AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And those drunk guys came in, those, what, Alpha Taus?”
“Frat boys, yeah, Greek letter types.” Spencer kept on massaging my feet. “I almost didn’t come that night. I was so stressed. I was being recruited, and I had this big game, plus finals and rent to pay, and my damn job. Just think — if I hadn’t, we’d never have met.”
I thought about that, and he was probably right. Spencer and Leon had been teammates in college, but they hadn’t been friends till that night. Leon had thrown this big, stupid party, and invited the whole team, but only Spencer showed up. Most of who did show up were frat boy gatecrashers, and they trashed Leon’s hors d’oeuvres and puked on his bed. They broke into my room and sat on my final project, this two-foot scale model of the Hagia Sophia. They smashed it to flinders and I saw it and screamed, and that was when Spencer sprang into action.
“You tossed those guys out,” I said. “Right on their asses.”
“Well, they wrecked your… thing. What else could I do?”
“You were like this wild man, like… get the hell out!” I sat halfway up and waved my arms, mimicking Spencer in a blind rage. “I thought you were going to throw that one guy right out the window.”
“The one smoking Leon’s basil? Hell, yeah, I was.”
“I forgot about the basil.”
“Those guys were morons.” Spencer shook his head. “You ever think, though, it was easier then? Everything felt like it meant life or death, but it never did, did it? There were always second chances.”
I sat up all the way and bumped our shoulders together. “There still can be,” I said.
“You think? I don’t know.” Spencer stared at the TV, at our fighters still waiting. “Lately, it feels like I’m on my last chance. I mean, I’m the center man. The game rides on me. If we’re losing, I’m losing, and we’re losing bad. Coach hasn’t said as much, but if we can’t pull it out — if I can’t pull it out, he’ll be making some changes. The kind of changes where my contract gets dropped.”
I slid my arm around him. “There’s other teams out there. And you’re a great player. Maybe the Ice Bears just aren’t a fit.”
Spencer didn’t say anything. He shook his head. I knew what he was thinking — he’d been dropped twice before, and he was past thirty. If the Ice Bears released him, he’d be a tough sell.
“The season’s not over.” I pulled him into a hug. When he stiffened against me, I held him tighter. I stroked his tense back till I felt him relax. “I know it’s been rough, but I swear you’ve still got it. I wouldn’t lie to you. You’ve still got that speed. You’re smart and you’re agile, and you love the game. All you need is one win, and you’ll see. It’ll happen. It’ll pull the whole team together, and your streak will reverse.”
Spencer’s chest hitched with a deep, booming laugh. “The way you say that, I’d almost think you believe it.”
“I do,” I said. “I believe in your dumb ass.”
“Just my ass, huh?” Spencer pulled back, and I don’t know what it was. Maybe the light caught him from some fresh, perfect angle. Maybe he looked at me in some new, stirring way. I don’t know what it was, but a shiver ran through me. Our eyes locked, and it struck me how blue Spencer’s were, winter-sky frosty and piercing as ice. His square jaw was rough with dirty blond stubble, a shade or two darker than the hair on his head. He had a scar down his cheek from a skate blade, a ragged white line from cheekbone to chin. I reached up without thinking and traced the line of that scar, and then I kissed him, and he kissed me back.
His lips were hot on mine, and I thought we can’t do this.
His hand slid up my back, and I thought why not?
We were roommates, but it hit me we might not be forever. Maybe my next thing would be moving out. Starting a new chapter, so why not? Why not? Why not end this one with a dazzle of fireworks?
Spencer pulled back, his blue eyes gone narrow. He looked sexy that way, wild. Predatory.
“You sure?” he said.
I didn’t even have to think about it. I’d never felt more sure. It was as if our whole shared past had led us to this — every joke, every beer, every hot gaming session. Since that night at that party, we’d been headed for this, this night, this couch, this charged, sizzling moment. With no Leon to stop us, I leaned in again.
“I’m sure,” I whispered, my breath on his lips.
Spencer inhaled sharply and set his hands on my hips. He lifted me without effort, like I weighed nothing, and before I could protest, I was straddling his lap. We’d wrestled around before, but nothing like this. This closeness was new, this wide-open freedom. We weren’t tussling over a blanket or the remote, shoving and smacking, breathless with laughter. We were exploring each other with a new sense of purpose, his hands on my back through the fluff of my robe. I ran mine down his chest, the swell of his pecs. Over his shoulders, his powerful biceps. He tensed at my touch and I felt his strength, this huge, coiled potential, barely held back. This was what made him so thrilling to watch, when he got out of his head and into his game. When it was just him and the ice and the puck, and he drove down the rink like an engine run wild.
“I’ve wanted this so long.” He sounded surprised. “I’ve wanted you so long,” he said, voice ragged with need. I thought his next kiss would melt me away, his lips hot on mine, his breath coming fast. I could feel his heart pounding, and mine along with it, and my pulse seemed to chase all through my body, waking up nerve endings I’d forgotten I had.
“Izzy…” He pushed my robe off my shoulder. I melted against him as he kissed my bare skin. He had too many clothes on, and I clawed at his shirt — no buttons. A T-shirt. I tugged it up hard.
“Ow, ow…”
We fought with his shirt, both of us together, dragging it up and over his head. I tossed it away from us, and then I was on him, kissing and nibbling, tasting his skin. I licked at the hollow between his shoulder and neck, moaned at the salt of him, nipped at his chest. He raked his hands through my hair but didn’t push me lower, and I found myself wishing he would. Wishing he’d grab me and take what he wanted, overwhelm my senses with all that raw strength.
I teased at his nipple to goad him on, flicked it and sucked it and tugged with my teeth. Spencer’s grip tightened, rough in my hair. He pushed me away from him, then pulled me closer. I worked my way down his torso, down to his belt, and fumbled with the buckle. He brushed me away.
