Shut Out (Bayard Hockey #1)(9)

The intensity in his voice and the blaze in his eyes when he says this are so different from his earlier laid-back attitude and swagger. I can’t look away from his face, mesmerized. Intrigued. And totally convinced he’s telling the truth.

“Team captain, huh?” I hide the fact that I’m impressed. “Captain Fun, no doubt.”

He narrows his eyes at me. “Okay, I’ll admit I like to have fun. But I’m very serious about hockey.”

I pat his chest with my fingertips. Eeep. That might have been a mistake because he is built. But I keep my smile in place. “I believe you.”

He shakes his head. “Jesus. You’re f*cking with me.”

I laugh. “Maybe a little. You kinda deserve it, Captain Ego.”

He rolls his eyes.

Somehow we have isolated ourselves in a back corner of the kitchen, near a door to a main-floor laundry room. The party is rocking around us, his hockey friends having moved on to a rowdy game of beer pong in the dining room. I’m about five-seven, and Jacob towers above me, obviously well over six feet tall, and he bends his head and leans into me in a way that makes me feel…protected. Not intimidated, which is more how I’ve felt lately anytime I’ve been around guys. His body is amazing—wide shoulders, muscled chest, and flat abs in a blue-and-beige plaid shirt loose over nicely distressed jeans. His attention is all focused on me, and even though I’ve had less than two drinks, I feel like I’m drunk. Like the carbonation from the drink is fizzing through my veins.

“So, Rapunzel, what’s your story? Are you a freshman?”

“Sophomore. You?”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “Sophomore. But I don’t get the whole naming the years thing. We don’t do that in Canada.”

I laugh. “It depends on how many semester hours you have.”

“Yeah. I had enough from some courses I took back in Saskatoon that they consider me a sophomore.”

“How old are you?”

“I’ll be twenty in November. You?”

Huh. “Nineteen. I’ll turn twenty in May.”

“What’s your major?”

“Um. I think…biology.”

“You don’t sound too sure.”

I nibble my bottom lip. “I want to be a doctor.”

His eyes widen. “No shit. That’s impressive.”

“And probably ridiculous.” I sigh and trace the top of my bottle with an index finger.

“Why ridiculous?”

“Pre-med is incredibly hard. And doesn’t come super easily to me.” I give him a crooked smile. “I’m taking a bunch of science classes and they’re killing me.”

“Then why do it?” He gazes at me with genuine curiosity. “If you take something you like, it should be easy.”

I snort-laugh. “If you have brains, yeah.”

“Clearly you have a brain, Rapunzel.”

“I’m not a genius like my older sister.” I glumly study my indigo-polished toenails. “She’s now a resident in Boston. It’s easy for her. Me, I have to work my ass off.”

He blinks at me as if he doesn’t understand that concept.

“Like you do at hockey,” I prompt him. “Right?”

“Oh yeah. Right.” He frowns. “Actually, hockey’s pretty easy for me. I mean, I work at it, and I work out to stay in the best shape I can, but it’s not like it’s hard.”

“Oh.” I purse my lips. “What are you taking?”

“Some engineering courses. A math course. Physics.”

“Physics? Seriously?”

“Yeah. Physics is cool and it actually applies to hockey. Like skating. The friction of a skate blade with the ice. A skater propels himself forward by pushing off the ice with a force perpendicular to the skate blade. Then when he pushes off with his back leg, a perpendicular force is exerted on the skate by the ice. To push off the ice with greater forward force, and accelerate faster, he has to increase the angle, which increases the component of force in the direction of motion.”

I stare at him.

“Uh, sorry.” He swipes a hand over his face. “I forgot I’m not supposed to talk about shit like that at parties. It makes people’s eyes glaze over.”

“No, no. It’s cool. You’re not just a big dumb jock.” I nudge him with my shoulder.

“Yeah, actually, I am.” He makes a face. “I never planned to go to college, other than some courses I took to fill time. I had to take things that were easy, otherwise all the time I spent on the road would make it impossible to keep up. Plus, I’m kind of interested in building stuff.”

“I’m sure you had all kinds of girls willing to loan you their notes. Help you study.”

His lips curve into that sexy smile. “Well, yeah.”

I shake my head, smiling back at him. “And physics is easy for you? Jesus.”

He shrugs. “It’s just the way my mind works. When it comes to writing papers, I suck. I can’t spell for shit and my grammar is pathetic.”

This cocky guy being smart and admitting a weakness makes him even more endearing. That buzz of attraction grows stronger, his magnetic pull more powerful.

“So just because your sister is a genius and is going to be a doctor doesn’t mean you have to if you don’t enjoy that stuff.”