8. Scott
SCOTT
I couldn’t tear my eyes off her or get my dick under fucking control.
I had no idea what kind of spell she’d put on me, but I was totally and extraordinarily enraptured by the troublemaker next to me.
And she was my buddy’s sister.
His baby sister.
It was against every bro code known to man, but I couldn’t get myself to regret or even want to keep my hands to myself now that I knew she was Sam’s little sister.
“You’re… Wait, how is that possible?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I mean… you don’t look like my brother’s age.”
“Well, thanks.” I winked. “Great skincare routine,” I teased. I could see the light in her eyes hint at amusement, but my girl was not so easily won over.
“Did you know? I mean, last night. Who I was?”
“Hell, no,” I admitted swiftly. “And before you ask me if I felt what I felt last night when we first met, I’m sure that feeling would have been the same this morning.”
“Just a little more complicated?” Her brow rose, and I nodded.
“Man.” She shut her eyes and shook her head.
“Now it’s a lot more complicated.” She made a face.
“Confession?” I nodded again. “I was going to go back to your place after brunch.” Hope sprung to life.
“I should have given you my name. My number,” Stella added softly.
“Turns out we have that already.”
“Yeah.” She smiled and leaned closer. “Now that we know who the other is and how… connected we are to Sam… What happens now?”
The vulnerability in her gaze made everything inside me go into protector mode. All I wanted to do was pull my beautiful troublemaker into my arms and promise nothing bad would ever happen. That I had her. But our waitress showed up at that moment, asking if we were ready to order.
To my surprise, Stella opened the menu and gave her order without hesitating. I just asked for the same because I doubted I could get my shit together enough to read any of the signature plates.
Stella, my sexy and sweet troublemaker, was my old buddy’s sister.
What happens now? The question bounced in my head, and I smiled. I turned to look at her the moment our waitress was gone and took her hand.
“Scott?” she asked, and fuck me, I loved hearing her call me by my name even though if I was honest, I missed those breathy handsomes she’d moaned just before she came last night.
“Do you believe in fate?” I asked, unable to hold back the raspiness in my voice.
“Is this some kind of joke?” She tried to pull her hand away, but I didn’t let her. Instead, I shook my head.
“No, not at all. I’m serious. Look.” I bunched my brows. “In the field I work in—“
“Hockey?”
“Yeah.” I tried to ignore the heat that washed over my face. “Fate. Destiny. Luck. We’re known to be a little superstitious, and I gotta admit, I’m one of them.”
“You are?” Most people scoffed or teased you for this. But as I stared at my girl, I realized there was none of that.
“Yeah.”
“Do you believe in psychic abilities?” she asked, and my eyes widened.
“What?”
“Do you believe in the ability to know something before it happens for no reason?” she explained and then sighed. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. Full disclosure? I don’t know how it happens, but I can do that.”
“Really?” I asked without judgment.
And just like that, my troublemaker got even more interesting.
“Yes.” She licked her lips and leaned in closer.
Her bare arm brushed against mine, and her fingers laced tighter through mine.
“Last night, before I walked into the bar, I knew something was going to happen. Something good and out of this world. Then, when I walked in here… honestly? I chalked it up to deciding I was going to go back to your place to give you my number.”
“A number you already have.” I reminded her. “And now?” I asked, unable to blink, too afraid I’d miss some kind of expression or emotion.
“Now it turns out the world is weirdly smaller than either of us could have imagined.”
“Fate.”
“Or destiny.” She chewed on that plump bottom lip I knew I would dream about tonight.
“So… you’re Sam’s sister. I’m Sam’s friend.”
“That we are.” She smiled sadly.
I lost her warm gaze when the waitress came by to drop off our plates and drinks, along with a complimentary appetizer the chef had sent for me.
It wasn’t unusual for people in Houston to recognize me and do things like this.
Gestures of kindness were the way of the people in Houston. Especially with their hockey players.
“This looks great,” she said, but when I glanced down at her next to me, she shuffled her food around her plate like she wasn’t hungry.
“Something wrong with the food?” She shook her head, giving me a polite smile.
