time she cussed me out in the middle of Apple Tree Lane, but why would he? He may be focused on the ice but he’s not too detail-oriented in real life.
Jack: An Enemies To Lovers Sports Romance (Bad Boys of Hockey Book 2) Page 16
