Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
She nods. “I do. It’s something we do every Sunday.”
“That’s nice.”
“Do you live near family?”
I shake my head. “No, my mom and sister are in Arizona. I don’t know my dad.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I don’t need him,” I say simply, licking my lips.
“So, you play hockey?”
I nod. “I do.”
“Professional?”
“Yeah, I play for the Carolina IceCats.”
Her eyes meet mine. “That’s amazing. Are you good?”
I shrug, a grin pulling at my lips. “I score a decent amount.”
“I’m sure you do,” she says naughtily. With a gleam in her eye, she adds, “I only follow the Nashville Assassins, of course.” She rises up on her knees, and I don’t know what gets into me, but I reach for her, bringing her between my legs.
I stroke my hands along her face. “Well, you better start following the IceCats, just so you know when I’m playing here.”
Her lips curve. “I’m moving.”
That’s right. “Where?”
“Virginia.”
My stomach drops. “There’s no hockey there.”
She shakes her head. “No, there is not.”
I run my thumb along her lips, and her head tips back, giving me free rein, and I take her mouth to ease my disappointment. My hands tangle in her hair as I deepen the kiss, unable to accept that this is it. I lick along her bottom lip, then her top, before I pull back, pressing my nose into hers. Her eyes are closed as she holds me, her grip on my neck tight as she inhales hard and lets it out just as hard.
I move my thumb along her lip again, meeting her gaze as my heart slams into my chest. “This sucks.”
She nods. “It does.”
I try to find the right words, but I don’t know them. “Should we exchange numbers?”
She swallows as she shrugs. “I would love to, but it might be hard to keep in contact.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re busy.”
She shakes her head. “That’s not how I mean.”
“No?”
“No,” she says, her eyes searching mine. “It’d be hard because of the distance.”
My chest aches as I nod. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“I feel like we’d get to know each other, and we already know how great this is, so it’d only set us up for failure.”
Or set us up for life.
“We could see how it goes.”
The sorrow in her eyes hits me in my chest. “I think we should just accept this for what it is.”
I only nod, knowing good and well she’s right. There are too many moving parts. I live in South Carolina; she’s moving to Virginia. She’s starting a new job, and I’ve got a lot going on with my sister and my mom. I don’t know if I can even commit to a relationship right now. As soon as I think that, I feel dumb. A relationship? Slow your roll, Dart. This was a hookup, plain and simple. But why does it feel like more?
Unable to answer her or even add to what she said, I lean in and kiss her once more. She kisses me back, circling her arms around my neck and pulling me closer. I wrap my arms around her middle and hug her back as our mouths play.
When we part, we’re both breathless and our eyes meet once more.
“Can I walk you out?” I ask, and she nods.
“I’d appreciate that.”
But neither of us moves. I sigh and kiss her forehead before I let her go. She gets up, and I do the same. In silence, we grab our things, and I roll her bag out with mine. Together, we walk to the elevator, and I try to figure out what to say. What I want to tell her. Or even ask of her. But I can’t think of anything, so I just take her in. The curve of her cheeks, the fullness of her lips. God, she’s gorgeous.
“Oh!” she gasps, reaching for her UT cowboy hat that is strapped to her bag. “I forgot.” She removes it and then steps toward me to put it on my head. “Your hat for your hat tricks.”
My heart pounds in my chest as I grin down at her. “I don’t think scoring a hat trick will ever be the same.”
A flush spreads over her face. “Good.”
God, her confidence is irresistible.
I can’t end this yet.
I hit the stop button on the elevator, and it jerks to a stop as she cries out, “What in the hell?”
I take her wrist in my hand and pull her to me, kissing her once more. She melts into me, and I do the same to her. I kiss her three more times, short, sweet kisses, before I press my forehead to hers. “I didn’t want it to be over yet.”
Her eyes soften from the panic as she nods. “You’re making this so hard for me.”
I smile against her lips. “You? I’m struggling, and I don’t even know you.”
She sighs. “Same.”