AVERY
Chapter Eight
As fate would have it, Coach Murray made me sit out the game against the Blizzard Breakers two weeks after Sawyer had promised we would kick their asses.
It was only a friendly game, so I didn’t cry over it.
We all had a bigger game on our minds coming soon.
We were meeting the Vikings for a big deal game and the tension was palpable.
If I was sad to miss my chance to clash with Grayson, I consoled myself by remembering we had games lined up for the rest of the year. I would get my chance.
And outside the rink, we collided constantly.
His relentless efforts mellowed me so much that I often found myself expecting him.
He was a wild torrent of sweetness. I would run into him in our university library, where he had no business being.
I would run into him at the Thinker, where only his rivals gathered.
He would make sure to be at the parties I mentioned I might visit with Sawyer.
But best of all, he never stopped taking me places.
I wasn’t the type to swoon. And even so, I couldn’t deny the little glimmer of hope in me.
I couldn’t ignore how my body heated near him or how my palms sweat slightly.
I couldn’t pretend my heart didn’t beat faster when he threw his arm over my shoulders.
So, maybe I actually was the type to swoon.
Our schedules clashed more often than not.
And yet, Grayson searched for any wiggle room he could find.
Those were starting to be my life’s most anticipated and desired moments.
I was aware of the tugging sensation in my chest. It wasn’t too different from wearing a tie, which Grayson held in a tight grip. He never let go.
Week after week, he returned for more. And each time I felt he would get bored soon.
I knew he would quit if I didn’t hurry the hell up.
And whenever he kissed me goodnight after a date, I braced myself to be ghosted in the morning.
Only, the last thing I saw on those date nights was a message from him.
Another incredible night with you. I could get used to this.
When Sawyer, who had been spending most of his nights with his boyfriend, Noah, told me he would be moving out of our room mid-semester, it was both a surprise and a bummer, but it opened a door in my heart that I had kept shut for so long.
It reminded me that, at some point, I absolutely wanted Grayson to come over and stay the night.
I didn’t know when, but the idea that it would happen became a fixed point in my future.
I wanted it more and more with each encounter.
He gave up on the postcards, thankfully, because I’d told him how half my team house and the courier were starting to get invested in this thing.
Not that either was stopping me. My teammates didn’t care nearly as much as I had expected.
Beckett had made a passing joke that I should use my direct access to the enemy captain to learn about their tactics.
One evening at the Thinker, he suggested that I should make sure Grayson couldn’t skate by any means necessary the next time we played against them.
It earned him a shoulder punch from Caden, followed by a brief and heated lecture.
I wouldn’t have given their bickering a second thought, except that some days later, when we prevailed against the Vikings, Beckett swept Caden off his skates in front of the entire audience and cameras for a huge kiss.
It made my heart clench. It was a surprise to us all, considering how much bad blood there had been between the two, but my mind raced away from me and converged around Grayson.
After the game, when Beckett and Caden celebrated doubly, and the NHL legend Nate Partridge joined us for a round, I was only partially present.
It was time for me to do something for Grayson. The trouble was, I absolutely sucked at planning these things. And however great my relationship was with my parents, I didn’t have an open tab to book us a quick flight to Japan or whatever.
When will I see you?
I sent the message and wished I could take it back. Before I could add something clever or charming to it — even if I had such a thing ready to be deployed — he texted back.
What do you have in mind? I’m game.
Not sure. My roommate moved out. Maybe we can hang out at my place next weekend. If you feel like it.
I always feel like it.
I held my breath. He was too sweet. One way or the other, he had crawled under my skin and imprinted himself into my mind that I couldn’t imagine a future without some reminder that he belonged in it.
Maybe we could do more than just hang out.
You flirt! Lemme think about it.
And he thought about it. For two full minutes.
Next weekend. I have an idea you’ll like. I’ll pick you up around five.
I wanted to take the lead to show him I cared, but being charmed like this was too irresistible.
I agreed to it and so began a week of tingling expectation.
Moments of fear that I was making a mistake made my determination all the sweeter.
I wanted Grayson. Every time I thought about him, I felt it with my entire being.
