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We’re almost the same height, my dad maybe three inches taller, our eyes nearly level to one another. I might have gotten my looks from my mom, but I have his height and athleticism. It wasn’t easy being five feet ten inches in high school. Kids picked on me. Most of the guys were shorter than me.
I learned to develop a thick skin because of it. Class pictures were interesting. Teachers forced me to stand at the back of the line with the boys arranging us in order of height.
Dad blows the whistle around his neck signaling for the guys to come over to the bench. “I have to get going, honey. Take a seat over there.” He points to the first row of seats. “I’ll meet you there after we’re done. Maybe we can get dinner if you want. Taylor, you can come, too.”
“Yeah, that sounds good, Dad.” I push my hand out to shoo him away, and then he’s gone back to coaching his team.
I tug on Taylor’s arm to move her toward our seats.
“You have an admirer,” she informs me.
I glance over at the bench to see Preston staring at me. Hard. His gaze is intense, his deep blue eyes fixed on me. He winks.Why did he have to do that?I refuse to return his gesture or even acknowledge him. Last night I was rude and said whatever had come to mind. It was my way of keeping him at a distance.
A guy like Preston will be the death of me. I have no room in my life for players—both on and off the court. Or in Preston’s case, the ice. But I can’t help feeling something for him. He didn’t have to offer for me to meet his mom. Preston doesn’t owe me a damn thing. Maybe I can be a little bit nicer without breaking the rules.
“The way he’s looking at you is giving me chills,” Taylor says, entranced by Preston. “What I wouldn’t give to have someone look at me like that.”
She’s not wrong about him. When Preston looks at me, he undresses me with his eyes. My skin pricks with tiny bumps which spread down my arms. He glares at me like a piece of meat as if he’s a starved animal, and he wants to sink his teeth into me.
But there’s something else about his demeanor. I interest him. Other guys have given me the same look in the past. I’ve ignored them, no problem.So, why can’t I do the same with Preston?Somehow, he has crawled under my skin, and I’ve allowed it even though I shouldn’t give him another thought.
He removes his helmet. His hair sticks on end in little spikes protruding up in different directions from the sweat. So many dirty thoughts run through my mind. I can’t stop them once they start.
He knows he has me. It’s not just his looks that hold my attention. Preston plays with such grace for someone his size. The way he moved his hips was like a dance routine I memorized with each glide of his skates.
Practice ends with my father telling the players to hit the showers and me still drooling over Preston. Taylor does the same. She hasn’t stopped gawking at Drake Donovan for the last five minutes. Tall and muscular, Drake has short, dark hair and a body so big and toned he makes you want to climb him. Drake is worth looking at, but no one compares to Preston.
Damn him.
“Where do you want to eat?” Taylor rubs her stomach. “I worked up an appetite watching these hockey hotties.”
“I bet that’s not the only appetite you worked up,” I deadpan. “Don’t think I missed you obsessively watching Drake. I don’t blame you. I was doing the same to Preston.”
Her eyes widen, and she clears her throat making a strange movement with her head to indicate someone is behind me. When I turn around, I come face to face with Preston.Here,I thought all of the players were in the locker room.
I have nowhere to run.
Nowhere to hide.
A wicked smirk turns up the right side of his mouth. An adorable dimple creases his cheek.
Fucking hell.
ChapterFive
PRESTON
All through practice I couldn’t get Bex out of my mind. Every time I moved, it was as if she was there watching me. Maybe I imagined her blue eyes following me. Or maybe I wasn’t crazy at all. Because when she spins around to face the ice, her eyes widen at the sight of me.
I smirk. “Funny meeting you here.”
Speechless, she opens her mouth but nothing comes out. I overheard her conversation with her friend catching her in the act. At least now I know she wants me. Maybe she won’t be as much of a challenge as I thought.
In a navy and white Strickland Senators’ basketball uniform and Chucks, Bex has never looked hotter. Even though, I wish it were my jersey she has on and nothing else.
“Did you watch me play?”
Of course, she did.
