Chapter 27 - Thirst Trap
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THIRST TRAP
TARYN
Nash called me “Trouble.”
He doesn’t know how right he is. If he told the cops that he saw me at that party, I’d be in huge trouble. That’s why keeping my distance would be the right thing to do. For me and for Jodie, who put her own life on the line to help me out of a terrible situation.
And yet, I can’t stay away from him. So I follow him outside of the cantina, after waving goodbye to a perplexed Talia.
I might have to explain to her about my arrangement with Tucker and Colsen. I don’t want her to think that I’m playing games with Tucker. But that’s something that is going to have to wait until later.
The training camp area extends beyond the training center, the ice rink, and the living quarters.
There’s a wellness area with a Japanese garden and natural hot springs I’ve been meaning to explore; I just haven’t had the chance until now.
“I thought we could sit here.” Nash points to a wooden bench, like the ones you would find in a park.
Bushes with colorful flowers surround it, and what I think might be a group of cherry trees line this section of the garden.
“It’s so pretty here.” I smile, lowering myself onto the bench. “It might be my new favorite place in Star Cove.”
Nash takes a seat next to me. He isn’t so close that our bodies are touching, but close enough that I can feel the heat radiating from his tall, athletic frame.
“You say this because you don’t know Star Cove that much.
It’s a small town, but there are so many beautiful spots.
I’ll have to take you on a tour sometime.
Even though Tucker probably is the best person for that, since he grew up here. ”
“Maybe the three of us could go together?” The suggestion tumbles out of my mouth before I can think better of it.
It might have been the wrong thing to say, at least judging by the way Nash’s jaw ticks at my words.
“Look, I don’t know where to start.” He exhales, setting the box with his food next to him on the bench. “But I don’t like the way we left things the last time we… were together.”
I was starving when I was in line for food, but right now my stomach feels full of erratic butterflies, and if I ate anything, I’m sure I’d be sick.
“You were mad at me.” I bite out.
“I think I said something wrong.” He says at the same time.
When our eyes meet, we smile.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about Tucker and Colsen. I would have told you if you had asked me out or something. But things happened so quickly, and I didn’t think about anything but the way I was feeling right then with you. But I wasn’t cheating on anyone, I promise.”
Nash rakes a big hand through his dark brown hair.
The action causes a strand to fall over his forehead, and I have to sit on my fingers to resist the urge to brush it away.
“Don’t worry. Tuck and Col explained everything to me when I came clean about us hooking up. I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions.”
“I don’t blame you, Nash.” I murmur. “I can only imagine how it must have sounded. We don’t know each other that well, but I promise you I’m not a cheater.”
He considers my words, and he shifts on the bench to face me before speaking again. “There’s a reason I freaked out.” Nash says, looking uncomfortable as hell.
“It’s ok. You don’t owe me an explanation.”
“But I want to explain. Like everyone else at our old campus, you must have noticed that I was benched pretty much all season last year. It wasn’t because of an injury.”
Nash explains what happened with his former coach and how his teammates didn’t support him.
“But it wasn’t your fault.” I raise my voice, upset about how he was treated. “You had no way of knowing if your hookup lied about being single.”
“Yeah,” he sighs. “But Coach Hiddink didn’t care about that. I guess someone had to pay, and it was easier to hate me than his own wife.”
I shake my head. “Yeah, but that was shitty to you. He should have addressed his problems with his wife rather than punishing you.”
“There’s no point dwelling on the past. But I wanted to explain why I reacted like a total asshole. I really want to have a good year, and I really like my new teammates. I didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes that fucked everything up in Hemlock Beach.”
I can’t blame him. “Thank you for explaining that, Nash.”
“There’s another thing. Did I say or do something wrong right before you mentioned having boyfriends? Was I too rough with you?”
There’s a part of me that wants to come clean about everything.
That I was at that party and I was in that room the night of the murder.
But would Nash believe that I can’t remember anything after Tim started kissing me?
If I told him how I woke up, would he jump to the conclusion that I did it?
I’m still trying to figure it out for myself, but I feel terrible for not being honest after he just opened up to me about why he transferred to Star Cove.
“No. You were fine. No, more than fine. You were great. I liked everything that happened between us. I just—”
“I spoke to the police earlier.”
