Behind the Net (Vancouver Storm, #1)

by Stephanie Archer

I can’t, uh, get there. I can’t have an orgasm with a guy. I admitted once to Hazel that every time Zach and I slept together, I faked it. I did it once, and he was so happy and relieved. I think he thought it was his fault that I couldn’t get there. And then I just kept faking it. I kept telling myself, this will be the last time, because it’s lying. But in the end, I wasn’t hurting anyone, so I kept doing it. If I couldn’t come, it stressed him out, which stressed me out. It was just easier to fake it.

I bet she gets over that...

I wrote that album for Jamie. I thought about him the entire time, and when the impostor syndrome crept in, I remembered his words of encouragement and his warm looks of affection, and it spurred me on. I’ve never written even one song for someone, let alone a collection of them, and no one has ever encouraged me the way Jamie has. It’s like he thinks I can do anything.

Oh, yeah. She’s getting a ring. A big one. Loud and flashy. Disgustingly over-the-top. She’ll hate it, I’m sure, but I want people seeing it from a mile away. From space. I want it to signal to everyone that she’s taken.

“I love you.” My words are a quiet murmur as I watch her reaction, and my heart slams against the front wall of my chest. I’ve never said those words to a girl. I’ve never felt this way, and it’s exhilarating and terrifying. “I love you so fucking much, Pippa. I’m in love with you. I want everything with you.” Her lips part, and her chest rises and falls fast as my words sink in. Please feel the same way, I pray to the universe. “You’re everything to me.” My Pippa. My distraction, the girl I’ve always been powerless against. “I want you in my life. You make me so, so fucking happy, songbird, and I hope I make you happy, too.”

We sat behind the net, and when Jamie waved at us through the glass, I thought my dad was going to start crying from excitement.