Page 49 of Fated Shot

The silence on the other end of the phone is concerning. Peeking down at the screen to check that we’re still connected, the video request comes through. Pressing accept, every ounce of confidence is lost as I meet the mesmerizing blue eyes appearing on my screen.

There’s a fire in his gaze, the intensity burning as he stares at me.

“Do you want to be punished, Mia?” he asks, causing my breath to hitch. Too much is happening at once. This escalated in a matter of seconds, but I can’t stop myself from nodding as I get lost in his gaze.

The groan of approval he returns sends a ripple of excitement through me.

Suddenly, there’s a thudding in the background, and the primal growl that breaks out of the back of his throat sends another wave of anticipation to my core.

The thudding continues as he shouts, “COMING!” toward the door behind him, sounding uncharacteristically pissed off. He closes his eyes for a moment, taking a breath.

“We’ve gotta head to the rink, but we’re going to explore this when I get back to Toronto. Understand?”

I nod again because, apparently, my voice no longer functions. Just like that, the screen goes blank, and I think I finally understand the concept of blue balls.

Chapter 20

Jack

After I made that exhilarating discovery, something that I’ll be damned if we don’t play with, I used every ounce of restraint to keep it PG between us the rest of the trip. If I play my cards right, I can keep spending time with her, but for now, she’s a flight risk, and I’d rather not push my luck from across the country.

We landed at 6 am in Toronto after a hard-earned 2-1 win against the Vancouver Vortex. It was a tough game; we were on a high after the win, but as soon as we boarded the plane and the adrenaline wore off, I crashed for nearly the entire ride home. I don’t know how it’s possible, but somehow I feel more exhausted than before. By the time I make it back to Maplewood, it’s already 7 am, and I’m running on fumes. Penn’s empty spot when I pull in shouldn’t be a surprise. Leave it to the twenty-three-year-old to have enough energy to get off the plane and head straight to breakfast without a second thought.

Instead of heading straight to the elevator, I choose to wander further down the garage and take the Oakcrest one instead. It’s Thursday, her day two of baking so I know she’ll be up and embarrassingly, I’m dying to see her. The bell dings when I reach the twelfth floor, wandering over to her apartment, I knock gently.

“One second,” her sweet voice calls out.

When the door swings open, seeing her face alone is enough to knock the wind out of me. Her hair is up in a ponytail, her body wrapped tight in a sunflower apron, and she’s covered in flour. She looks up, surprise painting her face as she quickly panic swipes her hand across her face, which in reality ends up spreading the white powder around more.

“Hi,” she says, her voice soft and surprised.

I chuckle. “Morning, Wyndham.”

“BFG.” She nods in greeting, regaining her composure, looking quite pleased with herself. Fuck, she’s cute.

“You finally decided, eh?” I ask, a grin spreading across my face. Nicknames became a necessity really quickly. I accidentally dropped my phone a few days ago, and when Penn leaned down to pick it up, I nearly had an aneurysm when I saw it still open to our extensive message chain. I’ve never moved faster, snatching it away from him. We made a plan to use aliases from now on.

“Yep, it was a close call between BT or BFG, but in the spirit of forgiveness, I decided Big Friendly Giant was more appropriate.”

It’s too early for me to connect those dots, but I bite anyway. “BT?”

“Booth Thief,” she replies with a clever little smirk.

“I think I’m going to have to get Harold involved, Wyndham. Innocent Cordelia’s patrons being bullied out of open spots—whatever would he say?” I tsk.

“Reserved spots, you mean.” She’s feisty and energized this morning, and it instantly brightens my mood. I love seeing her like this, out of her shell.

“Early bird gets the worm, Mia.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Next summer, I’m going to beat you there every day.”

“I’d like to see you try.” I smile, lowering my head to her level and raising my eyebrows playfully. The thought of seeing her,talking to her, and being with her every day in Wyndham sounds like a dream. I’d happily give up my booth, but I’ll be damned if I tell her that.

***

“I swear this guy is floating,” Max calls out, motioning to me as he takes a seat in his stall, pulling off his skates.

It was a quick, optional practice, but after seeing Mia, taking a four-hour nap, and having a big breakfast, I felt like a new man and was ready to get back on the ice.

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