Page 10 of Puck You
Her eyes remained glued to me as I popped open the tab on my soda and took a long drink.I could feel the question in Bryce’s gaze.
“This is Grace.She’s the new starting center for the women’s team,” he explained.
I didn’t bother to respond.Instead, I pulled out two red Solo cups and loaded them with ice from the cooler.
“Don’t be an asshole, Evans,” Bryce warned.
“That’s his only setting, unfortunately.”Grace spoke up for the first time, voice barely audible over the pounding music.
“You two know each other?”
She shook her head quickly.“I had the misfortune of running into him at the start of the semester.But don’t worry about the drink.I wouldn’t trust anything he handed to me anyway.”
My jaw ticked in irritation as she pivoted and disappeared into the mass of students.I abandoned the half-made drinks in pursuit of her, ducking under the bar as soda sloshed over the side of the can gripped in my left hand.Bryce called my name, but I was already lost in the crowd, following the path Grace had carved though the living room.She was nearly to the front door when I threw myself forward to block her exit.
“Don’t act like you know me,” I said, reaching out to stop her as she attempted to dart around me.I wasn’t going to let her get away that easily, not after that insulting insinuation about the drink.
“But I do.You told me everything I needed to know the firsttime we met.And trust me, I don’t want anything from someone like you,” she hissed.
“Someone like me?”
“Someone who thinks they’re better than everyone.”
That made me laugh.“I am better than everyone.At least when it comes to hockey.And a few otherstrenuousactivities.”
“A chauvinistic prick,” she continued, pretending she hadn’t heard me speak.“A pompous, rude, entitled—”
“I get it, you don’t like me.The feeling is mutual,” I interjected.
I didn’t hate the girl, but I wasn’t exactly pleased with my inclination to throw caution to the wind every time I laid eyes on her.Grace wasundeniably beautiful, and equally unwilling to put up with my shit.In other words, she was a dangerous distraction waiting to happen, and that was the last thing I needed in my life.Yet here I was, chasing after her like an impulsive fool.Emotions could do a lot of damage if they were given free rein.I needed to find some semblance of control, and fast.
“Then I suggest we get on with not liking each other from a distance,” she said.
“This is my house,” I pointed out.“Are saying I should leave?”
Grace shook her head in disbelief.“You stoppedme, remember?”
Over her head, a familiar pair of deep blue eyes caught my attention.My gaze lingered on Kate for a brief moment, hoping that the sight of her would help douse the raging fire lit within me by the presence of Grace.
“Don’t worry,” I said, lip curling upward.“I’m not stopping you now.”
I shifted a fraction of an inch; it was just enough room for her to squeeze through the front door.With one last withering glare, Grace shouldered her way past me.Foolishly, I stole a glance at her retreating form, my traitorous eyes lingering on that perfect ass.Who could blame me really?She had a phenomenal backside.
I had barely a second to collect myself when Kate appeared from the crowd, snaking her arms around my body.
“I was wondering where you went,” she shouted over the music, her lips hot across the bottom of my jaw.“Thought you were getting a drink?”
I held up my soda in answer, but Kate wasn’t convinced.
“Who was that girl?”
I schooled my face into an expression of disinterest as I said, “No one important, babe.The new center for the women’s hockey team.”
“Did she make a move?”
A snort of laughter escaped through my lips.
“Don’t laugh at me,” she said, shoving me away in a playful manner.“The girls at this school are desperate to get with you.”Kate wasn’t the jealous type, but she was aware that there was a long line of girls willing to take me to bed whether we were together or not.
