Page 25 of Catch Me

‘I miss you.’

The smile that cracks my face in half washes away any anxiety that was left about our date on Saturday.

Lois:

‘You literally saw me this morning. *laughing face emoji*’

Nick:

‘Exactly, that was six whole hours ago.’

My heart gallops in my chest, his words sinking deep into my heart and making their home there. He misses me, which must mean he likes me right? The seed of doubt is still planted, but I choose to ignore it right now. I just have to get through the rest of the week until I can see Nick again and we can spend an entire weekend without having to look over our shoulders.

I know whatever Nick has planned is going to make me fall so hard on my god damn face that I'm never going to get up again.

CHAPTER 14

NICK

It’s finally fucking Friday and my stomach has been flipping with anticipation all week. Lois and I agreed not to see each other until the weekend, but I'm ready to say fuck that. My balls are blue and more importantly my heart is aching to see her, that how I ended up here this morning before training. I had to get up at 6am just to drive over here before I'm needed at the rink at 8am. But it will be worth it to spend a hour with my favourite girl.

I tap lightly on the door, worried about waking Molly and receiving a literal kick up the arse. The door creaks open after a few minutes and my chest responds by squeezing immediately at the sight of her.

“Good morning beautiful,” I coo, pushing her inside the dorm and lifting her to my waist. Her thighs squeeze around meinstinctively and I feel my shoulder muscles relax for the first time this week.

“What are you doing here?” Her sleepy voice is like a melody in my ears as she grips me tightly, her face buried in my neck.

“I couldn’t wait until tomorrow.” I press my cold lips to the warmth of her neck. “I really wanted to see you before practice this morning.”

“I love you for that,” she breathes, then tenses in my arms. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Lo, it’s ok,” I chuckle, placing her gently to her feet and gripping her waist reassuringly. “I know what you meant.”

“Ok,” she breathes a shy smile. “Good, good,”

She pulls me to her bedroom, closing the door softly and I drop down onto her bed, leaning back on straightened arms and just watching her. She’s wearing satin, pink pyjamas, the shorts barely cover her ass and her hardened nipples point through the sheer, button up shirt. I’m fucking here for it and my eyes wander slowly downwards, travelling over each breast and trailing down towards her as—

“Ah-hem!” Lois clears her throat dramatically and when I lift my eyes back to her’s she has a sassy, raised eyebrow expression on her face. My grin is wide and cocky, I know this because she purses her lips, trying not to smile back at me. She spins around and flicks through her record collection, pulling one from it’s sleeve and gently placing it in the player. She drops the needle into place and the room fills with the quiet hum of light jazz. Lois falls flat on her back beside me and I pull her into my side, kissing the tip of her nose as her eyes fall closed.

“You like music?” She mumbles, eyes still lightly shut.

“Of course I do. Not sure we have the same taste though.”

I get up from the bed and explore her record collection. It’s extensive to say the least, she has everything from Bing Crosby to Luke Combs. As I rummage through she sits up, resting on herelbows, her loose curls cascading down her back like a waterfall. She looks like an angel, as usual.

“Which one is your favourite?” I half mutter as I continue my rummaging, peering at each record as I flick through her entire collection.

“Hmmm,” she ponders for a moment, “probably Amy Winehouse, or…maybe Lauryn Hill, you know, girl power and all that?”

I pause, my fingers still between the records as I turn to look at her in disbelief. “You’re serious?” She nods, flashing me a toothy grin. “Jesus mini Taylor, we’re not in 2008 anymore you know?”

“Hey!” She points a warning finger at me, sitting up straight. “Those women are timeless. And I'm impressed you knew the year they were popular.” I laugh under my breath and she continues. “Their music just makes me happy, it reminds me that I'm strong, I can do things on my own you know?” She lifts her shoulders in a shrug. “It reminds me of being a kid too, I still had my troubles like all kids do but…” a light sigh leaves her lips. “Life was just so much more raw and real. I didn’t constantly think about what I looked like or what people thought about me. That’s the best part about women like them, they do their thing, they’re themselves unapologetically.”

My hands stop exploring and I stand still, struck for a moment by her honest vulnerability. “Woah, that’s deep,”

“I know, sorry.”

“No,” I move towards her, “it’s ok, I like it when you open up to me like that.” I take her hands and bring her to her feet in front of me.

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