Jack: An Enemies To Lovers Sports Romance (Bad Boys of Hockey Book 2)

by Violette Paradis

  I’ll have to tell him eventually… but when? And what am I supposed to say?

  Hey, Austin. You know that girl you’re crushing on? Well, I hooked up with her. Twice. And after she turned you down last night, we decided to start dating, so…

  That sounds so stupid. And scummy.

  I slam my locker shut before making my way to the showers.

  The steam rises around me as I wash away all the sweat and grime. I shake out my hair as I lather myself with soap. The scent of clean citrus fills the air.

  Everything will work out. That’s what my first coach always told me.

  When I finish my shower, I shake the water out of my hair and pull on my yoga clothes.

  A strange excitement pounds in my chest knowing I’m about to see Jemma. I know a faster heart rate is probably counterintuitive to the whole idea of yoga. Yoga’s supposed to relax me, not excite me. But I want to see her again. I want to know that this is for real—that her feelings are consistent and it wasn’t just the wine flirting with me last night. Her feelings seem to change with the wind but my heart tells me that this is real.

  As I walk out into the gym area I see her. Instead of her witchy ensemble from last night, she’s now in black and silver yoga gear. Her hair is in a braided bun. She spots me from across the gym and instantly smiles, radiating sunny energy.

  That’s not the smile of someone who regrets their decision. I smile back.

  “Hey,” she says as she approaches me.

  “Hey there.”

  The electric energy sparks between us as if nothing changed from last night.

  “Are you coming to yoga today?” She asks.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Don’t make things awkward,” She says.

  I laugh. “Would I really do that?”

  She raises her eyebrows and gives me a skeptical look.

  I laugh again before lowering my voice. “So, about that date you promised me. I was thinking—”

  Someone makes a noise behind us and she pulls away.

  “Hey guys, how’s it goin’?” Austin appears beside me. A red headband is holding back his blond curls.

  “Oh, hey Austin,” I say, defeated.

  “It’s going good,” Jemma says, looking flustered. “You?”

  “Great.” Austin smiles toothily at us. “Let’s get our yoga on.”

  “I should go set up.” Jemma makes brief eye contact with me before pulling away.

  Austin winks at me before turning and following Jemma into the yoga room. Feeling a bit of jealousy and the urge to protect her, I start following them when someone touches my elbow.

  “Hey, I meant to talk to you,” a soft voice says.

  I turn to see Riley in her usual silver Blades polo and black pants. Her light blond hair is pulled up into a ponytail.

  “Sorry about last night,” she says. “I didn’t mean to pull you into that situation.”

  “You mean inviting Jemma over and getting her wine-drunk? Yeah, that’s not what I expected when you invited me over for dinner.”

  “I’m sorry.” Her gray eyes are wide with sincerity. “You have to understand that I love love. And maybe it’s because I’ve been engaged all summer and I’m drunk on love, but I just feel like I need to spread it around.”

  “That doesn’t sound sanitary.”

  She laughs. “Anyway, I’m sorry.”

  “Apology accepted.” I lean back to look into the yoga room where Austin is chatting with Jemma.

  Riley follows my gaze.

  “I mean, who wouldn’t fall in love with her?” Riley asks. “She’s beautiful, successful, interesting…”

  I look back at Riley and narrow my gaze. “You sure like to stir the pot, don’t you?”

  “Did it work?” She asks excitedly.

  I give a subtle shrug and she shrieks before covering her mouth to silence herself.

  “Sorry,” she says. “I’m just so excited. You guys are just so cute together!”

  I smile. “Thanks. In the meantime, I have a yoga class to attend.”

  I’m about to pull away when she stops me again.

  “Wait,” she says. “I actually need you to come to the lab with me. There are a few more stats I need to collect before the regular season starts.”

  “Can’t we wait until after the class?”

  She shakes her head. “I only have the machines for another hour.”

  I look back at the yoga room where I can still see Austin chatting with Jemma while a few other guys filter into the class.

  “Fine.” I sigh. “Let’s go.”

  Pushing my feelings aside, I follow Riley to the sports lab.

  ***

  After an hour of being hooked up to all sorts of wires and devices, I’m finally free to make my way back to the gym.

  The yoga class is just finishing and I can see everyone rolling up their mats and leaving. Out of sight, I wait by the door as the rest of the guys filter out.

  From out here, I can hear Austin talking to Jemma inside.

  “Great class,” he says to her.

  “Thanks.”

  “Do you have another class to teach now? Or…”

  “I have a class at my studio at a quarter to two,” she says.

  “Oh.”

  There’s an awkward silence. Standing alone outside, I cringe to myself.

  Oof. If this is how he flirts, it’s painful. I make a mental note to help him with his flirt game.

  There’s more silence. Feeling like this is a good time to save the situation, I walk in. Both Austin and Jemma look up at me with a surprised expression.

  “You missed the class,” Jemma says.

  “Riley pulled me up into the lab for some tests,” I say. “Can I ask you about some stretches I need to catch up on?”

  “Sure,” she says.

  Showing no intention of leaving, Austin watches us.

  “Do you mind?” I ask him.

