Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TYLER
I’ve been itching to get my hands on Colby since I spotted him talking to Batesy through the kitchen window, but I couldn’t get away until now. The conversation seemed to be never-ending, and I’m not exactly rude enough to say, “Excuse me, I need to leave so I can make out with my teammate.”
By the time I make it inside, I find Colby in the games room with Nelson and Winslow. A few others are watching, cheering them both on in what looks like a pretty intense game of ping-pong.
Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I fire off a text to Colby.
Meet me upstairs in 5. Top floor, first door on the right.
I lock it and hold it down by my side as I watch the game play out. My pulse kicks up at the broad grin Colby throws Winslow’s way after he wins that round. Our goalie sighs with a shake of his head and places a couple of bills in an empty cup perched on the side.
I stay rooted in place, silently begging for Colby to look at his phone.
But he doesn’t. He laughs at something Nelson says, and then his eyes find mine across the room.
An emotion I haven’t seen before in Colby flares in those hazel irises, and it has the hair on the back of my neck standing on edge.
What the fuck has happened? I didn’t let him out of my sight for that long.
I subtly jerk my head back toward the stairs behind me, and without a word, I turn on my heel and walk away. I down the rest of my beer, placing the empty bottle on a side table before glancing around to check everyone is preoccupied, and then make my way up the stairs to my room.
By the time I reach the third floor, the music becomes a distant thump, giving me the chance to think more clearly. I stop by the bathroom to take a leak, then wait for Colby in my room.
Is it risky to do anything while there’s a house full of people downstairs?
Obviously, but tonight is the perfect opportunity because everyone is drinking and too busy having a good time.
My housemates will be finding their way to their own rooms eventually, too busy with whoever they’ve paired up with for the night.
The last thing they’ll be thinking about is Colby’s or my whereabouts.
Even though I’ve only had one beer, I feel myself begin to heat up. I slide open my window slightly to let in some fresh air, then toss my hat onto my desk, adding to the ever-growing pile of crap that seems to find itself home there.
I’m pacing around the room when I hear footsteps on the stairs, and I freeze, gaze fixed on the door.
Colby peeks his head around the door frame moments later.
“Hey,” he says almost awkwardly.
His smile is hesitant as he enters my room, and an unsettling washes over me.
“What’s going on?” I frown, taking a step forward.
I don’t miss the way he flinches slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“Something’s happened,” I say, taking another step closer, hating the distance between us. And not just in the physical sense. “Has someone upset you?”
Colby’s eyes dart between mine and a spot beyond my shoulder as he chews on the inside of his lip. The longer he remains silent, the harder my heart pounds in my chest.
I swear if someone has done something to upset him, I’ll—
“I know we should have talked and set boundaries before we started doing all of this, and I know I have no right asking this, but I don’t want you to see anyone else while we’re hooking up.” His words come out in a rush, voice gradually getting more panicked.
I’m so startled by his unexpected outburst, all I can do is blink at him, and it takes me a few minutes to find my words.
“I… It didn’t even cross my mind to hook up with other people while we do this. Like, it was a no-brainer to me?” My brows furrow. “What’s happened to make you think otherwise?”
“I saw you in the backyard talking to that girl.” He waves his hand out to the side, then cringes. “Fuck, that sounds so pathetic. Getting all twisted up over you talking to someone else.”
My mind flies through the conversations I’ve had tonight. None of them have been flirtatious or suggestive. I’ve only talked to our teammates or guys who play with Batesy on the baseball team and their girlfriends.
Coming up blank, I ask, “Who? When?”
“The brunette in the white top.”
“Anna?”
He grunts and glances down to pick at his nails. “I guess.”
“Anna has been dating Batesy’s teammate since they were in the eighth grade,” I tell him, then tilt my head to the side, suddenly seeing a different side to him. A side I never expected from him, but one I don’t entirely hate.
A small smirk plays on my lips as I ask, “Colbs, were you jealous?”
“No,” he answers far too quickly to be telling the truth.
I take another step forward, hooking my finger into his belt loop and pull him closer until there are only a few inches between us.
“Kinda hot if you were,” I say hoarsely.
He rolls his eyes, and I can’t help but grin.
“Colby.”
“What?”
“Can I kiss you?”
