Chapter Eight
El
I had to change my underwear twice today.
No, I didn’t pee my pants. No, I wasn’t on my period.
I wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or if it was simply the level of heat that Matt possessed when he looked at me that was making my core throb uncontrollably and soaking my underwear.
This wasn’t anything new though. This had been an occasional occurrence since high school.
Sometimes Matt looked at me like I was his favorite person in the world. Sometimes he looked at me like he was admiring me. And other times, he looked at me like he wanted to bend me over and make me scream.
Those were the times where I had trouble controlling my thoughts.
Today, there were so many moments where I caught him staring at my legs or watching me so closely that it was making me feel like I was going to combust right on the spot.
I’d only been living here for a week, and I was already feeling this way? I needed to get my shit under control.
After taking a nap and grabbing dinner, I swapped my day-party outfit for jeans and an off-the-shoulder pink long-sleeve for the bar.
Stallions was the boys’ favorite bar in town, especially since it was within walking distance from the hockey house. But some of Matt’s younger teammates said it was so beyond crowded right now that the bouncers weren’t even letting more people in.
A short drive down the street from Stallions stood BiblioBar, which was apparently the second most popular bar in town.
Since I’d only ever been to Stallions while visiting, I was excited to check out a bar that was new to me.
The bouncers, clad in black, took far too long looking at my out-of-state ID before ultimately letting me in, as opposed to the greeted nods that were given to the boys, who didn’t even have to flash their IDs at all.
It was ridiculous how known they were on this campus.
BiblioBar was also insanely busy, but it was decently bigger than Stallions, so there was more standing room and space to walk.
Glancing around at the décor, I could see how the bar got its name. In the front entry, there was a short bookshelf, filled with colored, wooden blocks that looked like books. Each spine showcased the name of a different drink.
Nods to libraries and college were scattered around the rest of the place, and I absolutely loved it. A library themed bar? How iconic.
On the far-left wall, there was a small bar tucked away, sitting beneath a sign that read “Cash Bar Only”. It was hung diagonally, yet I wasn’t sure if that was on purpose or not.
There was another bar to the right, however, this one was massive, standing in the center of the room. Except right now, it wasn’t open at all. There were people crowded three-hundred-sixty degrees around the thing, waiting to get a drink.
“Any tables open?” Matt asked Cody.
I was five-seven, over average height for a woman, but still, I couldn’t scan over heads the way these two could right now, searching for an empty spot.
As if we’d arrived at the perfect time, Cody pointed to a long table, where the patrons were standing up to leave.
Getting cut off by two girls heading to the bar, I fell behind the group, reaching desperately for Matt’s shirt and tugging on the end.
He halted, and when he realized it was me, his hand found its way to my lower back, guiding me in front of him.
My breath hitched for a moment before I caught it. The warmth of his hand pierced straight through the thin fabric of my shirt, settling in my core.
His touch made me want to jump out of my skin. Not because I didn’t want it— but because I liked it too much. It was too casual of a gesture to inflict such a strong response.
It affected me far more than any alcohol in this bar could, and although I’d sobered up over the last few hours, it felt like I’d immediately become drunk all over again.
I took one of the seats at the end of the table, and when Keith sat directly in front of me, I could feel Matt stiffen beside me for a moment.
Naturally, Jonah took the seat next to Keith, which made me smile.
Jonah was one of my favorite guys that was currently on the team. Slightly shy until you got to know him, he was genuinely a sweetheart.
One night while I was visiting last year, everyone had fallen asleep, and we were the only two people awake in the house. We stayed up for an extra hour or so, just chatting. It gave me the chance to get to know him better.
Being of Mexican descent on his mother’s side, he represented the Latino population on the ice, which I had loved hearing about.
Hockey was a predominantly white sport, and Jonah even expressed that only five or so percent of players in the NHL were people of color, which was one of the biggest reasons why he was so determined to end up in the NHL.
He wanted to represent so many people beyond himself, and I thought that was beautiful.
With tanned skin, dark features, and a strong bone structure, Jonah panged a striking resemblance to Tyler Posey in his Teen Wolf days.
But regardless of how good-looking he was, he wasn’t as interested in hookups or dating as most of his teammates were.
On the contrary, with light brown hair and rare turquoise eyes that were so compelling that one could get hypnotized from them, Keith was a massive playboy.
I guess I couldn’t speak from personal knowledge though— I barely knew Keith. Each time I visited last year, Keith was never home. All I knew were the bits of information that I’d gathered through the grapevine.
“Do we need to go up to the bar for a drink?” I asked Matt.
“Probably.” Catching a longer glimpse at how busy the main bar was, Matt said, “We can go to the other bar.”
“I don’t have cash on me.”
“No, there’s another bar.”
My brows skyrocketed to my hairline. “There’s another bar? Where?”
Matt’s giant arm, the size of my thigh, extended past me. He pointed towards an doorway that led to another room.
“How many bars does this place have?”
“Technically, five. Not all of them are always open though.”
“Five?! Where are the other two?”
“One’s outside on the patio. The other one is...” Matt paused, his nose scrunching like he’d smelled something rotten, “in the dance room.”
I rolled my eyes through a smile. Matt acted like he hated dancing, but I’d seen him have fun dozens of times on the dance floor before.
“Where’s the dance room?” I asked.
Matt cocked his head towards a set of closed doors. “In there. They don’t open it up until closer to ten though.”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “That’s stupid.”
Following Matt’s lead, we went to one of the smaller bars, and even though there weren’t as many people waiting there, it still took forever to get a drink.
Was this place understaffed or was it just simply that fucking busy?
I couldn’t think of one place at UIUC whose service took this long. And given that the hockey team was full of grumpy, impatient men, it was no wonder why this wasn’t their top bar.
Back at the table, I checked my phone. Kota had texted in our group chat with Bridget. Since it was Kota, there was a fifty-fifty shot that whatever she said should not be seen by an extra soul. Ever.
I held the phone off to the side of me that was vacant, shielding it from Matt.
Kota: So, have you fucked Matt yet?
Me: No. And I’m not gonna!
Kota: Yeah, right
B, should we bet on when it’ll finally happen?
B: I’ll give it until second semester
A tiny gasp fell from my mouth, followed by a chuckle.
B was usually so demure, so sweet. I couldn’t believe she was being corrupted into joining the group of Matt and Eleanor Bandwagoners.
Kota: Alright. I’ll say first semester
Me: You guys are the worst
Kota: Maybe
But at least we’re not in denial
*tongue out emoji*
*heart emoji*
In denial.
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that one before.
Thoughts swirled around in my head, and to silence them, I let more alcohol swirl down my throat.
By the time I was on my third drink, my bladder was about to explode.
Practically running to the bathroom, I was disappointed to find a line. I couldn’t tell if the line was actually moving at a tortoise’s pace or if I just had to pee so bad that it felt that way.
When I was almost up, I saw a head of straightened, long black hair. The girl ducked into a stall after catching a quick glimpse of me.
By the time I made it back to the table, my brows were still threaded together, and I tugged on Matt’s arm.
My touch immediately brought him out of his conversation with Cody, and all his attention was on me.
“This might sound crazy,” I expressed, “but I swear I just saw Jade in the bathroom.”
Matt’s jaw ticked only once, more with concern rather than anger. He wasted no time standing, eyes scanning around for his unruly sister.
And without another word, he stomped off.