Page 48 of Puck You
Every single particle of my being could feel the kiss, each nerve connected to the next, sending signal after signal of euphoria.The lines of our bodies pressed together, the feel of her hair clenched between my fingers, the taste of her lips; it was all too much.No amount of lust or wanting could have prepared me for the truth of what kissing Grace felt like.Her body surrendered itself to me as I traced one hand along the dip of her waist and over the top of her shoulder until my palm cupped the skin of her cheek.I wanted all of her, every single morsel she was willing to give over.Her breath, her scent—I wanted it all.I was so swept up in the bliss that I missed the moment things shifted.
Grace came to her senses in a split second, the moan on her lips transforming into a startled gasp.Her grip on my shirt loosened, fingers spreading until her palm was flat against my chest.Suddenly, the world was tilting, the lake rushing forward in an almighty lurch.My body hit the water with a loud splash.Cold shocked my senses, rendering me motionless as I sank below the surface.Everything fell still as the darkness consumed me, but the moment my feet touched the muck at the bottom, I pushed, surging upwards.I emerged in front of the dock with a gasp.Moonlight danced across the rippling surface of the black water.
Grace was fleeing up the hill, her hair streaming behind her as she ran for the safety of the house.I pulled myself from the water and collapsed onto the dock.A sudden, almost hysterical-sounding laugh burst from me as realization dawned.Grace could feel it too, this strong current pulling us together.There was want and need in the way she’d returned my kiss.She could deny it all she wanted, or push me into another freezing lake, but that wouldn’t change anything.And now that I knew how she felt, I’d take pleasure in reminding her every single moment of the day.
Happy birthday indeed.
Chapter 13
Sebastian
The lake house brought me a special kind of peace that was impossible to replicate.Not even standing inside DuLane Arena had the same effect.Bill had bought the property a year after he’d married my mom.I could still remember the first time we’d pulled down the long wooded drive, patches of sun poking down from the sky after two weeks of nonstop rain.Even though my dad had never been here, I could feel him with us when we were out on the lake after a long day of fishing, or standing around the bonfire cooking pudgy pies at the end of the night.I never felt more like myself than I did sitting on the dock at the break of dawn, watching the sun’s reflection slowly creep across the glass-like water.
“Are you ready to go?”
I blinked and glanced away from the lake, eyes shifting to the person standing beside me on the back deck—square jaw, brown eyes, black hair: Bryce.
“Ready.”
It was a complete lie.
I did one more pass through the house to ensure the lights were turned off and the security system was set.Bryce followed me out the front door toward the only remaining vehicle parked along the twisting driveway.Everyone had left hours ago, but I wasn’t ready to leave.I never was when it came to this place.
“Should I be worried about the team dynamic?”Bryce squeezed his large frame into the driver’s seat and started the car.
“No,” I said, contemplating the events of last night.“I just got carried away.”
After taking a shower to wash off the lake (and avoidhypothermia), I’d stumbled into bed and spent the early hours of the morning staring at the ceiling fan.Learning that Grace and I shared a mutual attraction, that she too was struggling to resist this strange connection between us, came as a relief, but the more I thought about it, the more that relief shifted into concern.I’d never wanted her close to begin with because I knew she had the power to pull my focus from hockey.Now, there was no avoiding the girl.And to make matters worse, I knew that she felt something for me, even after everything that had transpired between us.
“You want to tell me what happened last night?”
“Not re—”
“No more bullshit, Evans.No more snapping at me when I ask how things are going.Be honest with me for one fucking second.”
I dropped my head into my hands, letting out a long sigh.It was so much easier to keep to myself.Speaking the words out loud made it real.
“I kissed Grace.”
Bryce didn’t say anything.He was waiting for me to say more.
“It feels wrong to be fixated on another girl—one who’s proven she can’t be trusted—when I just got out of a two-year relationship with Kate.”
“Feeling guilty is normal,” said Bryce, “but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve done something wrong.Don’t let that stop you from pursuing whatever or whoever you want.”
“That’s the thing, Bryce.The only thing Ishouldwant to focus on is hockey.Grace is one massive fucking disturbance to my equilibrium.I’m out of control when she’s around.”
I was scared that she had the power to make me forget about hockey altogether.
“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted.“I want her, and I fucking hate that I want her at the same time.”
“Have you ever considered that your feelings for her could be a good thing?”Bryce asked.
The last time I’d let someone into my heart, they’d crept onto the ice during the most important moment of my career.And then I spent the next year resenting her, even though it wasn’t really her fault.To this day, I still thought about a reality where Kate and I had never gotten together.Would things be different?Would I already be playing for Detroit?
No, letting Grace in would be a mistake.Right?
“It doesn’t even matter,” I said, shaking my head.“Grace might be attracted to me, but she hates me all the same.She pushed me into the fucking lake last night.”
