“But what about your brother?” Zara asked. “Doesn’t he stick up for you?”
I sighed. “No…That’s its own story entirely.”
Definitely didn’t want to get into that right now. Or ever. I was still hoping Derek would come to his senses and end things with Jillian. As it was, I couldn’t look either of them in the eye.
“Anyway,” I said, “if you know anyone who needs a roommate, let me know. I would legitimately consider it. It’s pretty brutal at home.”
Noelle grinned. “Good thing you’ve got Chase to distract you.”
Now it was my turn to blush. “We’re just friends.”
I think.
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 19
OceanofPDF.com
ANYTHING YOU WANT
Bailey
The volleyball game ended with Callingwood winning three-two. In theory, a close score like that should have made for an exciting match. In reality, I had no idea what happened. I took notes, but I’d done it in some kind of bizarre autopilot mode. The conscious, thinking part of my brain was stuck on the fact that Chase was picking me up. I was trapped in an emotional loop that cycled through excitement, fear, uncertainty, and lust, changing as often as the colors on a string of blinking Christmas lights. Torn between wanting to throw myself at Chase and wanting to run the other way. Half-tempted to kiss him to see what happened, but also fairly convinced that was a terrible idea. Worse still, not sure whether I cared if it was.
In other words, I was a mess.
Chase was already waiting in the loading zone as I navigated the crowd of spectators exiting through the glass arena doors. I climbed into his truck and buckled my seat belt. The kiss idea jumped up a few notches in my mind the second I got a good look at him. But if he wanted to kiss me again, wouldn’t he have done it already? He’d had ample opportunity.
My attention fell to his phone. It was lying in the center console, notifications going wild. The ringer was on silent, but the screen lit up with messages every few seconds.
Right.
I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Chase glanced down as he put his hand on the gearshift but paused and pulled it away before putting the truck in drive. “For fuck’s sake.” He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Do you mind if I respond to Ward so he leaves me the fuck alone about this fantasy hockey trade? He sent me an offer that expires in an hour, and now he’s texting me with a countdown every three minutes. Dick.”
A tiny stab of guilt pricked at me for assuming the worst about him.
“Sure,” I said. “Go ahead.”
“Pretty sure he’s already a little drunk,” Chase added. “He’s not normally this high maintenance.”
I crossed my legs, shifting to face him. “What’s the offer?”
“I don’t know.” He raked a hand through his dark hair. “Didn’t even review it. I was on my way out the door and didn’t want to be late picking you up. I’m sorry. I’ll be two seconds.”
To Chase’s credit, he completely ignored his phone most of the time. When we were together, he was mentally present, and his attention was fixed solely on me. It was more than I could say about most people I knew, friends or otherwise.
“I don’t mind, but now you’ve got to show me. I’m curious about what his offer is.”
Chase unlocked his cell and read the message. “Ha.” He snorted. “As if.” He held the device out so I could see the screen.
I studied it for a moment. “What’s the rest of your team look like?”
He took his phone back and navigated the screen briefly before handing it to me again. Chase obviously knew more about hockey than I did, but I didn’t agree with his conclusion.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I think I would take it.”
He shot me a dubious look. “Smith for Taylor? Ward is trying to screw me.”
“Taylor is overvalued, and he’s off to a weak start. Have you seen his stats lately? He hasn’t found his groove since they traded Petrov last season. He’s coasting. I don’t think he’s going to turn it around.”
Good job, Bailey. Geek out on sports. Guys loved that. I had already opened Pandora’s penalty box, though, so it was too late.
Chase looked at the screen, then back up to me. “Keep talking…” He furrowed his brow, dark eyes thoughtful.
“Smith is a sleeper. He’s been a little slow to develop, but he’s shown serious promise over the last six months. I think he’s going to have a breakthrough season. Plus, Dallas threw in a first-round draft pick with his offer. With Richardson coming up soon, I would be all over that.” I stopped my rambling and drew in a deep breath.
And cue backlash in three…two…
I waited for him to argue with me like Luke—and most guys—did. To tell me all the reasons my opinion was wrong or stupid. Derek was the only one who could engage in remotely civil debate with me about sports. Even then, he tried to pull the hockey player card when he was losing.
Chase tilted his head, looking at me like I was an alien. Then a grin broke out on his face. “You know what?” He shrugged. “I’ll bite.”
My heart exploded.
“Wait, really?” Surely, I’d misheard.
“James, you just dropped more knowledge than half the guys on the team could. It makes total sense.”
This may have been the moment I fell for him, but I’d never admit that out loud.
“Plus,” I added, “if you take the trade and I’m right, Dallas will be extra mad that he did it to himself.”
Chase grinned. “I like when you talk dirty to me.” He nodded at the phone. “There’s a lot of money riding on this pool, so if I win big because of this, I’ll buy you something nice.”
“I’d settle for a hot chocolate.”
“I’ll take you for that any time you want.”
Dark hair tumbled over his brow as he typed out a text to Dallas, frowning in concentration. He looked so heartbreakingly perfect, but what lay beneath the surface was a tangled mess of contradictions I didn’t understand. He was all sharp edges and swagger from a distance. But closer up, there was softness and vulnerability too.
The man, the myth, and the legend, yet—human.
I didn’t know what to make of it.
I didn’t know what we were doing.
“You can skate, right?” He stashed his phone in the console again. It stopped lighting up every two seconds, which confirmed that my initial assumption—that it was a roster full of girls—may have been hasty.
“Why?”
“Just curious. Maybe I like to plan ahead. But if you can’t, I mean…you can admit it.” A smirk played on his lips. He shifted the truck into drive, signaling to pull out of the loading zone. We waited while throngs of people milled about, blocking the way.
“Who do you think you’re dealing with here?” I asked. “I’ve been skating since I was three.”
“Figure skating?” Finally, a clearing opened, and he eased the truck onto the road, heading for the freeway exit.
“Psh, no. Hockey.”
He stole a sidelong glance at me, lips tugging up. “You played hockey? That’s awesome.”