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

and she’d be my friend afterward, if there was an afterward. He burned through Moo U co-eds faster than a wind-fueled fire burned through a forest.

I’d done my share of burning, too, but this year I’d lost interest in casual hookups, especially since Naomi showed me how good it could be, and my greedy heart and soul wanted more of her brand of goodness.

17

Lost its Luster

Naomi

Saturday night the guys won at home after a bye Friday night. Patrick had been stellar, scoring two goals, and Paxton continued to struggle. I tried to find Pax afterward to bolster his ego but didn’t have any luck. He wasn’t at the hockey house or the Biscuit.

Sunday night the hockey house was having an epic Halloween party, which I wouldn’t miss for the world. I loved dressing up for Halloween. My dad had taken the liberty to send Halloween costumes to both Patrick and me.

I arrived at the twins’ apartment a little after six p.m. on Halloween at Patrick’s request. He was going as Captain Jack Sparrow and asked me to do his makeup. I was going as a serving wench. The costumes were incredible and also a thinly veiled attempt to force us together. My dad wasn’t all that subtle, even if he thought he was. Despite my irritation at his manipulations, I grudgingly appreciated the gesture.

My dress was cut so low the girls threatened to escape if I bent over. I was pretty sure Dad’s latest girlfriend picked this one out. He wouldn’t have bought anything like this. He’d rather see me wrapped in duct tape. I didn’t usually balk at showing skin, but this time I was more reluctant than usual.

Patrick met me at the door, dressed in his swashbuckling outfit complete with a long-haired wig. “Good, you’re here.” He pulled me into their messy apartment. Neither guy was big on house cleaning. Someday I’d come over and give the place a good once-over, not that I was tidy either, but this was even too much for me.

“Let’s get moving. You’re late.” Patrick glanced at his watch and scowled.

“Only by a few minutes. What’re you in such a hurry for?”

“I don’t want to miss the festivities. Since it’s a school night, it’s starting early and ending early.”

I seriously doubted that. The hockey house’s legendary parties never ended early unless someone called the cops, and Patrick was often one of the last to leave.

I steered him to a battered barstool at the counter, and he compliantly sat down. Opening the makeup case I’d brought, I went to work. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you looked at it, my boobs were at eye level to Patrick’s face from his perch on the stool. His hot gaze seared my bare skin. Instead of being aroused, I grew increasingly uncomfortable.

I glanced around for Paxton but didn’t see him. Either he wasn’t here or he was sequestered in his room. I’d hoped he’d be a superhero in tights that showed off his muscular body and big— I squelched that line of thinking. Lusting over Pax right now would only get me in trouble, but what fun trouble that’d be.

I grasped Patrick’s chin and yanked his head upward to better work on his eye makeup and force his gaze upward.

“Ow. That hurt,” he groused, and I laughed.

“Wuss. Now don’t move or you’ll be wearing eyeliner on your cheeks.”

He groaned but complied to my orders. After all, I was doing him a favor.

“Where’s Pax?” I asked conversationally in the same tone I’d use when discussing the weather. Inside, I wasn’t nearly as indifferent. I kept glancing toward the hallway for any sign of him.

“Who knows?” Patrick dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand. “That dress is hot on you.” He grinned at me and his voice was laced with promise.

“Thank you, dear sir.” I forgot about my low-cut peasant blouse and bowed low. Patrick’s guttural growl told me all I needed to know without looking down. I whipped around, giving him my back, and tucked the girls back where they belonged.

“I’ll show you how dear I am, wench.” He attempted a pretty lame imitation of a pirate accent. I’d watched Patrick’s moves for over two years, and now he was making them on me. His blatant interest should be a dream come true. Should being the operative word. Eventually, I’d have a personal day of reckoning regarding what was going on in my head and my heart. For now, I had a job to do.

“Maybe we should forget the party and have our own party here,” Patrick hinted not so subtly with a wink-wink. I rolled my eyes.

“Ah, Captain, but your crew is expecting us. Duty calls.”

“Fuck duty,” he said. He was serious, but so was I. We were not staying here and doing the nasty under the same roof as Paxton. I had my scruples, and I wouldn’t hurt Pax like that. I’d done enough damage to his ego. Not to mention, the possibility of getting naked with Patrick didn’t hold the thrill it once had.

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I turned to find Paxton a few feet away. His expression was completely unreadable. Judging by his clenched jaw, he wasn’t happy.

“Hi, Pax.” I grinned at him, and his returned smile was more of a grimace.

“Nice makeup job,” he muttered as he crossed to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge. “On both of you.”

I’d applied my own makeup thicker than normal. “Thank you,” I said in a voice that quivered a bit. Pax had that effect on me, and I was tired of fighting what was becoming more and more obvious every day. Every day I searched for a glimpse of Pax as I walked across campus or went to the library and the Biscuit to find him or appeared in the dining hall about the time he usually did. Denial was getting harder and harder.

“Where’s your costume?” I looked him up and down. In my opinion,