Rule Number Five: A College Hockey Romance (Rule Breaker Series Book 1)(24)

Unable to resist, I reached for my phone and sent her a quick text.

Me: You’re wrecking my concentration.

Staring at my phone, I watched as the little bubbles danced at the bottom.

Trouble: I’m ruining your concentration? You texted me.

Me: There’s that sass I love.

I paused, not knowing what to say, but I didn’t want to stop talking to her.

Me: I’m tired of running through plays and now I’m bored.

Trouble: Sounds like a YOU problem.

Me: Come on, don’t be like that.

Trouble: Fine. Read something.

Me: Like a book?

Trouble: Yes, genius. A book.

Me: Yeah, ok not my smartest answer.

Me: What kind of book?

Trouble: IDK anything you like. You have read books, haven’t you?

Me: Yes, Sid. I’ve read books.

Trouble: Alright… What did you like?

Fuck, what did I like? I didn’t know. I liked Game of Thrones, but I lost interest after the third book. Dune was an… experience. Not one I was down for diving back into. When the hell was the last time I read anything good?

Me: What do you like?

It took so long for her to answer I thought she’d left me hanging.

Trouble: You’re not going to like what I like.

Me: What? Why?

Trouble: Because guys don’t read the type of books I read.

Me: Well, now you have to tell me.

Trouble: Yeah, I don’t think so.

Me: Why the fuck not?

Trouble: Because, no.

My mouth twisted in a grin. Now I needed to know exactly what books she liked.

Me: What are you afraid of?

No reply.

Me: Are you reading dirty books, Sidney?

Bubbles appeared and disappeared as she typed. When they stopped and nothing else popped up, I sent her another message. I sounded desperate, but fuck it. I wanted to know. Something about getting my hands on a book so filthy she was embarrassed to tell me about it had my entire body vibrating.

Me: Tell me a book to read and I’ll tell you how much I like it.

I dropped my arm and ignored the pounding in my chest. Fuck. Did I push her too far? Did she think I was some kind of perv? I typed out, “just kidding,” but her message appeared before I hit Send.

Trouble: Sin & Sinners, but we are not talking about it.

Me: Sure we aren’t.

Trouble: Goodbye, Jax.

I paused in front of the mirror. A huge, ear-splitting grin covered my face. Something about her pulled all of my strings. There was nothing I enjoyed more than getting under her skin.

I hit Dial, pacing the room, and slid my left hand into the pocket of my jeans. It kept ringing. What the fuck? The fucking balls on her.

The click of the connection on the other side cut off my thoughts.

“You know I can revoke your phone privileges for calling me, right? No one calls anyone anymore. Strictly impersonal texts. Maybe some memes. You crossed an invisible line with this whole calling thing. Like, when you were a kid and you didn’t show up to someone’s house at suppertime. It’s just not done.” Sid’s voice was light, with hints of laughter behind it. Her feistiness had my mouth tipping at the corner.

“Were you really going to ghost me on this call?” I tried to sound serious, but I couldn’t help the small laugh.

“I wouldn’t call it ghosting, but sure, yeah, I was thinking about not answering,” she said playfully.

“Ouch, that hurts.”

“Don’t worry. A little humility will be good for your big ego.”

“Uh-huh, sure it will.”

“What do ya need, Jax?” There was rustling in the background, and I could barely make out the squeak of her bed when she sat on it. Suppressing a groan, I took a long breath in. The image of Sid lying on her bed had blood flooding to my dick. Get it together, man.

“Okay, I’m going to be up-front with you. I don’t normally call anyone. I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re stuck in my head, and I need to concentrate, so I just wanted to talk to you. You know, to see if that helps.” There was such a long, awkward pause I thought she might have hung up. Her breath was soft through the speaker, and I sat back on my bed. She hadn’t hung up, so I would wait her out.

“What’s your favorite food?” she asked.

I did a silent fist pump victory dance. “My hometown pizza. Hands down, the best. You can’t convince me otherwise.”

“I bet there’s a bunch of people in Italy, Boston, and New York that would disagree with you.”

“They’d be wrong. They don’t know what they’re missing.” My cheeks hurt from smiling, but it was just her. It was what she did to me.

“For me, it’s warmed-up chocolate croissants.” She moaned a little, and I tensed as a shiver ran through me. This girl was going to be the death of me.

“What’s your favorite movie?” I asked, adjusting until I was lying flat on my bed.

“Hmmm, I’m not sure I have a favorite movie, but I’m dying to see Hamilton.” I noted that fun fact and filed it away to look up later.

“If you weren’t the next sports star, what would you be?” She was getting into this.

“Easy. Homeless.” That startled a laugh out of her, which had me chuckling. The more we talked, the more relaxed I got. “Here’s one: Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or one hundred duck-sized horses?”