Collide: A Hockey Romance

“LIKE A STIFLER’S mom situation?” Amara asks, shoveling a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

“More like Stifler’s grandma,” I say, putting my laptop into my bag.

Amara chokes, mirroring my reaction when I found out about Dylan’s escapades. “Somehow, those guys continue to surprise me,” she says through a bout of coughs. “So, what’s your decision on the captain?”

I shrug. “I’m thinking about it.”

“What’s there to think about? He made you see stars. I’m pretty sure that checks all the criteria.”

I place my mug. “I don’t usually do this kind of thing.”

“Hooking up?” she supplies.

“We’re not hooking up.”

“You rode his face into oblivion. Sorry to break it to you, but that screams hookup to me.”

“I specifically remember you saying you floated off the couch,” Cassie chimes in when she enters our dorm.

“Great timing, Cass.” Amara smiles. “We also can’t forget how you two were stuck together like glue at his party.” Her knowing eyes tell me she saw more than I hoped.

“I was drunk.”

“Uh-huh, right,” she mocks. “So, let me get this straight. There is a super hot hockey player that makes you laugh and gives you mind-altering orgasms, yet you still don’t want to fuck him?”

Cassie lifts her fingers as if to count something that doesn’t add up. This is not the intervention I need this morning. I was hoping more for a long list of reasons on why this is a bad idea.

“Because we hooked up one time, and he pretty much ran out the door right after,” I try to explain.

“That was after he left the ball in your court. Or the puck in your…rink. Whatever, you get it.”

“Time to net the puck. Pretty straightforward,” says Cassie.

I shake my head in disbelief. Are these girls my friends or are they praying for my downfall? “What do you want me to do? Go over there and ask him to fuck me?”

“Yes!” they exclaim in unison.

I blame Kian for this. If he hadn’t invited me to the party or dragged me to Starlight, I wouldn’t have these thoughts. I wouldn’t be thinking about how quickly he lifted me off the ground when I fell or how close he got outside the lounge. If he’d just let me rot in my dorm with a box of pizza none of this would be happening.

“Take my car.”

“I have class. I’m not going there for a nine a.m. booty call.”

Amara places her keys in my palm. “Do us all a favor and let that man do unspeakable things to you.”

Cassie high-fives Amara then they shove me out the door.

Five minutes later, I’m sitting in Amara’s car, making a mental pros and cons list that somehow only fills up the pros side. If I were well rested, I could make a more logic-driven decision.

Ten minutes have passed in my contemplation, which leaves twenty minutes until my class. I won’t be able to sit through one hundred eighty minutes of the most coma-inducing lecture on the planet without fixing this situation. The carrot dangles in front of me as I drive to the hockey house.

I make my way up the steps and see Eli in the driveway. “Back for more?” he asks.

“Huh?” Is it obvious what I’m here to do? Maybe there’s a big dick with Aiden’s name drawn on my forehead that I didn’t see.

“More research. Your paper is about hockey, right?”

Right, that. “Oh, yes, it is. Can’t get enough of that research!”

He chuckles. “He’s in the living room.”

The house is quiet, and keeping my heart from falling out of my throat is a challenge when I see the back of his head.

“I’m here.”

Aiden lifts his head in surprise then eyes me from his seat on the couch. “I see that,” he says, turning back to his laptop.

I close his laptop, forcing him to remove his hands from the keyboard. “I’m here because I want you.” I push the words out with great difficulty.

His expression flashes before it’s neutral again. Aiden shifts to get comfortable on the couch, delving deeper into the cushions. “Want me to…?”

“You’re going to make me say it?”

He smirks at me. Like a fucking prick. I want to walk out, but I’ve been battling my head for days. There is no more denying that this is what I want. Also, because I don’t want to hear the lecture Amara will have for me if I chicken out.

I stand straighter. “I want you to fuck me.”

Aiden scrambles to sit up and give me his full attention.

“Never thought I’d ever hear Sunny say that.” Our heads whip to the archway that leads into the living room, and I see four wide-eyed juniors and one very amused Dylan. “You gotta start sharing your secrets, Cap,” he snickers.

“Oh my god.” My face flames from my neck to my ears. Mortification tickles my bones and pales my skin.

Aiden curses under his breath when he sees my blanched face.

“I-I’m going to go.” I make a beeline for the door, ignoring Aiden calling my name. When I’m halfway down the steps, he catches my arm.

“Wait.”

I try to wrangle away my arm. “Save me the humiliation.”

He doesn’t let go but turns me to face him.

I groan. “Do you enjoy embarrassing me?”

“I’ve never embarrassed you. You do that all on your own.” He smiles.

“What do you want?”

“You.” A part of my chest melts. “Trust me, that’s not even in the top ten embarrassing things to happen in that house.”

“It was in front of your entire team!”

“It was the juniors. Who cares?”

“I do! Now they think I’m some girl who would do anything for dick.”

His brows raise. “Are you?”

Is this really the guy I wanted to have sex with?

Yes.

I hit his arm, but that only makes him bark out a laugh. Which would be a pretty hot sound if I wasn’t so irritated right now.

When warm fingers reach to lift my chin, my stomach flutters. “Did you mean what you said?”

This is no time to be a coward, Summer.

I swallow hard. “Yes.”

His tense shoulders relax, and he grins. “Say it again.”

“Hell, no.”

“Come on. One more time,” he goads.

I shake my head more seriously now. Aiden shrugs and turns to leave. I fight the urge to roll my eyes when I grab the sleeve of his T-shirt to pull him back to me. He comes easily, not even trying to hide the big smile on his stupidly smug face.

I breathe a dramatic sigh. “I want you to fuck me.”

Aiden’s eyes light like a kid on Christmas. “Was that so hard?”

“Extremely,” I say. Then the awkward feeling starts to creep back in, and my brain tells me to neatly sort this situation before it slips from my fingers. “So, like a friend’s with benefits thing. People with benefits? Or fuck buddies, I guess.”

Aiden’s jaw ticks. “Right.” He rubs the back of his neck, and his bunching biceps momentarily distracting me. “Now?”

The word sends a hot burst of heat through me, but I shake my head. “Uh no.” I take a safe step away. “I have class, then I’m going over my paper with Donny. But I’m free Friday.”

He tenses at the mention of Donny. “I have practice till seven. How about eight?”

If anyone were to hear us, it would sound like a business meeting, but the ease of the conversation is the only thing keeping me from wanting to wipe myself from the face of the planet.

“Your place? The guys will probably have a party they’re not supposed to have here,” he says.

“Sure. Amara’s out on Fridays.”

“Works for me.”

I turn to leave but stop. “And can we keep this low-key? I know the guys in there heard me, but I’d rather everyone else not know.”

“Embarrassed?” The question is probably meant as a joke, but I’m confused by the prickly contempt that slips into his tone.

“I just don’t want everyone in our business.”

“Yeah, I get it. I’ll see you later, Summer.”