Page 50 of Punchline
“It… really?”
“I hadn’t seen much of it in the hockey fights I watched on YouTube. But now I know that’s something we should go over.”
Some of the tension in my spine and shoulders eased. “Oh.”
“And dude, tripping over the helmet?” He shook his head. “When I fight, there isn’t random debris on the mat, you know? Plus I’m not on skates and I’m sure as shit not on ice. You were in a headlock, on skates, on ice, getting ready to throw a punch while that asshole was still whaling on you.” He chuckled softly, and not at all unkindly. “Man, you stayed on your feet longer than I would’ve in that situation.”
I sagged against the driver seat and avoided his eyes. Well, fuck. Now I felt like an even bigger idiot. Not only had I been wrong about how Jake would see me, but I’d painted him as a total asshole in my mind.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured. “I don’t… I shouldn’t have thought you were… ”
“It got into your head. It happens.” He reeled me back in for a light kiss. “Getting beaten in front of people is embarrassing. It sucks. I won’t tell you it doesn’t.” His grin lit up the whole night. “But you’re going to have to work harder than that to get rid of me.”
That actually made me laugh, which made me lightheaded with relief. “Okay. Okay, that’s good to know.” I looked at him through my lashes. “So you’ve had some bad ones too?”
He grimaced. “The worst fight of my career was the last of Carson’s.”
I straightened again. “Oh. Shit. I—God, I completely forgot about?—”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” He took my hand and laced our fingers together. “Not gonna lie—I haven’t gone a single day since then without wishing I could go back and change things, and Iwonthat fight.” He squeezed my hand. “Getting knocked around in a scuffle like the one you had tonight—I mean, yeah, it’s not fun. I don’t blame you for feeling shitty about it. But all it did was show me what I, as your coach, need to focus on going forward. As your boyfriend?” He shook his head. “It doesn’t even register.” He paused, and his lips quirked, “Well, aside from noticing that you’re hot as hell when you’re mad and coming to the defense of your teammate.”
A laugh burst out of me. “What? Seriously?”
“Well, yeah.” He half-shrugged, and though it was hard to tell in the low light, I thought he blushed. “Someone took a cheap shot at Marek. Hell, from what Carson told me, they could’ve really hurt him. Tonight of all nights.”
“Ooh, shit, I didn’t even think about that.” I exhaled. “Iwas so pissed that he boarded Marek, but I didn’t connect that it wastonight.”
Jake chuckled. “Maybe it was just as well. If you’d remembered that, you’d have been even madder, and you might’ve hurt that guy.”
“He would’ve deserved it,” I growled. Then I rewound what he said. “Wait, you think I actually could’ve taken him? Dude washuge!”
“He was, and you still took him on.” He brought up my hand and kissed my palm. “With some more training, especially now that I know what to focus on, yeah, you could take someone like that.”
I cocked a brow. “Sooo, how many lessons before I should start picking fights with huge enforcers just to test myself?”
Jake laughed and rolled his eyes. “Oh my God… ”
I chuckled. Then I leaned across the console, and I was the one to kiss him this time. “Thank you. I don’t know why I thought… Ugh, I don’t know. I’m sorry, though.”
He grinned and kissed me lightly. “It’s okay. I get it. I’m just glad we’re back on the same page.”
“We are. And let’s not wait for my face to heal for another lesson. I want to unfuck this shit.”
He snorted, and he was about to retort when one of our phones pinged with a text.
“Is that you or me?” I asked.
“Me.” He tugged his phone out of his pocket, furrowed his brow, then laughed again. “Carson and Marek are asking where we are.”
“Shit. Okay. Guess we should get going, then.”
“Good idea.”
We shared one last kiss. Then I pulled back onto the road.
“I’ll let them know we’re on our way,” he said. As he started typing, he read his own words out loud: “On… our… way. Stopped… for… quickie… ”
I burst out laughing. “Really?”
