Hockey With Benefits(40)

And Atwater just figured out how to get Labrowski to agree with the party.

If Labrowski said yes, then Keys was more likely to sign on. I shared a look with Wes. We both knew that we were going to be having a party Saturday night.

I sighed. “I’ll mention it to Mara.”

“Yes!”

“But you and I are doing some one-on-one in practice to pay for it.”

He groaned, then coughed. “I mean, bring it on.”





Since realizing Mara was in my same anthropology class, I’d stayed away. It was part of the thing with us, but today I dropped down in the seat on her other side, letting my hand graze her arm. Mara’s head had been folded over her book, but she snapped up, her eyes wide as she glanced at her arm. We had a few minutes before Miller would grab the seat on her other side.

“What are you doing?”

I tried to gauge her attitude. She hadn’t hissed that question at me, though I was breaking our rules. But she’d been extra hot last night. Fuck. We both were. I was starting not to like the no-texting rule between us. Which was an admission of surprise to myself because I liked what we had during the first semester. First semester and the first week, but things started to slide. We were trying to right the course again, but I don’t know.

A part of me was enjoying that I had an excuse to sit here.

That I could shift to the side, could run a finger down her leg, loving how it’d make her eyes glaze over, the same look I was rewarded when I was in her honey spot.

That I had an excuse to break our agreement, or bend it.

Bend her…

“Cruz.”

Right. “We’re doing a party Saturday night. The guys want you to come.”

She didn’t show any reaction. That wasn’t altogether surprising because since her breakdown that night, it’s like she caught herself and was making up for her slip of control. She’d been locked down, and the only time she let herself go was in bed with me. Like she gave herself permission, not that I was complaining. My dick was already hard, all the different positions we’d not tried yet playing out in my head.

But last night, man. How I stood, how she turned around, how she backed up—okay. My dick was rock hard. Christ.

“Why?”

I glanced back, seeing Wes staring at us. He raised an eyebrow, indicating the empty chair beside him. I gave him a slight nod, and right then, Bianca tried to drop into my usual seat. He stopped her, nodding my way.

She looked our way, but I focused back on Mara. “Because, I don’t know. AJ wants you there and you know how he is when he gets something in his head. Just show up, or he’ll pester you all week until you say you’ll come.”

“Are you serious? But, we have—”

Miller was coming, along with two of his frat brothers.

“It was either me asking or him harassing you all week.” I stood up, grabbing my bag, and because I was itching to touch her, my leg brushed against her as I went by. I ignored her small gasp. “Just come, okay?”

Miller’s eyebrows pulled together, a small frown on his face as I passed him. “Styles.”

“Miller.” I kept going, dropping into my seat.

He paused until he went to sit by Mara.

“She coming?”

I shook my head, before I shrugged. “Not a fucking clue.”

And now I had to sit through class with a raging hard-on.





20





MARA





My phone buzzed at the same time someone knocked on my door.

I was just finishing dressing for the party, and came out of the bathroom when my door opened. Zoe came inside. I was speechless for a moment. She was in a full black leather suit with no back, just strips that ran over her shoulders, like the front of a halter top. Her whole face was shimmering with light glitter. It mixed perfectly with her skin tone. She had eyelashes on, and instead of the usual jewelry that adorned her during the day, she was naked. No rings. No earrings. No necklaces or bracelets. Nope. One piece of jewelry, a nose ring, and it was the smallest little diamond.

“Holy shit. You look amazing.”

She beamed, lacing her fingers together. I had to look, her shoes didn’t disappoint. They were black high heels. “It’s Skylar’s birthday today.”

My eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t know that. Are the roommates doing anything for her?”

“We could maybe do a roommate dinner tomorrow, but she didn’t want anyone to know. She doesn’t like to celebrate in a showy way.”

“Oh okay.” I was still going to get her a gift. I was weird. If people demanded gifts, I didn’t like giving them, but if they were like Skylar, I loved getting them presents. It was out of character for me, but I didn’t care. I liked Skylar and Zoe. They weren’t in my business, and instead had boundaries that almost rivaled myself. Plus, they were nice. “What’s up? What brings you to my door?”

“You’re going out?”

I nodded, checking over my outfit. A party at the hockey house was a little nerve wracking, and I rarely got nervous for parties. But Cruz would be there and with how we’d been lately, I wasn’t sure what to expect. We might not talk the whole night until at the end or… I didn’t know. I didn’t know what I wanted either. I’d enjoyed that he sat next to me in class, even if it was just for a bit, and then panicked because that was the whole point of how we needed to stop violating our own rules.