The Game Changer

Chapter Twenty

IAN

I close my eyes as I move deeper into a stretch; the slight burn radiating in my thighs is almost enjoyable, like my body knows it’s nearly done with the strenuous part of the day. Coach is still yelling at Rankin at the other end of the ice, but a few other guys and I have already started cooldown stretches. Coach apparently woke up this morning with every intention of making sure the entire team went home with sore muscles and ringing ears—probably because we’re so close to the start of the official season. Jankowski is practically lying face first on the ice ten feet away, Sanchez doing similar stretches to me as we all try to work out the tension from a hard practice.

I can’t help the way I glance over at her. I’ve found my gaze straying to the stands several times during practice; at least two of the times Coach yelled at me were because I was too busy watching her as surreptitiously as I could—almost like my eyes gravitate toward her without my permission. Her hair is flowing over her shoulders in a cascade of soft waves today, and I know from experience how silky it is when I tangle my fingers in it. Her sweater looks soft too—pastel pink with little hearts patterned all over in a slightly darker hue—hugging every swell and curve in a tantalizing way that makes it almost impossible to focus on what I’m supposed to be doing.

She’s watching me, too, now, her head nodding slowly at whatever Jack is rattling off in her ear, but her eyes are fixed on me as I tilt my hips deeper into the ice, my thighs spreading wide until my groin almost touches the floor. I’ve never really thought about how it looks; it’s muscle memory at this point, but honestly, with the way Lila is watching me stretch—her teeth pressed against her lower lip subtly and her arms crossed tight over her chest—my thoughts definitely wander down a dirtier path.

I smirk as I roll my hips, catching sight of her mouth parting even from this distance. I know she’s thinking about last night, how I had her under me in a position similar to this in my bed, and I can’t pretend I’m not remembering it too. I thought things would be more difficult when faced with our first hurdle with the disastrous photo and accompanying internet mob over the photos of Mei and me, but I should have known better than to doubt Lila. She’s proven to be far more than I deserve at every turn, after all. Her reassurances made me feel that same comforting sensation of being settled that I’ve begun to associate with her, and I’m starting to realize that it is just her. That she just makes me feel this way.

I’m grinning when I finally push back up to my feet, raising my arms high over my head for one final stretch before I break from the rest of the guys to skate over to the edge of the rink where she and Jack are sitting. Jack is still rambling on—something about Florida’s new center, I think, from what I catch at the tail end—only trailing off when I brace my arms against the bottom of the railing where the floor to the bleachers sit.

“Having fun?”

Lila shrugs one shoulder. “If Jack has his way, I’ll be starting my own fantasy league this year.”

“I hope I’m one of your top picks,” I tease.

She tilts her hand back and forth. “Eh.”

“Brat,” I laugh.

Her teeth press against her lower lip again, so quickly I might miss it, and I have to tear my eyes away before Jack catches me staring for too long.

“You were looking a little slow in that second set of speed drills,” Jack says with a frown.

“Thanks, honey,” I scoff. “Glad to have you in my corner.”

He rolls his eyes. “Dude, I’m just saying.”

“Well, stop fucking breaking your shit so you can get out there and keep me on my toes.”

“Only a few more weeks,” Jack grumbles, rubbing his sling, neon orange today. “You sore?”

I shrug. “He worked us hard today. I could probably stretch a bit more, but I’m ready to get out of these fucking skates.”

“Stretch,” Lila snorts. “If you can even call that shit stretching.”

Jack wrinkles his nose. “What?”

“I mean, honestly.” Lila chuckles, her brown eyes sparkling. “What are you stretching when you hump the ice like that?”

There’s no reason at all why the word hump should be even remotely enticing, but coming out of Lila’s mouth…Yeah. I’m glad that my lower half is hidden by the wall and a shit ton of gear.

“It’s for your groin,” I tell her, biting back a laugh. “It’s important.”

“Your groin is important,” she deadpans, and I can tell by her expression that it’s taking everything she has not to crack up. “I can’t believe you just said that with a straight face.”

“Groin injuries are super common,” Jack says with a furrowed brow. “Half the shit you do out there involves your groin.”

