Chapter 10
Tanner
Four years ago
It’s one thing to enter a chick’s bedroom to help her construct a piece of furniture, but it’s another thing entirely to sit shoulder to shoulder on her bed.
And those sheets that I carried in from where they were cosied up on her couch?
They’re softer than sin.
And they’re black .
I watch, wary as fuck, as she slips her fork into a slice of strawberry, and I have to physically tear my eyes away from her mouth before I get my hundredth hard-on of the afternoon. Her Macbook is positioned on the quilt in front of us, playing a football game that I haven’t seen before.
Something nudges gently against my leg and I see that Aisling is silently offering me her little fruit bowl. She slides a second fork my way and I rub my chest, aching for how cute she is.
I give her shoulder a thank-you nudge as I take a piece of strawberry.
“So, do you not like football?” she asks, glancing up at me with those big beautiful eyes.
I didn’t have the nerve to tell her earlier that I’m a hockey guy, through and through. If Aisling is into football though for her I can sit back and bear it.
“It’s okay, I can tell,” she laughs, returning my shoulder nudge. “Actually I… I like that you’re not into it. It’s really nice to meet a guy with interests that are different from the ones that I’m used to.”
A muscle tics involuntarily in my jaw. “What kind of guys are you used to?”
She hums contemplatively as she slides another piece of strawberry into her mouth, sucking at it for a while before shifting her hips and swallowing.
At this rate I could probably grow enough wood to build her another bed.
“I went to a prep school – co-ed, so that Connell and I could be together. I was mainly friends with his friends, so they were all of the football guys, and it just made me super aware of the kind of lifestyle that male athletes lead. Play hard and then play hard, if you get what I mean.”
I watch her carefully for a moment. “So it’s a no to guys who play football?” I clarify, very fucking specifically.
Fingers crossed she doesn’t have any preconceived notions about hockey players because, if she does, I’m screwed.
“Kinda,” she admits, smiling up at me.
“Then I’ve never been so happy to not play football in my life.”
She breathes out a gorgeous laugh as she leans playfully against my biceps.
“What about you?” I ask her. “What are you studying? You do any sports?”
“I’m a cheerleader,” she says, looking up at me from under her lashes.
I clear my throat hard, unable to formulate a single sentence after that.
She’s a cheerleader?
I’m in bed with a fucking cheerleader?
I can’t deny it, this is a good moment for me.
“ Anyway ,” she says, laughing as she draws out the word, “after I graduate from college there’s no doubt about what I’ll be doing. I’m going to join my family’s business, but I want to see if I can help expand it in a different direction. They construct premium real estate, but I want to go the small town route – house flips and stuff.”
I try to focus on what she’s saying but I’m starting to get distracted by the way she’s leaning into me. The pretty curves of her chest are brushing right up against my biceps.
“And you?” she asks, as if I have a single brain cell left, as if I can remember what the hell we were just talking about.
“Me?” I ask, my voice way too fucking deep. “What about me?”
I swear I hear her tinkle out a laugh but I’m too far gone to risk another glance at her beautiful face.
“Like, what do you do in Carter Ridge? Are you in a family business, too?”
I was about to state the fact that I’m a freshman at Carter U but her second question throws me, and I frown at the game on the screen.
“Uh, no,” I say quietly. “We don’t exactly have a family business. Like, my best friend Hunter, his dad is a mechanic, so it’s a given that some of his sons are going to help him run the joint eventually.” I clear my throat and try to rub the tension out of my brow. “My dad’s in the army.”
A soft whoosh of air caresses my chest, as if Aisling has sucked in a breath, impressed as hell. And I’m proud of that reaction, even if it’s reserved for my dad’s career, and not my own.
I can feel the moment that understanding dawns on her – the fact that, unlike my dad and both of my brothers, I haven’t followed in my father’s footsteps and taken the military route. Because I’m here in Carter Ridge, rather than being at a military school.
And I love the path that I’ve chosen for myself. Partially because I love hockey, but partially because of my mom. Seeing as she was a professional figure skater I love that I’ve continued her sports legacy, while also giving her one less man to worry about. Because, yeah, hockey’s rough but it’s nothing like having a loved one in the army – waiting around for months on end, praying that they’ll stay safe.
Praying that they’ll come home.
So the worrying that she does for my dad and my brothers when they’re on deployment? She doesn’t need to do that for me.
But even though I love my sport, I respect what my dad and brothers do, and that’s the reason why I’ve sometimes wondered if I made the right decision.
“I’m sorry.” Her voice is sweet and sincere. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
After taking a deep grounding inhale I allow myself to look back down at her.
