She just... didn’t reply? Didn’t want me?
I squirm in my seat, discomfort pricking my skin like needles.
I don’t like that. The sting of rejection beds in deep.
I’m a confident guy. I’m good looking, smart as hell, and I’ve busted my ass to become really fucking good at doing the thing I love, playing hockey, just like Dad. Some people even say I could be better than him, and by the time my career is over, everyone will say the same thing.
But this... The fact that we shared a kiss, music, those tender moments, and she still walked away? And without explanation?
That bites.
Raking my hands through my hair results in a long sigh. She doesn’t owe me an explanation, not then, not now, but fuck, I sure would love one. What did I do wrong?
I take my time dragging my ass home, swinging by the local Dairy Queen to snag a mint brownie Blizzard. Not that I was in doubt, but that’s how I know for sure this girl has rocked my base. I never eat this shit during the season. And yet, tonight I was tempted to get two.
I head up to my dorm room. For the first part of my college life, I lived in the hockey house with the rest of the guys, but jeez, it’s loud as hell, messy as hell, and I couldn’t concentrate or get anything done.
As much as I love my teammates, and I do—I’d walk through fire for any of them—friendship won’t pay for my retirement. I need to excel, to push myself, to focus and do the work that needs to be done to win.
And to do that, I moved into dorms and never looked back.
Speaking of dorms, it would seem I’m getting a new neighbor. Because of course I am. The universe hates me.
Penelope stands at the door next to mine, she’s balancing a box on her hip while trying to get the door open. I’m guessing she feels my stare heavy on her body because she stops in her tracks and cautiously looks my way.
I cheers my Blizzard at her while she curses. Perhaps she thought she was cussing under her breath, but she said it loud. Knowing what little I know of her, I’d guess she doesn’t give a shit that she said it out loud.
“Of course he’s here.” She’s muttering to herself, the cardboard box sliding slowly down her body before she hitches it higher on her hip. “Stop staring at me.”
What the fuck? Who is this woman? And what happened to the one I met at the party?
OfcourseI’m here. I’ve been here for weeks.She’sthe outsider here. And yet she’s the one giving me attitude. Not cool.
Despite her prickly exterior, and those daggers loaded in her eyes, I remind myself I’m actually a nice fucking guy, and gesture to the box in her hand. “Do you need a hand?”
“I’d rather jump into a pool of alligators with a gaping wound.”
Yeeesh. This woman most definitely wants to watch me suffer before I die. Maybe I can bring her back around now that we’re neighbors.
As though she reads my mind, she levels me with a hard stare over her shoulder. “Should be temporary. There was a flood in the dorm room upstairs from our room, and they’ve got to clean up and refurbish it before we can move back in. Maybe a few weeks.”
My heart falls. I open my mouth to say something, but I’m not sure what, so I simply snap my jaw shut and watch her open her door, step inside, and slam it closed with ferocious force behind her. Bet she was imagining the door smacking my face as it closed.
The first time we met she told me I’d fall in love with her. At the time, I thought she was crazy. Because who the hell falls in love with someone after just one kiss? Or even two? Or three?
Me.
That’s who.
Fine. That’s a little extreme, but I could have. I definitely fell in a whole lot of like.
And now she lives next door. Well, mark my fucking words, it’sherwho’s going to fall in love withmethis time.
CHAPTER 5
Tate
NOVEMBER
