Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
C ameras in Maci’s apartment were the best thing I’ve ever done. Wait, no, it’s tied with the tracker. I love knowing where she is as much as I love to jerk off to her nightly escapades. We hadn’t been able to see each other physically with the semester picking up, but I’ve seen her every night. The goal today was to corner Jackson and tell him what was going on. I promised Maci I would take care of it and had no intention of breaking that promise. Things were going well between us and I wanted that to continue.
Leaving my logistics strategies course, I bumped into Maci. Her cheeks flushed, realizing who she collided with. I smiled down at her, tugging her into a study alcove. She backed up to the small desk that occupied the room, taking a seat on it. It was surprising to see her in the business building. She had no reason to be there.
“This is quite the surprise, Sunshine,” I leaned down, kissing her neck softly.
Maci mumbled something unintelligible, causing me to nip her skin in response. “What was that?” A chuckle vibrated through my chest.
Maci pushed me back, giving me a determined look. “I said I was cutting through to get to my history of French art class. I’m late.”
She tried to jump off the desk, but my palm pushed her back.
“Not so fast, I didn’t get a taste yet,” she gasped when I captured her lips with my own. Moving swiftly, I pushed my body between her legs. My hands wrapped into her hair and Maci’s mouth opened against my own. She groaned into my lips. The kiss was quick and heated, with Maci being the first to push me away. My body didn’t budge against her lame attempt.
“I’m serious Hunt, I am so late. I overslept this morning,” she laughed, pushing me with more force than before.
“Fine, but at least let me come over tonight?” I moved to let her out of the alcove.
Maci’s face scrunched up. “Did you talk to Jackson yet?”
“No, I haven’t gotten him alone.”
She flicked her hair over her shoulder, smirking, “Then nope,” she popped the ‘p’ as she spoke.
Maci Rae was playing hard to get, and I was here for it. If she wanted to be chased, I would show her what it’s like to be chased. She complained enough about our morning runs as is, but with the right motivation, maybe she would explore that kink with me.
She backed away from me, “Talk to Jackson,” She was almost out of the alcove before she added, “Please.” then she was gone.
I chuckled, making my way out of the business hall. The glimpse of sass Maci exhibited made me happy. Another tally in the win column. I texted Jackson to see if he was free right now. Might as well rip the band-aid off. He was quick to respond, and we agreed to meet on the quad. He was getting out of one of his classes, too.
Jackson rounded a corner, coming from one of the history buildings. We greeted each other and fell into step w ith each other, making our way back to Hockey House.
“Did you see the Hawks and Bruins game last night?” He ran a bruised hand through his hair. Weird, there was no hockey related reason for the black-blue skin.
“Nah, I had to finish up a paper for my communications class. How was it, though?”
“Brutal, Bedard is not having a good rookie year,” Jackson slid out his phone and started prattling on about different rookie stats.
“He’ll flush out I bet, but I wouldn’t want that kind of franchise pressure. People loved Kaner.” Jackson nodded his agreement.
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” I started.
Jackson gave me a perplexed look, raising his eyebrow. “Did you need me to take you to a clinic? Axel is better with those, you know.”
I laughed, “No man, and you know that was just a rumor. Axel treats his body like a temple.”
Jackson shrugged his shoulders. “What’s up then?”
I took a deep breath. “Maci.”
Jackson instantly tensed. This was about to be a sore subject.
“Did something else happen? Is she okay?” He asked slowly.
Undoubtedly, Jackson cared for Maci. Even pissed off at her, he was still worried. I could credit him that much.
“She’s fine, um actually—” fuck here goes nothing, “—we’re kind of together.”
Jackson stopped walking, staring at me. He blinked a few times, letting the information process through his brain. He looked like he was trying to do advanced math. His face scrunched and eyebrows drawn in. Eventually, he broke out laughing.
“Nice one,” He slapped my back and resumed walking .
“I’m being serious. Maci and I are seeing each other. She wanted to make sure you knew.” I ran a hand through my hair, cursing myself for not wearing a hat. I needed something to do with my hands and without it, they hung awkwardly at my sides.
Jackson’s face crumbled and his cheeks turned pink. Oh shit, he’s pissed. The look on his face was familiar. It was the same one he made after some guy on the opposing team made a snarky remark to him about his dad. He’s thrown hands multiple times in a game with that same lethal look on his face. If he wanted to hit me, he could. I would want to do the same if I knew my best friend had defiled my sister.
“Go ahead, take one good swing at me.” I closed my eyes and braced for the impact.
I waited, but nothing happened. Cracking an eyelid, I relaxed. Jackson wasn’t gearing up to punch me. Instead, he had taken off.
“Jackson, wait up!” I yelled while jogging after him.
