I pulled back and smiled at him. “It never is when I’m with you.”
He growled as he kissed me again, one hand gripping my ass tight and the other holding me by the nape of my neck, pulling me as close as possible to him. I think someone cheered, but mostly, they were still silent. When we pulled away again, I forced him to set my feet on the ground. He did, but as soon as I was standing beside him, he grabbed my hand and linked our fingers together as we turned around to get a drink. Everyone around us was staring. Prescott and Marissa laughed and shook their heads at everyone’s stunned silence.
“It makes sense,” Drew said after he picked his jaw up off the ground. “You’re both unattainable,” he brought up a finger like he was counting. “You’re both the best at your sport, even though you don’t play anymore,” he added quickly, looking at me.
“And you’re both hot as fuck,” one of the girls there added — the one that said hi to him earlier. I looked at her and laughed.
“Still, man,” Drew said, eyes wide on Lach. “How?”
I didn’t know what he was asking. How did he manage to crack me, of all people? Howdid I manage to get him, of all people? How had he managed to keep it a secret? It could be anything. Drew was waiting, and apparently, the rest of the nosey people around us also wanted an answer. Lach let go of my hand and hugged me into his side, but I pulled back to look at his face.
He smiled at me. “I chased and chased and chased until she finally gave me a fucking chance.”
That answer seemed to stun them even more, but at that point, we were done being the freaking main attraction. We spent the rest of the night playing beer pong, which we dominated, and then talking and drinking with our friends. Lach’s hands were all over me every moment he wasn’t occupied, which continued to draw surprised glances the entire night. I thought it was hilarious, but I understood the reason. The guy who fended people off at parties was the one who couldn’t seem to keep his hands to himself. The guy with a no-kissing rule kissed me every opportunity he had. I had butterflies in my stomach and smiled at him all night.
When we decided to leave the party and return to my place, I let go of his hand. We were walking next to each other, but at what I hoped would appear like a friendly distance. I tried not to be obvious about checking for my car. I wasn’t going to tell Lach about what happened. It would only lead to questions and concerns. He had enough on his plate, and we were almost out of here, so I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.
“You drank,” he said suddenly as if he’d just noticed.
“Are you saying that because I’m swaying a little?” I asked with a laugh as I looked up at him. “If so, I want to point out that I’m wearing heels.”
“I would carry you but that’s against the rules.” He chuckled when my eyes widened. He grew serious again, his brows pulling slightly. “The liquor was unopened and you drank.”
“You were there.” I shrugged. “I know you wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”
His steps came to a halt when we reached my place. He turned to me, searched my face for a few seconds, and shook his head.
“Lyla James. . .” He exhaled a deep breath, still shaking his head as we walked up the stairs as if he had no words to describe what he felt.
The feeling was mutual.
CHAPTER16
LYLA
The days passed so quicklythat I went from wanting to leave Fairview to wishing I could stay cocooned in Lachlan’s arms a while longer. It wasn’t just the sex. That was mind-blowing as well, but it was more than that. It was being with him. We’d binged shows, watched movies, ordered takeout, and ate it while we critiqued the shit out of whatever we’d just watched. We cooked dinner together, which was a freaking mess, but it was fun. Behind closed doors, I’d been grinning nonstop, and I hadn't stopped grinning because the only time I’d stepped outside my apartment was to go to his. It was weird. Marissa had seen us together a million times and was still in shock. I wasn’t sure whether it was because of my complete change in mood, because I was smiling (which she liked to remind me that I didn’t dothismucheven before), or because Lachlan Duke was with the same woman every day and showed no interest in anyone else. Maybe it was all of the above.
Tonight, I’d swapped the confines of my apartment for the arena, sitting between Marissa and Banks, watching the Blaze’ second championship game. I hadn’t told Lach and knew I was the last person he’d expect to see here. Despite the number of times Prescott had invited me, I’d never been to a hockey game, so this was a new experience. So far, based on the nachos I was currently stuffing my face with out of pure anxiety, it got a ten out of ten. When my stomach wouldn’t quit coiling, I handed the nachos to Banks, who was virtually a human trash can. He’d already had Marissa’s Skittles, my Peanut M&Ms, and a bag of popcorn.
“Relax,” Marissa whispered as she set a hand on my bouncing knee.”
“I’m trying.” I bit my lip.
I wouldn’t relax. When I told Marissa I wanted to come, I figured we’d sit somewhere in the stands, and Lach wouldn’t see me. She didn’t tell me that the tickets Prescott gave her were in the first row right next to the. . .sin bin? Ice box? Penalty box. Marissa had called it all three, but I settled on that one since that’s what it was. I stared at it. I wondered what you had to do to end up there and how often Lach was sent. I wasn’t sure if I wanted the answer to be a lot or never. It seemed kind of dumb to end up there, considering it shaved off minutes you could have spent on the ice. It probably would’ve helped if I’d listened to Prescott every time he talked about his sport instead of tuning him out and going over soccer plays in my head. He couldn’t take offense since he did the same thing to me.
The lights in the arena dimmed, and some strobe lights picked up. My knee started bouncing, and when the guys started coming out, and the crowd’s deafening roar invaded the place, my heart felt like it would burst out of my chest. The arena must have been at capacity with its loudness, but I didn’t take my eyes off the ice. When I saw Lachlan skate by, my pulse skyrocketed. I was wearing a replica of his jersey that Marissa got for me at the merch stand outside. He wore the number ten like I wore in soccer, which he said was another reason we should be together. When Marissa handed it to me, I was unsure whether I wanted to wear it. I could’ve borrowed one of his if I thought that was a good idea. It seemed like such a public display, but after looking around the arena and realizing most people rooting for The Blaze were also wearing it, I slid it over the shirt I had on. According to Marissa, Lach had signed to be part of the NIL and made more money off his jersey than any other student-athlete in the sport. I’d done the same and was still getting paid for sales off mine, even though I no longer played, which was pretty incredible. Marissa had most of their jerseys but was wearing Prescott’s tonight, while Banks wore a school hoodie.
Lach skated to the center of the ice and positioned himself in front of a player from the opposite team. I shifted in my seat, my excitement making it hard to sit still. I watched as the referee dropped the puck between them and let them try to get it. Lach passed it back, and Mason got ahold of it before the opposite player could get there. Then, I watched them skate around, vying for the puck as they shoved each other out of the way. I laughed loudly. Hockey was a savage sport.
I leaned into Banks, but my eyes remained glued to the ice. “Don’t you wish you could do that in the field without getting flagged every five seconds?”
He laughed. “I’m in the wrong fucking sport.”
“Can you skate?”
“I grew up in Colorado,” he said, and I knew he had one of his WTF expressions on his face. “Of course, I can skate.”
Marissa’s hand shot out and clutched my knee to stop the bouncing as Prescott gained control of the puck. They were so concentrated on the game that I didn’t even know why I’d been nervous about Lach seeing me. Every time he skated past us, the woman behind me screamed louder than anyone else, which made me laugh. It was cute. She reminded me of my mom standing on the sidelines. I let the memory of her pass through me and waited to feel something. I didn’t. I’d thought for sure after Lachlan seemingly opened up a vault of emotions inside me that I’d suddenly feel all the time, but that hadn’t been the case. I was laughing more, as Marissa and Banks pointed out during our ride.
