I hate waiting.
Like, seriously.
I’m the least patient person in the world.
And my boy Markus is getting on my last nerve.
“Dude, we are going to my mom’s. The party isn’t until tonight,” I complain as Markus runs his comb through his unruly black curls. Catching my gaze in the mirror, he rolls his eyes.
“I know, but this saves me getting ready later. I can focus on setting up then,” he throws back at me. I understand his logic, but my mom is waiting on me.
While she may think it’s a good idea to have a family dinner, I feel she’s wrong. Yes, I understand that my brother Jude and his wife Claire are in town, and Mom wants everyone to eat together, family time and all that shit. But doesn’t my mom realize the first weekend of school is always party weekend for the Bellevue Bullies? That it is my job to put on a banging party for my teammates? My brothers went to this school too; she should know this by now. Apparently, she missed the memo. And according to the text I just got from my other brother Jayden, he and his wife Baylor are already there, and everyone is waiting on me. Well, us, since I invited Markus.
I am realizing that was a big mistake.
“True, but we gotta go. My brother just texted me, my sister has texted me four times, everyone is hungry, and Mom won’t start without me.”
“I’m coming!” I roll my eyes at his assertion, leaning against the doorframe to check my phone. I have billions of messages from everyone asking about the party tonight and, really, I don’t know how my brothers did this without a hitch the years they went to Bellevue University. I am already stressed-out, and the party hasn’t even happened yet. This is supposed to be fun, the greatest year of my life, since I am more than likely going to go into the draft this year. I am not supposed to be stressed, but here I am.
It doesn’t help that this year is so important. It is basically my last year as a kid. This is my year to have a blast while working hard for my spot on the team and in the draft. After a nasty hit last year that ended my season because of a broken clavicle bone, I missed my chance to go into the draft with Jayden as we had planned. But nothing will keep me from going in this year. I have been training hard, working on my puck handling and shooting more than once a day. My shoulder is great, and everything is in place for me to succeed. I’m going to show how freaking amazing I am, get my captain position, and then rock it. I will follow in the footsteps of my brothers. I will be in the NHL like them, living my dream. There just isn’t any other option.
Because I can’t be left behind. Jude and Jayden would tease me relentlessly. I have lived in their shadows my whole life, and I’m ready to shine. Add in the fact that it’s my dream to be in the NHL, and my drive is unstoppable. I have wanted this since I was a kid, and I’m not really sure why it’s weighing so heavily on me, but it is. I’m ready to get my life started; I’m ready to tear up the ice with my brothers. Beat their asses, show them how awesome I am. But first, I just have to get to this dinner and then throw the party.
And the only thing holding me up is my best friend.
Making a disgruntled noise, I answer some of the messages, mainly from my teammates, as I wait. Camp is finishing up, the cuts have been made, and we have our team. It is a new team since most of our older guys—oh, and Baylor—went into the draft last year. I’m a little worried about the team. After only a few practices together, it is obvious we aren’t the team we were last year. But Coach Moore has been preaching that new blood means a new foundation and that is good. So we will see. All I know is that I don’t lose. So I’m going to need people to step up and play hard.
Because this year will be the year that is featured in the highlight reel of my life. It may sound silly, but when I was younger, my brothers and I would do stuff and scream, “Highlight reel!” which meant it was the sort of play that would be featured on ESPN. Since life is one big ESPN show for me, I want this year to be showcased as the best. I want to look back on my last year in college and know that I worked hard, that I partied harder, and that I enjoyed my life before my dreams came true.
I just need Markus to come the hell on.
“Dude, let’s go!”
Turning to me, he glares, rubbing some oil together in his palms before running it through his curls. “Dude, chill. I’m coming now.”
Rolling my eyes again, I tuck my phone into my pocket and push off the doorframe to go up the stairs. Since Markus and I are going for the captain positions, we already claimed the room I had last year when I shared with Jayden. Since he was the captain last year, he got to choose his roommate and he chose me. More because my mom worries about me twenty-four seven, but also because I’m his favorite sibling. I mean, if I had to choose between Jude, our older sister Lucy, or me, I would choose me.
