“Everything okay?” I ask when she goes still.
She squeezes her thighs together, so I withdraw my hand.
“Ce?”
Her eyes meet mine, and there’s something different in them now. “Yeah… uh…” She straightens herself. “How do you know how to do that?”
“What do you mean?” I’m genuinely confused as I tuck myself back into my boxers and zip up my jeans. She watches me like she’s seeing me for the first time.
“I’ve never, and I mean never, felt anything like that before.”
I shrug, trying to remember where I learned all this. Honestly, Rocky and Scott get pretty graphic when they talk about their hookups in the locker room, so I’ve picked up some things along the way.
“So why do you want to stop? I can finish you,” I offer, because the idea of watching her come apart in my hands is suddenly the only thing I want.
“Actually, can you take me home?” she asks quietly.
I’m confused as hell, but I nod instead of pushing. “Okay.”
She practically bolts from the backseat, leaving me sitting here wondering what just happened. By the time I make it to the driver’s seat, she’s already buckled in and staring out the passenger window.
I start the truck and pull back onto the road. She digs through her purse and grabs my hand, pouring what feels like half a bottle of hand sanitizer on it. She rubs it in carefully, and I watch, half amused and half confused by the sudden return to practical Cecily.
Then she applies more lip gloss, and I know that smell is going to haunt me for the rest of my life.
“I think I can do this,” I say before I can stop myself. I don’t like this distance between us, this awkwardness that feels foreign after days of easy friendship. “I can be your puck buddy.”
She smiles, and some of the tension leaves my shoulders. “Puck buddy?” she mocks.
I shrug, returning her smile. “Hockey terms keep it friendly.”
“That is so not friendly, Dylan, but whatever floats your boat.”
“Are you still interested?” I ask because I need to know where we stand.
“I told you that’s what I wanted. I just thought you weren’t into it.”
“Ce, did you miss the part where I was hard as a rock? Of course, I’m into it.”
“Yeah, but a boner doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Guys get hard if anyone touches them.”
I shake my head. “That’s not how it works. What happened in my backseat was...” I pause, trying to find the right words. “It was hot as hell. I’m getting hard again just thinking about it.”
“You don’t want a girlfriend, right?” she asks, and there’s something vulnerable in her voice.
“No. I can’t handle a relationship right now with hockey and school. You?”
She looks straight ahead. “Can’t afford to have a boyfriend interfere with my goals. So we’re on the same page?”
I nod. “Seems like we are.”
Her voice gets softer. “Okay, so we’re just friends who sleep together?”
I grin at her, feeling lighter than I have all night. “Puck buddies. Come on, Moo.”
14
Cecily
