“Tell me something I don’t know about you,” I said.
“Like what?”
“Anything. Something small.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I wanted to be a teacher when I was young.”
That surprised me. “Really?”
“Truly. History, as you might assume. I loved learning about how things used to be. How people lived before everything changed.”
“What made you choose hockey instead?”
“I was good at it. And Renkar loved it. He was better than me at most things, but I was better at hockey. It felt like something that was mine.”
“I think you would’ve been a good teacher,” I said.
“Maybe. But then I wouldn’t be here.”
“Would that be so bad?”
“Yes.” His arms tightened around me. “Because I wouldn’t have met you.”
I tilted my head back to look at him. “That’s disgustingly sweet.”
“I know.”
“I might have to kiss you again.”
“I’m not stopping you.”
I shifted my position in his lap to get a better angle. His hands moved to my hips, holding me steady.
The kisses turned deeper, more urgent. I stroked his shoulders, teasing around to his chest. His hands slid under my shirt, stroking my back.
I pulled back, my breathing heavy. “Tolrek?”
“Yes?”
“I want you.”
His pupils dilated. “Haley?—”
“I’m sure.”
“We don’t have to?—”
I climbed off his lap and stood in front of him, holding out my hand. “Bedroom. Now.”
He took my hand and let me pull him up.
The bedroom was at the end of a short hallway. I caught glimpses of a bathroom on the left, and another door that probably led to a closet. When we were inside, he closed the door behind us.
The bed had been made, and the room was neat in a way that suggested he’d cleaned before I arrived. That detail made my heart squeeze.
“We can stop anytime,” he said. “If it’s too much?—”
I rose onto my toes and kissed him.
