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

by Violette Paradis

  On precious days off, I hold Jemma in my arms as often as I can. We spend our time going out for dinner, listening to music, walking down the beach, and spending as much time in her tiny bed as possible. She’s precious to me and my affection for her only grows as time goes on. Even her weird habits don’t affect my admiration for her. The weird things about her—like how she puts a jar of water outside during the full moon so that it’ll charge (whatever that means), or how she has to re-arrange her altar every new moon—only make me like her more.

  On Halloween morning, I’m out running with Connor down a path near his house that winds along a cliff overlooking the bay. The sky is gray and overcast and the air is cool, perfect for running.

  “Connor?” I ask.

  “Yeah.”

  We’re running side by side, our breath controlled and steady.

  “When did you know Daisy was the one?”

  “Pretty early on,” he says. “We had a lot of late-night study sessions at the library and I knew she was special when were always on the same page about everything. Sometimes literally.”

  “But you broke up eventually, right?”

  “For a bit,” he says. “Only because hockey was so intense and she was taking extra classes at school. We didn’t date anyone else during that time because we were so busy, but I like to believe it’s because we always knew we’d be with each other again.”

  “And when did you know you loved each other?”

  He laughs as he wipes the sweat off his brow. “That’s a deep question.”

  “Sorry. I guess I’ve got love on the brain.”

  “I think it’s instinctual. When you can’t hold it in anymore, that’s when you know. Why?” He looks over at me. “Have you fallen in love?”

  I don’t respond.

  Connor chuckles. “I know you’ve been staying at your girlfriend’s place a lot lately.”

  “I hope you don’t mind,” I say.

  “Not at all. As long as we get our workouts in. This way.” We veer off the path, back onto the sidewalk leading to his house. “And you’re doing amazing on the ice, so mentoring you is probably the easiest job there is.”

  I laugh. “I still have lots to learn.”

  “But you’ve got maturity—and skill—beyond your years.”

  I smirk at him. “Thanks, man. That means a lot coming from you.”

  Our jog slows to a walk as we make our way down the street. The houses are decked out for Halloween with bats hanging from tree branches, giant spiderwebs stretched over windows, and fake witches sitting on porches.

  We slowly make our way up Connor’s driveway.

  “Can you check the mail?” Connor asks as he unlocks the front door.

  Looking into the mailbox, I find a bunch of flyers and a few letters.

  “Hey, we both got letters!” I hold up two cream-colored envelopes with fancy gold font on the front.

  “Those must be Logan and Riley’s wedding invitations.” He pushes his way into the house. “Just leave mine with my keys. I’ll tell Daisy about it on our call later.”

  Connor throws his keys on the small table next to the door.

  “I’m taking a shower then I’m going to the store to buy some Halloween candy for tonight. I doubt the neighborhood kids would enjoy trick-or-treating for protein bars. Need anything?”

  I shake my head.

  “Well, let me know if you change your mind.” He disappears upstairs.

  Meanwhile, I stare at the envelope. It’s addressed to Jack Lalonde and guest.

  Jack Lalonde and guest.

  I rip the envelope open and check the date. The wedding takes place in December during the team’s short hiatus. That’s six weeks away.

  And that’s not all. It’s a destination wedding up in the Canadian Rockies.

  I check the envelope again.

  Jack Lalonde and guest.

  Playing with the corner of the envelope, I hesitate for a moment.

  Jemma won’t like this. She won’t like this all. She can’t even commit to a dinner date a few weeks away let alone a wedding in another country. But things have been so good between us, so intimate. If she really likes me—and maybe even loves me—then there’s no reason not to try.

  Who knows? She might say yes.

  On the other hand, she might think I’m pushing her too soon. The last thing I want is to scare my girlfriend away, just like I did with the last one. Except this time I’d scare her away for wanting to be around her too often rather than not often enough.

  My phone buzzes and I check the screen. I smirk when I see Jemma’s name.

