Page 10 of Ice Cold Rival

Kiki studied her, nodding. “Perfect. He’ll be so glad to see you.”

I rolled my eyes, absolutely done with the evening. “Does he even know who you are?”

“Better than you.”

Enough. I was nice to a fault, but I didn’t have to be Amanda’s punching bag. She thought I was a coward, but I’d once wrestled a snake out of my mom’s house while everyone else screamed on top of the furniture.

I could handle the ego of one hockey player—wouldn’t be the first time.

“Want to bet?” I asked her, yanking her attention away from her quarry.

She frowned as her eyes drifted from me to him and back again. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll bet he knows me well enough to come back to my room with me.”

Kiki snorted. “He doesn’t go to girls’ rooms.”

Amanda’s smug smile returned. “What do you want to bet?”

“Kitchen duty for the month.” I hated cleaning up after a house full of entitled girls, and somehow, I ended up with kitchen duty every week. “If he goes to my room, you take all my kitchen assignments.”

Her nose wrinkled, then she tilted her head, examining me from head to toe. “Fine. When he ignores you, I get your room.”

My brows flew up. One of the benefits of my mom’s status as a Chi Omega was the legacy bedroom I’d lucked into with its own bathroom. Kitchen duty wasn’t worth nearly as much as my room on the first floor.

I glanced at the guy again and mentally shrugged. People usually liked me. All I had to do was explain about the bet and ask nicely. “Done.”

Amanda’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t tell him about the bet.”

I offered her a friendly smile while my pulse picked up. “I hope you enjoy scraping off baked-on nacho cheese.”

With a finger wave to Kiki, I turned my back on them and questioned my sanity. I hadn’t forgotten Toby was on the other side of the room with a clear view to the door, but my brain refused to prepare any farther thanhi, I need your help.

I’d never approached a guy at a party before. The last time, I’d nearly tackled one, but I couldn’t regret the wild events that followed. Unfortunately, that was angry Kenzie—the same angry Kenzie who’d proposed the bet—and I was quickly devolving into stuttering nervous Kenzie.

Not the vibe I wanted to project right now.

I marched up to my target, telling myself the churning in the pit of my stomach was excitement rather than the urge to throw up. The guy he was talking to made eye contact with me as I drew closer and nodded his chin in my direction. Now or never.

He turned, and I stumbled at the familiar green gaze. A slow smile spread across his full lips.

I should have recognized the shoulders. Or the hair. The memory of my hands clenched in those dark blond strands hit me at odd times, like in the shower or the middle of class. At least in the shower I could take care of the aching need that left me clenching my thighs together. Now was a really inconvenient time to relive my single one-night stand.

Why in the hell did it have to behim? Reece no-last-name. Distantly, I recognized Amanda’s high-pitched giggle. They were watching, no doubt about it, but I refused to give them what they wanted by running.

At least his friend had disappeared into the crowd so no one was actually close enough to overhear our conversation.

“Back for round two?” he asked.

Heat filled my cheeks, both from embarrassment and from the memory of the last time I’d seen him. Arm resting on his knees as he stared up at me with that same half smirk on his face while I searched for my still-missing panties.

I swallowed hard and raised my chin. “I want my panties back.”

5

It wasn’t what I’d meant to say, but his quick laugh told me he wasn’t offended by my thinly veiled accusation that he’d stolen my underwear. He also didn’t deny that he had them.

“I want Deacon’s key back. Asshole made me replace it and won’t tell me his new hiding spot.”

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