Chapter 15
Nikolai
September 15th
Cricket
How are you settling in?
I’ve never been so sick of the color purple
Promising start
It’s fine
I guess
Grandfather had fun picking out my classes and I can’t switch any of them
And I presume Isabelle’s brother hasn’t attempted a duel for her honor yet
Are you rewatching Bridgerton?
Think about how much more fun life would be if we still had duels
The inner workings of your mind must be fascinating
You’re hilarious.
Really, how is she?
I have no idea
Annnnd you’re a terrible liar
I’m FaceTiming you in 5
Just fantastic
Oh, shush. We can practice my Russian
You’re still taking that?
Think about how much it’ll piss off Grandfather when he realizes we can gossip about him secretly
September 18th
Sunshine
Where’s Bainwright Hall?
It’s next to the arts center, why?
Is your brother usually this ridiculous?
This sounds promising
I’ve been wandering around campus for two fucking hours
With all the freshmen
Reminder: I am not a freshman
I do like an older man
Trying to find this hidden... flag? Old sweater? Trophy? I don’t even fucking know
Aw, team bonding time, how adorable
Nothing about this situation is adorable
It’s a flag, and if he hid it in Bainwright, it’s probably on the fourth floor landing
September 20th
Sunshine
Practice is finally over
Your brother needs to figure out how to pass the fucking puck
I will absolutely not be relaying that to him
Come over later? We can order in
Ooh, yes please
September 24th
Sunshine
I saw a bit of your practice today
Omg
Nik!
I was nearly late but I made it, thank god
Stop distracting me in the mornings
You looked good, though
All sweaty
You have such a fetish
No comment
Suuuuuure
Coach would have killed me if you interrupted
I know, don’t worry. No interruptions
I haven’t watched much volleyball
But I could tell you were locked in
Why do I have the feeling this is going to go in a dirty direction
No puns, just an hour to kill before conditioning
Open invitation
Sounds like you’re about to have plenty of physical activity
Nowhere near as fun, though
Second floor classroom, like last time
... I’ll text you when I’m at the building
“Good,” I say, stopping the puck with my stick. “That’s a much better pass.”
Micah, standing on the blue line, smiles at me. “I think switching up the grip helped.”
“Try it again.”
While he sets up, I glance at the bench. Cooper’s in the middle of a conversation with one of the assistant coaches, but he gives me a cordial nod. We ran into each other a couple days ago and started chatting about the freshmen on the team, and I agreed to give Micah, the promising but gangly kid who wishes the Penguins stuck with my dad, some extra help during practices. Part of me bristled at Cooper’s obvious attempt at trying to contain my leadership tendencies while throwing me a bone, but all the same, I don’t mind helping out. Especially with Micah, who is more wide-eyed enthusiastic about playing at the college level than anyone I’ve ever met. I might not be able to do much for that poor freshman Grady, but at least I can help Micah improve.
Ten more minutes, though. Ten minutes, and then I get to catch up with Isabelle. I already saw her this morning, during yet
another pool workout that led to a shared, steamy shower, but I’m itching for even more stress relief. If the match wrapping
up now went well, we can celebrate, and if not, I’ll console her. Preferably while horizontal, for either.
“Nice.” I stop the next pass. “Feel the power in the rotation?”
My phone buzzes in my pocket. Once, twice, a third time. I’d bet my favorite skates that it’s Isabelle; she always has a lot
to say.
I suppress my smile. I can’t deny how fun it is to sneak around with her. We were discreet over the summer, of course, but
it’s one thing to have all of New York City to play with, and another to be on a college campus with half her family. Whenever
I see her and there’s nowhere private to say hello, I wink at her. Her cute blush is worth the risk. Hopefully we don’t work
this out of our systems for a good long while.
When practice finally ends, I give Micah a couple takeaways and book it before anyone can trap me in a conversation. I hurry
to my dorm, nearly jogging along the lighted walkway, and smile when I catch sight of Isabelle lounging against the front
door. She’s still in her uniform, the royal purple jersey with 10 stamped across the front standing out against her fair skin.
I back her against the building as I kiss her, my hand reaching for her ponytail and tugging.
“Hi,” she says breathlessly.
“Did you win?”
“You didn’t check your phone?”
I shrug. “I wanted it straight from you.”
She winds her arms around my neck, giving me another peck. “We absolutely crushed them.”
“Atta girl. I wish I could have seen it.”
I hear the footsteps of someone approaching, so I tug her around the corner, and in the process, manage to knock over a recycling
bin. It clangs loudly as it hits the ground. Isabelle freezes, giving me a wide-eyed look. The guy who just walked out of
the building pauses, but continues on his way.
As soon as we’re alone, she bursts into laughter. “You’re such a nuisance,” she teases as we crouch to clean up the mess.
At least it was recycling, not trash. “This is Bryant Park all over again.”
I snort at the memory. The New York Public Library had an art exhibit in the park in July, and there may have been a teeny,
tiny issue involving a display that, to be clear, looked a lot like a regular tree. “Purely accidental.”
“You knocked over half the exhibit!”
“And they should have bolted it down, if they didn’t want anyone leaning on it.”
Her grin sparkles in the early evening light. “It wasn’t so much leaning as like, a mauling—”
I cut her off with another kiss. “Is tonight the night we finally finish New Girl ?”
“Oh my God, please. Then we can start Gossip Girl !”
“I never agreed to that.”
She tugs me to the door, practically bouncing with excitement. “Oh, shush. It’ll give you all the warm New Yorker fuzzies.”