Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
COLBY
The second my professor dismisses the class, I shove my laptop into my backpack and head outside, eager to find out what Tyler meant by his ambiguous text.
Tyler
You free today? I have an idea
My heart skips at the possibilities.
Our schedules have gone crazy over the last two weeks between practice and training for the Frozen Four to Tyler studying for his finals, but we’ve still found time to see each other almost every day.
Nine times out of ten, it ends up with me sucking his dick or exchanging hand jobs, and we always make out until our lungs are working overtime to catch our breaths.
I haven’t let him get his mouth on my cock yet, but that’s more because I’m scared shitless that I’ll come the second his lips touch me, but I think it’s safe to say I’m quickly becoming addicted to Tyler Beckmann, and it’s a problem.
It’s gotten to the point where Stassie aired her concerns the other day, worried that my crush is getting too big for me to handle when this is over.
I’m choosing to ignore it because being in denial is safer than accepting that she’s right.
Weaving through people in the hall, I push through the doors and pause at the top of the steps outside.
I raise my hand, shielding my eyes from the bright morning sun, and spot Tyler, leaning against his parked car.
His hands are stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, and he’s watching me with an easygoing smile on his face.
I’m unable to stop the grin from taking over mine.
Shifting my bag further up my shoulder, I head down the steps, joining him curbside.
“What are you doing here?” I ask curiously.
“Waiting for you.”
My head tilts slightly. “Why? I thought Coach gave us the day off?”
“He did.” He steps in closer and lowers his voice with a filthy smirk. “I’m kidnapping you.”
I tip my head back and laugh. “You’re what?”
“You heard me. Didn’t you get my text?”
“Yeah, but I—” I shake my head, choked laughter getting caught in my throat. “I didn’t know what you meant.”
“I need you to go and pack an overnight bag because we’re heading into Boston for the night.”
“What about—”
Tyler raises his hand and presses his finger to my lips, halting my protest.
“I want to get away from campus for a bit before we leave tomorrow. We’ll be back before lunch, so you don’t need to worry about Coach finding out.”
I swallow thickly. We’re heading to Tampa tomorrow for the Frozen Four, and I haven’t even packed my bag yet. My brain has been a scrambled mess from practice, classwork, and getting high on Tyler.
I’ve never done something like this before. Is it reckless? Going into the city the night before leaving for the biggest tournament of my life so far?
My mom would have my head if she knew I was going to spend the night away and I haven’t so much as packed my underwear for the week.
“Do you trust me?” Tyler asks, interrupting the endless chain of worry in my brain.
“Yes,” I say without hesitation, then shrug my backpack further onto my shoulder. “Okay, but you need to give me, like, thirty minutes. I need to at least put some clothes in my case so I’m not rushing tomorrow.”
Grinning, he walks back toward his car. “I’ll drive you and wait in the car.”
Tyler drops me off outside my building, and I rush inside, taking the stairs two at a time.
I all but run into my room, dumping the contents of my backpack on my bed.
I grab a clean T-shirt and underwear, shoving them into my bag, then put all of my toiletries into my wash bag before stuffing that inside.
“Where are you sneaking off to?” Stassie asks, and I almost jump a foot in the air at the sound of her voice.
“Holy shit, Stas, you scared the crap out of me.”
She laughs. “Clearly. I’ve been standing here for a solid two minutes without you noticing.” She comes into my room and perches on the edge of my desk. “So? Where are you going?”
“Tyler is taking me into the city for the night.”
Her eyes widen gleefully. “Do you think…”
“That I might lose my virginity tonight?” I supply, lifting my suitcase onto the bed.
She nods.
“I mean… maybe? It would be the perfect opportunity for it. The privacy, knowing we won’t have a teammate banging on the door, asking to play ping-pong.”
“Nope, you’ll be too busy playing a different kind of ball game.” She wiggles her brows, lips twisting in a smirk.
I laugh, though it comes out shaky with nerves.
“Do you think you’re ready for it?”
I freeze in front of my closet, hands gripping my team clothing tight.
We’ve been doing these lessons for almost three weeks now, and while I know there’s so much left to learn, I do think I’m ready to take the next step. Especially with the way Tyler constantly checks in on me and asks for my consent—it makes me feel safer with him than ever before.
“Yeah, I think I am,” I tell her after a beat.
“He’s been incredible, you know? Everything has been at my pace.