  “Oh, sure.” He looks at Jemma. “We can continue our conversation after.”

  “Right.”

  He leaves the room, leaving us alone.

  “I thought you ditched me,” she said.

  “Were you worried I ran away and wouldn’t ever come back?”

  She chuckles and looks down at her feet.

  “So, about our date… which, if you’re counting—and I’m not, but if you are—I’ve asked about three times now.”

  She smiles. “When are you free?”

  “Tomorrow night? I hit the road on Friday so I’ll be gone for a bit after that.”

  She nods. “Okay.”

  “I’ll meet you outside your studio at seven.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  I stare at her beautiful face for a moment. “This is usually when I’d kiss you but I don’t think you’ll let me since we’re in a work environment.”

  She smirks. “You’re absolutely right about that.”

  “Such a cruel witch.”

  She laughs. “You haven’t called me that in a while.”

  “I thought I’d make you like me a bit more before I pulled it out again.”

  She rolls her eyes and is about to pull away but I prevent her from doing that by grabbing her hand and touching her fingers intimately. She stops and bites her bottom lip, looking up at me with a coy smile.

  “See you tomorrow?” I ask.

  She nods. “Seven o’clock.”

  “Good.” I squeeze her hand.

  “Can you do me one teeny-tiny favor?” She whispers.

  “Depends.”

  She pulls back, breaking the connection between our hands. “Can you distract Austin long enough for me to escape without getting a marriage proposal? I really do have class in half an hour.”

  I laugh. “I can do that. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him about us sometime soon.”

  She stops.

  “Is everything okay?” I ask.

  “It’s just weird to hear you say ‘us’.”

  I s
mirk. “Don’t think too hard about it.”

  Deciding to leave before I psych her out, I step out into the hall. As I enjoy the haze of good emotions, I see Austin lingering in the gym. Approaching him, I put my arm around his shoulder and pull him toward the locker room.

  “Come on, buddy. Let’s get dressed and go eat some wings.”

  He argues for a moment but quickly relents at the mention of finger food.

  Behind his back, I wave to Jemma as she silently thanks me and slips away. As Austin talks mindlessly, I zone out as my mind goes to work planning my date with Jemma.

  JEMMA

  After a full day of yoga classes, I take a shower and walk around the studio nervously. That exciting, electric feeling I get whenever I’m around Jack turns into nervous energy as the time ticks down to our date tonight.

  Looking for distractions, I stand at the front of the studio and dust off the computer at the reception area.

  The front door pushes open.

  “What are you doing out here?” Naomi asks. She’s in jeans and a flowy top with her gym bag slung over her shoulder. Her dark hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail. “I’ve got the studio booked until six.”

  “I know,” I say. “I’m just fidgety today.”

  “What’s going on? I feel like I’ve barely seen you. We’ve both been so busy with our classes.” She leans against the front desk.

  “It’s been a busy few weeks. Oh! By the way, I’ve interviewed a few people to fill Chelsea’s position. I have one more interview tomorrow and I’ll finally hire someone. Thanks again for getting the word out about the position.”

  She smiles. “No problem. It’ll be nice to have my evenings back.”

  “I know. Soon.”

  A cheeky smile appears on her face. “So… Madison said you were having dinner with that guy? You know, the one who crashed your tarot reading session?”

  News sure gets around fast.

  “Yeah, we’re having dinner tonight.”

  “Wait a minute…” She pauses and narrows her gaze. “You’re going out to dinner with him again? She said this happened the other night.”

  “Oh, right. Well… we’re kind of dating now.”

  “You are?” Her eyes grow wide. “Wow!”

  “Wow? What does wow mean?”

  “I’m just surprised.” She shrugs. “Your relationship with Brendon only ended like a few weeks ago.”

  “It’s almost been a month,” I say. “And I think it’s safe to say that it actually ended months ago. We were barely even kissing each other toward the end.”

  The realization hits me and it seems very sad. Why was I with Brendon so long when there was barely any electricity between us?

  “I’ll agree to that,” Naomi says. “Dead bedrooms aren’t unusual. But they’re a problem when you’re hot and in your twenties.”

  She leans on the counter and smirks at me.

  “So a date with the hockey player, huh?” She looks at my hands. “You’re shaking!”

  “I know, it’s strange. We’ve been around each other before. I mean, we’ve slept together. Twice! But I’m nervous about this.”

  “Because it’s the first time you’re going into it knowing it’s a date.”

  I bite my lip. “Is it too soon?”

  “Hell no, sister!”

  “I mean, Brendon and I just broke up.”

  “It’s almost been a month,” she says, echoing my sentiment from earlier. “And really, you guys were barely even kissing each other toward the end.”

  I laugh. “It just feels weird. The idea of opening up and potentially being vulnerable to someone else. It’s just the complete opposite of where I was positioning myself mentally, you know?”

  “So why are you doing it?” She asks.

  I pause and think about it for a moment.

  “I like him.” I smile. “I really like him.”

  She smiles. “That’s a good enough reason.”

  “Oh my god!” My arms and head collapse onto the counter in defeat. “I’m a big tangled ball of nerves.”

  “Take my class.” She leans against the counter and turns on the computer.

