Chapter 7
Inearly choked on my spit. Instantly, my body was ready to go. My dream girl asking for my cock. Hell. Yes. My brain was significantly slower to catch up.
She hadn’t said she wanted a date. A sinking feeling sucked up all the excitement, and I slowed to a stop on the sidewalk.
“I thought you didn’t have the bandwidth for a relationship?”
Avery looked away, and I knew I’d hit the snag. “This wouldn’t be a relationship. I’m still not interested in dating. I don’t want kisses or romantic moments or any of that. We’d be friends with very specific benefits. It’s transactional, pure and simple. No chance for messy feelings or…” She trailed off and waved her hand around as if I could fill in the rest.
I frowned. “Only sex?”
“And friendship.”
Most guys I knew would jump at her offer. Reece would get down on his knees and beg. He’d literally offered her the same deal earlier today in the locker room.
“Why me?” I finally asked.
“Because I know exactly what your motivations are for getting involved, and when I told you no, you listened. Mostly.”
I had to laugh. “Avery, you don’t have to make a deal with me to get orgasms. I’ll happily provide them for free.”
She shook her head and started walking again. “Free is never free. Those orgasms would come with hidden strings and requirements. In this case, I know what the strings are. We’re openly using each other.”
“Doesn’t sound very friendly,” I muttered.
Avery shrugged, the movement a shadow in the dark. “Admittedly, I’m not good at making or keeping friends.”
“If I say no?”
She stiffened slightly. “You can find a more traditional tutor, and I’ll experiment with someone else. I’ll still be your friend though, since you owe me duck pics.”
Well that decided it. I wasn’t saying no.
Grandpa would be disappointed, Mom would be horrified, and my sister would probably call me the dumbest man on Earth. I was still going to say yes. The risk was not insignificant. If Coach caught us, he could absolutely ruin my career. But if she walked away, I’d be left to struggle with my class on my own… while imagining her getting those orgasms from someone else.
Any other girl suggesting this deal would have resulted in me laughing all the way back to her car and erasing her number. Plenty of puck bunnies had offered me sex when all they knew about me was I played hockey. I always politely declined. For Avery, I’d break my no casual sex rule, but I couldn’t let her win so easily. It would set a dangerous precedent.
I rubbed my chin, pretending to consider. “I still get to text you and walk you around campus and harass you about your true crime paranoia?”
She snorted out a laugh. “Sure.”
“Do I get a safe word?”
Her brows came together as she stared at me. “What do you think I’m into?”
“Not for your kinky ass. For the deal. If I want out, or if you do, we should have a safe word.”
“How about platypus?”
It was my turn to stare at her. Avery watched me with a hooded expression, and Coach’s threat to Reece earlier circled through my head on a loop. She wanted me to do a hell of a lot more than lay a finger on her. Or so she claimed. If I was risking my spot on the team, might not hurt to be sure she was serious.
Her car was parked at the edge of the arena lot, nearly hidden in the shadows of the pine trees lining the asphalt. The sliver of a moon wasn’t providing much illumination, and the overhead lights didn’t reach this far. Perfect for a little test.
I nodded at the dark corner where her car sat. “Not a great parking spot if you’re worried about being murdered.”
She sniffed. “It was in the shade earlier, and I wasn’t aware of the shitty lighting situation out here. I haven’t heard an answer yet.”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
Avery sent me a sly look. “Are you worried you won’t be able to deliver?”
“After that kiss in the library? Hell, no. I’m one hundred percent confident I can deliver. I’m worried your dad will castrate me before I have the chance.”
“He doesn’t have to know.”
“He can’t know,” I corrected.
She pulled out her key fob and unlocked the doors with a beep. “He won’t care, but have it your way.”
I considered telling her what Coach had said after she’d stormed off, but I had the feeling I’d be fighting a losing battle. Her relationship with her dad—and what had happened to bring her to TU—were two more things I was burning to ask her about. Now wasn’t the time.
Avery turned to face me, challenge written all over her sharp features. “Are you in or out?”
“I’m in, but there’s one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“We should seal the agreement.”
Tired of playing nice, I wrapped my arm around her waist and hauled her against me. With two quick steps, I backed her against her car, gratified at the tiny gasp she let out.