  JEMMA: Wanna come over and hand out candy with me? The girls and I are probably going to Barrels and Boots afterward for their annual Halloween party.

  I text back.

  JACK: Do I have to wear a costume?

  JEMMA: It’s Halloween.

  JACK: So that’s a yes? What are you wearing?

  I see her typing.

  JEMMA: Is this a real question or are you flirting with me?

  JACK: ;)

  There’s a pause.

  JEMMA: It’s a surprise.

  JACK: I like surprises.

  JEMMA: See you later then ;)

  Smirking to myself, I head downstairs and take a shower. If I’m quick enough, I can join Connor on his trip to the store so that I can buy a costume. I know exactly what I want to wear.

  JEMMA

  Jack-o-lanterns are lit, the gray sky is starting to darken, and spooky music is pouring out of a distant restaurant.

  I’m in my bathroom looking into the mirror and fixing my long curly hair before fastening my pointy witch hat onto my head. After touching up my dark lipstick and fixing my purple dress, I step back and admire my witchy creation. If Jack is going to call me his beautiful witch, then that’s what I’ll be.

  As I look at my smiling face in the mirror, I realize I’ve never been this happy.

  Obviously, I was happy when I opened my yoga studio but this is a different kind of happy. My face is glowing and everything feels brighter. I feel myself waking up in a better mood with things to look forward to throughout my week. It’s not the boring day-to-day monotony that I’ve become used to over the past few years.

  Being with Jack is like some kind of magic. And I don’t want the magic to stop.

  Making my way to the kitchen, I grab the black tin cauldron that I usually use as an artistic statement piece for the room. Tonight it’s going to be my candy bowl.

  I empty a bag full of wax-wrapped saltwater taffy that I bought at the candy shop down the street. Whoever trick-or-treats down Apple Tree Lane tonight will be in for a sweet treat.

  Making my way outside the studio, I see that Madison and Naomi are out there waiting for me. They’re also dressed as witches—Madison in red and Naomi in green.

  “Double, double, toil and trouble,” Naomi says.

  “Looks like the coven’s all here.” Madison claps excitedly.

  “Any kids out yet?” I place the cauldron on a stool that Naomi brought out.

  “No, but I see them coming.” Madison points down the lane. I can see that other stores and restaurants are also set up for the incoming trick-or-treaters.

  “Okay, good. That gives me enough time to get one last thing.” I rush back into the studio, leaving Madison and Naomi bewildered behind me. When I come back out, I have a box-like device in my hands.

  “What is it?” Madison asks.

  “It’s a fog machine.” I connect it to the outdoor switch and place it under the stool. Fog instantly starts pouring out, crawling along the cobblestone and up around the cauldron like slow smoky hands.

  “Jem! This is so cool!” Madison watches with glee.

  “You didn’t do this last year,” Naomi says. “What’s got into you?”

  “It’s Jack.” Madison smirks. “They’re in lurve.”

  “Excuse me, we’re not in lurve.” I unwrap a piece of taffy and pop it in my mouth. The bana
na flavor explodes over my tongue. “Although, I really like being with him. Like a lot.”

  Both of them squeal excitedly.

  “But he travels a lot,” I add, biting into the taffy. “So everything is going at the perfect pace.”

  “Girl, you’ve got to lock that down,” Naomi says, fixing her hat.

  “Lock that down? We just started dating!”

  “Just started, my ass! It’s been what, a few months now? And when you know, you know. And based on your smile, you seem like a girl who knows.”

  I touch my cheeks and smile unabashedly. “He is wonderful. But things are perfect the way they are. He’s gone for half the week, which gives me my alone time. And when he’s here, we spend all our time together. And since we’ve got no concrete future plans, there are no chances for things to go wrong.”

  “No chances for things to go right either,” Madison says. Her dark eyeliner accentuates her big blue eyes.

  “That’s not true,” I say. “Lots of things are going right.”

  “Oh, here we go.” She smiles wickedly. “Kiss and tell! Please.”

  I smile and shake my head. “I can’t. It’s too intimate.”