“The groin is very important,” she says with her best impression of a straight face. “Gotcha.”

My lips curl in a smile that I can’t stifle, covering my mouth with a hand as a laugh snickers out of me, Lila devolving into a fit of giggles not long after.

Jack shakes his head. “I’m supposed to be the immature one here. Get your own thing.”

“Someone’s grumpy today,” Lila says with a mock pout.

I reach over and rub the tip of his shoe. “Do you need a hug, honey?”

“I hate you guys,” he grumbles. “Stop being so…coupley. It’s weird.”

I wince, covering it immediately with a cough so I can pull my hand back to cover my mouth, my eyes darting to meet Lila’s for only a second as I notice hers rounding.

“I have a meeting to get to,” Lila says, clearing her throat as she stands from her seat. “But you guys are looking good out there. You’re going to kill it this year.”

Weirdly, this just makes Jack look more grumpy. Still, he offers his cheek so Lila can smack a noisy kiss there, making me jealous that I can’t press up on my toes so she can lean down and do the same for me. She crouches and wraps her knuckles on my helmet instead, flashing me a grin. “See you soon, Cupcake.”

I force myself not to stare as she walks away, knowing that the jeans she has on will be hugging her perfect ass in a way that will have me wanting to crawl over the railing and trail after her like a cartoon hound dog, keeping my eyes on Jack instead, where it’s safe.

“It’s still weird as hell watching you two pretend to be a thing,” Jack says when she’s gone. “You’re both so chummy lately.”

I keep my expression blank. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “I mean, you guys just hang out all the time now.”

“We’re supposed to, remember? It’s part of the plan.”

“Yeah, I guess. I just don’t remember her coming to so many practices before you came back home.”

Guilt eats at me. I don’t like keeping things from him, but it’s not really my place to decide when we tell him. I won’t do that without Lila agreeing that it’s okay. I love Jack, but I…Well, Lila’s feelings come first. Even more than mine.

“We’re supposed to be seen together,” I remind him.

“In public!”

I arch a brow. “This is technically public.”

“It’s just weird.”

I frown at his frustrated tone, sensing something else bothering him. “What’s really got you all twisted up? You’ve been off today.”

“No, I haven’t.”

I roll my eyes. “You’ve been moody since breakfast, so spill.”

“Fuck, I don’t know.” He rubs a hand down his face. “I guess it’s just hitting me that I won’t be starting the season with you guys. It fucking sucks, man. All because of my own stupidity.”

“Shit happens,” I tell him. “You’ll be back on the ice in no time.”

“Dude, we have the charity game coming up next week. It’ll be the first one I haven’t played in since I signed with Boston.”

I frown. “Charity game?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot. We always get together during the last week of training camp.”

“Shit, I really did forget.” I feel nerves flutter in my stomach. “I don’t know if I should go to that.”

“What? Why the fuck wouldn’t you?”

“I mean…It’s not just our guys that play in that. I assume Logan and Oscar still come? Lyle?”

“Yeah, but you know those guys.”

“I knew those guys. Outside of playing against them during the season, we haven’t exactly hung out much.”

“Oh, fuck off. They’ll be ecstatic to play with you again.”

I can feel myself frowning, not so sure about that. It’s been years, after all. I’m practically an outsider.

“Dude, wipe that look off your face,” Jack chides. “You’re going to play, and it’s going to be a great time. Everyone will be stoked to see you, okay?”

I feel my ears heat. “This was supposed to be a pick-me-up for you, not me.”

“Yeah, well. Stop being a baby then. Let me do the wallowing.”

“You don’t have to wallow,” I tell him reassuringly. “You’re going to be back killing it before you know it.”

“We don’t know that,” he says quietly. “I just…What if this is my last year? What if I end up wasting part of it because I was fucking dumb?”

“You decide when you’re done,” I say calmly. “You finish when you’re ready. Just because I’m thinking this might be my last year, it doesn’t mean it has to be yours.”

“I guess.” He nods morosely. “It just sucks.”

“Hey.” I reach over and tap the toe of his shoe again, waiting for him to tilt his head up to meet my eyes. “I hate that you won’t be out there with us that first game too. It’s going to suck without you, man.”