I’m fucking amazing.
When I hear the door slam, I let out a sigh of relief as I listen to Markus running up the stairs behind me. He is a junior and also two years older than me since he started school late when he was a kid. He’s a cool dude and a really great friend. We clicked from the beginning and have been inseparable ever since. As the left wing to his right, we just work, on and off the ice. He’s basically my brother from another mother, and since we both have parents who have gotten divorced, we provide that support for each other.
“What’s your mom cooking?” Markus asks as he falls into step with me once we get outside. The house is empty; no one has moved in yet and won’t until Sunday, but I plan on getting my bags and stuff tonight so I can move in early. I think Markus is going to do the same thing. I’m not sure, though. I kind of hope so, because I don’t want to be in that house alone. I will more than likely be hungover tomorrow when I move in, but still, the Bullies’ house freaks me out when it’s empty.
Probably doesn’t help that Jayden convinced me it’s haunted. Asshole.
A shiver runs down my spine as I glance over at him. “Steak and potatoes, probably.”
“Cool.”
“Are you moving in tonight or tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Awesome.” My voice is full of relief, which makes Markus laugh.
“What, scared the boogeyman who wears a hockey helmet and carries a pointed stick will gut you?”
Glaring, I push Markus away. “Fuck off.”
His laughter is easy and his light caramel eyes fill with mischief as we cross the Bullies’ yard to the quad to get to my car. I left it over by the communications building after my last class.
“Why did you leave your car over here again?” I glance at him, annoyed since I already told him why.
“Because I was following these two girls, trying to get their numbers, and inviting them to the party tonight.”
He laughs. “But you failed?”
“No, I don’t fail; I just let them play their little game of hard to get. I’ll get them sooner rather than later.”
Actually, they were seniors and both had slept with my brothers.
I guess they weren’t down for a hat trick of the Sinclair brothers.
“They blew you off,” he accuses and I roll my eyes.
“No, I don’t get blown off. I’m Jace Fucking Sinclair—girls flock to me.”
Markus scoffs. “Keep dreaming, brother. You know the only reason they flock to you is to get to this chocolate dreamboat.”
I pause, laughter bubbling inside my chest. “Did you really just say that?”
Laughing, he nods. “Damn right, that’s what Leslie called me last night.”
My face wrinkles up at not only the mention of Leslie but also at the very graphic humping action Markus is displaying. “I think I just puked a bit.”
Still laughing, he somehow keeps up with me as I cross into the quad quickly. It is full of people, everyone enjoying the last couple weeks of summer weather. It is hot, not balls-hot, but hot. Girls are lying in their bikinis tanning, while dudes are running around with no shirts, trying to impress them. If I didn’t have somewhere to be, I’d throw off my black tee and join in on the game of football that has everyone’s attention.
But I have to go.
Checking out the many gorgeous women my school offers me, I ask, “So, you two are serious, then?”
“Um, no. I don’t do serious, bro. I got priorities.”
I couldn’t agree more. “Preach it.”
When it comes to girls, we both live by the motto: “My cock can play, but my heart is on the bench.” No matter how great the girl, how gorgeous she is, or how cool she is, she will never be what hockey is to me. Hockey is life. Hockey is my next breath, and it’s all that matters. When I get older and it’s time to settle down, I’ll let my heart off the bench. But right now, I don’t need some chick fucking with my heart and breaking me. I watched my mom go through some serious heartbreak, and I’m not about that life.
Neither one of us is.
I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen good relationships. My brothers and their wives are great and happy and all that jazz, but it’s hard to forget watching your older sister cry from the soul as she holds her daughter because her douche-ass husband left her for a skinnier and younger version of herself. Or watching my brothers duke it out with my dad because he not only cheated on my mom with some stripper, but he tried to hit her. Yeah, relationships are messy and I’m okay without that. Not everyone finds their soul mate. The good ones like Jayden and Jude do, and I’m cool with that. I’m not some girlie-girl dude like they are. I don’t need a chick to complete me. I’ve got hockey and a family that loves me. I’m good.
Plus, why settle for one when you can have ten?
That’s the real question.
