Chapter 13
MAC
“You look amazing,” I tell Fee for the seventh time. “I love this color on you.”
“Save a few compliments for when it’s not just the two of us.” She bumps her shoulder against my arm.
“Seriously, you’re gorgeous, and you’ll be sick of hearing it by the end of the night.”
“We’ll see about that.” She runs her hands over her hips, drawing my attention to the slit in her hot pink evening gown.
The bodice dips in the front, highlighting her cleavage.
Her hair is clipped at the side, showing off a ladder of ear piercings, and revealing the graceful slope of her neck and the delicate line of her shoulders.
Apart from the beginning of the year, when the temperatures still allowed skin exposure and shorts were a reasonable choice, Fee is usually dressed in jeans and hoodies, or paint-splattered overalls and T-shirts.
She’s typically fresh-faced, but tonight her eyes are dramatic, lashes dark with mascara, making the blue pop.
“You clean up nice, too.” She pats me on the chest. “But then you already knew that.”
“I like hearing it from you, though.” I wink.
“Who turned on your turbo flirt button?”
“Must’ve been you.” I hold out my arm. “Ready?”
She threads hers through mine. “Let’s do this.”
The hockey gala is a big deal, with a fully catered, plated meal, drinks for those who are legal, and dancing—which I’m actually looking forward to.
The whole team attends, and sometimes former graduates will speak or give out awards.
Representatives and scouts from the pros attend, too.
I’m excited but nervous. Last year my stats were stronger, and I felt more confident about my future in the sport.
“Cammie and Chase are over there.” Fee points a pink, intentionally painted nail across the room, then resettles her hand on my forearm.
Last year I brought a girl I’d only been out with once before. She got wasted at dinner and kept trying to feel me up. It wasn’t my favorite and I’m glad I can avoid a repeat.
Cammie and Chase are with Gage and Brody. Gage asked some random girl he hung out with last week, and Brody caved and took a girl who asked him at the last minute because he couldn’t summon the nerve to ask the person he wanted.
“Fifi!” Cammie rushes over and throws her arms around Fee’s waist. Cammie is pint-sized, and Fee is a head taller in heels.
“I love this dress so much,” Fee tells Cammie, who is wearing Tilton U burgundy, her shoulder-length hair pulled into an updo.
Gage and Brody introduce their dates.
“Fee, hot pink is your color,” Gage makes an A-okay with his fingers. “You’re turning heads tonight.”
“Shut your face-hole unless you want gaps in your smile,” I snap.
“Whoa.” Gage raises his hands. “It was just an observation.”
“And not an inaccurate one,” Cammie adds with a grin.
“Down boy.” Fee pats my chest and smiles sweetly up at me. “Why don’t you grab me something to drink?”
“Whatever you need, sweetheart.” I cover her hand with mine and kiss the back of it. “Any special requests?”
She arches a brow. “You know what I like.”
“I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be right here.”
The guys and I head for the bar.
“Hitting the territorial boyfriend button a little hard tonight,” Gage observes.
“For a fake-dating situation, you seem pretty into her,” Brody needles.
“You spent like half an hour making popcorn the other night,” Chase notes.
“You were too busy sucking face with Cammie to know how long it took for us to make popcorn,” I fire back.
“I believe that,” Brody replies dryly.
Chase opens his mouth but closes it a second later and shrugs. “Her fic update was hot and we’re into each other.”
“You don’t say.” I glance over at Fee, who’s chatting and laughing with the other girls, making Gage’s and Brody’s dates feel comfortable.
“Why didn’t you ask Enid?” I press Brody.
He side-eyes me. “She started seeing some guy. Besides, that ship sailed back in high school.”
“Has it really though?” I ask.
“She’s got a boyfriend, that answers that question,” Brody mutters.
The bartender stops to take our order, letting Brody off the hook.
Once we have drinks, I introduce Fee to some of my teammates that she hasn’t met before, and my coaches, who are already aware of her Terror affiliation. Fee rolls with it when they ask her questions about her sister.
“Are you a hockey player, too?” Coach Murdock asks.
Fee laughs and threads her arm through mine. “I’m a fan from the other side of the Plexiglas. I grew up watching and cheering for the people I love, who adore the sport like Mac.”
“Fee’s been surrounded by hockey her entire life,” I add. “She really understands the game and the demands.” Our coaches often talk about the pressure of a relationship on top of hockey and courses.
“I know how hard these guys work on and off the ice. It helps when the team really gels, and these guys really show up for each other.” Fee smiles up at me.
“They’re great players, and they know how to work as a team,” Coach replies, chest puffed up with pride.
“That’s so important, isn’t it?” Fee agrees.
“It really is key to a successful team. Look at how well the Terror are doing this season,” Coach says.
“They spend time with each other off the ice, too, just like Mac and his friends,” Fee squeezes my arm.
The conversation with my coaches seems effortless. But she’s surrounded by hockey fanatics wherever she goes, and this event is full of them. I seriously owe her a night out doing her favorite thing after this.
At dinner we’re seated with our friends, and of course, there’s more hockey talk. Brody’s date looks bored, and Gage’s seems more interested in taking selfies than actual conversation. Cammie and Chase are making eyes at each other—which is normal.