  “Now that’s just a tease.” Madison is reaching into the cauldron and unwrapping some taffy for herself.

  “Okay. Well… it’s not just sex. It’s everything that leads up to it and everything that comes after it. It’s the conversation, the stares, the touches, the words. And the sex itself isn’t just physical. It’s soul sex. When we’re intimate together I feel like we’re connecting on another level, like I can taste his thoughts, his feelings. It’s strange, I’ve never felt that before.”

  “Two souls colliding. The sacred connection of the divine,” Naomi says as she stares longingly at me, her thoughts clearly somewhere else. “Damn. I’m jealous. I’ve read about a connection like that but I can’t say I’ve ever experienced it.”

  “I did once,” Madison says, swallowing. “I never should have let him get away.”

  “What happened?” I ask.

  “He moved to Miami for school. He wanted me to move with him and I just let him go. I thought I was too young to be tied down. I didn’t realize that what I had with him was rare. It didn’t take long to learn that.” She pops another taffy in her mouth.

  Looking away, I watch the fog roll around our feet.

  “Trick or treat!”

  Three little girls run up to our cauldron.

  “Oh, how cute!” Madison dotes. “A bluebird, a bee, and a lobster! Now, who likes taffy?”

  “Me!” They hold out their bags.

  Smiling, I watch as Madison drops light pink, green, and orange saltwater taffies into their bags. The girls thank her and run to the next door.

  “They’re so cute.” Naomi is still watching the girls as they collect more candy.

  “I want a little girl like that,” Madison says wistfully.

  “Yeah, right.” Naomi laughs. “Seriously? You?”

  “Why?” Madison asks, hand on her hip. “I’d be a good mom.”

  Naomi raises her eyebrows. “Where would you raise a kid? In that tiny apartment of yours?”

  “Hey! I can upgrade!”

  “Ladies,” I say, pointing at two small boys dressed as superheroes who are rapidly approaching.

  “I’ve got this one,” Naomi says. “Hey, boys! Wow, look how strong you two look!”

  She drops candies into their bags.

  “It doesn’t matter anyway,” Madison says after the boys rush away. “I got my period yesterday so no babies for me.”

  “Plus you have to sleep with someone to get pregnant,” Naomi adds.

  “Shh. My lack of love life is off-topic right now.” Madison shifts uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Actually, I should use the ladies’ room. Be right back.”

  She disappears inside the studio. I’m left lost in my thoughts for a moment as I try to remember the last time I had my period. I’ve been so focused on Jack over the past several weeks that all the days and weeks just kind of blend together.

  “Ooh, more kids!” Naomi reaches into the cauldron for more candy. “Do you mind?”

  I shake my head. “Go ahead.”

  As she busies herself with the trick-or-treaters, I pull my phone out and navigate to my period-tracking app. I quickly check the calendar.

  My stomach drops when I see that my last period was six weeks ago. I’m twelve days late.

  Fuck.

  My mind starts racing. What if I’m pregnant? How would I break the news to Jack? Would this cause him to run away? Are these the concrete future plans that could make everything go wrong?

  I reach for a piece of taffy and quickly unwrap it, stuffing it into my mouth and promptly chewing.

  I’m not pregnant, I tell myself. Stress can make a period late and I’ve clearly been stressed over the past few months. After all, so many things have happened—the breakup, the emotional and sexual changes that come with a new relationship, the new class with the Blades, the search for a new yoga instructor…

  Chewing harder, I find my jaw starting to tense.

  The studio door pushes open.

  “Jem, are you okay?” Madison asks as she rejoins us. “You’re staring off into nothingness.”

  “Yeah,” I say through a full mouth of taffy. “Fine.”

  “Oh boy.” Naomi points down the lane. “Here comes your man.”

  Heart beating, I look up to see Jack walking down the street. Beautiful, handsome Jack. He’s wearing fake chainmail and silver knight’s armor. His hair is tossed back and his face is cleanshaven.

