Page 18 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 2

“Did I say crazy? I meant batshit crazy,” I said, the corners of my lips quivering.

Grayson laughed out loud. “You haven’t seen anything yet.” He pulled out a bottle of Prosecco from the bucket of ice on the side of the sectional as the car left campus and joined the traffic in the heart of the city. The ride was so smooth that Grayson easily popped the bottle open and poured each of us a splash of the sparkling beverage. “Have you ever been on the sort of date where you felt like a Disney princess?” he asked.

I couldn’t help it. A laugh broke out of me before I could tame it.

“Because you’re about to be,” he said with a grin. “Salud.” He brought his glass to mine and waited for my reluctant surrender. I didn’t hesitate too much. Still, my experience advised caution and I checked to make sure my walls were in place.

But Grayson had a way of luring smiles out of me and I couldn’t fight it. I tasted the Prosecco and exhaled through my nose. “I got your chocolate,” I said. “Thank you.” It was the polite thing to say, right? It was hard to think. Grayson was very close, and very happy, and he smelled too good. “You look…great.”

“You know, I can’t believe you said yes,” he admitted. “I was starting to think you’d never crack.”

I looked at his eyes and almost lost myself in them. “No one ever called you a quitter, huh?”

“Not once in my life,” he said, raising his glass. “Good things happen to those who try.”

I bit my lip before I could think about it. “That’s a nice thing to say.”

“I mean it,” he said. “I don’t want to spook you. It’s just…you gave me such a chase. How long has it been? Three weeks?”

I nodded. Two weeks until I’d agreed to this and another week of ensuring I didn’t change my mind. “Aren’t your friends going to give you crap for going out with your rival? You’re the captain.”

“They should trust my judgment,” Grayson said calmly. “I’ve had my eye on you for a while.”

A frown wrinkled the space between my eyebrows. “Really?”

“It’s true. You’re a scary guy, though.” He laughed a little nervously before looking at his glass and speaking into it. “You don’t look like the easy-going, approachable, fun-loving person I think you actually are.”

“I…don’t know if that’s a compliment,” I told him.

He chuckled. “Truth is, you’re a little intimidating at first,” he said and looked at me.

“What made you come after me, then?” I asked. I wasn’t offended. Maybe a little. I couldn’t be sure. Even so, I disguised my voice so he wouldn’t notice.

He gave an easy shrug. “I like you. You’re a fierce hockey player, you’re beautiful, you do a mean hard check, and that is not a complaint.”

“Good. You’ll be getting more of those,” I told him.

Grayson threw his head back and laughed. “We shall see. I’m not a little kitten, either.”

I knew he wasn’t. He could slam me into the boards so hard I would see the stars. It had happened on numerous occasions. “Eh, I can take it. If you manage to get close enough to me.”

“Nothing gives me more pleasure than facing you on the ice, Avery. Oh, that’s a lie. This does.” He clinked our glasses again and we drank. “But it’s fun. You’re a good enemy to have. And I suspect you’re a pretty cool guy to take out.”

Frankly, I struggled to get any words out over the welling bubble of…something — was it joy? — that insisted on inflating in my chest. “I don’t know what gave you that idea,” I said, although my voice was a little strained.

Grayson laughed. “Funny.”

I wasn’t sure if it was. My sense of humor didn’t often receive standing ovations. But I couldn’t come up with a single reason for Grayson to lie to me.

“Date selfie for our scrapbook?” Grayson asked. His phone was out before I answered. And when I rolled my eyes and said it was fine, he snapped a dozen photos.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a short while after. The car was sliding smoothly down the road. “Why won’t you tell me where you’re taking me?”

“I thought a lot about this,” Grayson said. “You didn’t bite any of the baits I threw at you. Spa day, movies, moonlit dinner on the roof of my dormitory, Scrabble at your place. You’re a hard guy to entice, Avery. Remember when I suggested we take a horse-drawn carriage? Nothing. Not even a ‘maybe’ from you.” He shot me a pleased smile. “And if you think I’m stalling, now, it’s because I am.” He looked out the window. We were on an open road and had been for a while. The car was slowing down and Grayson smiled. “A few minutes.”

I sat tight as the car left the wide road for a much narrower one. I sat quietly and watched the glimpses of Lake St. Clair. We had left the city behind us and traveled north to Anchor Bay. I hadn’t been paying attention to anything other than Grayson. He could have taken me anywhere. Would I have noticed?

I was letting myself get too absorbed in him. Where the hell was my guard? I knew what would happen if I gave in and just slept with him for the sake of it. I knew I would resent him tomorrow and not care if I ever saw him again. It had happened before. I had ruined potential friendships, even relationships, by rushing into something I wasn’t sure I wanted. Something that I had done because of expectations placed on me.