The Forbidden Freshman: A College Sports Romance (Nolan U Hockey Book 1)

I grip the edge of the vanity, a low grunt reverberating in my throat. The party sounds distant. The thick beat vibrating the walls of the house seems far away as I run my fingers into shiny brunette locks and fist them.

Ruby moans, her red tongue licking my cock like a popsicle stick before that luscious mouth takes me fully and a groan builds in my chest.

Someone bangs on the bathroom door, and I manage a strangled “Occupied!” before I become incapable of speech. Ruby works me like the magician she is, and rockets are soon firing through me, my body convulsing with the release. She swallows it down like she always does, and I can’t help a satisfied smile.

Glancing down at her sultry gaze, I blow her a kiss as she rises to her feet. She wipes the edge of her lips before planting them against mine. My tongue glides over hers as we drink deeply from each other before she pulls away to smirk at me.

I rest my hands lightly on her hips, giving them a gentle squeeze. “Thanks for that.”

“After what you just did for me…” She pulls her dress back down over her tight little ass before snatching her G-string off the floor and shoving it into her purse. “Not a problem.”

Looking in the mirror, she touches up her lipstick, then rearranges her tits.

This seems to be our usual party routine. We don’t hook up that often, but the second our eyes met across the room tonight, I knew we’d be getting each other off in the bathroom. It never turns into more than that. I’m not even sure why.

“Later, Galloway.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me, then saunters out the door.

I watch her curvy body disappear before straightening myself out and returning to the real world again.

A girl pushes past me to get into the bathroom, her dirty frown enough to tell me she’s not impressed that we took so long in there. I snicker and murmur to her back, “All good things take time, sweetness.”

Searching for my friends, I saunter through the party, raising my chin at various people, winking at the ladies, and checking out the talent for later. It’s the usual drill. At least until hockey season starts. We’re still in light training mode, which means we can get away with midweek parties like this.

As soon as the season starts, we won’t have this luxury anymore, so we’re all trying to take advantage.

Grabbing a can of beer, I crack it open, figuring I’ll just have the one tonight. I have a workout scheduled for the morning, plus training in the afternoon. Coach gets super pissed if we’re not on form, and I take my hockey seriously.

Which is why it grates so fucking badly that Jason got made captain instead of me.

When Coach announced it, everyone was expecting to hear my name, but then the word “Jason” came out of his mouth, and the Earth stopped spinning for a second.

Liam and Casey shot me confused frowns that quickly turned dark on my behalf. Shit, even Asher was pissed for me. Jason sauntered up to the front with a cocky grin and gave some long-winded speech about all he was going to do this season, like it only takes one man to win a fucking game.

I clenched my jaw and didn’t say a word. Coach couldn’t even look me in the eye for a week, which makes me wonder if his hands were tied on the decision. Jason’s family has a lot of sway at Nolan U. He’s like a fifth-generation legacy or some shit. Apparently his great-great-grandfather founded the first hockey team. I don’t know. I don’t care. I just have to lump Coach’s shitty decision.

“You’re backup captain for now.”

But that’s only if he puts Jason and me on separate lines. And who knows what dumb shit is gonna come out of Jason’s mouth whenever he does interviews for the team. Seriously. It’s such an epic fuckup.

I’m not trying to be an arrogant douche or anything, but Jason’s an idiot. All I can hope is that he doesn’t embarrass the team this year.

“It’s all yours after Jason graduates.” Liam keeps trying to reassure me with that thought, and I guess it’s kind of working.

I just have to play my best and not think about the rest.

“Ethan!”

I turn at the sound of my name, spotting Liam and Casey near the kitchen.

“’Sup, brothers?” I find a place between them and tap my beer can against Casey’s.

“Where you been?” Liam asks like he always does. I don’t know when it happened, maybe it was from day one, but Liam’s the guy who looks out for everyone. That’s why we call him Padre. He’s always the designated driver, always the guy with the listening ear, and if you had to bury a body, he’d be the one to call.

“Just getting a little taste of Ruby.” I grin.

Casey crows and slaps me on the back. “Lemme guess: serviced in the bathroom.”

“You know it.”

“Hope you thanked her like a true gentleman.”

“In more ways than one, bro.”

He laughs and starts searching the crowd for a honey of his own. Casey and I have the same philosophy when it comes to college romances, and that is… college isn’t meant for romance. College is meant for hookups and fun. I’ve seen too many couples get bogged down by relationship drama, and I don’t want that. It’s four years of my life before I go pro and things get super serious. I’ve loved my first two years here, and I plan to enjoy my last two just as much… if not more.

We need to live it up while we can, and I won’t be tied down by some girl who expects me to toe the line and play boyfriend.

I want to play hard, study hard, party hard, and experience all I can, while I can. Once I’ve got a degree in my pocket and an Avalanche jersey, I can get serious.

