Page 74 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
I turn to Maya, who’s sitting next to me on the couch. “Millie is a billion times better than me. And Austin. Your whole family is. You’re all pretty good carrying a tune.”
Maya flashes that gorgeous smile that has me instantly mesmerized. “We’re Filipino. Karaoke is in our blood.”
She winks at me and it takes everything in me not to grab her and kiss her right here, right now. I have to remind myself that we’re in front of her family right now and it would be pretty gross for us to go at it.
It’s been just over a week since we started hooking up and I’ve never been so happy. When we’re not busy with hockey camp we spend most of our free time fucking like animals on every available surface of this place.
I shake my head at that realization. I sound so…smitten. Shit, have I ever used that word to describe how I’ve felt before?
I sneak a glance at Maya as she chats with her brother. She turns and smiles at me and it feels like fireworks going off in my chest. That’s never happened to me before.
I tug a hand through my hair in an attempt to ground myself. Have I ever felt this…giddy? Ever?
I know the answer to that question right away. Nope. Not even close.
This thing with Maya feels different. It’s thrilling and fun and comfortable too. Like, I’ve never felt so at ease, so at home with a person.
A weird squeeze happens in my chest. It throws me off completely.
Maybe the reason this feels so different is probably because this thing with Mayaisdifferent. We’re living togetherandhooking up. I’ve done the friends-with-benefits thing plenty of times, but never like this—never with someone that I’ve lived with. Maybe that’s why it feels so much more intense.
Maya scoots closer to me on the couch we’re sitting on. When she looks at me, she quirks an eyebrow and runs her tongue along that beautifully plump bottom lip. Just that little movement has my dick aching. All those thoughts about my feelings and what they mean halt in my mind as I flash back to this morning when I was leaning against the arm of this couch while she took my dick in that perfect mouth…
I clear my throat and squirm in my seat. Maya covers her mouth, stifling a chuckle.
“Oh, you think that’s funny?” I say quietly so only she can hear me. Thankfully Millie’s belting out the last part of the song and everyone seems to be fixated on that.
Maya wrinkles her nose, a teasing smile playing on her lips. “Maybe,” she mouths.
That ache in my dick is back. “Later,” I mouth back.
The song ends and we all clap.
“Amazing, Millie,” I tell her. “About ten thousand times better than that crime scene of a song I attempted.”
Her head falls back as she laughs before she thanks me.
“Snack break?” Becca asks. Everyone says yes. She and Gage get up and head to the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with a fresh bottle of wine and a tray of homemade flatbread with what looks like mozzarella, herbs, and fresh tomatoes.
When Becca offers to top off my glass, I tell her no, thanks.
“I’ve got PT in the morning, so only one glass for me.” I guzzle down some water.
“How’s the knee?” Tyler asks me.
I bend it back and forth. “Almost good as new. PT is killer, but it’s working.”
“You think you’ll be able to play again?” he asks.
“Here’s hoping.”
I haven’t heard from my agent since I moved into Ingrid’s place so I could lay low and recover from my injury. Javier didn’t reach out to me last week when Rod Lukasik published his article about the Bashers’ win. Rod included my quotes in his story, but I guess what I said wasn’t important enough for anyone to care about.
I shouldn’t be so surprised. Did I really think a couple of well-worded lines in an article would completely change people’s opinions about me? That it would magically get me my spot on the team back?
I think about never being able to play again. It stings for sure, but the thought isn’t as gutting as it was when Javier delivered the news to me in his office. It would hurt not to be able to play hockey with my team ever again, but I’ll get through it. Like I’m getting through it now by coaching camp with Maya. I found something else that makes me happy other than hockey, and it’s a good feeling.
I catch Maya’s gaze lingering on me before she takes a bite of her flatbread slice. Her expression changes instantly.
