Page 62 of The Trophy

I leave the Gamma house with time to spare to go get flowers for my girl—my mom taught me never to show up at someone’s house for dinner without bringing a small gift to the host—and I stop by the student health center to grab some condoms.

Maybe I’m jinxing myself by doing that and Lakyn will tell me that she has already made her choice and she wants to date Luca. Or Blaze.

I wouldn’t even blame her if she did, because on paper either of my teammates is a much better choice than I am.

But this is one of the many reasons why I’m falling for Lakyn. She doesn’t give a shit that Luca is royalty and that Blaze comes from a family of high ranking army officers.

If I want her to be mine, all I have to do is to work on deepening our connection and show her that I can make her happy.

My life right now is an intricate tangle of commitments and the challenge is to carve enough time to give Lakyn the attention she deserves.

I can’t even promise her that things will change after graduation. If I get drafted, like I hope, playing professional hockey means spending a good chunk of time on the road. Will Lakyn be up for it? That’s without even thinking that I don’t know where I’m going to live next year. For all I know, I could be drafted by a Canadian team.

I inhale a deep breath as I park my truck outside Lakyn’s apartment. There’s no point stressing about things I can’t predict. If she chooses me and if we’re meant to be, we’ll find a way to make things work.

I look at the strip of condoms I got at the health center and tear out two packets to put in my wallet.

If she hasn’t already made her choice, I hope we get to seal the deal tonight. In LA, I didn’t feel right to go bare and I was the only one who didn’t get to be inside of her.

Hopefully I get to show her that I can make her feel as good as Luca and Blaze.

Life is all about making informed decisions and I want to give Lakyn all the elements to choose me and not have any regrets later.

“Hey Cash,” she smiles. “Come on in.”

Fuck.

She looks so beautiful. Like a legit wet dream.

I take my chances and lean in to greet her with a kiss.

I’m relieved when she pulls me inside the house, without breaking the contact between our mouths.

I cup her jaw, coaxing her to tilt her head so I can deepen the kiss.

Her mouth is warm and soft like the rest of her body; she tastes sweet and the way she lets me explore her mouth without being passive, giving as good as she gets is a huge turn on.

Everything about this woman turns me on and I wish we could stay like this forever.

“Come on in,” she repeats when we come up for air.

I follow Lakyn into her living room and that’s when I register the heavenly smell that hit my nostrils when she opened the door.

“Whatever you made for dinner smells amazing,” I say, noticing the candles on the table and some colorful flowers in a vase.

Shit.

The flowers.

I was so excited to see her, that I dropped them on the floor by the front door. “Wait a sec,” I say, dashing back to the entrance to retrieve my gift. “Sorry. I got sidetracked and forgot. These are for you.”

She accepts the bouquet of pale pink roses with a smile, leaning in for another kiss that starts soft and shallow but soon heats up, leaving us both breathless.

“I missed you,” she says softly.

“I missed you too, baby,” I say, relieved that if she missed me, that means she hasn’t made her choice yet or at least I’m not out of the running.

“Dinner’s ready,” she encourages me to sit at the table. “Let’s eat before it gets cold. I made my nana’s famous lasagna.”

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