“No, nothing like that. The French toast looks great.” I looked at my own dish and had to agree with her.
“It does,” I agreed, and both of us dug in. The silence as we ate side by side felt heavy.
I tried to make small talk, but she was deep in her head and thoughts. Once we finished brunch, I took care of the bill and slipped out of the booth, not hesitating to take her hand with mine.
If Stella thought her brother would stop me from pursuing her, from claiming her, she had something else coming to her.
“Wanna go for a walk?”
“I’m sure you have more important stuff to do,” she argued. “Your phone’s been going off nonstop since the food hit the table.” It had, but I didn’t give a shit.
“And?”
“And… I don’t know, that’s more important, right? You have a game tomorrow and—“
“Come on.” I tugged on her hand, and we started to walk down the main area of downtown Houston. It had an old school small town feel to it. We headed towards the small green space park area.
“Talk to me,” I broke the silence as I glanced over at her.
“What?”
“You’re quiet. I know we just met, but that’s not you.” Something in her eyes flared.
“Do you really believe in destiny? In fate?”
“I do.”
“Do you think… do you think it was fate for us to meet and hook up last night?” The question lingered between us for a moment before I answered.
“I think we were destined to meet no matter what. Fate smiled on me today because it must have known how fucking badly I wanted to find you.”
“You did?” She was clearly surprised by my answer, so I stopped and pulled her into me. My hand rested on the small of her back like she was already mine.
“Stella, before we fell asleep after that last… round,” I reminded her, and she adorably blushed, “I knew I was going to break those fucking rules we put in place.”
“Oh.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “But it kinda sucks, doesn’t it?”
“What sucks?” I asked, slightly confused. I could have sworn we were on the same page.
“What could have been?”
“Excuse me?” Did she just say could have been? Past tense?
“Yeah, what could have been….” She shook her head and scrunched her nose. “Forget it. I’m being silly.”
“Don’t do that,” I interrupted and cupped her face. “Don’t ever think your thoughts are silly. They’re important, and I want to know every. Single. One. Talk to me.” I tilted her pretty, delicate chin up so our eyes would meet.
“I just mean… isn’t that against the rules? Dating your friend’s sister?” My lips quirked up as I bent forward slowly, giving her more than enough time to back away. Something my troublemaker didn’t do. No, she stayed steady, ten toes down for whatever I was about to do.
“Baby girl, when it comes to you, fuck the rules.”
“Just like that?” she whispered. “But what about Sam and—“
“Do you want to see where this goes? Do you want to get to know me a little more? Because I can tell you right here, right now, I want to get to know you better, too.”
“Even with…”
“What?”
“All your traveling? Your life.”
“I want you.” I opened and shut my mouth.
“What?” she asked, too observant for her own good.
“You’re not ready for that.”
“Try me.” My troublemaker loved to challenge me, to push the boundaries. And fuck me, I loved that she did.
“Stella,“ I warned, but I could see her stubbornness set in.
“Try me,” she repeated. I leaned in closer.
“Without even knowing your name, I knew you were it for me,” I admitted. She immediately laughed. But her smile died down when she realized it wasn’t just a smooth line but the god's honest truth.
“What?”
“You’re mine,” I repeated with confidence. She blinked, her face suddenly more flushed as her breathing changed.
“Scott.”
“I like when you say my name, troublemaker.” I didn’t need to hear the words back from her. Not yet.
I kissed her.
If I hadn’t known before, I would have known the moment our lips touched. We’d kissed the night before countless times. Kisses that had been full of heat and lust and need.
But this kiss? This kiss was different. It was new.
Intimate with a kind softness, the kind that spurred hope for a new beginning.
It reminded me of what it was like to be on the ice, rushing towards the goal, skating against that thin line of being called offside and making sure you stayed just right.
And when she deepened it? Opening her mouth, silently asking for my tongue against hers? I knew she felt it, too.
Fuck being offsides when a possessive want snaped in place, one I knew would never let go because this was it for me. Her and I together making whatever kind of life she wanted.
And fuck me, I couldn’t wait.