Chapter 4
FOUR
HOCKEY IS BETTER THAN FOOTBALL
Nolan
My dick twitches when a familiar fruity scent floats down the hallway and under my closed door. Not even a lengthy hockey practice and ethics paper could tire me out with Hayes’s sister showering no less than a few yards from my bedroom.
She’s naked in there.
I sit up in my bed and sigh with my head turned toward the sound of water hitting the tiles. As soon as the shower cuts off, I silently thank God and flop backward. It’s no more than a few minutes later when I hear her bare feet pattering against the hardwood floor and her soft voice carrying on a conversation.
“I mean, he had a point. But I can't take him up on his offer. It’s not like I can sleep with him.”
He? If one of the guys on the team is trying to make moves on Hayes’s sister, he’s going to go ballistic. Shortly after the team got wind that his sister is staying in our apartment and that she isn’t hard on the eyes, the jokes started, and Hayes's forehead vein made an appearance.
Hannah Evans is off-limits.
I swing my legs off the side of my bed and walk over to my door. I have great deductive skills, and I’ll know which teammate is signing his own death wish before I even make eye contact with Hannah. Then I’ll be forced to put a stop to it before Hayes gets thrown off the team for fighting.
I’m prowling down the hallway like a creep, sniffing the air like I’ve never smelled a freshly showered woman before, and I come to a halt to listen.
“I’ve done some research.” That’s Hannah’s friend on the phone. “Reign Kendrix.”
The quarterback?
“No way,” Hannah’s voice squeaks.
I should go back to my room. It’s confirmed the he they were referring to has nothing to do with the hockey team, but nonetheless, my feet stay planted on the floor, and I listen some more.
“Why not?”
Hannah scoffs. “He’s like a god on campus. There is no way I’m going to date him just so I can become a little more skilled in the bedroom. He’ll probably sleep with me once and then ghost me.” She pauses. “If he would even consider dating me. I’m not setting myself up for failure, Aria. I’m already self-conscious.”
“Then maybe you should ask Nolan.” I straighten my spine. Excuse me? “He was the one who came up with the idea. I bet he’d be down to fuck.”
Suddenly, I become extremely invested in Hannah’s response. What does Hayes’s little sister actually think about me when I’m not around? Because when I’m within distance, she either sends me a scathing look or blushes. I can’t quite figure her out.
“Ooh!” her friend exclaims loudly, and Hannah shushes her. “What if Nolan just helps you in the bedroom! Like, gives you some lessons, and then you go on a date with Reign. Who knows what’ll come from it?”
“That’s…” Hannah sounds appalled by the idea but then she pauses. “Nolan would never go for that. He was half-kidding. Plus, that’s a terrible idea. What would I say to him? ‘Hey, Nolan… Do you think you could teach me how to orgasm during sex so I can stop sucking in the bedroom and maybe someday I’ll be able to enjoy a relationship?”
My heart starts to beat faster at the prospect, and although it’s wrong on every ethical level, I put a toe forward and make myself known.
Hannah drops the phone in her lap and stares at me with wide eyes. Her heart-shaped mouth opens, and a shocked noise flies out. I raise an eyebrow and pride myself on my toned stomach, because she drops her gaze to my shirtless torso and flushes harder.
“That’s exactly what you could say.” I’m as smooth as they come, and she knows it.
“Is that Nolan?!” Her friend’s voice is muffled from the blanket that Hannah has draped over her lap, but she disappears altogether when Hannah ends the video call.
“Again with the eavesdropping!” she snaps. Her cheeks are bright, and I fucking love that I make her uncomfortable.
I keep my attention pinned to her while walking closer to the couch she’s been sleeping on. She doesn’t take a breath until I’m standing a foot away, peering down at her. I can’t help but grab onto her chin tightly and angle her face to look at me. “Well?”
“Well what?” she whispers.
“You gonna ask me or what?”
Her gulp catches my attention, and so does my flickering pulse.
I’ll admit it; I’m attracted to her. She’s hot, and her attitude with me is an irresistible temptation. She won’t say yes, which is exactly why I’m toying with her.
After a few seconds of our gazes locked, she hastily crosses her arms and puts her nose in the air. “I rather chew my arm off than ask you to help me.”
I spy a lie. She won’t look me in the eye and her cheeks turn the prettiest shade of pink.
I drop my hand and chuckle deeply. She glares at me as I causally walk backwards. “You know where I am when you change your mind.”
I turn and she scoffs.
“I’m not going to change my mind.” she states.
Probably not, but it’s fun to entertain the idea all the same.