“Because I complete you, right?”

His more Jack-worthy shit-eating grin spreads then, and I almost sigh in relief to see him coming out of his mood. Seeing Jack down is like watching a puppy cry or something. “Practically my better half,” I say seriously.

“I knew it,” he sighs. “My sister will be so heartbroken when she finds out you’re in love with me instead.”

“We’ll have to let her down easy,” I chuckle.

“Thanks, man,” he says more quietly. “I guess I was kind of in a funk today.”

“I get it,” I tell him. “I’d be the same way.”

“Don’t you get in a funk about the charity game. It’s going to be a blast. All right?”

“Fine,” I grumble.

He nods again, taking a deep breath before blowing it out. “Okay. Enough of this feelings shit. I’m going to go tell Rankin he was slower than your old ass.”

“We’re the same age,” I call after him, already flouncing away from me.

He flips me the bird over his shoulder. “Not in spirit!”

I shake my head, turning back toward the way Lila left and wondering where she got off to. We were supposed to meet up after practice, so it’s throwing me that she suddenly “has a meeting.”

Jesus.

I give my own thoughts a mental eye roll. I might as well just get myself a collar with her name on it, for as whipped as I am.

Not that I mind, I admit to myself.

I push away from the railing and start to skate back to the ice entrance, ready for a hot shower and some fresh clothes that don’t smell like they’ve been soaking in ball sweat. I’m sure Lila will text me whenever she’s done. There’s no need for me to get all mopey about it.

I can be away from her. Sometimes. I managed it just fine before.

I’m the first one in the locker room; usually, there are already a few guys in here cracking jokes or snapping towels at one another’s asses, but right now, the room is quiet. I start pulling off my gear by my locker, down to my compression shorts and top, stretching my arms over my head before rummaging around in my bag for my phone. I can hear someone coming down the hall as I thumb it open, noticing a text from Lila waiting on me from only ten minutes ago. She had to have sent it as she was ditching me and Jack.

“Dude,” Sanchez calls from the doorway as he passes through it. “Is your ass sore? Mine feels like it’s going to fall off. What’s that about?”

I turn my head to smirk at him from over my shoulder. “Better hit the foam roller tonight.”

“Fuck, I guess.” He blows me a kiss. “Wanna come do it for me?”

I roll my eyes. “You wish.”

“Nah, I know you got somebody willing to handle all your sore muscles now.”

“Dude, fuck off.”

Sanchez cackles. “I saw you making googly eyes at Dee on the sidelines again.”

“Jealous? I can make googly eyes at you, if you’re feeling left out.”

“Uh-huh.” He winks at me. “I’m just saying I got money on this whole charade, and you better not let me down.”

“How much?”

“Enough that I better be right.”

A chuckle escapes me. “Losing would teach you to mind your own business.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see.”

He whistles as he saunters off to the next row of lockers, and I turn back to my phone to swipe open the text Lila sent me, immediately frowning in confusion when I notice what it says.

LILA: Come to the last shower stall when you see this. Hurry.

The fuck? I lean back to peer down the line of showers, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. Is she…? There’s no fucking way.

I strip off my compression shirt in a hurry, tossing it to the bench and snatching a towel from the rack without even bothering with my shorts as I stomp down the row at double speed. I can hear other voices filing into the locker room behind me, my heart thumping a heavy beat behind my ribs at the implication of her texts, because there’s no way that she would—

A hand shoots out from behind the first curtain that sections off the cramped changing area before the second curtain of the actual shower, and suddenly I’m being pulled into the already-small space, crowded against a soft body attached to a devilish smirk and sparkling brown eyes that look up at me with mischief.

“What are you doing?” I hiss.

She runs a finger down my sternum, weaving the tip between freckles there. “Being bad.”

“You know there’s like six other guys out there, right?”

“Mhm.” Her fingers toy with the edge of my compression shorts, the material hiding practically nothing with the way my dick starts to harden underneath them. “You’ll have to be very quiet.”

