I collapsed on my bed, resting against the headboard. I couldn’t stop picturing Sidney’s wide-open smile, bouncing hair, and delinquent gleam in her eyes as she booked it up the stairs.
A small smile forced its way onto my lips, and I let out a frustrated groan. I wasn’t that guy; I was the don’t talk to me with a side of fuck off type. Now, with the growing attention around my start with the Bruins, I doubled down on being private. Running through the halls was the opposite of that.
Lucas barged into my room, flopping down on the bed beside me like dead weight. He was still scrolling Twitter on his phone. “So, you’re into her, huh?”
“You know damn well I don’t date, so screw off, man.” Lucas was my closest friend. Meaning, he thought he was entitled to know my shit.
“Whatever you say, buddy. From the way you look in those posts, I haven’t seen you have fun like that with… anyone.” He looked at me like I was some kind of lab rat, and his voice turned serious as he studied me. “At least not since Marcus died.”
Marcus.
My stomach dropped. He would’ve loved this drama.
“What do you want, Lucas?”
He lifted himself off the bed. “We’re headed to the Brewhouse.”
My stomach growled. I’d planned on staying in, but I guess it had other ideas.
Lucas finally tucked his phone in his pocket. “Honestly, though. How was it?”
I tried to shrug it off, but I could feel the smile build on my lips. “It was fun.”
“Just fun, huh?”
“I’m not justifying that with an answer.”
“Whatever helps you to sleep at night, kid.” His teasing tone was back in full force. Ever since he and Piper finally got together, he’d been on our cases about settling down and how wonderful it was. So, we basically avoided him like the plague.
“You think right before we move to Boston’s a good fucking time to date?” Frustration coated my voice. No, it fucking wasn’t. Something I forgot when I got within a three-foot radius of one feisty brunette.
“Hey, hurry up.” Alex banged on my door. “Quit your man hugging in there, and let’s eat.” More banging. “Get your ass out here, Jax, or I’m going to comment on each of these posts.”
He wouldn’t dare, but it was enough to get me up and moving. Even if it was just to knock him out. Sometimes these guys acted like we were brothers, and right now, he was the annoying younger one.
I opened the door, and Alex moved to the side to let me out. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and dragged me with him out of the house.
“Our agent called, and he wants to talk about today.” He air quoted the word talk. “Looks like you’re in shit.”
Rocky had signed Alex first, then took the rest of us on. His primary job was keeping us in line, and he was our go-between us and our future teams. Rocky was a dick but made good deals and knew the business, which was what we needed. I knew how to play, not suck up and PR.
I lifted a brow. “Rocky can fuck right off with that bullshit.”
Alex laughed. “Whatever, man, it’s your funeral.” A sly smile took over his face. “Okay, I want all the details about this girl.”
I looked at the ceiling. It was going to be a long night.
SIX
JAX
I clicked Submit on my online quiz and watched the “calculate” symbol flash on the screen. First test down, only one million to go. At least that was what it felt like. Several students had already scrambled out of the class with matching looks of terror.
Couldn’t say I blamed them. Shit was hard.
I might be a jock, but I didn’t fuck around with school, and the quiz had tested my confidence. I cracked my knuckles as the results page loaded and smirked.
A.
Hell, yeah.
A distressed feminine sound drew my attention just in time to witness Sidney drop her head on the desk with a dull thump, making it vibrate below my arms.
She banged her head a few more times before laying it over her crossed arms. She flattened on the table like a giant weight pressed on her, so heavy she couldn’t lift her head.
I snuck a peek at her laptop and the B-marked on it.
From the looks of our classmates, it could’ve been worse.
I mimicked her posture, head laid on my arms, and faced her. “Hi.”
Her gaze met mine, and her eyes widened at how close I was. My elbow was only a hairsbreadth from hers.
“Hi.” Her voice was quiet. All her usual spark had faded away. Yeah, that had to change.
“Quizzes don’t count, remember?” I gestured with my chin toward her laptop.
She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Maybe not for you. You’re already drafted to the freakin’ NHL.”
“Passing this class matters to me. Could you fucking imagine if I made it to the end and didn’t graduate?” I scoffed, and a shudder ran down my spine. The newspapers would eat that shit up.
“Sorry… It’s just…” She took a deep breath, pausing for several beats before letting it out. “I need that referral to finalize my internship.”
My head snapped back. “Wait, really? The one you were celebrating at the club?”
“Really. Really.” She rubbed her temples, and her fingers slid through her hair, pushing it off her face. Goddammit, she looked like someone had kicked her puppy. I shouldn’t care. I barely knew this girl, but I fucking did.
“Hey, we can figure this out.”
A soft laugh escaped her, loosening the tension in my chest. “Oh, can we?”
I bumped my arm into hers. “Yeah, the fuck we can.”
A pale pink brightened her skin as the spark returned to her eyes. “And how do you expect us to do that? I didn’t just fail this quiz. I studied and failed.”
“First, a B-isn’t a fail. Second, somehow I’m not surprised that you’re as thorough at studying as you were at turning me down.”
Her eyes crinkled with her smile, and she gnawed on her bottom lip.
That was fucking better.
Her smile turned sheepish. “It’s not like I wanted to turn you down. It was the rule—”
“Rules, I know.” This girl had no idea how badly I wanted to break all of her carefully crafted rules. I turned my laptop so she could see my grade. “What if I told you I could guarantee you an A on your next quiz? All you have to do is study with me.”
“You can’t promise that. No one can.”
She was right, but that didn’t stop me from leaning forward on my forearms, cutting the distance between us. “Try me.”
“Just to make sure I understand. You’re saying all I have to do is study with you for one night and I’ll get an A?”
I pushed my tongue into my cheek. There was that one-night rule again, although I doubted it extended to studying. “That’s right.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “There’s no way.”
I waited until her eyes were on mine. “Bet.”
“What?” She practically squeaked the question but didn’t look away. The green had swallowed the brown of her irises, and her breaths came out in shallow pants as she waited for my response.
I gave her my cockiest smile. The one I’d honed after a lifetime on the ice antagonizing my opponents. “I bet you’ll earn an A on your next quiz if you study with me one time.”