“Huh?” She paused, fork hovering in midair.
“So many girls I know never seem to eat.” I shrugged, scooping up the second-to-last bite of cheesecake. “Then it makes me feel bad for eating in front of them. Like, I’m a large human being. I train every day. I need a ton of calories. It’s awkward to be the only one eating all the time, you know?”
Bailey grinned. “If you think that’s impressive, you should see me breathe. I’m world class.”
I laughed, then I caught myself staring at her for a beat longer than was probably normal. Couldn’t help it.
“What?” She leaned closer, round eyes scanning my face in the candlelight.
“Nothing,” I said. “All good.”
Was this what falling for someone felt like? It was a trip.
Once I took care of the bill, it was time for the grand finale: skating at Northview Arena. The prospect of skating and James together had me legit feeling like a kid in a candy store.
I pulled into the deserted parking lot, illuminated by pale yellow streetlamps. Grabbing a spot at the front near the doors, I eased in and killed the ignition.
“Wait.” Bailey tilted her head, studying me. “We’re skating at your rink?”
“Yup.”
Her hazel eyes narrowed suspiciously, then widened suddenly, and she let out a little gasp. “Are we breaking in?”
I unbuckled my seat belt and reached for the bag with our skates. “Is it breaking in if you have the code?”
“Well, are we allowed to be here?”
“Define allowed,” I said, hoisting the black duffel onto the middle console. “I mean, it’s a free country. We have the constitutional right to freedom of movement.”
“Carter…” She made a little eek face.
“We’re not not allowed.” I shrugged. “No one’s booked the ice. Plus, I’m on Coach Miller’s good side these days, so we should be okay.”
Bailey groaned. “So we’re definitely breaking in.”
She was such a rule-follower. Adorable.
“Public skate just ended. We have plausible deniability if we get caught, like maybe we were confused and didn’t know it was over.” I smiled innocently.
“You get out of a lot of trouble with that smile, don’t you?”
“Sure do,” I said, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. Her skin was so soft, and she smelled so good…Bad idea. Now I wanted to kiss her on the mouth, and if I did that, we’d probably never make it out of the truck.
I really needed to get it together.
“Come on,” I said. “They don’t flood the rink for another two hours.”
“You’re sure?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve done it dozens of times before.”
She shot me a wary look, like I’d brought millions of girls here. The truth was, I’d never liked anyone else enough to want to take them skating, but I wasn’t sure she would find that reassuring, either.
“Alone, James. When I need to work off energy because I’m pissed off or whatever.”
“So you commit crimes habitually,” she said, fighting a smile. “Good to know.”
I winked at her. “You knew who you were getting.”
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 25
OceanofPDF.com
YOU WIN
Chase
Our steps echoed as we navigated the deserted hallways of Northview Arena. I entered the security code next to the dressing room entrance without looking, and the red metal door unlocked with an obedient click. Leaning against it with my hip, I pushed it open and gestured for Bailey to go first.
“Wow,” she breathed, scanning the giant 3D logo in the middle of the floor, the rows of glossy crimson lockers, and the custom LED lighting.
“Pretty sweet, huh?” The Boyd dressing rooms had been completely renovated the year before I started, courtesy of a massive donation by an anonymous alumnus. I was awed the first time I saw them too. They were sleek, modern, and would put most of the dressing rooms in the NHL to shame.
Taking her hand in mine, I led her over to my locker at the end of the room, nearest the entrance to the ice. It would be difficult, but I was going to try to keep this G-rated while we were in here. I wanted to actually get in some skating with her.
For a little while.
After that, all bets were off.
I may have had some plans for later.
“Yeah, your dressing room is way nicer than ours.” She caught herself, plump lips folding into a frown. “Wait. Don’t tell anyone I said that.”
I set our skates on the bench beside us, glancing back over at her. “When were you in the Bulldogs locker room?” As usual, the question slipped out before I could stop myself. And it didn’t sound nearly as casual as I would have hoped.
Bailey stepped closer, wrapping her arms around my neck. Instantly, my willpower disintegrated. Fuck G-rated; if I kept it PG-13, I would consider it an accomplishment.
“To do a piece for Callingwood Daily, you big caveman.” Her hazel eyes glinted playfully.
“Ah.” I ran my fingers down the sides of her ribcage, spanning the curve of her waist over her soft pink sweater. Even with her height, she was still a good measure shorter than me, not to mention way smaller. I loved how she felt beneath my hands—pliant and feminine.
I tilted my head and leaned closer, my mouth meeting hers. Bailey let out a little sigh and parted her lips, letting me taste her. I took her bottom lip, sucking on it before pushing into her sweet mouth with my tongue.
Gripping her waist, I pulled her closer, warm curves pressing up against my body. She stood on her tiptoes as I deepened the kiss, taking, tasting, claiming. Desire surged through me, my cock growing harder by the second. Then I remembered where we were. If we didn’t stop now, we would never make it onto the ice.
I slowly pulled back, breaking the kiss, even though every fiber of my body was begging me not to. Bailey looked back up at me, eyes more golden than green in the light of the room.
“For the record,” she said, booping me on the nose with her finger, “you’re cute when you’re jealous.”
“I was just curious.” I shrugged, reluctantly releasing her.
Her lips tugged. “Sure, Carter.”
Opening the digital lock, I hung up her bag and my gray canvas jacket, then quickly threw on a black lightweight training hoodie over my T-shirt. Bailey opted to keep her coat on over her sweater, claiming she was cold. Why were chicks always freezing? The high today was sixty-four degrees, which was shorts weather as far as I was concerned. But I ran at a million degrees year-round, especially when I was moving.
We slipped off our shoes and laced up our skates. Then I tossed in the rest of our stuff before securing the locker again. Probably wasn’t necessary at his time of day, but it was a force of habit.
From the home bench, I opened the gate for Bailey. She skated backward, blond hair flying loose in the breeze. “Come on, slowpoke.” She made a come-at-me gesture, arms spread wide.
“You’re not half bad.” I stepped onto the ice with a huge grin. She was so fucking cute.
“Oh, I’ve got moves you’ve never seen.”
“I bet.” I took a few easy strides in her direction, coasting. “Gonna show me?”
Bailey turned away from me, calling over her shoulder. “You’ll have to catch me first.”
I picked up speed, drawing closer to her but holding back a few feet. Then I let her get away from me a few times, intentionally missing by a narrow margin when I reached for her. Finally, I couldn’t wait any longer. She made it to the corner, and I picked up speed, carefully grabbing hold of her. I came to a stop, spinning us both and pushing her into the boards.
She looked back at me, lips softly parted. “I guess you win.”
I had her in my arms, so I definitely did.
“Looks like it.”
I pinned her up against the plexiglass, wedging a thigh between her legs. She let out a little gasp, her eyes glazing over.