Chapter 14
Anna
Iwipe my sweaty palms on my jeans as I watch the Hollis U men’s hockey team take on Minnesota State in the semi-finals of the men’s college hockey championship.
We’re in the final minutes of the game, and it’s tied, two to two.
The winner of this game will advance to the finals—the championship game, which takes place in two days here in Las Vegas.
My entire body is tense as I watch them battle it out. It’s been wild. Both teams have been playing their hearts out.
I watch my brother race across the ice, the puck in his possession. He’s headed for the Minnesota State net. One of their defensemen is covering him, but he manages to step out and take a shot at their net. Their goalie deflects it with their stick, and the puck goes flying.
The part of the stands where I’m sitting, where all the Hollis U fans are, lets out a collective disappointed groan.
“So close,” Poppy says.
I grab her hand and give her an encouraging squeeze. She’s been so stressed watching Nick play this entire game.
We both watch as a Minnesota State player grabs the puck and takes off with it. The Hollis U players chase after him. They almost get to him right as he crosses center ice. He smacks the puck.
I hold my breath, my nerves going haywire as I look at Travis, who’s guarding their net.
He moves quickly to the side, sticking out his glove hand, catching the puck before it lands in the net.
The Hollis fans cheer like crazy.
“Wow,” I murmur.
“I know, right? Incredible save,” Poppy says.
The whistle blows, stopping play with just a couple of minutes left to go in the game. The players on the ice get ready for face-off.
The whole time, my gaze is glued to Travis as he pushes up his helmet and guzzles water from his bottle.
His hair is sweaty and messy, and his fair complexion is flushed red. As wild as he looks, his stare is focused, serious. His mouth is set in a straight line.
My tummy dips.
Travis has been my brother’s teammate since middle school, so I’ve seen him play a million times.
It’s different now, though. I can’t stop looking at him, totally mesmerized by how wild and powerful he looks in front of the net.
I swallow hard, my skin suddenly hot. It’s not just from watching how he’s playing though.
Seeing him flushed and sweaty slingshots my brain back to all those weeks ago when we went down on each other in that empty classroom, after he saved me from Colin.
I’ve thought of it every single day since then. And almost every single time I think about it, I get so turned on that I have to grab my vibrator the second I get home from class and pleasure myself.
I always come so hard and so fast. I can’t help it. I’m thinking about Travis’s tongue on my clit…thinking about the way he groaned into my pussy…thinking about the way he unraveled when I sucked him off, slow and teasing…
Thinking about the bossy command he gave me. And that nickname.
Get on your fucking knees, sweet thing.
Even just remembering the low, rough growl of his voice when he spoke those words has my clit throbbing.
That’s the sexiest thing a man’s ever said to me, no question.
I loved how dirty it was. How bossy he was.
I loved how desperate he sounded when I had him in my mouth. How hard he pulled on my hair.
I’ve always enjoyed giving head, but that was the best time I’ve ever had on my knees.
I didn’t want it to end.
But Travis did.
After getting those texts from my brother, he completely shut down.
That same sinking feeling squeezes through my chest, just like it did in that moment.
Maybe I shouldn’t have felt so disappointed. I don’t even know what I expected from him. But I just felt so…rejected. I let myself be so vulnerable physically with him. And then it was over, just like that.
The sting of his rejection lands at the center of my chest. I’m so embarrassed.
We don’t even like each other—and he’s my brother’s best friend. Of course he’d choose his friendship with him over fooling around with me.
But I can’t stop thinking about him. He’s been on my mind, lingering like a heavy-hanging cloud these past few weeks. Despite how busy I’ve been with classes and labs and homework and prepping for the MCAT, he’s always in my thoughts, invading my focus like a rebel army.
I wonder if he’s thinking about me too.
That disappointed feeling inside of me sharpens. Probably not.
I watch him wipe his face on his forearm. Definitely not now. He’s laser-focused on the game, judging by how incredible he’s been playing.
He turns slightly, glancing up at the crowd to the side of him. He catches eyes with me.
Even from this far away, I can see his eyes widen the slightest bit. That stony expression remains though.
My tummy dips again, and I look away. I don’t want to distract him.
“You want a sip?” Poppy holds up her soda cup.
