Page 68 of Trust Me

“I’m excited to be here, honestly. Hot guys pushing each other around? Sign me up.” She shimmies her body into mine, causing us both to break out in a fit of laughter.

The visiting team from the University of Aspen, the Foxes, exits their tunnel. A few cheers from loyal fans try to outdo the boos from our side, but fail. The atmosphere is already tense.

RLU comes out of their tunnel next, the lights turned down as spotlights flicker across the ice. Their pump-up music bangs out of the speakers and the boys skate out, the green and white jerseys whipping around the ice.

We’re seated right next to RLU’s bench, giving me a clear view of my father and Elio as they enter it. They’re both dressed professionally, wearing suits and ties.

Elio looks sexy as hell in his all black outfit, and I can’t take my eyes off of him. As if he senses me, he looks to the left and smiles, giving me a wink before turning and saying something to my father.

My father looks over Elio’s shoulder, spotting me. He walks over to the glass separating us and smiles widely. “My one and only is here. About time.” He chuckles.

“You better win and show me what your team can do.”

“We will,” he says confidently, then turns his attention to Camille. “Camille, how are you?”

“Great, it’s my first game, so I’m quite excited,” she says around a mouthful of popcorn.

“It’ll be a good one. These teams always go for blood when we play,” he comments. “You ladies enjoy the game.” He nods at us, then walks to the other end to talk with a trainer.

Elio comes closer to the glass, keeping his eyes trained on the ice, his voice low as he talks to me. “You look beautiful. How am I supposed to keep my eyes on the team when you look like that?”

I gaze down at my RLU crew neck sweater, tights, and combat boots. It’s nothing special by any means. Neither is my hair, my curls falling past my shoulders.

“Thanks.” I blush anyways, doing a terrible job at keeping a smile off my face. “You look hot as hell. I can’t wait to undress you later.”

“Jesus, dolcezza,” he groans under his breath. “That’s supposed to be my line.”

“Meh, not my fault your game sucks.” I pop my shoulders, a bubble of giddiness filling my chest, knowing that he’ll punish me later for that.

“Is this you guys’ foreplay?” Camille whispers as she leans toward me.

“Shut up.” I push her off me. I catch Elio grinning as he stares at the ice, knowing full well he heard her.

He walks toward my father then, talking with the trainers as the players warm up.

Camille and I settle in with our popcorn and drinks, when Isaiah comes up to the glass.

“Jasmine, Camille, nice to see you girls here.” He beams.

“Try not to suck. This is her first game.” I point my thumb at Camille.

“I was going to throw the game before, but now, I’ll put in some effort, I guess.” He winks, ever the charmer, and skates away.

We continue to watch the boys warm up when a purple-and-black jersey glides over to the boards in front of us. Can we get a break?

“If I had known there was a girl as pretty as you at RLU, I would have transferred years ago,” he drawls, eyeing me up and down through his mask.

I ignore him and continue talking to Cami about our plans to go shopping for the holidays soon. He doesn’t take the hint.

He taps his stick on the glass. “C’mon, pretty girl, I know you can hear me.”

Camille jumps slightly from the noise, and it pisses me off that he’s not only bothering me, but her.

“Apparently, you can’t, because me ignoring you was a message you didn’t receive. I’m not interested,” I scoff, looking to the right to see Elio stalking toward us, his jaw clenched tightly.

“That’s okay. I like the feisty ones,” he purrs, just as Elio reaches us.

“Jacobson, get to your side of the ice, now,” he says coldly, his voice calm yet lethal.

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