I hold my fist up, and Markus bumps it. “But she’s fun, though. I like her.”
I nod at his honesty. “Don’t fall for her.”
He snorts loudly then, shaking his head. “No way, I don’t have time for that. Season is about to start; I got parties, work, training, and more chicks to go through. You know what I mean?”
“I hear you, hundred percent.” I throw him a grin, and he nods as we make it through the quad. It is loud today. Everyone is amped up for the start of the year, ready to work for his or her dreams, or they are miserable because their parents are making them come to BU. Either way, the quad is buzzing, and soon a grin is on my face. If this is the way it is now, everyone so excited, I can’t imagine how the party is going to be tonight.
Actually, I can.
It’s going be freaking awesome.
“Thank God I see your car. My legs are killing me.”
I see my car the same time Markus says that, and I nod because my legs hurt too. Practice kicked our asses this morning and I know I am walking a little funny from it, but still my pace is quick as I pull my keys out. Just as I go to unlock it, I hear an arresting, throaty voice that has me pausing.
“What?”
“Do you hear that?” I ask, looking around until my gaze falls on a girl leaned up against a tree with a guitar in her arms. The guitar is bigger than she is, but it looks right at home in her lap and hands. Her straight brown hair is cascading down her shoulders as her fingers move perfectly across the strings of the guitar. All of a sudden, I can’t move. Her voice is so raspy, like she has been smoking for years, but beautiful at the same time, and I like it. I like it a lot. As lyrics leave her lips, I immediately know the song: “Tee Shirt” by Birdy, some girlie shit Baylor used to listen to all last year. I hated her music, but listening to this girl sing actually has me wanting to sit down and enjoy the tune.
Or her.
“She’s good.”
“Yeah,” he agrees as both of us watch her, listening to the music coming out of her like she was put on this earth to sing.
“You know what they say about girls who sing,” I say as she finishes the last verse.
“Nope, I haven’t heard that one.” His voice has laughter in it, which makes me grin.
Unable to tear my gaze from her, I say, “They are good with their mouths.”
That has him shaking with laughter, and suddenly, my legs are in control and I start for her.
“Dude, what the hell?”
But I don’t stop. “Give me a second.”
“I thought everyone was waiting for us.”
“They are. Shut up.” My voice must have interrupted her because she looks up and everything just stops.
I hear no noise from the quad.
No music.
No nothing.
All I see are her eyes.
What in the hell?
But they are so green, almost turquoise, and are brought out by the darkness of her lashes. Her eyes tilt a little, her nose complementing her face perfectly while brown freckles dust along her nose and cheeks. She tried to cover them with makeup, but they aren’t coverable. I want to see her without makeup.
I want to see her freckles.
Unaltered.
“Um, hello?” Her bottom lip is bigger than her top, I notice as she speaks, and I soon realize I am just staring at her.
Like a dumbass.
“Oh, my bad.” Quickly, I push my hand down into my pocket and pull out a couple of bills, dropping them into her open guitar case. I take notice of her black Converse that she wears with her jeans and black tee. Why she’s wearing jeans is beyond me since it’s hot, but they are tight, and I’m sure if she stood, she’d be hot in them.
I meet her gaze again and her lips are quirked up at the side as she laughs. “Oh, I’m not taking money.”
Wow, her laugh is almost as great as her voice.
Electrifying.
Shit, what the fuck is wrong with me?
Shaking my head, I smile. “Oh. Well, I pay for what I like.”
Her brows rise. “Is that some weird, hidden innuendo that you’re trying to buy me?”
“Wait, huh?”
Her face breaks into a full-out grin then, and shit, I am breathless.
Who the hell is this girl?
“Don’t hurt yourself trying to figure out what an innuendo is.” Her voice is playful as she winks at me in a very cute way.
Chuckling, my eyes narrow as I hold her gaze.
She is a smartass, apparently.
“I know what it is.”
“My apologies then, good sir,” she teases, her eyes twinkling.
Crossing my arms, I can’t tear my gaze from hers as she looks up at me expectantly. I know I should say something, but it is hard when I am drinking in her beauty. There is something about those eyes that have my stomach in knots, and I want to know why. I want to know who she is, but before I can even think of what to say, her mouth is moving.
