Chapter 22
twenty-two
Kyler
Every morning when my alarm sounds, I drag my ass out of bed, wishing I had gone to sleep earlier the night before.
It’s an endless battle. Each day, I say I’m going to be in bed by eight or nine, but it ends up being midnight or one in the morning before I finally crawl into it.
This is no fault of my own. I blame Thea.
It’s been a few weeks since our talk on New Year’s Eve when I told her my fears about being a rebound for her and we agreed to take things slowly.
At first, it worked apart from the odd lingering glance and brush against each other in the kitchen.
But I’m no saint, and soon my resolve slipped.
The slightest touch turned into stolen kisses and frenzied making-out sessions, and I can’t get enough of her.
Since Thea and I are in this limbo stage of dating but not having sex and still keeping our relationship on the down-low, it’s not like we can cuddle on the couch or lock ourselves away in a bedroom without Jude or the others getting suspicious.
So, Thea, being Thea, devised a plan requiring me to study, and if I’m a good boy and her brother isn’t home, she slowly tortures me by wearing the tiniest T-shirts and short shorts ever made.
And sometimes, when I’m more focused on her, she makes sure to wear the tightest shirt she has and forgets to put a bra on.
I swear, the sight of her taut nipples makes my mouth water, and she knows it.
This morning is no different, except a beautiful angel is sleeping next to me.
I roll onto my side and move her hair away from her face and watch her sleep.
The reason she’s in my bed is because her brother spent the night somewhere else.
When he texted her and told her he wasn’t coming home, it was like a thundering herd moving down the stairs with how fast she came down them.
Even though I suspected she was coming to my room, I still jumped when she burst through my door.
She straddled me, wearing those flimsy pajamas of hers, and told me the good news.
Well, partially good news. Devon and Nolan were home, and as much as I wanted to bury myself deep inside of her, we weren’t going to have sex for the first time with the guys in the other room.
They would, indeed, say something in the morning, and I don’t want them to know just yet, and I don’t want Thea embarrassed.
I have about thirty minutes to get my ass to the rink for practice, but going outside in the cold, to a freezing facility where I have to sweat and be even colder when I leave, is far from appealing because I’d rather stay snuggled up next to Thea.
She stirs, and her lips purse. I take advantage and kiss them.
Thea is responsive to me. Anytime I touch her, she gravitates to wherever I’m showing her attention.
Our kiss deepens, and she moans. She’s killing my resolve.
Every day it gets harder and harder to say no to her.
Thea moves closer and puts her leg over my hip.
My cock jumps at the chance to be near her core.
I’m fucking hard and ready, and she’s willing.
She grinds against me as we continue to make out.
My hand finds a home on her ass, and my fingers dig into her flesh, moving her back and forth against me.
Dry humping sucks, but it’s better than nothing.
I move us slightly, putting her back onto her side.
I do this in an attempt to keep the bed from rocking back and forth.
Only Thea has other ideas and slips her hand into my boxers and grips my shaft.
I gasp and mutter, “Fuck,” as she starts to stroke my cock.
“Jesus Christ, I’m going to hell,” I say, only to hear a laugh from her.
She pulls her mouth away from mine, and I close my eyes.
I know what’s coming. She’s a sneaky little minx and is determined to get us into trouble. “I really need to talk with Jude.”
“Stop thinking about my brother,” she says as she licks the head of my cock. “I’m about to give you a blow job, and you’re thinking about my brother. You’re going to give me a complex.”
“Sorry, please feel free to continue.”
“Gladly.” Thea makes good on her promise and takes care of my morning wood.
As much as I want to return the favor, I can’t.
I have to be at practice, and I can’t be late.
When Thea has finished, she sits back and smiles.
She’s mighty proud of herself. The first time she sucked me off, she gagged and told me my dick was too big.
I told her she’d thank me later. She then made it her mission to be able to give me head without choking. She’s succeeded.
“I really want to taste you right now, but I don’t have time,” I tell her as I sit up.
“Why don’t we just fuck and get it over with.”
I grab her chin with my index finger and thumb. “We’re not just going to fuck, Thea.”
“Can broody Kyler come back?” she asks. “He’d fuck me.”
I chuckle, knowing she’s joking. “I just want one time where I can go slow and worship you. After that, we’ll fuck if that’s what you want.”
Thea stands on the bed, so she’s at eye level with me. “A mix of both,” she says. “Have a good practice. I’ll see you at lunch.” She gives me a long, teasing kiss before sneaking out of my room.
I come out a few minutes later and head downstairs. Devon is stuffing his face with leftover pizza, and Nolan is drinking coffee. I can’t do either, not before practice. I go to the hall closet and grab my gear, and gag at the smell. “The season can’t end soon enough. This closet fucking stinks.”
One of the guys laugh.
“Not until March, baby!” Devon says from behind me.
“Best words ever.” I give him a fist bump.
“So, had someone over last night?” Nolan waggles his eyebrows at me.
I hold up my hand and then hold it out to shake his. “Meet Rosie and her sisters.”
“Ewe, don’t touch me with your jack-off hand.” Nolan recoils and acts like I have cooties. “You need a girlfriend.”
