Chapter 11
MATEO
Iwas hurting. My legs were shaky, and my tailbone already felt bruised from falling. Pretty sure this was the most my ass has been on the ice, but my competitive side wouldn’t let me admit defeat. The need to always do well flared brightly in my chest.
Emmie had glided backward in a perfect circle, her front leg weaving behind her so effortlessly, like it was second nature. I watched it once and thought, I can do that. How hard could it be?
Very hard, apparently. My hockey skates bit into the ice, stubborn and unforgiving, and my leg had refused to cross the way hers did.
My knees threatened to buckle after the fourth time I tried to copy her. So, I gave up and made my way to the boards to catch my breath.
Coach was going to be pissed when I went to practice sore as hell. But really, it was his daughter’s fault. I hadn’t planned on going all out for this little game we came up with, but one glance at the spark in her green eyes, and I knew that wasn’t an option.
Hell, she was an Olympian, of course she was competitive. I hadn’t fully thought that through and was now regretting it as I leaned against the boards, acting as if I wasn’t dying.
While I had tried my best to copy her figure skating move, Emmie had grabbed a lone hockey stick I brought out. She was out in the middle of the rink, stick in hand as she gently hit the puck at her feet.
Her eyebrows were drawn in, eyes laser focused. Despite us going back and forth for the last fifty minutes, Emmie was still going, looking as if she wasn’t bothered at all. If I hadn’t seen her take a breather a bit ago, I would’ve thought she was just fine.
Meanwhile, I was the wimp.
I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her. She was too focused on the puck to notice me staring, which gave me a moment to take all of her in. The effortless way she moved across the ice made it appear like she belonged. She was small, but her legs were probably stronger than mine, truth be told.
Seeing the way her muscles flexed through her leggings was insanely attractive for some reason. I kept picturing what they’d look like wrapped around my shoulders.
I quickly brushed that image away before it took root. Getting a hard-on was not convenient and definitely wouldn’t earn me any brownie points.
Emmie was guarded. It didn’t take a genius to see that she had walls up.
I wasn’t sure what made them, but I was willing to slowly chip away if she’d let me.
Like my brothers, I wasn’t afraid to work for the girl I wanted.
If Emmie needed to go slow, then I would. I could be patient when I needed to be.
A puck sliding toward me stole my attention. It slid to a stop inches from my skates. With a raised eyebrow, I glanced back up.
“Getting the hang of it,” I remarked. Emmie wasn’t a pro at hockey, but she picked up on the basics pretty fast.
“I’ll make the team in no time,” she boasted. A picture of her playing in my family's annual girls vs. boys game popped into my head. She’d fit right in.
“Uh huh.” I pushed off the boards and slowly skated in her direction. I didn’t miss the way her eyes flickered from my legs up to my face. I bit back a grin. She was definitely checking me out.
Her grin was infectious. “Told you I’d kick your ass on our first date.”
“So this is a date.”
Emmie rolled her eyes, hand shoving my shoulder. “Oh my god.”
“Hey,” I laughed. “I’m just clarifying.”
“Well, I clearly won.”
Even if I had won, I would have conceded just from the look on Emmie’s face. The way it lit up, green eyes sparkling, pink cheeks with a little dimple on the left, made my stomach swoop. She looked so proud that no way was I going to argue.
“What prize do you want?” I asked, my voice soft.
Emmie tapped her chin, as if thinking hard about what she wanted. “To be determined.”
Fuck, she was cute.
“Anytime you want to cash in on it, let me know.”
Emmie was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. “Thanks for today. I actually had a lot of fun.”
“Weren’t expecting me to be fun to be around, huh?”
Emmie shook her head. “I was expecting it to be awkward now that you know who my dad is.”
“Do guys usually get weird about it?” I questioned.
“I’ve never dated a football player.”
A smirk played on my lips. “Does that mean I get to pop your cherry?” The eye roll she gave me made my smirk grow into a smile.
“God, you’re a dork.”
“A lovable dork,” I shot back. “In case I didn’t make myself clear the other night.
” I moved closer, the tips of my skates barely grazing hers.
My smile fell. “Who your father is doesn’t affect anything, at least not on my end.
You can keep using it as an excuse between us, but until you tell me to get lost, I’m not going anywhere.
” I meant every word, and I hoped she could see that I was being serious.
