Page 68 of Lawson
“I told you,” I say, nothing but pure arrogance in my voice. “Greek god descendant here.”
She laughs, shaking her head.
“But more realistically?” I ask. “I was raised by a single mother, and I have a sister who is only seventeen months younger than me. You know me, I may be cocky, but I know how damn lucky I am to have been raised by a strong independent woman who ensured I knew how to treat the opposite sex. And my baby sister only reinforced those rules. I'm sorry it's not the norm for you, but hey, it's been four months since you've met me. You’ve got to be getting a little used to it by now, right?”
“Honestly,” she says as I pull into my apartment complex parking lot. “I could spend a lifetime with you and probably never get used to the way you handle me.”
I swallow hard, her mention at forever doing nothing to terrify me and everything to excite me. Which confuses thefuckout of me.
It's only been four months. I just fucking said that, and now my heart's doing a little Bugs Bunny dance over the use of the wordlifetime?
Yep. Yep it is. Just hopping around all happy and shit. Perfect.
I throw the car in park, and unbuckle my seat belt, immediately reaching across the gear shift and cupping her cheek. I put on my best cocky smile and kiss her quickly before pulling away.
“Let mehandleyou some more,” I say with every ounce of innuendo I can. Anything I can do to hide the fact that I’ve quite literally fallen for a girl who constantly tells me she doesn't want to be in a relationship ever again.
I’ve always had a reckless side, but I've never played with such high stakes before.
Even though I’m a Badger, I’m not used to losing, and if I lose Blakely Wren, I’m not sure I’ll know how to come back from that.
CHAPTER 14
LAWSON
“Wow,I'm surprised you guys showed up,” I tease as Nash and Pax walk toward me, the light foot traffic just off of Main Street moving out of their way as if they own the sidewalk. “Did you two ride together?” I joke.
Nash rolls his eyes, his hands tucked into the pockets of his leather jacket. A trio of women smile suggestively at him and wave as they walk by us as we stand outside of the little boutique where I've been waiting for them. Nash gives them a smile that I'm sure has dropped more panties than even me, but doesn't give them any more than that.
“I don't know why you're surprised,” Pax says, answering my earlier statement. “I guess you haven't realized that there isn't a shit-ton to do out here, and your cryptic text about needing help picking out a gift for someone was too tempting to pass up.” Pax shrugs. “Plus, anything to take our mind off the loss to the Sabers last night is good in my book.”
Nash and I cringe at the same time, a lead weight sinking in my gut.
The Sabers had put up a hell of a defense, and we couldn’t catch them. It wasn't our first loss, but it certainly stung after the couple wins we’d had that I hoped would trend and finally pull the Bangor Badgers out of the bottom tier list.
“Well,” I say. “Distraction abounds. Let's go.” I motion toward the eclectic boutique, holding the door open for my teammates, dare I say myfriends. Sure, we continue to give each other mounds of shit on the ice, but outside of the arena? Nash and Pax actually have become two people I can count on, and that’s saying something. I don't know if it’s because I’m not actively pursuing every woman who shows interest in me like I had in the past, but I had more time to make real connections here in Bangor.
Probably another amazing gift that Blakely gave me without even knowing she did. I find myself thinking of Bangor as my new home.
I never felt that way about a team, even my collegiate one in Colorado. I'd always felt like it was a steppingstone to something greater, and though I’d bitched and moaned in the beginning about being picked by the Badgers, I couldn’t be happier than I am now.
The three of us meander around the store, the smell of rich incense filling the space. Art adorned the walls, all for sale from local artists, and there were racks of unique hand-tailored clothes, cases upon cases of jewelry, and books and teas and soaps andJesus, how will I ever pick the right thing?
“What exactly is it we're looking for?” Pax asks.
“Whoexactly are we looking for would probably be a more apt question, wouldn't it?” Nash cocks a brow at me.
I give him an incredulous look. He knows damn well who we're looking for, he just wants me to say it out loud. I'm not going to give him the satisfaction.
“We're looking for Blakely, right?” Pax asks, glancing between us with that boyish innocence that still clings to him even though he’s a fully grown man.
“Of course,” Nash says, blowing out a sigh as he shakes his head. “You two are still at that? I thought it was casual?”
I swallow hard. There is nothing casual between me and Blakely anymore, not that we've officiallyofficiallycome out and said that. I give a noncommittal shrug, hoping that's enough, but from the look on Nash’s face—which looks more concerned than I've ever seen him look before—it's not.
“What's that look?” I finally ask after we've browsed the store for a few more minutes and I'm still no closer to picking out a Christmas gift for my skating coach / non-girlfriend / Blakely.
“I don't have a look,” Nash says but immediately studies a bright pink blouse with more intensity than necessary.