I shake my head. “No, thanks.”
I wish I could talk to her about everything that’s happened between Travis and me. She’d help me sort out the mess in my mind. But I can’t. I told him I wouldn’t breathe a word to anyone about us. And even though we’re done messing around, it wouldn’t feel right to go against my word.
The ref drops the puck for face-off. The players struggle for control, but it ends with a Hollis player, who takes off with it.
As he makes his way across the ice, Nick sprints ahead, trailing his teammate.
A second later, a Minnesota State player checks the Hollis U player, and the puck goes flying.
Nick snatches it up and heads for the Minnesota State net.
He smacks it, and I watch, holding my breath, as it bounces off the crossbar and into the net.
I’m on my feet, cheering and screaming with the rest of the Hollis U fans in the arena. Everyone in the student section is going nuts.
Nick pumps his fist and lets out a scream while his teammates crowd around him to celebrate.
“Yeah, baby! Way to go!” Poppy cheers.
I smile at her. It’s so sweet the way she cheers him on.
For the last two minutes of the game, the student section goes crazy, getting louder and louder by the second, as we watch Hollis U hold off the opposing team.
When the buzzer blares, signaling the end of the game, everyone goes crazy. Poppy and I are screaming and hugging. Drinks and popcorn go flying into the air around us.
“We’re going to the finals! Hell yeah!” a guy behind us screams.
On the ice, the Hollis players are crowding around each other, hugging and tossing their helmets up.
I chuckle when I see my brother rip off his jersey, swing it over his head, and toss it into the stands.
His teammates are all going crazy, laughing and grinning and amping up the crowd. Except Travis.
His stony expression from earlier in the game is dialed back, but he still looks so serious. He doesn’t look all that excited, actually.
A small pang lands in the center of my chest. Why doesn’t he look happy?
He gazes around, his stare blank. But then he stops when he sees someone in the stands. He flashes the smallest smile. And then he waves.
A weird feeling claws through me. It takes a second before I can put a name to it.
Jealousy.
I shake my head at myself. What is wrong with me? I have no right to feel jealous. Travis isn’t my boyfriend. I don’t even know who he’s smiling at.
Still though. I can’t help but wonder who’s making him smile like that.
We head out of the stands and slowly make our way out of the arena, which is located on the far end of the Las Vegas strip.
Hollis fans are crowding around the arena, still pumped from the win. My mom texts and lets me know that she and my dad are heading back to the hotel.
When I glance up, Poppy is smiling down at her phone.
“Texting your boyfriend?”
“Yup.” She looks up. “Nick and the guys all want to go out to celebrate. You wanna come?”
That uneasy feeling from before resurfaces. What if the person Travis was smiling at was a woman he’s seeing, and he brings her out to celebrate…
My chest feels tight. I clear my throat.
“I don’t know. I’m kind of tired,” I say.
Poppy grabs my hand. “Aww, come on. You have to come out for at least a little while. Pretty please?”
I let out a tired laugh. “Okay, but only for a little bit.”
She hugs me. “Yay!” She grabs my hand and leads me through the crowd. “They wanna gamble at the Cosmopolitan.”
An hour later, Poppy and I are at the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino. We’re weaving our way through a maze of slot machines when I hear my brother's voice.
“Hey, wild girl.”
I turn and see him scoop Poppy up in a hug, then he grabs her face and kisses her.
“Get a room,” I say, groaning.
He flashes a smug grin at me. “That’s where we’re going next.”
I make a grossed-out face, but he just laughs and pulls me into a hug.
“Congrats on the win,” I say.
“Thanks. We thought we’d take our winning streak to the slots,” he says.
We walk over to a pair of slot machines where his teammates Leo and Blake are playing. The rest of his teammates are crowding around them.
“And how’s that going?” I ask.
Nick laughs. “Terrible. None of us has won any money.”
The guys on the team who are old enough to drink are all sipping on beers. I do a quick scan for Travis, but I don’t see him. I wonder if he’s with that girl he was smiling at when the game ended.
That uneasy feeling zooms through me once more.
“Hey.”
Tingles flash across my body when I hear that familiar low, rough voice.
I turn around and see Travis standing behind me.