  “The one in fifteen minutes?”

  “Yeah. When’s the last time you did yoga? And I don’t mean teaching it because I know it’s not the same thing.”

  I rub my face. “I can’t remember. Gosh, I can’t believe it’s been that long. The whole reason I opened this studio was to center people through the power of meditative yoga. How can I help others when I’m not even centered myself?”

  “That settles it.” Naomi slaps the counter. “I’m going to tenderize your spirit so that you’ll be ready for your date tonight.”

  Other students start filtering into the studio.

  “Go get changed and find a good spot,” Naomi says to me. “Your chakras will be so fucking aligned after I’m done with you.”

  ***

  After a much-needed yoga class, I blissfully make my way up to my apartment and get ready for my date with Jack. I spend a joyful evening listening to French pop music and happily getting dressed.

  It’s been so long since I’ve been out on a proper date—one where I actually knew I was on a date. Not like those spontaneous nights that seem to happen whenever Jack is around. At least tonight I can prepare.

  I’m not one for getting overly dressed up but I have a lovely linen dress that I bought at a boutique down the street called Meowmoiselle. The short dress is a shapeless piece of red fabric. Pulling it on, I cinch a black belt around my waist and pull one of the oversized sleeves off my shoulder, giving it some shape.

  Digging my makeup out of the bottom drawer, I brush a dusting of coral onto my cheeks. I never wear makeup for work and Brendon certainly never gave me any reason to dress up or go out. His version of a date-night was eating couscous made by a woman named Venus from the community kitchen down the road. He’d bring his own jar and we’d eat out of it while watching political documentaries on his phone. My crappy internet connection certainly didn’t help the experience.

  A crappy date can always be saved by good company but Brendon was always stressed about current events and politics. His company wasn’t at all like the company I share with Jack where everything feels carefree and fun… and sexy.

  Feeling a flutter in my heart, I look at myself in the mirror before deciding that I need jewelry. Reaching past the Lovers card, I reach for the dangly gold sun earrings on my dresser.

  My alarm goes off. It’s seven o’clock. Time to meet Jack.

  Smiling, I put on my earrings, pull on some black kitten heels, kiss an ambivalent Lilith on the head, and head downstairs.

  Walking through the empty studio, I can see Jack waiting outside. I try to suppress my smile but it’s near impossible as I step outside.

  It’s that romantic part of the evening where dusk is in the air and the sky is multiple shades of pink and purple. It’s a weeknight so there aren’t many people out on Apple Tree Lane tonight but the patio lights are on and there’s soft music playing in the air.

  Locking the door behind me, I turn and face Jack. He’s wearing black pants and a blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show off his forearms. He’s got a slight five-o’clock shadow going on. His raw masculine energy is insanely sexy.

  “Hey,” I say.

  “Hey,” he says in his silky voice. “You look beautiful.”

  I smile. “You look very handsome yourself.”

  He laughs and looks down. I take a moment to admire him for a moment—the jewel-toned blue that brings out his dark eyes, the hair that he keeps expertly pushing back, the cute smile. He smells like the gym’s citrus shampoo mixed with cedar cologne and his natural musk.

  He looks up with his deep dark eyes. “Should we get going?”

  “Sure.” I secure my keys in my bamboo clutch. “What’s the plan?”

  He takes my hand and presses it between his. “I made a reservation for us at Gianni�
��s down the lane.”

  “Ooh, a reservation. Fancy.”

  He laughs. “Not really. That’s kind of the standard thing to do if you go to a restaurant.”

  “Oh. To be honest, I don’t go to very many restaurants. I go to Sun and Moon Terrace for coffee and I order takeout from El Taco Picante next door.”

  “You don’t get out much, do you?”

  I give a carefree shrug.

  He smirks. “Well, you better be prepared to eat at every restaurant on this lane because I am ready to wine and dine you.”

  Butterflies flap in my belly.

  With my hand in his, he leads me down the cobblestone lane at a leisurely pace.

  “How were your classes today?” He asks.

  “Pretty good. I taught a class for a maternity yoga bachelorette party.”

  “A maternity yoga… what?”

  I laugh. “When the bride is pregnant there aren’t too many activities you can do that don’t involve alcohol.”

  He chuckles. “I guess not.”

  As we walk, his palm presses against mine. I can feel his heat and the intimacy of our connection. The nerves start flooding in again. I try to channel the zen of Naomi’s class and distract my thoughts from all this doubt. It works because a distraction comes in the form of my heel getting stuck between the cobblestones. My body jerks back and I get pulled off balance. My thoughts are suddenly only concerned with the ground and how close I am to it.

  “Jemma—” Jack grabs me around my waist and pulls me against him, keeping me stable.

  “Oh my gosh.” I can feel Jack’s strong body as he holds me against him.

  I look down at my heel as I struggle to free myself from the cobblestone.

  “There,” I say. “I’m free.”

  I look up at him.

  “My knight in shining armor,” I say.

  He laughs as his hands slip from my waist as he finds my fingers again, clasping his hand with mine.

  “I’ve got you,” he says in that silky voice.

  I swallow and look up at him.