Page 76 of Ice Bet

She wiggled against me, and I finally let go of her. I smirked before skating away and falling to center ice. My arms rested against my knees, and before I knew it, she was only a foot away, sinking down to her butt and then eventually lying on her back. I only let myself look at her for a few seconds, but it was plenty of time to feel the punch in my gut. Her ribcage extended with heavy breaths, all the way to the knot tied below her belly button from when she shrugged off her thin hoodie and tied it around her waist. The light-pink long-sleeve shirt she had underneath was more of a second skin, and the tiny pebbles of her nipples were hard enough to see through her bra.

I couldn’t get her out of my head. I couldn’t stop craving her sweet breath, and I couldn’t stop silently rooting for her to get on the ice and prove to everyone that she was the best, because I had truly never met a more determined person.

It was inspiring, honestly.

If getting on the ice made me panic to the point that I couldn’t breathe, I would have given up a long time ago.

Not Riley, though. She was stubborn, fierce, and determined. It was beyond attractive.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked.

I stared at the penalty box, wanting to put her in there for all the trouble she was causing me. I had a feeling her question was only going to add to that trouble.

“Sure,” I replied.

“Have you only been helping me because of Savannah?”

I stifled a groan. I knew she’d ask eventually. After all, she was forced to hear my side of the story on Friday, just like I was forced to shove her in a locker to save my ass. The scruff of my facial hair against my palm was the only sound between us. I could feel her eyes lingering on me.

She huffed. “You told me I could ask you something.”

“I didn’t say I would answer.”

A pouty noise left her, and my mouth twitched. I glanced down, and her blue eyes trapped me. If anyone else would ask me about my ex, I’d blow them off and move on. But Riley was different. I’d never felt so comfortable around another person. She wasn’t asking to be nosey, and I knew, after everything, I could trust her to keep anything I said to herself. Somehow, after being forced together the last several weeks, I’d built a relationship with her that was full of trust. She trusted me with her fears and failures, and who was I to deny her mine?

“No,” I finally answered her, but I turned away when I did. I flicked the tongue of my skate to give my fingers something to do besides twitch with the need to pull her in. “I mean, not specifically. After everything with Savannah happened, I…changed.”

“How?”

I shrugged. “Well, after I got over the guilt of fucking up my future—”

“It was unfair, though. You shouldn’t have guilt over something you had no control over.”

I looked at her. “I could say the same to you.”

Riley’s cheeks reddened, and she pulled her eyes away and stared at the ceiling. I traced the outline of her delicate jawline, wondering how a guy like Gray Loretto couldeverlet her slip through his fingers.What an idiot.

“I deserve to have some guilt,” she whispered. “I allowed some guy to mess with my head and turn me into something that—”

“You never want to be again.”

She clasped her hands on her belly after I finished the sentence for her. “Yeah.”

“After everything calmed down and I realized I could attend Bexley U, with the help of my parents, my priorities shifted. I grew. I matured…some.” She giggled, and I grinned before continuing. “Things that I didn’t realize were important became important.”

Like when your coach asks you to watch out for his daughter or your future will be fucked, it’s a no-brainer.Only I was having areallyhard time staying on task. The thought of having her and securing my spot in the NHL with a team that would value me and secure a career that I had dreamed about from a very young age was becoming harder and harder to ignore.

There was no use in pretending that what I felt for her was only attraction. We weren’t even touching and my heart was skipping beats. I had avoided her for five whole days, and the only thing it did was make me irritable. It was so bad at practice that Theo pulled me aside and asked if I was still bothered by the whole Savannah thing.

I wasn’t.

I didn’t give a shit about her dad sucker punching me.

The only thing I thought about from that night was the hidden moment between Riley and me in the locker room.

“Can I ask you something?” I went back to flicking the tongue of my skate so I could distract myself from the insanity of my thoughts.Why can’t I stop myself from wanting her?

“It’s only fair,” she answered.

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