I can literally hear some of the guys laughing only a stall or so away as showerheads start to turn on, and I’ve never done anything so reckless, but the thought of it alone has me hot all over. I push my fingers into her hair just as hers curl into the waistband of my shorts, my lips grazing her ear.

“I can be quiet. Can you?”

“Mm.” She pulls out my cock, giving it one slow stroke from root to tip. “My mouth will be busy.”

“Fuck,” I huff.

I kick out of my shorts and proceed to strip her out of her clothes with an eagerness that might embarrass me if I weren’t so fucking turned on, pushing her past the shower curtain and closing it behind us as I turn the water on without thinking. It’s cold as it hits my back, and I let out a shrill yelp that has Lila slapping a hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh.

“You okay over there, man?”

“Yeah,” I call back immediately to Jankowski. “Jumped in too quick. Cold-ass water.”

“That’s one way to shrivel your dick,” he snorts.

Lila is shaking with silent laughter, and I smirk as I pull her into me, letting my stiff length slide against her increasingly wet body as I toss back, “I’m good.”

I bend to capture her mouth, slipping my tongue past her lips as her hands glide over the hard planes of my chest and up over my shoulders. My fingers dig into the wet flesh of her hips, pulling her as close as she can be as I kiss her senseless.

I make a soft sound of protest when she pulls away, but it dies quickly when she brings her finger to her lips, her smile wicked as she signals me to be quiet just before she drops to her knees. The sight of her there has me feeling light-headed—her palms smoothing over the tops of my thighs and her fingers teasing my hip bones as my aching cock strains only inches from her face. It’s something we haven’t done yet, mostly because anytime I’m able to get her naked I’m too impatient to be inside her to even entertain the idea, but seeing her like this now…I’m wondering if maybe it’s because some part of my mind wasn’t sure I’d survive the experience.

An assumption that is given more weight when my knees threaten to buckle the second her little pink tongue licks along the head of my cock.

I have to bite my lip to hold back the groan that threatens to escape when she closes her lips over my crown, swirling her tongue around and around while her lashes flutter closed. I force my eyes to stay open even when they want to droop, not wanting to miss one second of Lila’s gorgeous mouth sliding over my length. I can feel the flat of her tongue cradling the bottom of my shaft as she takes me deeper, and watching my inches disappear between her lips has my stomach clenching with want and my balls drawing up tight as if I’m already in danger of coming right down her throat.

I can hear the guys chatting among themselves as she sucks me down, having to slap a hand over my mouth to suppress a moan. Her eyes drift open lazily when she wraps her fist around the base of my cock to meet her mouth, twisting her fingers and moving with her lips as she draws back up the entire length of me. Her wrist flicks so that she squeezes just beneath my glans as her tongue licks over the sensitive slit at the head, and my fingers slide over her temples as if they have a mind of their own, my hands settling to palm her head without really realizing that I’m doing it. Lila makes a soft hum in the back of her throat as she pushes back down my cock, her nails of the hand that isn’t on my cock digging into my thigh and her fist working in tandem with her mouth as she manages a nod as if to let me know that it’s okay.

“Yo, what do you think, Chase?”

My hips stutter, my body going still. “What?”

“Florida’s new center,” Sanchez calls. “You think he’s really as much of a wonder kid as Jack says he is?”

Fuck.

My brain has no higher function right now. I’m pretty sure Lila is seconds away from sucking it right out of my dick. I’m definitely not equipped for actual conversation.

“I—” Lila chooses this exact moment to tighten her lips around my shaft, dragging up my length slowly. “He seems…pretty good.”

“I saw some footage,” Rankin adds from nearby. “The dude can move.”

“Helps that he’s built like a tank,” Jankowski says. He chuckles, raising his voice. “Hope you can handle him, Ian.”

“I can—fuck.”

“Dude,” Jankowski calls with concern in his voice. “I was just kidding.”

“No, I—” I tilt my head down to watch as Lila locks eyes with me while pulling my cock nearly into her goddamned throat, a playful glint in her gaze that has me clenching my jaw. I fist her hair, holding her there for a second as her eyes flutter. “I can handle it,” I say a little more evenly. “It’ll be fine.”

