Tripping (Iced #2) - Kristine Allen Page 0,41

gaze sent butterflies knocking around in my guts.

As he crossed the room, though he paused briefly to greet his teammates’ families, he kept his eyes locked on me. My heart, already pounding, fluttered madly. His grin went wicked as he closed in on me.

Wariness hit me right before he crouched slightly and scooped me up to spin me around.

“What did you think of the game, baby?” The term of endearment had me catching my lower lip in my teeth. The rest of the crowd seemed to disappear as his arms tightened slightly around my hips. Looking down at him, I saw something that frightened me a little.

I saw a future.

“It was fantastic!” I replied with a smile as I cradled his cheek in my hand. He kissed me, and my body instantly responded.

He was a professional hockey player, and I was a middle school music teacher. He was so out of my league it was crazy. Yet, he didn’t seem to notice. He’d pursued me with a dogged determination that had slowly wormed him into my heart. What he saw in me was a mystery, yet I got a fluttery feeling anytime he looked my direction.

Dare I hope that something long-term could develop from what had blossomed? It was a tiny and fragile bloom, but with nurturing could grow to be a substantial and lush flower.

Maybe I needed to simply take things one day at a time.

“What are you thinking?” he asked as he searched my eyes.

“Nothing important,” I replied with a soft smile. He seemed to accept my response, and he glanced around me to my brother, who was standing wide-eyed watching all the massive players interact with the room. Some had already left with their guests, but several still mingled.

“Hey, bud, did you enjoy the game?” he asked Jett, still holding me. I wiggled slightly for him to put me down, and he mischievously grinned before he slid me down the front of his body.

And I felt everything.

“Heck yeah! That was the best!” Jett replied with a wide grin. “Thank you so much. My friends are so jealous, you just don’t know!”

Cameron gave him a fist bump, and they both chuckled.

“When is your birthday?” Cameron asked him. His arm settled around my waist as he pulled me into his side.

Jett’s eyes lit up. “It was Wednesday.”

“Shit, I’m sorry. We had an away game, and I didn’t think to ask when it was. I guess your present is late.”

Jett flushed and looked down as he scuffed the toe of his boot on the floor. “Aww, you don’t need to get me anything. The jersey and the game were enough.”

Though my family owned a large ranch, we were far from wealthy. If we sold all the land, it would be a pretty penny, but my grandparents and parents would never do that. We’d never been a materialistic family. In Jett’s eyes, Cameron had already been incredibly generous.

“When are you getting your permit?” Cameron asked him, and I thought my brother was going to explode with excitement.

“Tuesday,” he breathed, barely able to contain himself.

“So I have a three-game stretch of away games, but then I’ll be back. Maybe we could take that drive sometime after I get home. My schedule is tight for the next few weeks, but I haven’t forgotten.”

“I didn’t want to say anything in case you’d changed your mind,” Jett admitted in an uncharacteristically bashful manner.

“Hey, I’m a man of my word. We made a deal.” He glanced in my direction and grinned. Still speaking to my brother, though he held my gaze, he said, “I’d say I owe you big time.”

Jett snickered, and I flushed again.

Holy shit, I was falling hard and fast. I just hoped I didn’t crash and burn.

“Against The Wall”—Seether

“I miss you,” she admitted, and my heart gave an unusual lurch. As I reclined on the bed, I stared at her image on the phone.

“You do?” It was only the first night of our road trip, but already I was having withdrawals.

She nodded, causing her curls to bounce.

“I miss you too,” I replied with a lift of the corner of my mouth. My hair was still wet from my second shower of the night as I tucked one arm behind my head. I’d showered in the locker room after the game, then again when I’d returned to our room.

Alex was out on the town with his family, so I had the room to myself for the moment. Thank God, because I’d had to jack