Those big beautiful eyes knock the air out of my lungs.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” I glance down at her lap, seeing her thigh resting against mine. “I respect my dad and my brothers for what they do, but I love what I do too.”
“So you have a job, right now?” she asks.
“It’s in the pipeline,” I admit, thinking about the four years of college hockey that I’m in for. Undeniably, the thought brings a smile to my face. “I have my training years first but technically, yeah, I’m all set.”
She prods a finger into my bicep. “Well, as long as you don’t play football,” she teases.
A deep laugh reverberates through my chest until I realise that the game we’re watching is over. Now we’re just two people on a bed, looking at each other with growing hunger.
Noticing that the game has finished Aisling suddenly leans toward her laptop to open a different browser, and my eyes automatically drop to her behind as she bends over right in front of me.
I grunt like a motherfucker and practically throw myself off her bed.
“I should probably take off,” I rasp, turning a sharp one-eighty so that she won’t see my sudden erection.
And that would have been fine if there wasn’t a fucking mirror in front of us.
Her startled eyes meet mine in the reflection.
I look heavenward, praying for strength.
“I would love to keep hanging out,” I admit, digging my palms into my eyes. “You’re funny and beautiful, and I’ve had a great time with you today. But I think that I’ve reached the point where I’m… no longer in control of my body.”
I drop both of my hands and look at her in the mirror. She’s biting nervously into her lower lip, her eyes unblinking on mine. Forcing herself not to look at the situation in my shorts.
I swallow hard.
“I should take off,” I rasp, and I expect her to nod and say, yeah, please leave.
But instead she scooches a little closer and asks innocently, “Take off what?”
I half-laugh, half-groan as I cover my face with my hands, and the pretty sound of her laughter behind me makes warmth spread through my chest. I know that she’s just messing with me, being playful to save me the humiliation of my painfully obvious attraction to her, but even that is sexy, the level of compassion in her humour.
“Aisling,” I groan, as I turn to face her. My cheekbones are ruddy and my breathing is way too fast, but we’re both smiling at each other with empathy and understanding. “I’m so freaking sorry. Like, I wish I could get a handle on myself. There’s nothing I would rather do right now than spend the rest of the night watching stuff with you. Even football,” I add, just because I want to hear her beautiful laugh again.
She gives it to me and it’s the most incredible sound in the world.
“Well, if you want to go,” she begins, stretching her arms in the air and then dropping her body back against her sheets, squealing in delight as her quilt plumps up around her. “Then I’m not going to stop you,” she finishes, but her tone is riddled with a dare.
She peeks down at me to where I’m standing like a starved beast at the bottom of her bed, and her thighs squeeze together as I rub a palm down my jaw.
“You should close my door on your way out,” she continues, her eyes sparkling now, as she gently taunts me with that naughty smile.
I blink down at her, realisation dawning.
Hold the fuck up.
Am I misreading this situation, or is she daring me to make a move?
I glance toward her partially opened bedroom door and then back to her reclined position in the centre of her bed. She’s practically vibrating with amusement, her whole demeanour shimmering with mischief.
It’s still piss-pouring outside and the wet sound effects aren’t helping my erection. I shove a hand into my hair and rake my gaze over Aisling’s body.
“Are you… do you want me to…” I yank roughly on the neckline of my shirt. “Because obviously I would love to… if you would also love to–”
“Tanner.”
“Yes?”
“I can tell that you like me.”
Her voice is gentle and husky, and it makes my abdomen harden.
“Yeah, I fuckin’ do,” I say, hoarse with honesty. “I really fuckin’ like you. I like you so much, but I can’t believe that you would like me too.”
Her eyes widen. “Why not?”
“Because you’re so beautiful.”
She presses a hand to her chest, blinking quickly. “Oh, wow.”
I decide to use this moment to state my intentions loud and clear, more grateful than ever that Aisling doesn’t know about my reputation off the ice.
“I want to take you to dinner. I want you to know the kind of guy that I am – the kind of guy that I’ll be for you. I can tell that you’re not a roll-in-the-hay kind of chick and that’s fine with me. In fact, I like that.”
Aisling picks up her glass of water and begins furiously sipping.
“So, if you’ll let me, I’d love to take your number. And if you decide that you wanna see me again, I’ll book something real special. Dinner for two, or I could take you horse-riding one town over. Or, hell, if you’d like it, I’m pretty decent in the kitchen so I could show you what I can do–”
“Tanner?”
“Yes?”
“Just kiss me already.”
“Yes ma’am.”