She’s at the sink, the water is running, and she has her hands under the stream. “I don’t want to see anyone. Please go.” She bites out.
“I’ll leave you alone in a second.” I lock the door behind me without taking my eyes off her. “Are you ok?”
Our eyes meet in the wide mirror above the sink as I take a few steps into the small en-suite, stopping behind her.
She shakes her head. “No. I’m not ok.”
Fuck. I don’t know why I even care, but I do. I don’t know this woman. My crush on her was based on the fact that she’s gorgeous. And she didn’t throw herself at me like a lot of the women on campus did.
I don’t think most of them were even that interested in me as a person. They were probably after the popularity that came from being seen on the arm of Hemlock Beach’s star hockey player. Until I got benched.
Taryn always looked at me with kind eyes and kept her distance. She always looked lost in her own world. That made me hesitate to approach her at first. Then our class ended and my life became a shit show thanks to a stupid choice.
The thought of Taryn not being ok, however, doesn’t sit well with me. Seeing her again so unexpectedly rekindled my crush on her, and I don’t think the kiss we just shared helped me get her out of my system. If anything, it made things worse.
I close my hands into fists to avoid reaching for her as I stop a couple of steps behind her.
Star Cove is my fresh start. I’m not here to chase cheerleaders. I’m here to play hockey and to make sure my future team doesn’t decide that I’m not a safe bet and passes on me.
So I’m going to go to my classes once the semester starts, play hockey, sleep, rinse and repeat. No crazy parties, no distractions, no drama, no sex. Not even with the puck bunnies.
But the school year hasn’t started yet, and neither has the hockey season. And that kiss is still burning on my lips, my skin is still tingling and my cock is still semi-hard from it.
“Taryn…” I don’t even know what the fuck I’m doing here.
She closes the tap, grabbing the edge of the sink with so much force that her knuckles turn white. “There’s a target on my back. Gen isn’t going to stop until I’m kicked out of camp. She’s been glaring at me since I got a higher score than she did during the audition semifinal. And now she thinks I’m after her man.”
“Are you? After her man?”
That was the wrong thing to say.
“No, I’m not!” Taryn snaps, turning around to face me. “Not that it would be any of your business if I were. But Macklin and I are just friends.”
She’s right that it’s none of my business. Even if there were something between her and Mack, it wouldn’t change my situation. I’m not here to get involved with her or with anyone.
“So you aren’t upset because Mack is hooking up with those two girls?”
“Mack can fuck whoever he wants. As his friend, I just hope that he chooses where he sticks his dick a little better from now on. Gen is crazy.”
Laughter bursts out of me. If only I had been wiser about where I stuck my dick, too. “That’s solid advice. And I agree about Gen. I think she did something to your top on audition day. And she clearly dared me to kiss you because she thinks there’s something between you and Mack.”
“Mack wasn’t even in the room.” Taryn rolls her eyes.
“Yeah, but Gen’s friends were filming us. She probably sent it to him.”
She looks me right in the eye. “It doesn’t really matter. Mack and I are just friends, Nash.”
I don’t know why that makes me feel better, but it does.
“I like it when you say my name.”
The words tumble out of my mouth in a whisper. I have no business saying stuff like that to her. But it seems that my self-control is on a hair trigger, ready to snap with one look into her eyes.
“I’m sorry Gen is making things hard for you. But I’m glad that’s why you’re upset and not because of something I did out there when we kissed.”
She shakes her head again. “Nash, I…”
I take one step closer. We aren’t touching, but I can feel the heat radiating from her body. “You should stop.”