“You guys bored yet?” Asher appears, slapping his hands on my shoulders and giving them a hard squeeze.

I roll my eyes and share a quick look with Liam. He laughs and shakes his head.

If anyone knows how to rub me the wrong way, it’s Asher Bensen. I’d avoid the guy altogether if he wasn’t on the team… and I didn’t live in his uncle’s house. When he scored the six-bedroom house and invited us to move in, we jumped at the chance. I just didn’t realize how annoying he’d be to live with.

I mean, he’s not all bad. I guess I’m still there, right?

“Come on, assholes. Let’s ditch this place and head back to Hockey House.”

Yep, he named it. He named our house.

It’s kind of an appropriate title. Only hockey guys live there, and the team treats it like a base. We always have guys coming and going. The occasional girl sleeps over, but that’s usually because she’s too drunk to make it home safely. I’ve never had someone stay. Hooking up and then spending the night? That’s romance territory and definitely not for me.

“Let’s go, let’s go.” Asher throws the keys to Liam, and we trail him out the door.

It’s not the worst idea. This party is nothing new, and we do have to work out in the morning. A few whines of complaint follow us as we’re touched and pawed by different girls while we weave our way outside.

Casey hands out a few kisses, and for a second, I think he’s gonna stay, but then he pulls away from some blonde with a “Later, honey” and catches up to us.

Piling into Asher’s truck, I rest my head back and try to figure out this irritation in my chest.

Am I still pissed over the captaincy thing?

When Kirby came down with mono, we were all gutted for him. He would have been an amazing captain this year. But it did open up a chance for me, and Kirby even called to congratulate me personally.

“This fucking sucks, but I’ll be back once I’m healthy again. I’m not letting this take me out. So, just keep the team running for me, will ya? I know you’ll kick ass as captain.”

I was so honored by that and promised him I’d try to live up to the type of captain he’d be.

But then Coach chose Jason.

Damn, that idiot better not be at the house when we get there. Thankfully, he doesn’t live at Hockey House, but he often walks in the door like he owns the place and is oblivious to the fuck off vibes radiating his way. The guy is such a clueless douche. Shit, I can’t believe he’s captain.

“Stop looking so dark.” Casey nudges me with his elbow. “It sucks. We get it. But you can’t change it, so just focus on the fact that you got a Ruby Red BJ and that life is fucking awesome.”

I grin and force a nod. “Yeah, man.”

“We’re kings of campus. Woo!” Asher raises his hands with a whoop, and I can’t help a soft snicker.

Casey’s right. I can’t let this shit drag me down.

Liam pulls into our driveway. The lights are already on in the house, which means Riley and Connor must be in. They don’t live here, but they may as well. With the number of times they crash on the couch, I’m surprised Asher hasn’t converted one of his two bedrooms so he can earn himself more rent.

But the guy is stuck in his ways. The rich prick can’t live without his own room, plus a spare for all his shit. He calls it his office, but I don’t know how he gets any studying done in there when he’s set it up like his personal mancave with a monster TV, mini fridge, pinball machine, and graphic novels dominating every spare shelf there is.

“Riley!” Asher walks into the house. “’Sup, man?”

“Hey, dudes.” Our youngest D-man gives us all high fives as we trail past him, making a beeline for the den, which we turned into a pool room.

“Stack ’em and rack ’em,” Casey calls to Connor as he shrugs out of his jacket. “You playin’, Padre?”

Liam chucks the keys back to Asher. “Sure.”

And soon we’ve got a game of pool going. Asher’s handing out more beers while pouring himself a tumbler of whiskey like he’s lord of the manor. Grabbing a pool cue, he walks around the table, eyeing the triangle of balls like he’s about to play the game of his life.

“Just fucking break, man,” I mumble.

“Someone’s got his panties in a twist.” He gives me a dry glare before doing as he’s told.

I clench my jaw as the balls scatter, one going immediately into the pocket. If Asher beats me at this game tonight, I might have to snap my pool cue in half.

Casey gets some tunes going, and I don’t know how it happens, but soon this friendly game of pool has turned into a serious showdown between me and Ash.

I want to take this irritating prick down, but damn if he isn’t making me work for it.

I swear, burying that eight ball in the corner pocket is more satisfying than even Ruby’s luscious lips on my dick. He gives me a tight scowl, handing me a fifty.

Slipping it into my pocket with a cocky smirk, I raise my eyebrows at him. “Anything else you want to try and beat me at?”

“Yes, you asshole. Let’s play again.”

I take him down two more times and am three hundred bucks up by the time we change to darts.

I drink another beer, even though I told myself I wouldn’t. It’s good to relax and blow off some steam. I’m feeling better as I gather up the darts and start throwing them at the board.

