Collide (Off the Ice, #1)

by Bal Khabra

“This feels like a good time for a bet. You think you can get any guy to leave with you?” She smiles, all perfect glossy lips and white teeth. “Easily.” “There’s that cocky girl I know.” She scoffs. “There’s nothing cocky about it. It’s a fact.” “Right, of course,” I tease. “You don’t believe me?” I take a long drink of my Sprite, enjoying how she watches me with hot determination. “It’s not about believing you. I just think you might be rustier than you think.”

“Will you hold this for me, Aiden?” Her smooth voice rolls a shiver down my spine. Hearing my name on her lips has never sounded better. My head feels empty, and I think the Sprite might be spiked.

When I go to pull out my wallet so I can carry her over my damn shoulder, she pulls away and sits back on her stool with an apathetic exhale. “Well, what do you think?” Her nonchalance is a pure contrast to how electric she was a second ago. “About what?” “Am I still rusty?” Rusty? “That’s how I’d get any guy in here.” She stirs her drink. My heart slows when I realize she showed me exactly what I had asked. She was proving she’s not cocky, she’s fucking confident.

“So, which one?” she says flippantly. “Which guy do you want me to talk to?” None. No guy, ever. Jealousy rears its ugly head and hits me like a fucking truck. Her confidence radiates off her in waves.

“I thought you don’t like athletes.” I sound bitter, but I don’t bother playing it off. “I don’t like hockey players. What does he play?” I glare. “Basketball.” “Perfect.” She takes her jacket from my lap and slips it on.

“And I want to see what’s under all that.” She points her thumb in Kayce’s direction. He’s already talking to someone else and somehow that annoys me too. Why would another girl interest him when Summer is right here? It’s like being given the sun and deciding a light bulb will do.

“You really want to stay?” I ask. Say no. Say no. Say no. “Yes,” she says, touching my shoulder. “But you should, too.” “You’re seriously going to hookup with him?” My voice sounds fragile, almost insecure.

“Do you even know me? I was kidding. I told you I have to like a guy before we hookup.” “And how long does it take for you to like someone?” She thinks for a minute. “How long have I known you?” “A month,” I say. “There’s your answer,” she says and walks back to Kayce. I’m left blinking in her absence, unsure of what to make of that. Summer has never said she likes me. This is uncharted territory.

“I’ll teach you anything you want, Sunshine,” he drawls. “Don’t call her that.” Aiden’s rough voice assaults my back like a flame. Kayce’s eyes focus above my head and his mouth sets in a tight line.

I might as well be getting fucked on the pool table with how the basketball team watches us. Though out of our opponents, Aiden’s the only one who looks like he’s going to break the pool stick.

I prepare myself to gloat at a sulking face, but instead, Aiden beams brightly as if this is exactly what he wanted.

“This was fun, but I think I’m going to call it a night,” I say awkwardly. His disappointment only lasts a second. “I had fun, too, and if you ever want to make Crawford jealous again, you know who to call.” Make Aiden jealous?

“You dance?” I ask when he lifts my hand onto his shoulder. “No,” he says. “But I want to with you.”

Either that, or it’s the alcohol that heats my blood. But I can’t shake the feeling of comfort and safety when I’m with him. I can’t deny that he feels like home.

It’s the tea my dad used to buy me, and there’s a note attached to the bottom. For all those headaches I give you - A.

“You should’ve gone to the team’s medic.” “I did, and I'm fine.” He shrugs. “I didn’t want to be late.” “Late for what?” “For you,” he says. “I feel like shit for missing last week because I know what this research means to you.”

“You know, Hank, our PT, is also our team medic. You could totally replace him.” “You really have it out for Hank, don’t you?” I chuckle, trying not to look at his lips. “Besides, I’m only OFA certified.”

“You fix up a lot of athletes?” I shake my head. “Just me then?” “Just you.”

“I did the test this morning.” My hands freeze mid-dab. “What?” “I got in touch with Dr. Toor with Kilner’s help, and he referred me to his friend who works at a sports clinic in Hartford. You should get the results of the ACSI-28 test in a few days.” My sunken heart floats to the surface. “You did?” He nods. “I should have been there in the first place, Summer. Your work is important.”

So, what do you do when the girl you can’t stop thinking about ices you out? You power down an entire house.

“That won’t work.” Her eyes sweep over me. “What won’t work?” “That smile.” She crosses her arms “What’s wrong with a smile? It’s polite.” “Not from you, and definitely not to me.”

“Why did you leave?” “Do you have short-term memory loss? I just told you,” I wince at the irritation seasoning my words. “The truth.” “Look, I have an early class tomorrow—” “I waited for you,” he says, voice low and something vulnerable kissing the words. “She wasn’t supposed to be there. You asked me to save you a ride.” “I shouldn’t have asked you to do that.”