“Usually, this is the part where you say some corny line about getting together later and I quickly decline, because… Yeah, I don’t have a good reason, except that I have no time for that. And then you walk away, dejected.”
My mouth curves as I slowly shake my head. “I don’t get dejected.”
“Aw, cute. Are you one of those persistent kind of guys? The one who knows he’s gonna win, no matter what?”
“I always win,” I say simply with all the confidence in the world. I even shoot her a winning grin, but she laughs.
“Well, big boy, chalk me up as a loss, because I don’t have time for lame lines that are invites to things I don’t want.” She moves her hands down the strings as if her words were lyrics.
Not missing a beat, I ask, “Who said anything about dating?”
“Oh, that’s right. You want to buy a night with me.”
She’s funny and I love the color her cheeks are turning. They are glowing almost like she just came hard. It’s hot.
Grinning, I shake my head. “I don’t pay for sex.”
“Whoa,” she says quickly, holding her hands up, her eyes wide and intoxicating. “Don’t make me use my pepper spray, you perv. I thought you wanted to buy me to have someone to watch Netflix with you.”
I can’t help it; I laugh and I laugh hard. She watches me, her eyes full of light as I bend over laughing. “You’re funny.”
“I try.”
She is quick and witty. I like that. “So, if you aren’t busy watching Netflix because some dude paid you—”
“Ugh,” she moans. Instantly, my cock comes to life in my jeans as she leans against the tree, acting as if she is bored, her palms up, arms hanging beside her. “Is this the lame pickup line?”
When Markus starts to laugh, I glare back at him and he shrugs. “She’s funny.”
“Shut up,” I mouth before turning back to her. “No, No Dating Diane.”
Her face lights up as she perks up. “Ha! That’s funny.”
“I try,” I say with a grin. “But anyway, the Bullies are throwing a party tonight if you want to come.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m coming already.”
Surprised by that, I ask, “You got invited?”
She shoots me a little kitten grin that goes straight to my groin. “Yeah, by some dude wanting to sleep with me. No biggie, though. I’m going for the free booze, not the sex.”
She is very blasé about it, and I like that. Most girls would be creaming their panties at getting an invite from one of the guys on the Bullies. We are royalty around this campus—being regional champions gets you that respect—but this girl doesn’t care one way or the other.
Nodding my head, I grin. “Cool, I’ll save you a beer, then.”
“Cool, yeah, I’ll come take it off your hands. I like beer.”
“Cool.”
“Cool.”
But I don’t move. Instead, I stand there, my eyes getting lost in hers until Markus clears his throat. “Let’s go, bro.”
“Yeah,” I say, remembering we have to leave. “Use that money wisely.”
She looks down at the two bucks and fist-pumps. “Yes, I can finally afford that Airhead I wanted.”
“Only if it’s green.”
“Duh, that’s the only good color,” she said simply, taking a dollar in each of her hands and waving them in the air. “I got a dolla, I got a dolla, I got two dollas, hey, hey, hey, hey.”
My face breaks out into a grin as I nod. “Cool, see you tonight, No Dating Diane.”
Pausing, she grins back at me. “Till tonight, Lame Line Larry.”
I unlock the doors to my car and climb in after Markus is already in his seat.
“She’s different.”
“Yeah,” I say, stealing one last glance at her. She’s watching me, her eyes dark and full of desire. I hadn’t noticed that before, and seeing it now hits me straight in the gut.
“She’s hot, too.”
I nod. “For sure.”
Markus laughs and I tear my gaze off her to meet his. “What?”
“Nothing, you’re all googly-eyed.”
My brows furrow and I realize my heart is pounding against my ribs. What the hell is wrong with me? “I don’t get googly-eyed.”
“Sure you don’t,” is his opinion as I back out of my parking space, deciding there is no reason to dignify his accusation with a response.
Because I don’t get googly-eyed.
I’ll also never admit that I glance back at her one last time.
Just one more time.
Just in case she doesn’t show up tonight.
Nope, I’ll never admit that.