I freeze, fighting the urge to squirm under the intensity of Nash’s gaze. I force myself to stay calm, at least on the outside.
“They wanted to know if I remembered anything else about the night of the murder.”
“What did you say?” I can’t help but ask. But I hope I don’t sound as shaky as I feel.
Nash shrugs. “That I was too wasted to really remember anything. That must be why I thought I saw you when you’re sure you were packing your apartment instead. To be honest, it’s not that strange that I thought I saw you.”
He isn’t making any sense, but I’m relieved he didn’t tell the cops that I was there.
“Why do you say that?”
The answer surprises me. “Because I spent a lot of time thinking about you.”
“You did?” I swear he blushes.
Nash Belkin is the epitome of the alpha male athlete. Popular and handsome, but serious and intense to the point of looking impossible to approach.
“I might have been stalking you here and there since we had that class together.”
“No shit?” I snort.
His soft lips curl into a teasing smile. “Nothing too concerning, just a little casual, light stalking.”
“What’s light stalking?” My curiosity is peaked.
“I follow you on social media, for example.”
I frown. “No, you don’t.”
“I do, too.” He insists, taking his phone and unlocking the screen to show me one of his apps. “See?”
His profile is Nashville4u, that’s why I hadn’t made the connection. There is a generic photo of a pair of hockey skates as a profile picture.
“That’s you? You have, like, five followers. It can’t be you. You had twenty thousand followers last time I checked.”
His smile widens. “I did. I archived that profile after the whole cheating scandal. I couldn’t take all the scrutiny and speculation about why I was riding the bench. But I started this other one so I could follow you.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Why do you look so happy?”
“Because it looks like I wasn’t the only stalker. You have been stalking me too if you knew how many followers I had.”
“I was not.” I argue.
It looks like my reaction amuses him. “Right. You weren’t.”
“Nash!” I snap, swatting at his chest. “I wasn’t.”
He traps my hand in his, placing it against his hard chest. “Ok. I believe you.”
It doesn’t look like he does; he’s still smiling. “I mean it.”
“I have no problem admitting that I watched the videos of your dance competitions dozens of times. And I tried to get an idea of who you are. Or at least of who you want the world to think you are.”
“And who is that?” I ask.
Nash keeps my hand flat against his chest; his heart picks up its pace under my palm.
“You love dogs. Especially tiny dogs. Your favorite color is blue, and your biggest regret is not being taller. You hate heights and love pizza. And your comfort food is mashed potatoes, that’s why I knew you’d be at the food hall today when I saw that they have mashed potatoes on the menu. ”
I don’t even realize that I’m smiling too until I feel it on my face. “You’re good at this light stalking thing.”
“When I put my mind to something, I’m usually pretty good.” He smiles. “What about you? What did you learn from my profile?”
Heat rises to my face at that question. I could lie and make something up, but I decide to be honest at least about this.
“Not much. I just enjoyed looking at your shirtless photos.”
His eyes widen. “Trouble. You’ve been objectifying me? I didn’t peg you for a thirst trap fan.”
“Don’t post thirst traps if you don’t want people to enjoy them.”
Nash laughs. “You got me there, Trouble.”
“Why do you keep calling me trouble?” I challenge him.
“Because that’s what you are. I came here to keep my head down, play hockey, and graduate.
No women, no drama. And yet, here we are.
Since the second I saw you at auditions, you’ve been on my mind a lot more than is healthy.
That’s why I followed you into that bathroom at the party.
I thought that hooking up with you would improve the situation and get you out of my system. ”
I’m a little scared to ask my next question, but I decide to be brave. “And did it?”
“Not even close, Trouble. If anything, I’m thinking about you even more. I might even be a little obsessed with you.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
Nash moves my hand away from his chest to lace his fingers through mine. “You tell me. I can’t stop thinking about how you taste, how you smell, how you feel. How you sound when you come. And you’re dating two of my teammates.”
“Is that a deal breaker?” I realize that I’m worried about the answer to that question.
“It should be.” Nash admits. “But I must be crazy because I’m considering not walking away from this situation.”
He’s being honest, so I am too. “I don’t want you to walk away.”
“The thing is, Trouble,” his expression turns serious. “That I’m not very good at sharing. When I want something, or someone, I want everything.”