He checks in with me all the time, making sure I’m okay and that I’m comfortable with what we’re doing.
” I suck in a breath, feeling a bit more vulnerable now the reality of how significant tonight could be sinks in. “I think I’m ready for this.”
Stassie smiles, clearly approving of my answer. She stands and moves to step in front of me.
“But are you ready for it in here?” She taps on my chest with one finger. “It can’t be easy doing all this while actively crushing on the guy.”
It’s been no secret that I haven’t done a great job at keeping a lid on my feelings for Tyler since we started this arrangement. I’m trying so hard to keep it all contained, locked in a box that I can look back on when I’m alone with nothing but my hand and memories of Tyler’s skin on mine.
But no matter how hard I try, those feelings I hold for him are starting to grow and spill over until the lid can’t hold any longer.
“It is what it is,” I say eventually, the weight of resignation torpedoing my good mood.
I throw some clothes into my case ready for tomorrow, then unplug my phone charger from the wall and throw that into my backpack. I zip it up, trying to ignore Stassie’s stare burning a hole in the side of my head.
“Colby…” she sighs, sympathy laced in her tone.
“Don’t, okay?” I snap, then wince because it isn’t her fault I’m in this mess. Sighing, I add, “I knew the risks when I asked him to help me, so if I end up hurt at the end of all of this, the only person I have to blame is myself.”
I pick up my backpack and shrug it onto my shoulder, then finally look at my closest friend in the eye. Her eyes are filled with worry, brows creasing in a frown. I hate that I’m causing her to feel like this.
“Sometimes, when you try to protect yourself, you end up hurting yourself in the process, and pain is the price you have to pay to stay safe,” I say, offering her a lopsided smile.
She tugs her lip between her teeth, and I can tell from the heavy expression on her face that she wishes things were different for me.
I do too, but sometimes, even when you have a future full of opportunities, there are parts of your life you have to sacrifice to make them happen.
I hold out my arms, and when she steps into them, I wrap my arms around her small frame in a hug. She squeezes my waist as tight as she can, and I smile.
“I’ll be okay,” I tell her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
“I know you will, but it doesn’t stop me from giving a shit about you, Colby McKay.” She takes a step back and smooths her hand over my hoodie, wiping away the smudge of makeup she left behind. “Will you text me if it happens?”
“I will. I’ll tell you everything.”
She scrunches up her nose. “Maybe not everything, but just… Tell me if it’s as good as you hope it’s going to be.”
With a promise to keep her updated, I head back down the stairs and walk over to where Tyler’s parked. Nerves and anticipation churn in my stomach.
I’ve gotta tell him how I feel before we do anything else tonight. It would be wrong of me to have sex with him and continue to keep my feelings a secret.
I let out a long breath before I slip into the passenger seat.
“All good?” he checks, one hand resting on the leather steering wheel, his body angled toward me.
“Yeah,” I reply, putting my bag on the back seat. Once I’m buckled in, Tyler starts the engine and pulls away from the curb. “So, what’s the plan?”
“I was thinking we could go to an arcade, grab some food, then head to the game.”
I snap my head back toward him, mouth dropping open in shock.
“You got us tickets to the game?” I ask dumbly.
“Uh, yeah,” he laughs nervously, then takes his hat off. He puts it in his lap before running his fingers through his hair without taking his eyes off the road. “I mean, we’re sitting pretty high up. I couldn’t afford anything in the lower bowl, but I—”
His words cut off as I lean over and press a quick kiss to his cheek. The car fills with silence aside from the low sound of his music, and a knot of worry forms in my gut.
Did I just fuck up?
We don’t do… this, outside of the safety of our bedroom or a hotel room.
It’s not really a “friends with benefits” move to make, but it felt like the most natural thing to do.
And it’s not like I could kiss him properly while he’s driving without causing a ten-car pile-up—then Coach Vaughn would definitely find out we sneaked off campus and would result in us having to answer a hundred questions.
“Thank you,” I say quietly. “I haven’t been to a game in a long time.”
He flashes me a lopsided grin before focusing back on the road. “As soon as I saw the Vancouver Steelheads were in town, I knew it would be a good game. I’m lucky I could find some tickets on StubHub.”
“I haven’t seen Beau Rousseau play before.”
He reaches over to knock my shoulder with his fist. “Now you get to see your hero in the flesh before you face off against him.”
“He’s not my hero.” My argument is flat because Tyler already knows how much I look up to Beau Rousseau.