I stretch my arm across the back of Fee’s chair while we talk, and she automatically leans in. Is it because she wants to, or because she’s playing the role? I don’t know, and it’s fucking killing me lately.
My mind keeps wandering back to the other night, when we were making popcorn in the kitchen.
For a second I thought maybe she wanted me to kiss her, and then it all went sideways.
Fee high-fived me. Fee has never high-fived me.
Hell, I’ve never seen her high-five anyone.
Panic hits. Have I been officially friend-zoned?
“Everything okay?” Fee whispers.
I blink a couple of times and realize I’ve been staring at her profile. “Yeah. Just admiring the view.”
She laughs. “Oh my God, you and your lines.”
“Is it a line if it’s the truth, though?”
She rolls her eyes and sips her drink. “Did I press the turbo flirt mode button again by accident?”
“You want me to dial it back?”
“I’ll let you know when I reach maximum flirt capacity.”
Once dinner, speeches, and awards are over, we hit the dance floor. The music slows eventually, and I turn to Fee. “Dance with me?”
“If you want.” She smooths her hands over her hips.
I settle my hands on her waist and pull her closer. “Thanks for agreeing to being my date, tonight.”
She smiles up at me and links her fingers behind my neck. “Tonight’s been fun. It was like one of your parties, but formal, without the drinking games.”
I laugh. “Those are always Gage’s idea.”
“I know.” She giggles. “This kind of reminds me of prom, but hockey-themed.”
“Did you go to yours?” A hot spike of jealousy shoots down my spine at the thought of her in some other guy’s arms.
“Yeah. But I went with a group of friends and no date. What about you?” she replies.
I should not be relieved by her admission. “I went with a date. We were just friends though.” Sort of the story of my life. “Why didn’t you go with someone?”
“It was my first year in Toronto, new school, it felt easier to go with my friends than have the pressure of a prom date. There are so many stupid stereotypes about what’s supposed to happen, you know? I had enough going on and I didn’t want or need that at the time.”
“I get that.” Probably more than she can know.
The song changes and the tempo picks up.
Fee steps out of my arms. “I need to use the bathroom.”
“I could do the same. I’ll walk you.”
We leave the dance floor and follow the signs to the bathrooms. When I’m done, I wait for Fee in the hall. She appears a minute later. “You want to get out of here?”
Her eyes light up. “Irish goodbye?”
I shrug. “If we go back in there, we’ll get sucked into another hockey conversation, and you’ll be bored.”
“Hockey doesn’t bore me.”
“Yeah, but you’re subjected to enough of it. Let’s get out of here.”
We stop at the coat check, and I help Fee into her winter jacket. She swaps out her heels for winter boots.
“I can call an Uber if you want?”
“Nah, we’re a ten-minute walk from my building and it’ll probably take that long for one to get here.”
We bundle up and step out into the cold winter night.
The walk back to her apartment is short, and I don’t have enough time to shore up the courage to hold her hand, plus we’re both trying to keep our extremities warm in the February cold.
We pass other students as I walk her to the elevator, some of them on their way out, others on their way to bed or the common room.
The elevator isn’t empty on the way up, but the hall is when we reach her apartment. It’s decorated with art. It reminds me of something I’ve seen before, but maybe it’s inspired by another artist.
“Thanks for making tonight fun,” Fee says softly.
“It was nice to go with someone I like,” I admit.
“Well, I hope you like me. I am your girlfriend and all,” she says cheekily.
I swallow down my anxiety and decide now is a good time to tell her I like her. “You’re incredible, Fee.”
“Thanks.” Her eyes warm. “So are you.”
Fee’s eyes dart to my mouth. Maybe I wasn’t wrong about her wanting me to kiss her the other night. But I didn’t act fast enough and made it awkward. I could fix that now. I swallow down my nerves and cup her cheek in my hand. Her skin is so soft and warm under my touch.
Fee’s eyes flare in surprise, but she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she licks her lips and tips her head up. “Mac?”
I don’t think, I just act. I dip down and brush my lips over hers. Fireworks explode in my brain at the simple, gentle contact. Fee exhales a quiet gasp, and her fingers close around the lapel of my coat, fisting the fabric to keep me close. So I kiss her again.
This time she whimpers, and that one pretty sound shatters my frayed restraint.
I slant my mouth over hers, desperate to taste more of her.
She parts for me, hand curving around the back of my neck, the other still fisting my jacket.
Our tongues slide against each other, and I groan into her mouth.
I want more of this, of her, of the taste of watermelon gum and her velvet tongue tangling with mine.
I wrap my free arm around her waist and pull her tight against me as I explore her mouth. Fee’s hands move to my hair, and her nails drag down the back of my neck. I deepen the kiss, suddenly ravenous.
“Maybe try doing that behind a closed door!” some guy calls out.
Which is the moment I realize I’ve been trying to climb inside Fee’s mouth outside her apartment and break the kiss.
“Holy shit. Is that Mac Meyers?” a girl mutters as she passes.
“Okay, well, night night!” Fee hastily retreats into her apartment, leaving me to deal with the fangirls while also battling an epic hard-on.
But that first kiss is totally worth the case of blue balls.