We break apart and we are both breathing fast. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” he says.
My hands drop to my sides as I take offense.
“I mean because of your brother. He and I are not only teammates, we basically have to move in sync together on the ice. If he found out I had my tongue down his sister’s throat he wouldn’t take too kindly to that and it could affect our game.”
“So don’t think of me as Ryse’s sister. I’m not thinking of you as his teammate,” I say because hell, in the past I stayed as far away from his teammates as possible, but Declan is different. I don’t know if it’s because we met under different circumstances but he’s making me feel things I’ve never felt before.
“This is risky,” he blows out a breath. “I have a lot riding on this season.”
“I like spending time with you and I think you like spending time with me,” I say to him, feeling like I am really putting myself out there. It’s something I’ve never done before, but the kisses we’ve shared have been electric and I can’t just walk away from how he’s making me feel.
“I’ve never met anyone like you,” he says, and the way he looks at me sucks my breath away. “I’m going to hell, Poppy, but I need to kiss you again.” The campus is quiet this time of night and we are the only ones out here.
We kiss again but this time my hands come up and tangle in his medium-length hair. When I give it a little tug, he groans into my mouth and it’s the sexiest thing I have ever experienced.
“You’re unravelling me right now,” he says into my mouth.
I want to tell him the feeling is mutual but I’m not ready to show my vulnerability and how he makes me feel, so I take his words and hold them close.
When we break apart, he looks at me like he wants to take my clothes off, at least that’s how I think someone looks at you when they want to get naked. I can’t really be sure. Before last week I was trying to figure out how to have my first kiss. I never considered more until Declan.
TWELVE
Declan
When I walk back into the hockey house, the guys have chicks over. They are hanging around the family room area, all over each other.
A blonde girl sits at the end of the couch. She seems to be the odd one out. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she says to me as I pass by. I pause and she pats the seat beside her.
“Sorry. I’m busy,” I reply and I continue past the guys and head upstairs. I don’t even wait to see her reaction. Coach Cooper has the team on a drinking and partying hiatus, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t getting laid often. After a game like tonight, there’s a lot of steam pumping in my veins too. I think of Poppy as I head to my room. To say the whole situation with her has come out of left field is an understatement.
I don’t know what it is about her but she draws me in like a fish to water. I trust her. I don’t know why I do because I don’t trust anyone, but I trust her and the things she makes me feel. . .damn, I want her in my bed.
My cell rings and it says Mom on my screen. “Hi,” I answer immediately. “Is Logan okay?”
Mom cries into the phone.
“Dammit. Is Logan okay?” I repeat.
“He’s fine,” she finally says. “I told you he was stable but he’s angry. This can cost him.”
Don’t I know it.
“Why would the coach put himself on the line like that?” I ask.
I don’t get an answer and my stomach sinks.
“Mom?” I wait.
“It’s not what you’re thinking, Declan. Coach and I are serious. That’s why he felt obligated to take care of Logan,” she explains.
“This isn’t taking care of Logan,” I inform her.
“I don’t need this from you right now. I had enough with your brother. He couldn’t breathe. I didn’t have a choice but to bring him to the hospital,” she says whining.
Gah! She isn’t wrong. This whole situation is messed up.
“Aunt Maria said that you should’ve called her. I was there tonight having dinner.”
“I can’t take any more money from them,” Mom says dryly. She isn’t wrong either and this is why I hate my life, because there are no right answers. Just an incredibly shitty situation.
“Okay. Well, please make sure to keep things cool with the coach. I’m sure the scouts have been attending the games. Did he have the attack on the ice?” I ask because I realize I forgot to ask and it’s kind of crucial.
“No, it happened after first period. They were in the locker rooms. The junior coach went out with the team and Coach took us to the hospital. It was a scary one this time,” she says and her voice shakes.
I take a deep breath. I’ve been worrying about my brother’s health ever since I can remember. I hate not having the power to help him right now.
“It’d mean a lot to Logan if you came home for Thanksgiving this year. Also, Timothy will be joining us as well with his son, Clyde,” she says. It takes me a moment to realize who Timothy is and I realize he’s Coach Collins.
“Okay, yeah, sure,” I agree. A twelve-hour bus ride home sounds shitty but it’d be good to spend time with Logan and work on some of his techniques for the season. “Tell Logan I love him and I’m praying for him.”
“I will,” she says and I hear her take in a large breath. I’m guessing she must be outside smoking a cigarette. It always made me crazy that she smoked, although, she never did it in the apartment once the doctors convinced her how bad it was for Logan.
“You have a good night,” I say.
“You too,” she says, and her voice sounds thick and scratchy from all the years she’s been smoking.
We end the call and I lie back on my bed. Poppy is so sure there is a way to help Logan. I’ve racked my own brain over the years too. The change of seasons always seems to hit him harder. Now summer has turned to fall. What will happen in the winter? His future is on the line and I feel completely helpless. My instinct is to go to Black Market and drink. It helped me get rid of the stress last year, even though it isn’t an answer. I need to keep a clear head. I need to draft and make enough money to help my brother and my mother.
I take off my clothes and slide under the covers. The damn house is loud with all the chicks that are over. It’s one of the things I hate about living here. I know all those chicks wonder about me. Why don’t I take them to bed like the rest of the guys on the team? They are willing, beautiful, and know what they are doing. But those kinds of chicks do nothing for me. When I think of Poppy and her pretty blue-green eyes I get a semi. It’s going to be hard to stay away from that girl. She’s convincing too, telling me I shouldn’t think of her as Ryse’s little sister and I really like spending time with her. She’s easy to talk to. I’ve never been an open kind of guy, but with her I want to know what she thinks and she challenges me. She doesn’t let me just shut down the way I’m used to keeping to myself. And having someone to talk to is really nice. When I think back to the time when Cole and Holland got together, I remember Cole being all cheesy about how good it felt to have Holland as a friend. How they’d spend time talking about shit he didn’t talk about with the guys. I’m starting to get what he meant, but I don’t see Poppy as a friend. I see her as so much more. I’m so freaking screwed.