Page 63 of Forecheck
“I did. I graduated in absentia with my class in 2015, actually,” he said.
“What’d you major in?”
“Business…and finance.”
I sat up and turned to look at him. “You double majored?”
Brent shrugged. “My dad always told me I needed something to fall back on if hockey didn’t work out. I knew even if I never made it to the show, I wanted to be involved in hockey somehow, so I double majored in business and finance. Seemed like both of those things would set me up nicely in the future. And now, when hockey’s done, I could start my own business or own a team or something. I’m just glad I had an extra year of eligibility. It gave me another year to play, and it made my course load a lot lighter.”
I straightened fully and crawled onto his lap. “You mean to tell me that you’re this hot, you’re an insanely talented athlete,andyou’re stupid smart? My God, Brent. Leave some for the rest of us.”
His grin was sheepish. “You’re no slouch in the looks or intelligence department either, my dear.”
His mouth was on mine again, and every nerve ending in my body lit up. Lord, I could get addicted to his kisses. In fact, I was pretty sure I already was.
We didn’t talk for a while after that, content to relax in each other’s arms. Brent asked me about my childhood, about my life at Michigan State, and even pried the full story of Lee and our epic breakup out of me.
“He gaslit the shit out of me,” I told him. “I’d heard from a friend that he was cheating on me, and when I confronted him, he turned it all back on me. Said he couldn’t believe I didn’t trust him, and that he couldn’t be with someonehecouldn’t trust. Hebroke up with me through text. Andthen, the next time I was home, I went to his place to get some stuff I’d left there, and the girl he told me not to worry about had already moved in with him. It was…fucked up, and it nearly killed me.”
“I’ll never hurt you like that,” Brent promised. “Never.”
“I believe you,” I said, offering my mouth for another kiss. “And what about you? What about your last relationship?”
“Ashley,” he said with a grimace. “We broke up the day I signed with the Warriors. She wanted more from me than I was willing to give her. The money, the fame…basically everything you could care less about.”
“I feel like there’s more to it than that.”
“She wanted a ring,” Brent said, raking a hand through his hair. “The day I signed with the Warriors, she showed up at my place, bag all packed, ready to follow me wherever. But it wasn’tmeshe was following, you know? It was my name, my status. For a long time, I’d been ignoring it, but that moment was like stepping into the sun after spending years in the dark. I saw everything so clearly. And I realized that relationship wasn’t really a relationship at all. When she looked at me, she didn’t see someone she loved. All she saw was dollar signs.”
“I guess it’s a good thing you found me, then” I said cheekily, though Brent’s eyes softened.
“It’s the best thing that I found you,” he whispered against my mouth. And then, “What do you say we put on some music and get in the hot tub?”
“I think that’s the best idea you’ve had in a while, Beej.”
“Perfect,” he said, kissing me again. “You put the music on while I change, then you can do what you need to do.”
I took a second to connect my phone to the cabin’s sound system via Bluetooth. When I opened my music app, “Hood Go Crazy” by Tech N9ne blasted into the night. I turned the volume down, but couldn’t help dancing around a little when I searchedfor something more appropriate. When the song ended, I turned on my OneRepublic station.
I jumped when Brent snaked his hands around my waist. “Nice moves you’ve got there, Blondie,” he whispered in my ear.
I turned to face him, cheeks heating with embarrassment. “How long were you watching?”
“I came out of the bathroom around the start of the second verse.” He darted away as I attempted to smack him. “Don’t worry, I enjoyed the show,” he added with a smirk.
I stuck my tongue out at him and quickly ran into the bedroom. He caught me easily and tackled me onto the bed, landing softly on top of me.
“You do that again and I’m going to cut it off,” he said.
“You wouldn’t.”
I tried to move, but he had every part of me pinned down. We’d barely touched since arriving and still, the hard length of his cock pressed into my thigh, nudging dangerously close to my center.
“Try me,” he dared. “I’m a hockey player, baby. I have a mean streak.”
“You don’t have a mean bone in your body,” I said, sticking my tongue out again.
“I’m warning you!”
