“Sixty percent teasing, forty percent I actually want to know.”
He cleared his throat and put all that intense focus on my face. Being the sole recipient of his attention made my breath catch in my throat. I could only imagine how his opponents felt when he stared them down.
“I spend less time at the gym since games will be Fridays and Saturdays once the season starts. I watch old games in the afternoon and do homework in the evening after practice.” He rubbed his pointer finger and thumb together, and it wasn’t the first time I noticed it. Whenever I asked questions, he did the same gesture.
The eggs sizzled, so I turned my back to him, pushing them around the pan so they didn’t burn. It was easier to talk when I didn’t see his very handsome face. “What are your Fridays?”
“Game days.”
“Not for another five weeks,” I said, looking at him over my shoulder. I sucked in a breath when I noticed his gaze was very much still on me. Just not on my face. My legs.
He sighed and dragged his attention up my body to my face. “What do you do for fun?”
I blinked in shock. He asked me a question and might’ve been checking out my legs. Had to be a full moon or mercury in retrograde type thing going on. “Watch TV, hang with my brother, go out with a few friends. I’m more of an introvert, actually.”
“Do you go to parties?”
My eyebrows about disappeared into my hairline. “Have I gone to them? Yes. Do I go a lot? No.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why don’t you go to parties? You don’t play a sport.”
Annoyance dripped down my spine at his tone. I took a beat to think about how to respond and put the eggs on our plates. I might’ve set the dishes on the table harder than necessary as I pushed his toward him, but he studied me with his eyebrows furrowed, like he really wanted to know my answer.
“What does going to parties have anything to do with playing a sport?”
“The risk. The risk is too high for me.” He released a long breath and picked up the fork. “Thank you for breakfast.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied, finally understanding the intention of his question. “Parties are fun, sure. The music, the flirting, the laughter. Having a few drinks and making dumb decisions. But to me, they seemed like a temporary escape that never really provided what I was missing. So, you say the risk is too high because you’re an athlete, but it’s there for me too.”
“How?”
“I’m here on an academic scholarship. My grades can’t slip. I can’t slip. My parents left us some money but not enough to allow me to stay.” I took a bite and waited, the urge to squirm under his stare lessening the more we sat together. He was intimidating, sure, but this wasn’t an act. Jonah was really an intense guy.
“You lost both your parents,” he said, not a question but a statement.
“Yes.” I gulped as the familiar wave of grief washed over me, gripping my heart for a few seconds. “They died in a car accident two years ago. It’s only me and Michael now.”
I didn’t know how it was possible, but his face set even harder to stone. It was like someone froze time, preventing him from moving at all. He didn’t blink.
“I’m sorry,” he choked out, tilting his head down as his shoulders slumped. “I remember hearing guys on the team talking about what happened but…Shit, I should’venevercomplained about my mom leaving to you.”
“Why?” I fired back.
“Because what you’ve gone through is so much worse.” He met my eyes again, anguish swirling in his hazel orbs. “I’m so sorry, Ryann. I didn’t realize. I’m an idiot.”
“Thank you.”
He ate his eggs quickly, barely taking a breath before he finished. He got up, rinsed the dish, put it in our dishwasher, and placed his hands on his hips.
I continued eating, clearly not in a rush to escape our shared meal. He opened his mouth, closed it, and pressed his lips together in a firm line.
“Say it, Jonah. Whatever you’re holding back, just say it.” My tone came out more annoyed than intended, but I didn’t regret it. Wecouldbe friends and enjoy rooming together, but even as I had the thought, it disappeared. He didn’t seem the type.
“Have you been to a party at the hockey house?”
