Page 91 of What Are the Chances
Grinning triumphantly, he headed straight to the couch with my blanket and snacks and began getting comfortable. Sitting at the opposite end, I resettled beneath the blanket then pulled the bowl of popcorn onto my lap.
The movie had continued playing while we were at the front door. It was already up to the cliché scene when the main character’s lawyer-boyfriend breaks up with her. I’ll bet that prompted the spontaneous trip to the Australian countryside.
I could feel Will’s gaze on me the entire travelling monologue scene. He wasn’t even pretending to watch. Had he come here purely to fool around? If so, I didn’t know whether that made the situation less complicated or not.
Just as the main character located her rundown accommodation, Will surprised me by saying, “One of the juniors on the team asked for your number tonight.”
Tearing my gaze from the TV, I gave him my attention. “Did you give it to him?”
“I told him if he so much as looked at you I’d break both his legs and end his hockey career.”
The crazy thing was I knew that wasn’t an exaggeration. Will’s jealousy trumped mine. He was insanely protective and loved staking his claim.
When we were dating he never left my side at parties, and one part of his body was always touching mine. A hand on my knee. An arm around my waist. A hickey on my neck.
“You’re going to give us away if you make threats like that.”
He shrugged. “I’m okay with that.”
He moved his hand to run his fingers along my calf. It wasn’t a seductive move, but a tender one. That didn’t mean my body didn’t respond to his touch, willing it to turn into something more.
“Why did you run out of Lastlings tonight?” he softly murmured.
“I was bored,” I lied.
“I could’ve kept you entertained.”
“You were preoccupied.”
Will tilted his head, his dark blonde locks falling over his forehead. “No. I was bored too, and the only person I wanted to speak to was staying away.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You didn’t come over to me.”
Will looked torn. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to.”
Neither was I.
I briefly returned my focus to the TV, but it was a wasted effort. Will had begun massaging my calf. It felt so good I almost moaned.
“For the record,” Will whispered. “If you had of come over and spoken to me, I would’ve talked back.”
“You were with your team most of the night,” I pointed out.
“So? I’m only keeping this a secret because I figured that’s what you wanted. I’m fine with others knowing.”
“Knowing what?” I snickered. “That we fuck on game days?”
An emotion flashed across Will’s face, one that looked a hell of a lot like hurt. Not knowing how to handle that, I returned my concentration to the movie. I was barely paying attention to it though. The screen may as well have been black.
When I reached into the bowl of popcorn, Will caught my hand. His thumb pushed up the sleeve of my sweater and dragged over the tattoo on my left wrist.
My entire body tensed, and not because Will was touching me, but because I knew what he would ask next. I’m surprised he hadn’t already. Especially this morning in my shower. There’s no way he hadn’t seen the tattoo since we started fooling around.
“What happened to your mum, Riley?”
His question trapped the air in my lungs. Notwhere was she.He knew. Somehow he did. Not all that surprising I suppose. It was obvious she was missing from the equation.
“Tell me the truth, Riley. How did she die?”