  “Your knight in shining armor has arrived,” he says as he approaches. There’s a cute smile on his face as he playfully bows to Naomi and Madison before bowing to me. “My ladies.”

  The others giggle.

  “Is this where you ladies put spells on people?” He looks into the cauldron.

  “Only if you’ve been evil,” Madison says in a foreboding voice.

  “If you’re nice you get a taffy,” I say.

  “Well, the night’s just begun, so I’ll hold off on the judgment for now.” His eyes watch me.

  I smirk at him.

  “Mind if I use the washroom before helping you hand out candy?” He asks.

  “Go for it.”

  As he disappears inside, the girls giggle.

  “He’s so freaking cute,” Madison says.

  “Seriously, girl. Lock that down.”

  I exhale heavily.

  “Seriously, Jemma. Are you okay?”

  “Fine,” I lie. My thoughts are a thousand miles away.

  Jack steps back outside, clearly knowing that we were talking about him. There’s an awkward silence as the Monster Mash playing in the bar across the street becomes louder.

  “Speaking of the night just beginning, I can hear the Halloween party starting at Barrels and Boots.” Madison picks up her heavy skirt and walks around the stool and through the fog. “I think I need a drink.”

  “You can handle this on your own, right?” Naomi asks.

  I nod.

  “Good.” Naomi links her arm with Madison’s. “You guys better join us in an hour when all the kids are done trick-or-treating.”

  “We will,” I say.

  “See you guys in a bit.” Jack comes and stands next to me behind the cauldron.

  I look up at him. “Hello.”

  “Hi.” He smiles.

  “You look very handsome in your armor.”

  “And you look like a beautiful witch.”

  I smirk. “Exactly what I was going for.”

  He leans in and kisses me.

  “Mmm, you taste like candy,” he says. “Like the color pink.”

  I giggle. “What does pink taste like?”

  “I don’t know, but I want to taste it again.” He kisses me again.

  When he pulls back, I laugh at the dark lipstick staining his lips. I help him wipe it off.

  “Yo
u don’t think it suits me?” He jokes.

  “You know, I thought you’d show up in devil horns.”

  “Devil horns? Why? Do you think I’m a devil?”

  “You can be a bit…”

  “Evil?” He asks.

  “Naughty.”

  He grins. “That’s true. I’m not a devil though. I’m an angel.”

  “How?” I narrow my gaze.

  “I’m constantly saving you from boring nights. I bring joy and light into your life, just like an angel would.”

  I laugh.

  Realizing there are kids approaching, I shush him and push him off.

  “Hey kids!” I look at them. One is dressed as a mermaid and the other is a tree.

  “Wow!” Jack bends down so that he’s eye-level with them. “Cool costumes! Except… how does a mermaid exist outside the ocean? How can you breathe outside the water?”

  The little girl giggles. “I have a special mermaid power.”

  “A special mermaid power? Cool!”

  “The ocean king gave it to her,” the little boy dressed as a tree says.

  Jack acts completely blown away. “A tree that can talk? Who gave you the power to talk? The ocean king?”

  “Trees can’t talk!” The mermaid protests.

  “But I just saw that tree talk!” Jack points at the little boy.

  The little boy is holding his lips together and pretending he’s incapable of talking.

  I laugh at how cute it all is. As Jack gives them candy, I watch with a smile. Of course Jack is amazing with kids. He just has to be perfect in every way.

  I instinctively put a hand on my belly, remembering how freaked out I felt just minutes ago.

  When the kids scamper away, Jack turns and looks at me. I quickly move my hand.

  “You okay?” He asks.

  “Fine.” I clear my throat and look away.

  He watches me. “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong? I can usually tell when you’re acting weird.”

  “Are you saying I don’t act weird all the time?”

  He laughs. “Good point.”

  Feeling like I’ve successfully changed the subject, I shake my thoughts away in an attempt not to act weird.

  I’m not pregnant. It’s just stress.

  I repeat the words in my head.

  “And what about you?” I look at him. “You look like you have something to say.”