His relentless pursuit and his exaggerated efforts made me open up to him.
But what I found when we became close was completely different. He cared. And I cared, too.
Days of waiting followed. Whenever I sat, my foot tapped the floor. Whenever I played, I failed to control the puck. Whenever I took notes in lectures, I later discovered I had drifted away mid-sentence and wrote down gibberish.
Grayson’s text messages soothed the anticipation. He poured out all his thoughts without filtering them into our chat. He was as honest about being excited as he was up-front about being nervous. It was so refreshing and sweet that it reminded me just how much I wanted to keep this guy.
“It’s almost like I don’t know you,” Sawyer said on the eve of my big date. He was having drinks with Noah when I joined them and I could hardly keep the smirk off my face. Tomorrow… “Who would have thought you’d be such a softie, huh?”
“I could ask you the same,” I pointed out.
Sawyer looked at Noah with unrestrained love.
It was the sort of relationship I knew I wanted.
It was possible, I came to think, that there was nothing wrong with me after all.
Maybe I just needed a thing like this before jumping into his bed.
Grayson provided this in heaps and truckloads.
So much so that I couldn’t believe it was really happening.
“When are you coming to our housewarming party?” Noah asked.
“When’s the party?” I asked, thinking I knew how housewarming parties worked.
Sawyer snorted. “When you feel like coming around.”
Then it clicked. It wasn’t a party at all. “Next week,” I promised.
“Oh? Got plans this weekend?” he asked cheekily, and I shot him a cool, expressionless look.
My shoulders rolled in a shrug. “No big deal. Just…hanging out.” Even thinking about being alone with Grayson somewhere where he wanted to take me filled my stomach with flutters and sent tingles down my legs. I curled my toes in my shoes and tried my best not to let my ears turn red.
I slept with Grayson in my thoughts and I woke up with him still there.
The day seemed to take ages to pass. Morning drills were a blessing, freeing me up for the rest of the day and tomorrow.
If it was possible, I would spend the night with Grayson.
Our first date had been a magical night like that.
He’d made me stay the night and respected every last one of my wishes.
Two-hour warning. Still aboard?
Without a doubt.
I hurried. The afternoon was dragging on and I was rushing around to get ready. In part, I was thankful Sawyer wasn’t around to witness the mess I actually was. I kept pacing, returning to the bathroom because I had forgotten something, and changing my clothes countless times.
Pack your toothbrush.
That text settled a debate that had been going through my mind. Extra set of clothes? No? Maybe? I didn’t want to pack a goddamn suitcase only to discover we were going to a bar. With Grayson subtly clearing it up, I packed a small backpack with spare clothes and a toothbrush.
He texted again when he was near campus, so I snuck out of the house.
I heard some grunts coming from Beckett’s room and decided not to think about it.
Sawyer had told me that this thing with him and Caden had been going on since our trip to Milwaukee and I couldn’t believe nobody had noticed anything before.
I waited for a royal carriage or a mile-long limo to appear on campus, but when a regular, sporty BMW from five or six years ago halted in front of our team house, relief and surprise mixed inside of me.
The passenger window slid down and behind the wheel was Grayson, smiling like he was the happiest man on the planet. “Hop in.”
And I did. “What’s this? You rented a car?”
“It’s mine,” Grayson said, waving it off. “I prefer walking when I can, but it would take us until tomorrow to get there.”
“But…” I looked into his eyes. “You had a limo drive us to the lake.”
His lips stretched against visible efforts to contain the smile. “I was trying to impress you.”
I blinked, then licked my lips. The need to feel him close to me was so abrupt and strong that I didn’t wait for any cue.
I leaned in and took the kiss I wanted. My lips on his, his cologne in my nostrils, and his hand on the back of my head; I kissed him for a long moment, feeling the sensation spill all throughout my body.
I was so ready for him.
When I pulled back, Grayson grinned and turned his head forward before getting the car moving. “Where are we going, then?”
“Oh, Avery, if you think I’m going to tell you, you haven’t met me yet.” He laughed joyfully.
I shrugged. “It was worth a shot.”
“Just relax, pretty boy,” he said. “You won’t regret it.”