I let Lila go, her lips puffy and her eyes red as she pops off for a second to catch her breath. Even with how wrecked she looks she offers a lazy grin, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

Brat, I mouth.

She flicks out her tongue, tracing it back and forth across my cockhead before giving it a teasing kiss.

“Old Man says he’s fine,” Jankowski laughs. “We can rest easy tonight.”

They all start talking about something else, but I don’t catch a word of it, too fixated on the temptress currently on her knees while almost bringing me to mine. My head tips back when she finds a rhythm; the slow, slick slide of her lips and tongue working me over becomes a steady back-and-forth that my hips chase with aborted little thrusts as my mouth falls slack with pleasure. My fingers tighten in the wet strands of her hair, gripping it in my fist as I give her a tentative thrust that pushes deeper, pushes just a little harder.

I’m rewarded with that same soft hum that barely makes a sound but that I can still feel vibrating along my shaft as it threatens to drive me crazy, and it’s enough to make me a little greedy. My next thrust is too much for her; I can feel her throat spasm and the barely-there gag is only just hidden by the stream of water that falls over us, but it’s enough to make me pause, pulling out of her mouth completely and peering down at her with concern.

I mouth: I’m sorry—but she’s already shaking her head, her smile smug and her hands running up and down the wet muscle of my thighs. She tugs on my hips and urges me to turn, pulling me down onto the shower bench so that my jutting cock is inches from her mouth as she leans over me. Her nails rake over the tops of my thighs as she curls her body to let her lips trail down my shaft, her face teeming with mischief as she flashes me that same grin. I watch her pull back just to bring a finger to her lips to bid me to stay quiet, my brow furrowing with question only for her to immediately show me exactly why she had to warn me in the first place when she cups her breasts and leans in close to let my cock slide between them.

I breathe in harshly through my nostrils, the noise seeming to echo in the shower stall as loudly as the pounding of my heart, and I actually have to clap a hand back over my mouth just to keep the sounds from escaping when she leans over and pulls the head of my dick into her mouth while the rest is enveloped in the soft, wet tunnel of her perfect tits. I watch with what have to be crazed eyes as she presses the slick mounds tight so that I can feel every inch of her as she works them up and down, her mouth following the rhythm they set as she takes every inch not encased in her as deep as she can.

I want to watch every second; I don’t want to miss a single moment of what’s happening, given that it’s the most erotic thing I’ve ever experienced, but I physically can’t hold my eyes open as she starts to move faster, as she sucks me harder. My hands scrabble to grip the edge of the shower bench to keep me from sliding off—something that becomes increasingly more possible as my thighs start to tremble and shake.

I can feel that hot pressure building, can feel the heat of it flooding my balls and rushing through my cock as it actually swells in her mouth, and Lila never stops, never slows down; the slide of her breasts and the warm suction of her mouth work together to drive me right to the edge, teetering at the precipice of something that actually has my toes curling and makes my knees feel weak. I open my mouth to say something—to warn her maybe, to whisper that I’m close—but my tongue feels tangled and my throat feels dry, and words simply won’t come.

I reach out to palm her head and give her a weak shove, just something to let her know how close I am, but Lila bats it away in a second and returns to her efforts. My eyes flutter open as my teeth press against my lower lip, watching my cock slip between her breasts just to disappear into her mouth again and again and again. My heels slip against the tile at my feet, shifting restlessly as I gulp down labored breaths, and I think my eyes actually cross when she pushes me deep again, the head of my cock nearly in her throat—and that’s all it takes to push me over the edge.

I bring my fist to my mouth, biting at the fleshy part below my thumb to stifle the moans that are burbling in my throat, my cock pulsing against Lila’s tongue and flooding her mouth, her throat, pouring straight into her fucking stomach as she takes everything I have. She’s still sucking me, but it’s languid now, almost sweet—her tongue petting the throbbing skin to work me through an orgasm that has me seeing stars. I don’t know when I actually start seeing color again, when sounds start bleeding back in, but when I finally manage to look down between my legs, Lila’s teasing tongue at the crown of my cock and her blown pupils peering back at me cause a flare of new arousal to burn in my stomach.

