Chapter 17
MADDOX
AGE SEVENTEEN
I’m surrounded by my teammates, but my eyes are on her. Always her.
Braxton is curled up on a beanbag chair in the corner of the smoky room.
Her legs are pulled up and tucked beneath her as she presses her cheek to her shoulder and smiles sweetly at one of my teammates.
He grins back and says something that has her laugh ringing in my ears and wrapping around my chest.
Brody punches my arm. “You listening to me, bro?”
I tighten my grip on the dewy beer bottle in my palm. “No.”
“Fuck you, man,” he roars, words slurred.
It’s his birthday today, and here we are, drinking and watching his guests smoke up, knowing that not a single player on my team is touching that shit. Brody’s dad is our coach, and while a hard-ass most days, I know he approved this party.
I invited Braxton because Friday nights are ours, plus the thought of being here alone for hours without her seemed like a goddamn punishment.
Maybe I wouldn’t have bothered showing up in the first place had I known one of my teammates was going to move in on her while I was wishing Brody a happy birthday.
They know the rules when it comes to Braxton. What happens next is on Collins.
I only manage to take one step toward them before Brody pushes himself in front of me and leans in close enough I can smell his beer breath before singing, “Nope. Not happening.”
“Oh, it’s happening.” I step to the side, but he follows me. A harsh exhale parts my lips. “Get out of my way.” I sweeten my tone. “Please.”
He laughs. “Nah. You need to chill. It’s one girl. There are at least ten of them here that would love a trip around the sun with Maddox Hutton.”
I wince. “No thanks.”
As far as my team and everyone else knows, I’m far from a virgin, and I plan to keep it that way. They would never let me live it down if they knew the truth.
Tossing his hands up, he jostles the liquid in his red cup, and it spills over the lip and onto his shoes. He groans. “Look what you made me do, Madman. This is a sign from God himself. Don’t go over there.”
“I’m going over there,” I declare before extending my arm and pushing my beer against his chest. He grabs it from me.
“Want me to save this for you, or . . .?”
“Drink it, dump it. I don’t care.”
He shrugs and lifts it to his lips before tipping it back. I pat him on the back and leave him there as the movement has him choking on the warming froth and coughing a couple of times.
My pace is hurried, and my blood burns hotter and hotter the closer I get to the two of them. Sure, Collins is sitting on his own beanbag, but if he’s in talking distance, he’s still too fucking close to her.
“I actually have an Australian shepherd. She’s a big cuddler. I think she would love you,” Collins says, all easy confidence. Jackass.
My jaw is so clenched I’m waiting to hear the telltale crack of broken bones.
“Awe, how old? Shepherds are my favourite breed of working dog,” Braxton replies, grinning.
“I don’t know about working, but Collins is quite the dog,” I interrupt. “You should hear his locker room talk.”
Braxton’s eyes fly up to meet mine as she quirks a brow. Collins, on the other hand, glares at me like he wishes I would fuck right off. The feeling is mutual, so I only grin in response.
“Got room on that thing for me, Curly Fry?” I ask Braxton, but I’m already on my way over and squishing myself beside her on the beanbag before she can reply. It’s clear there is not enough room for both of us like this, but there’s an easy solution to that.
With one arm around her back, I slip my hand beneath the thigh pressed to mine and lift her onto my lap.
She stiffens briefly, but I kiss the back of her head, and she relaxes.
I adjust my arm around her so I can lay my hand on her thigh as I stare at Collins with a possessive look that I’m not the least bit ashamed of.
“That’s better,” I murmur.
He rolls his eyes and folds his arms across his chest but doesn’t say anything. If he did, it wouldn’t end well.
First day on the team, I warned them away from my girl—my best friend—and told them what would happen if they went around me and tried something. He’s lucky having Braxton in my arms has made it impossible to follow through with the repercussions.
Later.
I curl the hand on her thigh into a fist to keep from stroking it with my fingers and softly bump her cheek with mine.
“I’m sorry I was gone for so long. Brody is a needy birthday boy,” I mumble.
She laughs softly. “It’s fine. Collins was good company. Don’t be a jerk to him.”
“I wasn’t a jerk.”
“You were.”
“He knows better,” I whisper against the back of her ear.
Fuck. I think she just shivered. No, she definitely did.
“Knew better than to what? Converse with your best friend? Protective much?” she asks, voice strained.
“I wear the four P’s proud, baby girl.”
“Four P’s?” Collins chokes.
I lean my head back against the beanbag and meet his stare with cold eyes. “Yeah. Protective, possessive, proud, and packing.”
“Jesus Christ,” he mutters.
Braxton pinches my thigh and looks over her shoulder at me. My lips spread in a grin at her scolding frown.
“You’re going to get yourself punched in the face one day,” she says.
“Been there, done that a few dozen times. As long as you’ll be here to patch me up after, it’ll be worth it every time.”
My words are sincere, and when her cheeks fill with colour, I know she knows that too. I’m being overly flirty with her tonight despite the fact I know I should be toning it down.
We’re best friends. She doesn’t want a boyfriend, and I don’t want to risk ruining our friendship over my feelings. Yet for some reason, it’s getting harder each day to remind myself of all that. Especially when I see her with another guy.
Now isn’t the right time. Next year, I’ll be playing in the NHL, and she’ll be in vet school.
Our next few years don’t line up how I want them to, and that kills me.
I’ve debated holding off on entering the draft, but it would only earn me another year with her, and who knows what could happen in that time. I would only be denying the inevitable.
No, the only thing left to do is hope that she can find a school close to me—wherever I end up. If not . . .
Stop. I don’t want to think about that yet.
“Where did Brody go?” Collins asks, his voice like a blowhorn in my ear.
I bury my face in Braxton’s hair and close my eyes, savouring the moment before she takes it upon herself to find my drunken teammate. She can be too kind-hearted for her own good.
“Probably upstairs. I don’t know,” I mutter.
“We should help,” she says, and I hold back my groan.
“I was thinking we could leave and stop at Lucy’s diner before we go home. Maybe see if that cat is still hanging around out back.”
Braxton perks up, her eyes now lit with a healthy sense of adventure that makes my heart beat faster. One day, I hope to wake up to this feeling every morning and fall asleep to it every night.
“Yes! Let’s do that. Now? Can we go now?” she rushes out, looking as if she’s holding back a squeal as she starts to squirm.
I smile at her so wide my cheeks burn as I nod and quickly press my lips to her cheek.
Braxton Heights will be my girl one day, and when she is, there’s no way I will ever let her go.
We’ll be forever.