Gametime: A Moo U Hockey Romance, Jami Davenport [best reads txt] 📗

you knew it was me this time.” The words slipped out with a trace of bitterness before I had the wherewithal to stop them, effectively pouring cold water on the moment.

“I had a fifty-fifty chance of guessing correctly,” she said, infusing some humor into a tense moment.

I barked out a laugh. “Well, I’m glad you guessed right.”

Her smile was secretive, as if she knew something I didn’t know. She stood on tiptoes, kissed me on the mouth, and turned.

“See you tomorrow.” I gawked at her as she gathered up her things into her backpack and sashayed past me. She started up the stairs and turned. “And Pax?”

“Yeah,” I said huskily.

“You might want to zip your jeans before anyone sees you trolling the book stacks.” On that note, she clambered up the stairs, her soft laughter like the sweetest bird’s song drifting down the stairwell.

8

Confessions

Paxton

I bounded up the stairs to the team bus late Friday morning. We’d play a game that evening in Connecticut and then travel to New York for a Saturday night game.

After my last class, I’d hung out near Naomi’s dorm, hoping to see her before leaving on the road trip. We hadn’t spoken since last night, and things were so unsettled between us. I didn’t know if the blow job was another won’t-happen-again moment or if I should read more into it.

I’d been tempted to text her, but this subject required personal contact. If I had my way, a lot of personal contact. I waited around as long as possible and had to hustle to get to the bus on time. I was five minutes late instead of my usual half hour early.

Coach Keller gave me that look and made a show of checking his watch. I glanced around for an empty seat. Patrick sat in the back of the bus, playing cards with a few of the seniors. I started toward the back. Lex waved to me from the middle of the bus and pointed to the empty seat next to him. Upperclassmen usually had their own seats, but I didn’t mind sharing. I welcomed a conversation with someone who didn’t share my DNA.

“You sure you don’t want to save this for Kaitlyn?” I asked him.

“No, Keller hates it when we sit together. You know how he is.” At the mention of his girlfriend, he smiled the same goofy smile he’d had on his face since he’d fallen for Kaitlyn last year. She was abrasive and rude at the best of times, but the girl did know her hockey, and she was one hell of an equipment manager. Like Naomi, her dad was also hockey royalty. Moo U had quite a few alums who’d gone on to be hotshot pro players. Our program was one of the best in the nation for turning out professional-caliber athletes, and I hoped to be one day added to the list.

I checked my phone for the hundredth time, hoping for a message from Naomi.

Nothing.

Lex nudged me with an elbow. I glanced up and did a double take. A petite, curvy female with a face so delicate it should be carved of porcelain followed Kaitlyn toward the bus. My eyes widened, unable to believe what I saw.

Naomi?

I still had a hard time with Naomi as a blonde. I loved her caramel-colored hair. But the blonde about to board the bus was definitely her.

“What’s she doing here?” I wondered out loud.

“You didn’t hear?”

“Uh, no,” I said with my eyes glued to Naomi’s beautiful face.

“Her dad got her an internship with the team. She’ll be traveling with us, helping with stats.”

“This could get complicated.” I was overjoyed and concerned at the same time, not knowing what was going on with us.

Lex frowned at me, puzzled. “Complicated? Does this have to do with you two making out on the couch last week?”

I snapped my head toward him. “You saw that?”

“Oh, fuck, are you dense? Everyone saw that. Except your brother and a few others who were already too wasted to notice or indisposed.”

Of course we’d been seen. I’d be stupid to think otherwise. Oddly, no one had given me shit or brought it up until just now. My gaze slid to the bus door as Naomi climbed the steps and stopped at the top. She surveyed the bus, looking for a seat. Our eyes met, and her smile was slow and inviting. I welcomed the sight of her, and I grinned back. She glanced away as if not wanting to call attention to us, but she was too late. Lex noticed. I could tell.

She took a seat next to Kaitlyn near the front.

“You and Naomi?” Lex’s eyes were wide with curiosity. “I thought that was just a drunken make-out session that didn’t go anywhere.”

I forced my hungry gaze from Naomi to Lex, and he must’ve noticed my misery.

“That bad?”

“Worse.”

“You can tell me. I’m one of your biggest fans, and I’d never betray a confidence.”

I took a moment to check for possible eavesdroppers. Hockey players could be the biggest gossips. The bus buzzed with separate conversations and debates as the team embarked in its first road trip, and no one paid attention to us.

“This is beyond humiliating.”

“Go ahead. We’ve all had our share.”

“Nothing like this.”

Lex cocked his head. I’d aroused his interest, and there’d be no backing out now.

“She came on to me. We were both pretty drunk, and I wasn’t thinking clearly. You know I’ve carried a torch for her for a while.”

Lex nodded. He did know. I’d confided to him on occasion.

“We were making out, and she suggested we go to her dorm room. I won’t give you the details, but the next morning, I noticed her staring at my number fifteen tattoo. From the stunned look on her face, I knew the mortifying truth.”

“Truth? What truth?” Lex scratched his head and squinted at me.

“All night long she thought she was with Patrick.”

“Fuuuucckkkk. Oh, man, that’s brutal. Beyond brutal.” Lex let out a long, low whistle. His expression was one of