I’ve convinced myself I can make the most of this year. In spite of the fact that I’m not captain, the guys still look to me for leadership, and I can’t go letting them down.

“Yes!” Asher roars as his dart hits a twenty, bringing his score down below mine.

Liam’s keeping track and tells me I need to score thirty points in this round and I’ll win.

“No sweat.” I shrug, lining up to throw while Asher groans.

“You are such a cocky asshole.”

I laugh. “Jealous?”

“No, you know what? You can’t just get thirty points no sweat. You’re not that good.”

“Wanna bet?” I smirk.

His eyebrows pucker. “Yeah, I do.”

“You haven’t lost enough money already tonight?”

With a dark glare he shakes his head. But then he starts to grin. “Who says the bet has to be financial?”

“Okay.” I fist the darts and turn to face him. “What’ve you got?”

“You win this game, in this round—three throws, thirty points exactly—or you go without sex for a month.” Laughter explodes around us, the guys whooping and slapping their knees while Asher raises his hands to shut them all up. “That includes Ruby BJs at parties. No hand jobs. Nothing.”

I snicker. “You saying I can’t even service myself?”

Pointing at me, he laughs. “You can’t come for a month.”

The guys all balk.

“What?”

“Damn, that’s brutal.”

“Is that even medically safe?”

The guys crack up, falling against each other after Riley’s comment. I raise my hand to settle this pack of hyenas.

Crossing my arms, I meet Asher’s challenging gaze head-on. “Anything else?”

“You can’t tell anyone about it.”

Casey crows. “Girls are gonna think you don’t want some anymore.”

“No they won’t,” I bite back, my smile growing. “Because I’m not gonna lose.”

“Whooo!” Catcalls fire around the room as the guys quickly pick sides.

I share a glance with Liam, who just shakes his head with a grin.

“And… and!” Asher calls above the noise. “If he breaks the rules, he has to spend the day walking around campus butt naked.”

That stops me for a second. I could get suspended for that shit. Coach would kill my ass, not to mention the college president.

“He can’t do that.” Liam shakes his head, pointing at Asher with a frown. “It’ll affect the whole team.”

“He’s not the only player on the team,” Asher bites back.

“He’s one of the strongest players on the team, and we don’t want to lose him.”

Asher gives me a pointed look. “Then I guess it’s the best way to make sure he follows the rules.”

All the guys know I’d never do anything to jeopardize our season, so it’s a pretty fucking good incentive.

But it’s not necessary. Because I’m nailing these thirty points.

I shoot a glance at the dartboard, quickly calculating where I need to hit. No sweat.

Crossing my arms, I meet Asher’s glittering stare with a smirk. “And if I win?”

He shrugs. “What do you want?”

“Your signed Gretzky jersey.”

His lips part for a second. Oh yeah, I went after that one. Asher and his precious collection of hockey memorabilia. It could be enough to make him bow out.

But then he sticks out his hand and says, “Done.”

I grab it, giving it a firm squeeze before turning for the dartboard.

No sex for a month. As if that could ever happen to me.

I fire the first dart with confidence, and it hits the ten, just. No problem. Only two more of those or a straight twenty.

I aim for the twenty and miss, the dart digging into the edge of the five-point space.

The guys are cheering me on like I’m competing for the world title. I grin at Liam, enjoying the way Asher’s squirming beside me, his jaw clenching so hard I can practically hear his teeth grinding together.

With a little sniff, I focus back on the board.

Okay, fifteen, where are you?

Stretching my neck, I zero my gaze onto the space I’m aiming for and let that dart fly.

And what does that fucking dart do?

It betrays me, landing off my mark by a hair and digging into the two-point section of the board.

“Holy shit, he missed.” Asher breathes the words at first, like he can’t believe this is happening, and then he lets out this thunderous roar and starts whooping in my face. “You missed, bro! You missed!”

Tipping back his head with a laugh, he starts jumping around the room while the rest of my buddies crack up laughing.

“No sex for a month. No, wait, no cum for a month! Dude. Punishing.” Casey slaps me on the shoulder, his sympathy pretty half assed. He’s laughing so hard he has to bend over and rest his hands on his knees.

I fire a look at Liam, and even my best friend is fighting a grin.

Shit!

How the fuck did this happen?

I want to punch that grin off Asher’s face right now. Maybe throw darts into his laughing mouth and watch him choke.

But I can’t be a douche about this.

I shook, I lost, and now I’m gonna have to pay the price.

Raising my hands with a smile that’s so fake it makes my face hurt, I bob my head at Asher, who’s now wiping tears from his eyes. Cheesedick.

“Nicely played, man.” Slapping his shoulder, I turn out of the room and head for the front door.

I just need a minute. A walk in the darkness to stop my head from spinning.

I lost.

I never lose.

But there it is. I’m not team captain, and now I can’t have sex for a whole fucking month!