Page 92 of Treacherous
I smile, admiring Jayden. The scruff on his chin has grown out slightly, the same goes for his curly brown hair. I lick my lipsat the thought of the marks Jayden would leave in between my thighs.
My gaze travels from his face to his bare torso. Every toned muscle on display, begging to be objectified. I reach out, my fingers grazing Jayden’s chest.
His eyes flick open at my touch, hands gripping my hip harder. Jayden drags me closer to him, until there is barely an inch between us.
“Am I going to wake up to you eye fucking me every morning?”
I laugh. “Maybe. Or maybe you’ll wake up to me on top of you?”
My skin flares, warmth rushing through me. I would love him to wake me up with his tongue. The dirty thoughts are interrupted by Jayden’s groans.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time, Red.”
After our laughter ceases, silence falls over us. I wrap my arms around Jayden’s neck and rest my head against his chest. A sigh leaves me.
“I like waking up to this,” I pause. “To you,”
The vulnerability scares me for a moment. Until I meet his softening gaze. Jayden runs his fingers through my messy hair, twirling strands and laying them down my shoulder.
I melt into his hold further. “Me too,”
The past few days have been non-stop celebration after winning the Frozen Four, however, eventually, I needed a break from my teammates. That’s a lie. I just wanted to be alone with Jayden, there is a lot to talk about.
Words are stuck in my throat as I look up to Jayden, then back around the room. I inhale sharply, spying my sticky notes, which are pinned to a corkboard on his desk. “You kept all my notes?” I ask, my voice small and unsure.
Jayden’s reply is immediate. “Yes. I want every part of yourself you are willing to give me.”
“I’m truly sorry for walking away from you. I–”
“Willow, it’s oka–”
“–No. I need to tell you everything, so you understand.” I swallow. “You might know a little bit about my first boyfriend, but he was only the beginning. Nevada was where everything fell apart. I regret staying as long as I did, but I didn’t know where else to go.”
I sigh, but Jayden holds me tighter. It’s warm and reassuring–everything I want home to feel like.
“My freshman year was fine, but the following year, we got a new coach who was a misogynistic asshole. And my teammates figured if the coach could treat me like crap, so could they. For some reason, Kyle and I started sleeping together, and before I knew it, I was losing myself.”
“In the beginning, he was charming and protective. Too protective. Eventually, it turned into control. He didn’t have to use his fists to hurt me, everything was emotional. Telling me I was too loud, too much for anyone to handle–” a sob falls from my lips. “Then I came to visit Jazmine last year, and it was like a switch flipped inside me. Funnily enough, it was arguing with you that caused the epiphany.”
Pain is etched into every crevice on Jayden’s face, and it makes me feelseen.
He never lets go of me, if anything he is clutching me tighter like I might disappear. I hope he understands why I pushed him away.
“I put in a transfer request as soon as I was back in Nevada. I asked if I could join the hockey team but said if it wasn’t possible I’m not fazed.” I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to stop them from watering. “For the first time in my life, I didn’t want to play. In fact, I started to hate the sport.”
Jayden’s palm slides down my back, gently rubbing it. He doesn’t stop as I continue to speak. “I never heard back until thestart of Summer, after your previous teammate was injured. I’d never been more excited in my life.”
Jayden breaks his self-imposed silence for the first time since I interrupted him. “I’m sorry for being a jerk when you first arrived. I don’t have an excuse.”
“It’s okay.” I bite my bottom lip, thinking about what I’m about to say. “I never really hated you. It was just your control issues that scared me. I hate the idea of being controlled by someone else, and I promised myself after all the issues with my ex’s I would never go down that path again.”
“Shit,” Jayden says. “That is not what I want. Even though you scare me to death when you’re off doing something crazy, it was never about you specifically.”
He pauses, and I look up, finding Jayden’s gaze on the ceiling.
“I’ve never told anyone this, but before Alli died, we had a fight–” I gasp. Alli and Jayden were basically our school's It Couple,’ they never fought. “–It was about you,”
I suck in a breath. “What?” I ask in disbelief.