Instead of pushing me away as I half-expected, Avery melted. I inhaled her sweet scent as I trailed my nose along her cheek. She clutched the back of my neck, and her hips canted forward. I spread my hand on her lower back and pressed into her, groaning at the pressure. My dick wanted out to play, but I kept my grip light, my mouth teasing. She tilted her head, letting me explore the soft skin of her throat, her jaw, until I came for her mouth.
Her fingers flattened on my lips. “No kissing. No PDA. We’re not dating, Cole. We’re fuck buddies.”
I hated the way she phrased it, but I didn’t argue. Her hand didn’t move as I leaned closer, the only thing preventing me from kissing her.
“I’m not going to stop touching you,” I warned her.
“You can touch me all you want,” she rasped. “When you’ve finished an assignment.”
“We’ll see,” I murmured, letting her go.
She’d given me very clear boundaries, and I had every intention of skating right past them. Avery raised her chin and climbed into her car without another word to me. I waited there until she drove away before heading for my own car parked near the entrance.
By the time I pulled into my driveway, I had several messages from a certain city girl.
Avery: Text me when you get home.
Avery: I’m serious.
Avery: I want to make sure you weren’t murdered.
I chuckled and parked Reece in with petty pleasure.
Me: I’m home and safe. Don’t forget to tell your dad you changed your mind about tutoring me.
Avery: When do you want to start?
Me: Monday?
Avery: [thumbs up] Not sure when I’ll be free, but I’ll text you. Your place?
Me: Yeah.
I sent her the address and nearly tripped on Henry as I came in the front door. Reece tsked me as he scooped her up.
“She’s going to come to her senses and love me more any day now.”
I snorted. “Good luck with that. Strawberries can only make up for so much.”
Henry squawked, and Reece set her on the floor so she could run over to me. “Remind me to explain to you what I usually do when a lady likes strawberries.”
“Please no.” I bent to pet her head, but she ran off after a few seconds. “Looks like neither of us is the favorite at the moment.”
Reece shook his head at the departing duck then flopped onto the couch. “At least one of us got Coach’s daughter’s attention.”
My hackles rose at his tone, but I shoved my hands in my pockets and kept my voice even. “Her name is Avery, and what were you doing in the locker room?”
He grabbed one of the game controllers and started a solo game of NHL. “I followed you. I was curious. Figured we could get in a quick training sesh then grab dinner since Mase is eating us out of house and home. Then you ran off after Coach’s daughter, and I assumed he buried your body in his backyard.”
“He wants her to tutor me,” I said mildly.
“She looked super excited for that.” Reece swore as his character got flattened into the boards. “Did you convince her?”
“What do you think?”
He shot me a knowing glance. “I think you could give Eva a run for her money in getting people to do what you want.”
I huffed out a laugh, letting go of the weird tension, and sat next to him. “Nah, Eva could run circles around me. People tell me no all the time, but being nice gets you a lot farther than being a fuckboy.”
Reece laughed. “Speak for yourself. I do just fine with my fuckboy habits. What did Coach’s daughter say?”
“I walked her to her car, and we came to an agreement.” I purposely didn’t mention the walk to the newspaper office, my raging jealousy at seeing her sharing inside jokes with her work buddy, or the details of our deal.
“Knew it,” he gloated. “Seriously though, I’m glad you’re getting the help you need.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “If I bring Avery over here, are you going to hit on her again?”
“Absolutely. Flirting is my primary form of communication.”
“In that case, I’ll make sure you’re gone before I invite her. For your own protection, of course. Wouldn’t want Coach misinterpreting your attempt to communicate.”
“Might be worth it,” he said under his breath.
I silently agreed. Avery did something to my mind when I was in her vicinity. Flipped around my survival instincts until I forgot everything else but her, which was the only explanation for why I’d agreed to her deal. Not just agreed—I’d immediately upped the stakes. I could still feel the curve of her hip under my hand, the warmth of her breath on my cheek, the press of her soft body as she surrendered.
Before I could get too far into a fantasy with my roommate sitting next to me, I leaned forward to snag the other controller. “Let’s see if you’ve learned how to score.”
“Boy, the things I could teach you about scoring…”
I ignored his comment and immediately took a shot on goal, notching my first point. “We’ll see,” I murmured again, my mind on a pair of dark red lips.