Her lips pressed into a firm line, the skin near her eyes tightening as if the thought hurt her. “I refuse to be the reason someone ruins their career.”
My tone came off as firm but not rude. “It’s cute you’re concerned for me, but it’s my call to make.”
Emmie was quiet, green eyes glued to me, as my words settled in the air between us. I could practically see the arguments building in her mind. I prepared myself to argue right on back, but instead, she seemed to think better of it.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” I repeated.
“I’ll…try not to worry about it,” Emmie said. It came out a little forced, but I knew that was the best outcome I’d get. She was clearly someone who liked to be in control so giving her this was a big deal.
I nodded. “So, where are you taking me to dinner tonight?”
With that, the tension in Emmie’s shoulders lessened a smidge. She reached out and shoved me again, but a smile played at the corner of her lips. “I’m not taking you anywhere.”
“You’re the one who asked me out, so technically, you should be the one taking me to dinner.” I shrugged. “I don’t make the rules.”
“There are no rules.”
The glare she sent my way did nothing but egg me on. I playfully shook my head as I pushed off the ice and skated backward. “Just using me for my body then, huh?”
“You always have to start shit, don’t you?” she asked, skating after me slowly.
“I’m just trying to see how far I can go before the vein in your forehead pops,” I remarked. I was goading her on purpose.
She propelled herself closer. “What did you just say?”
“Don’t worry, it's a cute vein.” I glanced at her forehead, but there was no vein there. Her pale skin was flawless.
“Mateo Boone.”
I could see she was seconds away from lunging at me. All she needed was one more little push. So I did just that. “Maybe I should name it something. Patricia is nice.”
With a low growl and flashing teeth, she darted across the ice at me. I was still faster at pivoting than she was. Her fingers barely even grazed my arm before I skated past her.
“I cannot believe you just said that!” Emmie yelled from behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder to see her chasing after me. With a wild grin, I shot her a wink, which earned me another growly noise from her throat.
“Come and get me.”
By the time we left the rink, the sun was set low on the horizon.
The air was still a bit warm from the afternoon sun, but it felt nice after being in a cold area for the last two hours.
Emmie was probably more used to it, but I was chilled to the bone.
My days outside practicing in the sun did me no favors.
“Crap,” Emmie muttered, patting her left arm as if searching for something.
“What is it?”
“I lost my hair tie,” she huffed. “I usually keep a spare in my bag, but I can’t find it. Ugh, this always happens.” She cursed under her breath.
I swore my mouth went dry when she tucked her red hair behind her ear. Who knew such a simple act could be so damn attractive?
She let out another sigh as she veered to the left where her car was parked. Even though mine was in the opposite direction, I kept pace alongside her, my gym bag on my shoulder. The parking lot was surprisingly empty for a Wednesday.
“Are you trying to scope out my car to stalk me?” Emmie asked a moment later.
“I am. That way I can find out where you live and camp outside to wait for you in the mornings.”
She nodded. “Sounds like something you’d do.”
“You’re hilarious.” I fixed the strap of my bag as we slowed down and neared a dark gray SUV. “For the record, I saw your car the other day when we went to Alessandro’s, so I could already be stalking you.”
“You do seem to be around a lot lately,” she teased right on back. I liked that she could verbally spar and didn’t take everything so seriously. As the resident joker, I liked being around people that didn’t mind teasing.
Emmie stopped in front of the driver's side of her car and turned to face me. I held back a remark as she looked me up and down. She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth, an act I wasn’t sure she knew she was doing.
“My mom always taught me to walk beautiful women to their cars.”
Satisfaction sparked in my chest at the blush that spread over her cheeks. I liked knowing there wasn’t a trace of makeup on her face. Instead, all I saw were those freckles splattered on her nose and cheeks, pieces of her hair framing her face in an effortless way.
Until then, I hadn’t seen her with her hair down. It had a waviness to it as it fell past her shoulders, the last of the sun rays hitting the red strands and making it almost look like burned ember.
The urge to kiss her swelled in my chest. I clenched my right hand into a fist so I wouldn’t reach out and do just that. The way she stared up at me, bright eyes sparkling and lips quirked into a smile, didn’t help my inner fight to keep my hands and lips to myself.
“You’re a smooth talker,” she murmured.
I shrugged. “I just speak the truth.”
Emmie was beautiful. The kind that stopped you in your tracks and hurt like a bitch when she left.
