Chapter Nine
Leo
I walked across campus to meet Sophia, worried I was going to be a few minutes late after I got held up at the phone store longer than I’d planned and had to rush to get ready.
I hadn’t been kidding when I told Jace I needed a new phone, the other one was now at the bottom of the Charles River.
I felt bad about the pollution. But I had chucked it into the air without thinking.
I reprogramed my family into the new one after getting their numbers from Jace as I walked to Sophia’s dorm. I was almost there when I pulled them all into a new group chat.
Me: I got a new phone and a new number. Don’t ask any questions.
Aunt Sloane: All I have are questions.
Mom: Can you at least confirm you’re safe and not being stalked by one of the crazy hockey women?
Aunt Lavi: That’s presumptuous.
Dad: But probably accurate. Answer your mother’s question, please.
Me: I’m fine. I was getting a lot of unwanted calls on the other line. Problem solved. You’re the only ones with this number.
Aunt Sloane: Maybe don’t give this one out to the puck bunnies.
Me: That’s the plan. This number is under lock and key and I didn’t download any social media either. Since you’re the only ones with the number, I’ll know if you leak it.
Jace: Surely there’s a cute girl on campus who deserves this phone number.
I rolled my eyes at my cousin’s text and tucked my phone in my pocket as I approached the building.
I looked up and saw Sophia glancing at her phone, her dark hair shining in the light of the sconce next to her on the wall of her brick dorm building.
My face rocketed into a grin before I could control it.
Yeah, I have a mad crush on this girl alright.
“Hey, Hawaii,” I said casually, hoping she couldn’t hear my heart racing in my chest.
“Hi, Leo.” She smiled sweetly.
My eyes roamed over her body. She looked effortlessly gorgeous in jeans and a sweater. Meanwhile, I’d tried on six shirts before settling on the long-sleeve shirt I was in now.
“You ready for a drink?” I asked, making a pointed effort not to look at the cleavage visible in the V-neck of her sweater. Her chest was modest and I couldn’t help but hope the reason she’d pushed her breasts up was for my benefit.
“Yes,” she said with a sigh. “I interviewed Shawn for the paper today, and that kid can talk an ear off.”
I laughed. “Yeah, Rickles is a chatty guy. Speaking of which, you didn’t set up a follow-up interview with me.”
“I’m spending the entire evening with you,” she said with an innocent smile.
A pit formed in my stomach.
Is she going to use tonight as a chance to interview me? I mean, I guess she could. I’d never really said I wanted tonight to be a date.
She looked at me for a second and then changed the subject. “Where are you taking me for the full Leo experience?”
I chuckled. “The Cohen Club. It’s my parents’ other bar. Have you been there before?”
“No.”
“Alright then, let’s go.” I waved for her to follow me. “You like their other establishments enough, I’m sure you’ll dig this one too.”
“I didn’t say I liked Harrison’s. I said I liked Ackerson’s.” She fell into step next to me.
“You didn’t have to say anything. You ordered without looking at the menu.”
“Oh yeah.” Her cheeks pinked slightly, and I tried to order the blood rushing to my dick to slow down.
Later, dude, not now.
“Alright, if this is going to double as a drink before our night together and an interview, you have until we get to the bar to interview me. Then no more interview questions. Everything is off the record, and you have to at least pretend like you want to be friends with me.”
She laughed. “I have nothing against being friends with you, Leo. But I do need to write that article this weekend, so I accept your offer.”
“You have twenty minutes, Hawaii. Make ‘em count.” I shot her a smirk as she pulled out her phone.
“Can I record your answers this time?”
I laughed. “If you’d been that ingenious last night when you showed up without a notebook you might have kept your cover for why you were really knocking on my door.”
She scowled at me.
“Go for it, you only have nineteen minutes now.”
Sophia slowed her stride as she asked me her first question about my hopes for my first pro season.
We talked the whole way to The Cohen Club about how I’d trained with various Bruins programs early on in my time as a player, what I would have done if I’d been drafted by another team, if I had any regrets or fears about going pro, and what I thought my life would look like next year.
“What do you think will be the hardest part about being a pro player?” she asked as I stopped in front of our destination.
I shook my head and reached for the door handle. “Ah, ah, Hawaii. That’s it. The only way I’m answering questions now is if you’re asking for you and not for your article. Leo Harrison is officially off the record.”
She sighed and stopped the recording on her phone. “Fine.” She held it up to show me before sliding it into her back pocket.
“Oh, I’m sorry, do you not want to know anything about the guy you’re about to fuck?” I pulled the door open and admired her ass as she walked in ahead of me. Her jeans were dark and her ass looked firm. I wanted my hands on this girl more than I could handle right now.
She turned to look over her shoulder and smiled at me, making my heart skip a beat.
“Does the full Leo experience start right now? Or has it already started and I missed it?” Her smiled morphed into a proud smirk and I stepped closer, pinching her ass a little, figuring I had her permission to touch her given what we were about to do.
She also seemed like the kind of girl to tell me if I didn’t.
“It starts now, Hawaii. Sit down.” I gestured to a cozy two-person booth in the far corner of the room and waved to Mark, the bartender working tonight.
She started to slide into the booth and halted when she saw the reserved sign on the table.
I smirked and reached for the small of her back, urging her to sit. “That’s for us.”
Her eyes shot to mine. “Well, so far, I am impressed with the Leo experience. What else have you got?”