“My sister? Seriously Hunter? I thought she annoyed you?” Jackson stalked away at a brisk pace.
“Can you not be a prick about this?” I asked in exasperation.
Jackson responded by rolling his eyes. We neared Hockey House, and if he got inside, this conversation was toast. He didn’t have to like that I was seeing Maci, but he needed to acknowledge that we were together. We wouldn’t deal with his pansy brother bullshit he spewed lately. Maci deserved better than that. Hell, she came to our game because she wanted to be a better sister. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that people didn’t like her. I wouldn’t want to subject myself to a crowd of gossip either if I were her, yet she did it for him. Not to mention someone dumped a drink on her head.
We were on the porch of the house by the time Jackson responded .
“Do you like her or is this some weird lust-it-and-bust-it situation?”
“When have I ever been a part of the lust-it-and-bust-it crowd? Aren’t you currently the king of puck bunnies?”
“Whatever, Hunter, just answer the question.” Jackson messed with his toque, fumbling with his keys to the front door.
“Yes, I’m serious. I like Maci. Hell, I’ve liked her since we were freshmen. Now we coach together and I’ve been seeing her a lot more, so I took a chance.”
Jackson reevaluated me as we made our way into the kitchen. Our housemates sat around the kitchen island, each of them in the middle of making or eating lunch. We shared the Hockey House with Axel, Cooper, and Crew. Normally we wouldn’t let an underclassman live with us, but Cooper and Crew were a package deal. It was shocking they survived the two years Crew was at BU while Cooper finished high school. They were inseparable, even sharing a room. What would happen when we all graduated in the spring? Normally, we would host a huge end-of-year “trade” party. It’s one of the many traditions curated by the team.
Every year, the outgoing players “trade” with the incoming seniors. Those currently in the house pick its new inhabitants and those moving out nail something to the living room wall. There are years' worth of memorabilia in there, everything from skate laces to jerseys. Hell, there’s a mouth guard in one spot. We would make sure Cooper got to stay behind unless he elects to enter the draft. He’s been pretty quiet about his intentions, but if he could end up somewhere with his brother? I’d bet my left kidney he would go. Shit, he’d even settle for a farm team as long as it fed into wherever Crew landed.
The guys looked up as we came in, confusion crossing their faces.
“Everything okay Jax?” Crew asked, mid-sandwich bite .
“Yeah, Hunter wants to fuck my sister.”
The silence in the room was astounding. Crew’s mouth hung open, Cooper dropped his spoon into his cereal with a loud clang and Axel smashed his head on the inside of the fridge. Typical Jackson to air his grievances in front of everyone.
“Jesus Christ,” I mumbled, pushing my way into the kitchen. This conversation wasn’t going anywhere. Clearly.
“Baby Rae?” Cooper picked up the abandoned spoon and resumed shoveling cereal into his mouth.
Crew came up behind him and smacked him on the back of the head. “Literally dude, you’re younger than her, dipshit.”
Axel seated himself at the island while I searched for bread in the cabinets.
The guys’ opinion on the situation didn’t matter to me. Axel wouldn’t care, he was our resident playboy. He’d probably slap me on the back and make a crude remark about protection. Thinking about it, none of them would bat an eyelash over this. Jackson wasn’t interested in who his sister dated. Nor did he demand the team keep their paws off or treat her with respect. Unless he thought it was some unspoken code—technically, Maci was free game.
Crew continued eating as he looked thoughtful. “Honestly, I think it’s about damn time Hunter went after Maci.”
I jerked my head to look at him. How the hell did he know I even liked Maci? I didn’t breathe a word of my interest in her to anyone. Not to mention, my shit was locked down like Fort Knox. There wasn’t a chance he’d seen the setup I had on Maci.
“What?” I asked.
Crew shrugged his shoulders. “I’m observant. You’re always looking at her when she’s around, and it’s not in a brotherly way, either.”
Fuck. That answered my question .
“Go for it, Hunter, maybe you’ll fuck her back to life.” Axel was kidding, but I punched him in the arm, anyway.
“Shut the fuck up,” I joked. He didn’t need to comment on mine and Maci’s sex life or her mental state.
Jackson was fuming about the conversation in the kitchen. He dropped his bag, storming out of the room. He was mad that the others hadn’t jumped to agree with him. But could he blame them?
Cooper whistled, “He’s pissed.”
“He’ll get over it,” I grumbled.
Crew smiled, offering me his fist to bump. “Congrats on locking down Baby Rae.”
I bumped his fist back with a chuckle and muttered thanks. This group of guys could be ridiculous, but they were my best friends. I couldn’t see it being any other way. Sadly, our time was coming rapidly to a close. One day, I might get to play with one of them, but all of them? That’s something we could only dream of.