I’m surprised she doesn’t make a sound when I wrench her to me, when I flip her so that she’s the one seated, and I’m the one at her feet. I push up until my lips are at her ear, keeping my voice low enough so that the others all around us will hide it.

“Are you trying to kill me?” I nibble at her earlobe, enjoying her shaky exhale that comes after. “Did you want them to hear? You want them to come in here and see you with my cock in your mouth?” She trembles against me, and I let my tongue trace the shell of her ear. “You want everyone coming in here and seeing exactly who you belong to?”

“Ian,” she breathes.

“Maybe they still will,” I purr. “Maybe I can make you scream loud enough that everyone comes running.”

I enjoy the hushed whimper that she can’t hold back when I throw her legs over my shoulders, diving between her thighs to suck her clit into my mouth with every intention of making her see a few stars as well.

I don’t tease her; I’m too fucking wound up to even entertain the thought—pushing two fingers deep inside her as I latch my lips around the slick little bundle of nerves. Her thighs press against my ears as her fingers tangle in my hair, but I enjoy the sting as she pulls roughly at the wet strands, like she can’t help it, like she’s losing herself in what I’m doing to her. I start to pump my fingers in and out, imagining that it’s my cock sinking inside her, laving my tongue against her clit as I draw it deeper into my mouth, as deep as it will go.

My cock twitches with interest as she starts to roll her hips, bracing herself with one hand on the bench as she rides my face, chasing after the sensations of my mouth devouring her pussy like it’s my last fucking meal. And it feels like it is. Every single time with Lila feels like some sort of life-altering experience—the world fading away outside of the way she feels, the way she tastes, just her.

I curl my fingers when they slide deep, rubbing that spot inside that has her head falling back and her mouth falling open, never faltering the rhythm of my lips even as my jaw starts to ache. I feel her tensing against and around me, feel her heels digging into my back and her hips circling as she chases after the end, and my groan is soft against the softer flesh in my mouth, just low enough to let her know that I want her to come all over my face, that I want to swallow her down like she did me.

I hear my name on a sigh, so slight it’s almost lost to the stream of the shower, like a breath or a whisper, like she didn’t mean to let it loose. It’s just a precursor to the trembling that starts in her limbs—her pussy contracting around my fingers and a warm gush flooding my lips as I lap a long, wet stripe between her legs to collect every drop of my reward. I don’t stop until she’s forcibly pulling me away, coming easily when she tugs me up by the hair, bracing myself with my hands on the bench so that I can capture her mouth as she shivers through the aftershocks of her orgasm.

I can taste both of us on her tongue, our flavors blending together almost enough to get me hard again, and if we were home right now, there’s no doubt in my mind I’d be balls deep inside her in a matter of minutes. Perhaps the only downside to this entire encounter.

She’s grinning when she pulls away, her eyes glazed and her smile dreamy as she blinks dazedly. I watch her mouth shape the word good like a question, and I shake my head with a quiet chuckle as I reach up to press my fingers to her chin, pulling her in for another soft kiss.

“Perfect,” I whisper in her ear after. “You’re fucking perfect.”

She kisses my cheek lazily, her lips lingering as her fingers trail down my ribs, the tickling sensation doing nothing to stanch my growing arousal, my building need to have her again that I’m trying to tamp down. At least for now. Especially when I can hear showers beginning to shut off around us, voices fading away. I know if we stay in here for much longer, people will start to wonder what the fuck I’m doing in here.

I keep my lips close to her ear when I ask quietly, “How did you plan to get out of here?”

“I didn’t think that far ahead,” she whispers with a soft chuckle.

I shake my head as a barely-there snort escapes me, pulling her up to her feet and into my body just to enjoy the slick curves of her body against mine.

“You’ll have to wait here until they clear out,” I murmur.

She shrugs one shoulder. “I can do that.”

“I still have to shower.”

Her smile is impish. “That means I get to wash you.”

“There’s no way I won’t get hard again if you do that.”

She pushes up on her toes, her lips feathering against mine as she whispers, “Oh, I’m counting on it.”

It’s insane that it was only a few weeks ago that I asked her if she was going to ruin me.

It’s even more insane that it only took a few weeks for her to thoroughly do so.