Green eyes darken. “Why did you kiss him?” I wasn’t sure he saw the kiss, but knowing he did makes something pop in my chest. So, I do the only thing I can. I act clueless. “Who?” His expression morphs into one of disbelief. “Is there more than one guy you’ve kissed tonight?”

“If you’re trying to irritate me, you’re doing a good job at it.” “You’re the one who barged in here,” I accuse. “Fine. Why did you kiss Atwood? First name Connor, in case you’ve kissed a few Atwoods on your rampage tonight.” I don’t want to answer him. Mostly because I’m not even sure why I did it in the first place. Well, I have an idea, but I’d rather not divulge that. “Because I wanted to.”

“Why did you kiss him?” My chest heaves from the proximity and the hot tug of tension between us. “I just told you.” “The truth, Summer.” With another step, I bump into the couch. The lack of space is hindering any logical thought. “He’s a good kisser—” He punctuates my sentence by pressing his hips to mine and driving me into the back of the couch. Searing, solid weight cages me in, and all my resistance to him goes up in flames when all six-foot-four inches of him hovers over me.

“I don’t know what you expect me to say. It was just a kiss.” “Just a kiss?” he drawls, our lips a hairbreadth apart. “And if I kissed you right now, would that be just a kiss, too?” His words flush through me like hot water. He’s calling my bluff, and damn is he good at it. But he doesn’t know me if he thinks I’ll back away from a challenge. “Why don’t you find out?”

This is going south. Fast. “Do you need me to teach you what a kiss is?” His slow smirk rattles my chest, sending a hot sensation to pool at my core. “I think I can manage.” “You sure? Because Connor could give you some good tips.”

“If you want it, you’re going to come to me.” He lifts my hair from the shirt, pushing it back. “The next time I have you, it won’t be to prove something or to win some competition. It’s going to be because you know the only guy that can satisfy you is me.”

I might be petty, but if I’m not getting laid tonight, no one is.

“Do you think I can bunk with one of you guys?” “Not it.” Dylan beams, completely apathetic to Kian’s fear. “We can switch rooms, Kian,” I offer. “But I would feel more comfortable with you in the room.” Could this night get any longer? “Fine.” I’ll have to sleep on the uncomfortable sponge mattress because Kian will complain all night if he has to. And there is no way I’m sharing a bed with him because he thrashes around like he’s being attacked.

Dylan comes out with an ice pack on his face. He waves at us, and I notice the new shiner on his jaw. “Ouch, what happened to you?” “Let’s just say I deserve it,” Dylan says, heading in the opposite direction. The last time I saw Dylan, he had a busted lip, and he said the same thing. I thought it was a one-time thing, but it seems like he’s made himself an enemy. I turn to Kian. “Who did that to him?” “A guy on the basketball team. Dylan slept with his grandma.” I choke on my spit. “You have to be joking.” “To be fair, she’s still pretty young. Can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same.” “You’re—” “Hot? Smart? Extraordinary?” “Disgusting.”

When a guy approaches Summer, I head over. My chest covers her back, and the warmth from her body sends a thrumming sensation through me. She tenses but relaxes almost instantly. I bite back a smile, finding that she’s comfortable enough to let her guard down around me.

“Care to explain why Connor Atwood just told me I’m a nice girl, but nothing can happen between us?” Suppressing my grin is harder than I expected. “Not really.” She takes a menacing step closer. “Did you threaten him?” “Threaten is a strong word.” Anger flares in her brown eyes. “You told him not to talk to me?” “No, I told him what would happen if he did.” I’ve never been jealous of anyone, not even in the cocky jock way. But when she kissed him, something green like envy burned through my veins. “So, a threat,” she says.

When Eli sits beside me, I sigh in relief. “No date tonight, Sunny?” he asks. “Nope. This one fawning over Cassie is the only action I’m getting. You?” He chuckles. “Same, though your company soothes a lonely soul.” I fight the blush his smooth words elicit. “Are you asking me to be your Valentine, Brooksy?” I bat my lashes. The grin that takes over his face is wide enough to show his perfect teeth, but it’s replaced with an amused smirk when his gaze slips away from mine. “It would be my pleasure, but I don’t want to step on any toes.”

Aiden’s hands tremble, as he drags my panties down my thighs. This confident athlete who could have anyone on a golden platter is trembling, and it drives an entirely new heat to my core.

“Five minutes then we can go again.” “Five minutes?” She stares in horror. “I’m going to need like one to three business days and some serious electrolytes.” I chuckle. “How about ten minutes, and I’ll bring up some BioSteel?”

Is that a weird thing to say? Fuck, maybe I should google serial killer tendencies again.

“What can I say? Our kids will be lucky to have me as a dad.” The words spill like water, and I freeze.