Page 75 of Fake Shot

“Yeah. I know it took a lot for you to extend that olive branch.”

He exhales and his breath skims the top of my head and then condenses with the mist surrounding us. “It was a lot easier than I’d worked it up to be in my mind.”

“I think that, maybe, that’s what moving on feels like.”

“Yeah . . . maybe.”

Sitting on the dock watching the mist come off the water and the sun try to peek through the grey clouds, I marvel at the fact that I’m in Colt’s arms...and have been for the last few hours. I was still ravenous for him after that single mind-blowing orgasm early this morning, but he wouldn’t let me take it any further than we had.

Instead, he wrapped me in his arms and fucking cuddled me, and I fell back asleep while pressed up against his chest with his arms around me. I woke up at some point when he got up and went into the bathroom, and I’m pretty sure he took care of that erection that had been pushed up against me when I fell asleep because it was absent, and he was more relaxed when he came back to bed to pull me right back into his arms.

When the alarm went off a few hours ago, I was afraid things would be awkward, especially since the only other time I’d ever woken up in a guy’s bed had been a nightmare. But everything has felt so natural, so easy, that part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“So you learned to skate on this pond in the winters, I assume?” I ask after a few moments of silence.

“Yeah. I probably spent more hours of my life on thispond, skating in the winter and swimming in the summer, than anywhere else, ever.”

I look out across the “pond,” which is actually larger than a lot of lakes in New England. “When I was a kid, my mom used to take us up to her aunt’s house on Lake Sunapee in the summers. Sometimes we’d just go for the weekend, and other times we’d stay for a week or two. It was this amazing old hunting lodge overlooking the water, and I’d go down to the dock and just sit there in the shade and read in the mornings. It was my absolute favorite place in the world, but I haven’t been back in years.”

“What happened to it?”

“Nothing. It’s still in the family, but my dad never took us up there once Mom died—he never got along well with her family. I inquired about buying the house last year. I’d love to remodel it and make it something that could be enjoyed year-round. I had all these visions of going up there with my whole family for holidays and such. But my great-aunt’s kids are not interested in selling. Apparently, it’s their favorite place, too.”

“I love that you have a favorite place,” he says. “But I’m sorry you don’t get to go there anymore.”

I shrug against him, and he hugs me tighter. “Is this your favorite place?”

“I don’t think I have a favorite place. I loved it here when I was a kid, but this is my first time sitting on this dock in fifteen years. It’s not even the same dock. The old one was long, narrow, and wooden. This new one is quite a bit nicer.”

I glance along the floating platform that we’re sitting on, which is connected to the shore by a short, permanent dock.It’s coated in droplets of water and, despite the blanket beneath me, I realize that my jeans are damp.

“Did it rain overnight?” I ask. I didn’t hear the rain, but there’s a layer of moisture clinging to everything, and I can’t tell if it’s just from the mist.

“Not sure,” he says, his whispered words brushing up against my ear. “I was too busy listening to you scream my name to notice whether it was raining.”

“First of all, that was this morning, not last night. And second, I didnotscream your name.”

“Want me to demonstrate what you sounded like?” His voice is husky as he smooths his hand against my stomach, anchoring me back against his chest. “Or maybe”—he toys with the button at the top of my jeans—“I should just slide my hand in here and do it again? You’ll have to be quieter this time, because sound carries over water, and if we go back to talking at a normal volume, they’ll be able to hear everything up at the house, and across the pond, too.”

“Don’t you dare,” I whisper, even as my hips tilt forward, seeking out his hand. I know they can’t see us from the house because of the trees, but I didn’t realize they could hear us. “I do not need the mortification of everyone listening to me having an orgasm on your parents’ dock.”

“Jules, now that I’ve given youone, I kind of want to see how many times I can make you come. I bet I could get at least two out of you right in a row, maybe more.”

An uneasy feeling washes over me. I can’t explain where it comes from, but the uncertainty and mistrust are there, rearing their ugly heads. “Why? Do you compare notes with your teammates to see who can dole out the most orgasms in one go, or something?” I’m joking—it’s not like I reallybelieve he does this. But guysdotalk, and I don’t want to be the subject of their conversations.

The sudden clink of his mug on the dock sends a few birds scattering out of the tree above us, their black wings taking shape against the mist coming off the water as they swoop low over the pond. Colt uses both hands to grip my waist, lifting and turning me so I’m sitting on his knees. I reach down and set my mug on the dock as well, thankful I’d almost finished my tea so I didn’t spill it everywhere.

“Do youreallythink I’d do something like that, Jules?” Annoyed notes of frustration ring out in his quiet, but tense, voice.

“What can I say? I know hockey players.” I give a little shrug to hide how uncomfortable I am. It was so much easier to talk about my past last night, shrouded in the darkness. Sitting a foot from him and looking him dead in the eye in broad daylight is different.

“Really?” The word is skepticism come alive. “So your brother, then?”

“No, obviously not him. I’m sure he slept around a fair bit before Lauren, but I’m confident he doesn’t talk about their sex life with other people.”

“Jameson’s always been incredibly discreet,” he confirms. “So what about Drew, then?”

“God no, he was so gone for Audrey the minute he saw her again. He’s like a goddamn golden retriever with the way he needs all her love and attention.”

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