Page 41 of The Puck Chase

“And if I want to waste my time?” I dare to ask, toying with the discarded piece of paper he crumpled up on the table.

“Then you’ll be disappointed,” he replies instantly, as if he has said the words many times before, and I wish they made a difference, but they don’t.

“You know, I can imagine feeling many things with you, Daemon, and disappointment isn’t one of them,” I say, before nodding towards his sketchbook. “Now give me a pencil and some paper, since this seems to be a drawing kind of date,” I add with a smile, and after staring me down for a few seconds, he finally relents.

Reaching into his bag, he places a couple of pencils on the table, before ripping out a few pieces of paper from his sketchbook. Delight floods my insides as I take them both, but then he places his sketchbook into his bag and drains the rest of his coffee in one go, before rising to his feet.

“I better get home,” he mumbles, avoiding my stare, but before he can escape, I grip his arm and halt him in place.

“Are you ever going to stop running from me?” I ask, desperate for him to say yes, but when his eyes still don’t meet mine, I know I have my answer.

“Thanks for the coffee, Gray,” he forces out, and as soon as I drop his arm he is gone, and it turns out he was right. I can feel disappointment when it comes to him.

Unable to watch him leave, my eyes drop back to the table, and I find myself reaching out to his discarded piece of paper, pulling it back open, and flattening it back out against the surface. The drawing is so detailed it takes my breath away, as the image of a human heart greets me with decaying roses sprouting out of it. Fuck, he’s talented, but the picture is also harrowing. Is this how he sees himself? With a dying heart?

My own heart constricts painfully in my chest, as I once again wonder what the hell happened to him. It doesn’t stop me from carefully folding the piece of paper back up, and slipping it into my bag for safekeeping, before pulling out my homework and getting to work.

Maybe Daemon’s right, maybe I am wasting my time, but if there is even the slightest chance I can get him to want me, the way I want him, then I am going to fucking take it. And not even him and his decaying heart can stop me.

The rest of my week follows the same pattern, which means no matter where I turn, I find Archer fucking Gray waiting for me. From good morning texts, to him interrupting my daily workouts, waiting for me with coffee outside of my classes, bugging me during practice, and sending me pictures of his fucking cock fisted in his hand every night. And like everything else about him, it’s just as perfect as I fucking remember. I wish I could say I am able to avoid him when I sleep, but even my nightmares have been consumed by him, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to escape him.

Josh and I are running late for tonight’s game, since we hung around to wait for Hallie to get dressed, and honestly, I’m actually glad. Because at least it means less time for me to try to ignore my teammate and his damn taunts. The walk over tothe rink is filled with Hallie chatting about some documentary she watched last night, and though it’s not really a topic I’m interested in, I still listen intently as she talks.

When we finally reach the rink, I leave the two of them behind to say goodbye, pushing into the locker room and heading straight for my locker. Thankfully, Coach isn’t anywhere to be seen, I wish the same could be said for my stalker, but of course he is standing in a pair of his ridiculous game day boxers, pulling a protein bar from his bag. When he spots me his eyes light up, and I swear the fucker flexes his muscles like it might entice me to drop to my fucking knees again, I roll my eyes, ignoring him once again, and I swear I see him frown from the corner of my eye.

I make quick work of switching into my base layer, well aware of his eyes on me, but before he can manage to piss me off, Josh rushes inside and is instantly accosted, as Coach storms into the changing rooms from the direction of the ice. “Peters, you’re late,” he booms across the room, and my best friend cringes.

“Sorry, Coach, I was waiting for my wife to get ready,” Josh replies, receiving an onslaught of hollers from the guys around, including the one whose dick pics are now saved on my damn phone.

“I can just imagine your wife naked,” Reign teases instantly, making Josh glare at him, but of course all he does is laugh, never known to take anything seriously in his life.

“Don’t forget hot,” Archer cuts in, still watching me, and I’m almost certain he is looking for a reaction from me. “Naked, hot, and sweating, just dripping everywhere,” he drawls, taking a bite of his protein bar and giving Josh a wink.

At his words, my best friend throws his bag to the floor and steps toward him, and I remember his words to Hallie in the house, the morning after the wedding. Without thinking, I stepin front of Archer, giving him my back, effectively blocking Josh from reaching him, my hands flying to his chest to keep him in place. I don’t know why I do it, or at least that’s what I tell myself, and when Josh flicks his stare to mine, all I can do is shake my head.

Most of the team are watching, and no doubt presume I am once again jumping in to protect Josh, but it’s the weight of Reign’s stare that concerns me. He isn’t looking at me the same way as the rest of them, no, he is looking at me like he knows the real reason I’m standing here. Which is ridiculous, because even I don’t know the reason I’m standing here, other than I couldn’t let my best friend get into it with my…with my what? Archer isn’t mine, he isn’t even my friend, no matter what I felt that night in the kitchen, yet still here I stand, blocking Josh’s way.

He looks between me and Archer again, before pointing his finger at him and snapping, “Last fucking warning, Gray.”

Before Archer can respond, Nova appears and whips his left winger with a towel. “Stop fucking fantasizing about his wife you fucking creep,” he tells him, clearly more than used to dealing with his bullshit, and I contemplate asking my captain for some tips on how he does it.

I feel Archer shift behind me, no doubt turning towards his best friend, as he purrs, “Should I go back to doing it about his sister?” The question is met with a death glare from our captain, and I note Josh clench his fists by his side, Archer testing both of their limits, and I can’t help but shift my stare to watch him.

“Not if you value your life,” Nova tells him darkly, and Archer smirks, his eyes dancing to mine, and the delight from earlier is back.

My hands are still on Josh, restraining him, and when Archer looks at him again with a smirk, Reign is quick to step in as I push Josh back toward his locker. “Alright, don’t get your knickers in a twist,” he jokes, grabbing Archer and physicallyturning him away from everyone else, before lowering his voice and adding, “You really like to poke the fucking bears, don’t you kid?”

I step back to my own locker, meeting Archer’s stare, as he shrugs and responds to Alexander, “Maybe I have a pain kink.”

A pain kink? Maybe that’s why he gets joy out of pissing me off and following me around like a damn puppy. He’s probably never known true pain in his life, which is why no matter how perfect his cock is, I can’t lead him on again, he wouldn’t survive my brand of darkness. Just as I have that thought, my phone lights up in my locker, and whatever other conversations are happening around me are suddenly lost to the white noise.

Jasper - Are you done pretending I don’t exist yet?

Jasper - We really need to talk

I almost laugh. If only I could pretend he didn’t exist, if only I could wake up and not remember that someone could have saved me, saved us, but unfortunately life doesn’t work that way.

Daemon - It worked out pretty well for you when you left us, so I thought I’d give it a try

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