Page 37 of Delay of Game

“Very,” I say, and press one more kiss against her lips before jumping off the bed and starting up the shower.

Alice follows me inside the bathroom, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes, my T-shirt she’s wearing riding high on her creamy thighs.

Maybe we do have time for a quick round?—

The phone rings and I frown. Alice startles and places a hand on her heart. “That scared me. Who is calling so early?” she says.

“No idea, I’ll check it out and join you in a second,” I say, pressing another kiss to the top of her head.

My heart drops when I see Coach Brian’s name on my phone. Our last game of the season is tonight, and we’ve already clinched a spot in the playoffs. What could he possibly be calling about?

Alice

I’m soreeverywhere.Not that I’m complaining about it. When I showed up to Jordan’s apartment last night in nothing but his jersey and a trench coat on top, I didn’t expect him to lose his mind over it, bend me over the couch, and fuck me senseless. And when I could barely walk, he carried me to the bedroom, grabbed my overnight bag from the car, and spent an indecent amount of time going down on me, apologizing with his tongue.

This past month has felt surreal. I let the hot water spray over my skin and smile as I think about the little bubble we’ve been under since coming back from the cabin. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I think all my dreams might be coming true. I’ve carried a torch for Jordan for so long, and now that I finally have him, I can’t imagine letting him go.

“J?” I call out, realizing it’s been a while and he hasn’t joined me. I turn the shower off and step out onto the mat, grabbing a clean towel off the hook. I don’t bother to wrap one around my hair, but instead I walk back into the bedroom, seeing what the holdup is.

“Jordan?” I ask, but I don’t get an answer. His phone is gone from the nightstand so maybe he’s taking a call somewhere else. Curiosity gets the best of me, and I step out into the living room.

There’s nothing here except for the jersey on the couch and the sound of complete and utter silence. When I look for Jordan’s car keys on the hook by the door, I don’t find them.

He’s gone.

The class bellrings while I’m in the middle of explaining to Joe, one of my sixth-grade students, why he needs to improve his writing skills, and more specifically why he can’t get away with “The book was fire”as his literary analysis forThe Hobbit.

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose as the little shit smirks at me and throws his backpack over one shoulder. “Great talk everyone, happy to continue this discussion next time,” I mumble, and plaster on a smile for the rest of my class.

There’s always that one kid—smart as a whip but determined to make the teacher’s life a living hell. That’s Joe. He could be so much more if he applied himself, but instead he chooses to spend his time making wise-ass remarks and avoiding any conversation about his home life. Not that I try too hard to pester him, after all, it’s not my job to be his counselor. But it still nags at me that I haven’t been able to get through to him all year.

I grab my phone from my purse and check to see if Jordan called or texted while I was busy, but there’sstillnothing. I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and gnaw at it in concern. What could have been so important that he had to run out of his own apartment so early in the morning?

And why is he avoiding me?

I shake off the uneasy feeling. I’m sure it’s fine, it’s nothing bad. If something had happened with his sister or parents, I would have found out by now, either from him or my own family. It’s probably something hockey related.

Taking a sip of my iced brown sugar latte, I try to focus my attention on my next group of students, ready to talk aboutThe Hobbitall over again. Good thing it’s one of my favorite books.

A knock at the door has me spinning towards it, my hand flying to my chest.

“Didn’t mean to startle you,” Megan says, taking a few steps forward. I’ve known Megan since I started working as a substitute English teacher at Rowen Elementary last year. We both started on the same day, and we struck up a friendship pretty quickly, being the youngest two on the teacher roster.

“Sorry, I’m just jumpy today,” I say, tucking my hair behind my ear nervously. I don’t have a lot of female friends outside of Olivia, and while I adore her to pieces, we’re not yet at that level in our friendship to shareeverything. She’s very perceptive and guessed that I had a crush on Jordan, but I haven’t told her yet about the cabin and how we’ve been sneaking around this past month. I especially didn’t want to bother her as she’s recovering from her nasty injury on the ice.

Megan, on the other hand, is a great listener. She’s already heard me pining after Jordan countless times, and maybe I just need to tell someone, anyone, that we’re finally together.

“Jordan and I finally took the next step,” I say vaguely, rolling my lips inward and swaying from side to side.

Megan’s pale blond eyebrows fly up her forehead as she says, “Really?”

“Yes,” I squeak out, followed by a bunch of word vomit. “We went to the cabin a month ago, and he caught me reading smut and then he read some of it and I thought he was gonna make fun of me, but he was actually really cute and sexy about it, and I admitted that I still have a crush on him, and then he kissed me. And then we did a lot more than kissing, and when we got back, it’s just been nonstop. I mean, I knew he was gonna be good in bed, buthot damn, the man has stamina. And last night was so unbelievably perfect, but then he got a call this morning and I haven’t seen or spoken to him since, and I’m getting a little worried.”

Megan wraps me in a gentle hug, and I relax against her. She towers over me, as she’s nearly six feet tall, and when she pulls back, she cups my head with both hands.

“I’m so happy for you. I know you’ve carried a torch for him for so many years, I bet it feels nice to give in and explore this new thing. Just—be careful, okay?”

“We use protection,” I say. “Well, mostly.”

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