I have one, thank you very much. “What I need is to get to practice. Come on, let’s go.”
* * *
Practice was hard. Mostly because I’m tired and lacking energy.
I need to find a way to co-exist with Thea, hockey, school, and work because burnout is real.
Right now, I can barely keep my eyes open during the lecture I should be taking notes on.
Instead, I’m fighting to keep my head upright and my attention on my professor.
If there’s going to be a test on whatever he’s saying, I’m going to fail.
I look at who is sitting to my right and then to my left to try and figure out if they’re taking notes or not.
I’m going to have to bum a copy from someone because I can’t afford to fail.
I decide the girl on my right is probably more detailed than the guy on my left. I lean over to her and whisper, “Hey.”
She turns her head toward me slowly. I can’t tell if she’s mean, glaring, or shocked I’m speaking to her. Her expression says nothing. “Can I take a picture of your notes after class?”
“It’ll cost you,” she says.
Great, money I don’t have. “How much?”
“An invite to your next party at the hockey house.”
Easy. “We don’t send invites. People just show up. You’re welcome anytime.”
She studies me for a minute. “Not good enough, then. I want to go on a date. With you.”
“Uh, I don’t date.”
“You do if you want my notes.”
The professor dismisses our class before I form a rebuttal or ask the guy next to me to copy his.
However, this girl isn’t taking no for an answer and sets a piece of paper down in front of me.
The writing is girly, done in pink ink, with hearts around her phone number.
When did she have time to get this creative?
“Dude, did you take notes?” the guy next to me asks.
I look from him to my very blank page of paper and then back at him. “I did. Do you want them?” I rip the paper from the notebook and hand it to him. I’m up and out of my seat before he can say anything to me.
I see Jude in the hall, coming toward me. “Hey, we’re gonna be late.”
“For what?”
“We have a Blue Line luncheon today.”
Shit. I fall in step next to Jude. It’s unlike me to forget about events where the hockey team has to make an appearance. “Did Coach remind us this morning?”
“Yes,” Jude says.
Double shit. I rub my hand over my face to clear the cobwebs. As much as it’s going to pain me to have this conversation with Thea, it has to happen sooner rather than later. I can’t afford to mess up.
Jude and I make our way to the fieldhouse.
Inside there are tables lined up for us to sit and eat.
We find our table, which donors of the Blue Line Club surround.
Most people are former hockey players, a hockey player's family, or people from the community who love supporting athletes.
However, you get the occasional man who never made it as a player, which is a way of staying relevant.
Anytime the Club sponsors an event, we must attend or at least make an appearance.
We shake hands and shoot the shit with the folks from the Club, and then we sit down at our table. I can’t believe I forgot about this. I text Thea, letting her know I can’t join her for lunch, and she tells me no problem. I think it’s a problem because I want to see her.
The rest of the guys and the girls' team show up, and the place gets loud. The members of the Blue Line Club tell us the same stories we’ve heard before. Yet, we sit and listen, ask questions, and make everyone happy because they donate a crap-ton of money to the program.
Between eating and listening to the old-timer sitting across from me, the chair next to me moves. I smell her perfume before I lay my eyes on her. Thea’s hand rests on my leg, and without thinking, I push my leg toward hers. Then, when there’s a break in the conversation, I glance toward her.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been out in the lobby, hanging out. I saw Jude leave, so I thought I’d come in and say hi.”
“Hi,” I say to her quietly. I want to kiss her but know it can never happen.
“Hi,” she says back.
We sit like this for a few minutes, with her watching as I finish my conversation.
When it’s over, Thea and I excuse ourselves and head toward the door.
I step away from her when I see Jude, and she continues to walk by and heads for the bathroom.
I think we’re in the clear, but Jude stops and eyes us both. Fuck.
“Hey, can I talk to you?” I motion toward a conference room which athletes can use to study. He nods and follows me.
As soon as he closes the door, he asks, “What’s going on with you and my sister?”
“I like her,” I say, cutting to the chase. “I like her a lot, actually. But, if you tell me to stay away, I will.”
Jude stands there, appraising me. The silence is almost too much to take. He comes closer. Chest to chest. He’s fuming. “How long have you been screwing her?”
“We’re not having sex, Jude. She’s not some fling or someone I’m going to toss out in the morning. I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”
“You’re my best friend, Ky. But your life—”
“It’s messy. I know. And she knows. Thea knows everything. I’m not keeping secrets from her.”
“What about the chick you hooked-up with over Thanksgiving break?”
I shake my head. “There was no hook-up. She brought me home because I was too drunk to drive. We didn’t do anything. Not even kiss. And Thea knows this.”
“Mhm . . .”
“I swear to you, Jude. What I feel for Thea, I have never felt before. But if you tell me to stay away from her, I will.”
He nods and steps away. “If you hurt my sister, I won’t hesitate to beat the shit out of you. Best friend or not.”
“If I hurt her, I’ll stand there and take the beating.”
“Just . . .” Jude pauses and then looks at me. He grimaces. “I don’t want to hear you having sex.”
I chuckle. “No worries there.”