His nostrils flare as he huffs out a breath and drops his gaze to the floor. Raising my hand, I place my finger under his chin and lift his head until his eyes meet mine.
“I guess,” he whispers.
“You guess?” I tease, inching closer until my mouth ghosts over his.
“I mean, it’s the least you can do after making me mad at you.”
“Is it wrong that it kinda turns me on that you were jealous over me?”
“I wasn’t jealous,” he argues, trying to appear grumpy, but the way his eyes have become all hooded and his pulse flutters in his neck gives him away.
Closing the small gap between us, I capture his lips in a slow kiss. His hands find my sides, fingers bunching the fabric of my T-shirt. I cradle his jaw with my palms and run my tongue along the seam of his lips.
Colby parts his lips, greeting my tongue with a gentle caress of his own.
I’m sure Colby doesn’t need the extra practice when it comes to kissing because he’s proven over and over he knows what he’s doing, but I can’t stop. His kisses are addictive.
It’s been almost forty-eight hours since I’ve tasted him, and I’ve been going out of my mind to have my mouth on him again.
Is it normal to want to fuse your mouth to your teammate’s and suck on his tongue every day?
Doubt it.
But I don’t care.
We’re both panting for breath when we finally pull apart. Colby’s cheeks are flushed, eyes glassy with desire, and it takes some real restraint not to haul him into bed and kiss him some more while our clothes are in a pile on the floor.
I take a purposeful step back to give him some space.
I don’t want to ignore the fact that he came up here upset, but I don’t want it to put a damper on our night.
It was a misunderstanding. A miscommunication.
I haven’t so much as looked or thought about another person since the night of the Hockey East championship.
Colby’s silent as he glances around my room. It’s nothing special by any means, but it’s bigger than his. When his eyes land on my guitar, his brows lift a fraction in surprise.
“I didn’t know you played guitar?”
I clear my throat. “Yeah. I started learning in the third grade. My brother bought me that guitar for my sixteenth birthday.”
“That’s cool. I had no idea.”
“I don’t really talk about it.” I shrug. “My dad has always told me it’s a pointless hobby, so I guess I’ve learned to keep it to myself in case anyone else had the same thoughts.”
Colby frowns. “The more I hear about your dad, the more I don’t like him.”
I choke out a laugh and rub the back of my neck. “As shit as it sounds, I’m starting to realize I feel the same way too.”
Colby runs his fingers down the neck of my guitar. I move around him to close the door, clicking the lock into place. I lean back against it and watch him take inventory of my possessions.
The photos pinned to a corkboard on my wall. The random collection of frog ornaments on my dresser.
“What’s this about?” he asks, lifting up the small ornament of a frog wearing a top hat.
“That’s Piper’s doing. The first birthday present she ever got me was this frog holding a hockey stick.
” I walk over to the dresser and point it out.
It’s no bigger than an inch. “Then every birthday and holiday, she would buy me another one. Now it’s become this thing where whenever she goes somewhere and she finds a frog, she has to get it for me.
” I let out a chuckle, looking over the ridiculous ornaments that mean more to me than any gift my parents ever got me. “I don’t even like frogs.”
He grins widely. “I’d like to meet her one day.”
The thought of Colby and Piper becoming friends has my heart swelling in my chest. There’s no doubt they would get on because they’re both so focused on being the best they can possibly be, but also, it would be good for Colby to meet someone else who is genuine and safe.
Maybe when I’m back in Arizona and I’m unable to keep an eye on Colby, their paths might cross, depending on where Piper gets drafted in June.
Colby puts the ornament back and lifts his head, eyes meeting mine. There’s a charge of anticipation growing in the air, and the sight of him sinking his teeth into his bottom lip has lust rushing down my spine to my groin.
“Colbs,” I whisper, sliding my hand around his neck and sinking my fingers into his hair. “Tell me what you want from tonight.”
His tongue darts out to wet his lips, and then he swallows roughly and shocks the hell out of me.
“I want to suck your dick.”
Heart pounding, I search his eyes for any sign he’s unsure about this. But I don’t find any. All I see is arousal and want.
A smirk crosses his face in a naughty promise, and I’m fucking here for it.
I answer by crashing my mouth onto his. I feel his smile against my lips as he curls his hand into the front of my T-shirt.