“Are we just going to continue wandering aimlessly, or are we actually meeting up with your friend?” he asks after another five minutes of walking silently. I have no interest in hashing this out with him.
“What makes you think I’m not meeting up with Macy?” I ask, turning my head to look at Jack, noting the way the sun makes the lighter shades of brown in his hair stand out. Hell, he was attractive in bar lighting, but in actual daylight, his features are much more noticeable. I roll my eyes when his mouth tilts into a smirk, almost like he knows I’m involuntarily checking him out.
Is that even something you can do? It’s not like I’m staring at his ass.
“Why do you call me darlin’?” I blurt out before he can respond to my previous one with a witty remark.
“Does it bother you,darlin’?”
Yes, but I’m not going to admit this to him. “Doesn’t bother me, but I’m sure it’d bother my dad if he hears it.” I direct a cheeky smile his way, and his expression shifts to become guarded.
“Why didn’t you say your dad was my coach? I never would have . . .” Jack trails off, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Solicited me so your friends didn’t make fun of you?” I scoff, adjusting my backpack on my shoulders. “Obviously, I didn’t know he was your coach.”
“Seriously?” His blue eyes scan my face, and if I were him, I’d probably be skeptical too. It’s not like I told Jack my real name either. “Not to sound like a jerk or anything, but I’m pretty well known around campus. How do I know you didn’t actually know, or are you trying to get me in trouble with your dad?”
“Why the hell would I try to get you in trouble with my dad? I’m pretty sure I’ve asked you to go away multiple times, and you’ve ignored me every time,” I point out, growing defensive because Jack is the one who approached me at the bar—not the other way around.
“I don’t know. Did we hook up last year at a party, and you’re pissed I didn’t call you?”
My jaw drops. “You didn’t seriously just say that.” Hockey star or not, he’s acting like a narcissistic dick. I think civility has gone way out the window at this point.
Jack at least looks a little embarrassed. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m just having a hard time believing this is one big coincidence.”
“You came up to me. You claimed your friends would tease you, and I wasn’t exactly sober. It seemed like a good idea atthe time. Let me get this straight: I didn’t pursue you, and if I’d known you were one of my dad’s players, I wouldn’t have let you within ten feet of me,” I snap, and Jack closes his eyes, inhaling a sharp breath.
“Why didn’t you say who your dad was?” he asks, somehow still not understanding I didn’t intentionally hide it from him.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Have you taken too many hits to the head or something? Do you go up to random people in a bar who are hitting on you and tell them about your dad?”
Jack’s face changes, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think I hit a sore spot. “No, I don’t,” he answers, his voice rough.
“Exactly, so why should the same be expected of me?” I ask him point-blank and Jack shifts, looking different from his cocky self in our previous encounters.
“Al, you’re right. I’m sorry,” he says, but he doesn’t stop there, continuing to dig his own grave. “Can you blame me, though? You’re my coach’s daughter, which makes you extremely off-limits.”
Again, if he thinks I’m so off-limits, why is he still walking with me? The funniest part is how wrong Jack has it. If Dad finds out, my ass is the one in trouble, not his. “Just forget about it, okay? You’re not going to be the one in troubl?—”
He shakes his head, interrupting me. “I really don’t feel like getting my ass handed to me by my coach because you run to daddy after I eventually hurt your feelings.”
“Oh my god, what part of this are you not getting? If he finds out, it won’t be you in trouble, it’ll be me. So please just stop going on about how much trouble you’ll be in, and listen to what I’m saying,” I snap, crossing my arms over my chest as I turn to face him. Jack has nothing to worry about.
His eyebrows knit in concern, and he drags a hand through his hair, causing some of the chestnut locks to flop into his face. “What do you mean you’ll be in trouble?”
I can’t do this. It’s too much and we shouldn’t even be having this conversation since he’s so worried about being caught with me.
I back away, offering a small smile in surrender. “I really didn’t know who you were. It was just a kiss, and I’m not going to rat you out to my dad. I’ll see you around, Jack.”
CHAPTER 4
Alondra
“I can’t believeyou never watched this show before,” Ellie says, throwing popcorn into her mouth, distracting me from the medical drama she introduced me to a few days after we moved in together. We’ve since gone through three seasons, with plenty more to go, and I’m hooked.
“Be quiet, you’re talking through the whole episode,” I whisper, reaching for my own handful of popcorn.
After Rose told us she was transferring to the same college as her boyfriend, Macy and I entered the portal for university housing to be paired with a random third roommate. We went into it knowing we might not like our new roommate, and it didn’t sound like a bad idea. Thankfully, Ellie is so easy to get along with, I couldn’t help but like her, even after learning her brother is one of my dad’s players.
