“I’m in Matthews Hall,” I say.
The Uber comes and we both get in. We sit on opposite ends of the back seat like we did the night we both came to Black Market and Declan was drunk.
When the Uber pulls up to my dorm, Declan gets out of the car with me. My brows furrow when the Uber drives away.
“I figured I’d walk to the hockey house from here,” he explains.
I nod. “Oh.”
He takes a step toward me and places a soft gentle kiss on my lips. “I had a good time tonight. I haven’t had a good time in a while.”
“Me too,” I whisper.
His hand holds my face and his thumb brushes against my cheek in soft gentle strokes. “I should go,” he swallows.
“Yeah,” I sigh, nodding and my voice sounding throaty.
He walks off and I head inside to my dorm with butterflies dancing in my stomach. As I reach the door I do a little hop, skip, and jump.
Back in my dorm room, I’m too wired to go to sleep so I slip into pj’s and take out my journal. I’ve been journaling since I was a kid. Reflecting on my days has always helped me process my life. Tonight I write about having the best first kiss ever. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen with a friend of Ryse’s. A hockey player on the Westfall team no less. After describing the kiss and the way it made me feel, I write about meeting Caine Grayson. I look him up on the internet and he seems to have quite the following.
The front door to my dorm opens and Bonnie walks in. “Oh, hi. I didn’t think you’d be up.”
“I just got in not too long ago,” I say.
“So how was your night?” she asks, her tone filled with excitement.
“It was perfect,” I say. I’ve got a perma-smile on my face and I feel flushed just thinking of the two kisses I had with Declan.
“Tell me more.” She rubs her hands together.
“How was your night?” I ask instead, trying to deflect. She’s wearing a black bodycon dress and Converse. She’s definitely got interesting taste in clothes, not that I’m complaining since she is kind enough to share.
“Uh uh,” she shakes her head, “you can’t stop smiling.”
“Fine. We kissed,” I admit, and I close my journal and press it to my chest.
“Holy shit. You mean Declan McAvoy?” she asks.
I don’t like how she asks the question. I think of Ryse and his weird reaction to me mentioning her name.
I don’t answer but Bonnie continues, “I was at a party tonight and met a bunch of people. There were these girls there talking about the hockey team. They seemed to know them really well, as in they’ve slept with a lot of the players.” Bonnie is in her second year here and I wonder if she isn’t a bunny herself. Is that how Ryse knew her name?
“Ew. Gross. Don’t tell me more.” I cringe.
“Trust me, you’ll want to hear this,” she assures. “Apparently, they’ve all tried to get with Declan this year, but no one here at the university has actually slept with him.”
“The year just started.”
“Poppy, you don’t get it. Those hockey players are having sex all the time, and Declan has been brushing girls off since welcome week. They think he may have developed a preference for guys.”
I laugh because that sounds crazy. I clearly know Declan isn’t gay. These girls are nuts. Just because he wants to take a break from slumming it, they come up with rumors. “Oh he’s definitely into girls. We were dancing and the kiss we shared was super-hot.”
The minute those words leave my mouth I regret them. Ryse somehow knows her, and I don’t need word getting around because I am writing the Spotlight and should be keeping things professional with Declan.
Bonnie claps her hands. “Yes. You’ve had your first kiss. One thing to check of our list.” She grins.
I smile but I can’t get rid of the sinking feeling in my stomach.
“So why do you think he’s so low-key on campus then?” she asks, looking at her manicured nails like she isn’t really interested in knowing.
“No clue.” I shrug. I really don’t. “He’s just really into hockey and being on the team, I guess.”
“Maybe.” Her teeth bite into her lower lip. She heads over to her closet and starts to change. She whips her blonde hair into a bun. “Still though, those girls are really into the athletes at this school. They’ve basically offered Declan no-strings-attached sex and he declined.”
Would girls she just met really offer that kind of information? Maybe the bunnies are pretty forward.
“I really have no clue what that’s about,” I say, and deep down I like that Declan isn’t a guy who will sleep with just any girl. I know my brother isn’t a saint in that department and I always found it gross.
“This is huge though,” Bonnie says and she climbs onto her bed and crosses her legs. “Will you be seeing him again?” Her interest rubs me the wrong way.
“Well, I need to write a story about him,” I remind her.
“Right, the story,” she says and yawns.
“I’m going to their game Friday night, if you want to come,” I say to her. Because I don’t have any friends on campus and I hope I’m wrong about her. I know bunnies always like to come to the games.
“Sure, maybe,” she replies with nonchalance.
She falls back on her pillow and slips under the covers. I’m not sure if she’s fallen asleep but I think she has because she doesn’t say another word.
I continue writing a little more in my journal, but I can’t help but think about what Bonnie said. Declan doesn’t get around and yet he kissed me. He practically warned me that I shouldn’t kiss him too. I thought he was being a gentleman by doing that. But maybe there was more to it. Truth is, I can’t get him out of my head and maybe he was worried about that happening, but then he kissed me again outside my dorm. That was on him. I still don’t know what to make of him, but I want to know more and not just for the paper. I want to be kissing him a whole lot. I just hope the sexy hockey player has me in mind too.
TEN
Declan
“Okay, men. Get ready to play your fucking best,” Coach Cooper urges. “Boston U is a strong team and they’re fighting for a spot in our conference. A spot we can’t let them get. Now huddle together.”
We pick up our sticks and do as he says. My teammates are ready to go. Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I ready myself for the fight to come. Coming from a rough neighborhood meant that I got into my share of fights growing up. The ice is no different. We huddle in as much of a circle as we can.
Bozeman, who is now our main center and team captain, gives us his usual spiel. “Okay, team, let’s kick their fucking asses.”
The guys cheer and then we head out to the arena. The game is on our turf tonight, which is nice since the fans will be cheering for us. I’ve got a lot riding on the line this year and I’m feeling the pressure. We all head out to the ice. After the anthem the buzzer goes.
Matthew Sutter is our other center, who is facing off to a guy named Weston on Boston’s team. The puck drops and Ryse and I are on defense. Sutter gets the puck and shoots it across the ice. As usual things happen fast, only my heart is beating a mile a minute. There’s a lot riding on the line for me, including getting my kid brother healthy. I fuck up and I screw up Logan’s future too. Our team loses the puck and Boston shoots it across the ice. It’s up to our offensive players, Leo Tavares and Easton Charles, to get the puck away. Charles moves in on one of the Boston players. He steals the puck and shoots across the ice. I skate straight into Boston’s zone, waiting for Ryse to make his move. I’m lucky to have Ryse. With Cole gone, he’s really stepped up and now we are so in sync that we basically know what the other will do. Ryse skates around one of the Boston players and then shoots the puck my way because I’m close enough to the net. It’s a risky move because any one of the Boston players could be lucky enough to intercept. Tonight they miss the puck and in a beautiful assist from Ryse, I shoot and score. I blow out a breath, feeling relief. This is what I need. My team cheers. Some of my earlier anxiety melts away but not completely. I’m switched off for the next period. Coach taps my shoulder and tells me I’ve done a good job.