“Research can be fun,” Violet challenges.
“God, no wonder you hired her. You’re like, the same person.” Does every academic have this incurable desire to burn themselves to the ground? I’ve seen it with my mom, my sisters, and now my girlfriend. “So, am I good to go?”
“Yeah, you’re all set,” Mason responds. “I do want to finalize some things with Violet though so just shut the door on your wayout.”
Eliana texts me as I leave Mason’s office, telling me she wants to make dinner for us tonight to celebrate my being back in the team’s good graces. I smile to myself, realizing that a few months ago my definition of celebration would probably look like hitting up a couple of bars or throwing a party at Hockey House. Now the thought of a night in with my girl sounded perfect.
Chapter 34
Eliana
Walking through Westchester’s Hockey arena, I’m surprised by how quiet the building is. There’s no game today but I expected some level of chaos. “Where is everyone?”
“Practice ended over two hours ago, and we have a rare weekend free of games. That usually means going home for the weekend or spending it at frat row. You know hockey players, we can never sit still. Jake smirks as he guides me towards the back of the arena.
“Oh I know. My boyfriend was once the team’s prime playboy up until a few weeks ago.” I tease.
Jake throws a hand up in defense. “Actually, Ollie had me beat, but I am willing to admit I was in a steady second place.”
“Wow. I never thought I’d hear you be okay with coming in second.”
“There are some moments in life when coming second is a privilege.” Jake winks at the double meaning behind his joke.
My cheeks start to redden. “You’re such a child.”
“Hey, if you got the joke then your head is just as in thegutter as mine.” He places a kiss on my cheek to stop himself from laughing.
We reach the end of the hall and Jake swings open a massive door that leads to the locker room. ESPN had ranked Westchester’s Men’s Ice Hockey locker room as one of the top three in the nation. I’m a big hockey fan, and yet I struggled to understand why 1) ESPN would even bother reporting about it or 2) why that was something to boast about, but I now understood it.
The room was covered in navy blue and white — our school’s colors. Posters of former players that went on to play for the NHL covered the leftmost wall, along with their autographed jerseys. The individual cubbies that served as lockers were massive enough that any large player could comfortably sit down in it. I walked around the room until I found Jake’s locker.
The photos of his sisters and parents taped to his locker don’t surprise me, neither do the ones of him, Adam and Ollie celebrating a big win. What does surprise me is the photo of us together at Cornwall's sharing a milkshake after Westchester beat UMass Amherst a few days ago.
“Had to make sure all my good luck charms were represented.” Jake speaks from behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “That and I couldn’t get the pure look of bliss on your face after you took a sip from that milkshake out of my head.”
“Best Oreo shake in town. Don’t think I ever tasted anything that good in my life.” My eyes are locked on his lips, mere inches away from mine, and yet they didn’t feel close enough.
“I’m inclined to agree, but there’s one thing I can think of that tops it.” Jake moves a hand to rest on my stomach, his fingers so long the tips of them brush against the hem of my knit sweater.
All it took was a simple touch to leave me a fluttering mess. “I—Impossible.”
“Is that a challenge, Ellie? You may not know this about me, but I love a challenge.” His small smirk turns into a wicked smile as he turns me around to sit on the bench and then sinks to his knees. Jake moves his hands to the waistband of my leggings, waiting for me to give him a nod before tugging them off. I swallow hard as he places his hands on my thighs and spreads them apart, inching his face closer to my core as he does.
I feel the heat creep up to my face and neck at the sight of him in front of me, eyes filled with such hunger and adoration, as if he were under a spell. While his intentions were clear he waited patiently for me to confirm whether or not I wanted him to continue. “Jake,” I pant.
“Eliana.” He takes my hand into his gently.
I use my free hand to run it through his hair. “What are you going to do?”
“Whatever you’ll let me do, whatever you want me to do.”
“I think I want whatever you want,” I confess, tightening the grip I have on his hair.
“You think?” Jake’s eyebrows furrow together.
“No one’s ever…done that to me before. I’ve wanted them to, but the guys I’ve hooked up with in the past thought it was gross so—” I stop myself, realizing I’m over-explaining and rambling like I always do when I’m nervous. To Jake’s credit, he just listens and holds onto me, keeping me grounded. Secure.
“I probably don’t need to tell you this, but they sound like fucking idiots. You should know I’m not above begging you to let me taste you.”