Her eyebrow was raised, hip cocked out. “Bet you think I’m going to fall at your feet.”
“More like hoped.”
A deep sigh left her mouth. “Again, why am I here?”
“Cause you enjoy my company.”
“Enjoy or tolerate?”
I sat my gym bag on the ground and stepped closer. “Either way, you’re still here.”
Emmie hummed but didn’t respond.
“You know,” I started, closing that last little bit of space and causing her to shuffle backward until she was pinned to her car, nowhere else to go.
My control was hanging by a thread as I rested one hand above her head and used my height to cage her in. I angled my body so it wouldn’t touch her, still trying to respect her space. Her head was tilted back to meet my eyes, her blown pupils the only indication that my presence affected her.
“You act like you don’t like me,” I whispered, leaning in. “But I can feel your heart going crazy with me being this close to you.”
She swallowed, her fingers tightening at her sides.
“Careful,” I murmured near her neck, lips only a centimeter away from her skin. “You’re starting to give yourself away.”
My hand, the one that wasn’t braced above her, flexed. I wanted to reach out and touch her but wasn’t sure if that was the best move.
“You wish,” she muttered, finally meeting my gaze. Up close, I noticed her irises had little flecks of orange in them.
I leaned back just enough to grin at her. “Mm. If that were true, you’d have stepped away by now.”
Her lips parted like she wanted to argue, but she stopped herself. My grin only got wider at the lack of response. Making her speechless was going to become my number one priority. That, and seeing how far down her neck I could make her blush creep.
Not wanting to push my luck, I stepped back, putting distance between us, despite wanting to do the exact opposite. I ached to feel her lips on mine, but I’d wait.
I snatched my gym bag off the ground before gently tapping the hood of her car. “Until next time, firecracker.”
I turned and headed for my car, smiling to myself when I heard her scoff behind me.
“You left practice in a hurry,” Jake said through the phone pressed to my ear.
“Yeah, I had plans this afternoon,” I answered, only half-heartedly listening to what he was saying.
“Plans, huh?” The way Jake said it made me roll my eyes. He made it sound so dirty. Knowing him, he probably wiggled his eyebrows when he said it.
“I have a life outside of football.” I browsed the section in front of me at the grocery store. Next to me, a little girl no older than six with hair pulled into the world's highest ponytail looked at the same hair ties I did.
The elastic band holding her hair back was bright pink with little charms dangling at the ends. Hm, maybe I should ask her what to get. She seemed qualified enough with that hairstyle.
“Dude, you’re not even listening. What are you even doing right now?”
“Just shopping,” I mumbled, still distracted as I tried to find the best ties for Emmie.
I didn’t even know why I was here. All I knew was that as soon as I left Emmie at the rink, I got in my car and drove straight to a grocery store before heading for the women’s hair section. I wasn’t anticipating the entire aisle to be so overwhelming with all kinds of options.
“Is this about the coach’s daughter?” Jake questioned. I refrained from answering, although that was an answer in itself. “Dude, you are so fucked.”
“You have no idea.” After today, I was truly and utterly screwed when it came to Emmie. All it took was one ‘date,’ and I wanted to spend more time with her. “I got to go, but I’ll text you later.” Before he could say anything else, I hung up.
Without him yapping away in my ear, I focused back on the hair ties in front of me. I grabbed a pack of twenty black bands that looked thick and sturdy, something Josie would definitely use herself.
My hand hovered over a set of scrunchies as I glanced over at the little girl. Her face was scrunched like she was having a hard time deciding. I slowly squatted down beside her, not wanting to be intimidating or scary before speaking.
“Need some help?” I asked softly. She glanced over at me with wide eyes. Worried she’d yell for her mom who stood a few steps away, I pointed to the pink hair ties that had fluffy stuff on them. “I really like these. Do you think I should get them?”
The little girl looked at me, then nodded rapidly. I smiled and reached out, taking a pack to add to the ones in my hand.
“And these,” she suddenly spoke, holding out ones that had strawberries, kiwis, and watermelons printed on them. I could already picture Emmie’s confused smile when I gave her them.
“Thanks.”
I barely got the word out before she skipped away to her mom, leaving me alone to make decisions I wasn’t sure I could be trusted with.
I stared down at the items in my hand and gave myself a nod. Now if Emmie lost her hair tie, I would be prepared.