Off-Ice Collision: Chapter 18

“I can’t believe you’re going on a date right now,” Emery muses from where she’s sitting on my bed. I look at her through the mirror and she raises her eyebrows at me. “With Vaughn fucking Carter.”

Emery wasn’t immune to Vaughn’s good looks, so I couldn’t be mad at her for it. She’s been over almost every day this week since I needed to keep my mind preoccupied. Vaughn was the one who brought up the date so I didn’t want to seem too clingy or like I couldn’t go a few days without seeing him.

I would be lying if I said this week wasn’t rough.

“It’s not a date, Em,” I tell her, rolling my eyes before I apply some blush to my cheeks. “We’re just going out to dinner.”

“London, he specifically said it was a date. And the two of you have already slept together.” She pauses for a second and I don’t miss her hopeless romantic, dreamy sigh as it escapes her. “It’s totally a date.”

My stomach does a somersault as the butterflies inside flutter. I’ve been internally obsessing over today all week. Vaughn didn’t give me any details, although earlier this afternoon the doorbell rang. When I went to answer it, there was no one there, except for an envelope on the doorstep.

I was confused when I opened it and inside there was a note from Vaughn.

I didn’t dare show that note to anyone. Emery would have had a heyday with it and I wouldn’t hear the end of it. My brother—God, why would I even show him—he would probably wring Vaughn’s neck. It was a personal note that was meant for my eyes only.

Standing in front of the mirror, I run my fingers through my loose curls before fluffing it once more. I applied a small amount of makeup, just enough to highlight my features, not too much that it looks overdone. I’ve never been one to wear a lot anyway, so it would just seem unnatural.

Plus, we’re just going to dinner. It’s not like he has anything fancy planned for us or is planning to go to a club or something that would require a more dramatic look. Light and natural is the way to go. Less is always more.

I readjust the straps of my red sundress before turning around to face my best friend lying in my bed. Emery’s family lives in the same city that we do, so I’ve literally spent almost every moment of my life with her. We’re friends at home and at the lake. I haven’t seen her as much this summer as I usually do, but it’s not her fault. I’m the one who has been blowing her off more than anything.

“Okay, I’m going to need you to call me, like, ASAP because I want all the dirty details.”

I stare at Emery, pursing my lips. “Aren’t some things allowed to be private?”

She scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Absolutely not, not when it comes to either of us being involved with a guy. I tell you everything that happens in my life.”

“Not because I ask you,” I deadpan, and she narrows her eyes at me. “Okay, that was insensitive,” I admit, offering her a small smile before I open my bedroom door, motioning for her to walk with me. “I’m just saying, you freely offer up more information than I usually do.”

“No shit,” she laughs as she follows me down the hall and down the stairs. “It’s like pulling teeth trying to get info from you sometimes. But I get it, you’re more of a private person than I am. You can give me the PG details, how about that?”

We reach the bottom of the steps and I turn to face her, my lips lifting into a grin. “Deal. Although I’m sure that’s not going to satisfy you, so how about PG-13?”

Emery laughs again, her straight white teeth flashing at me as she smiles. Her light brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail and her dark brown eyes stand out from the light mascara she has on. Emery is naturally pretty and she knows it. It’s one thing she always used to her advantage. She peaked in middle school, but she’s been riding that peak since then.

Growing up, all the guys were always interested in Emery. She knew how to work them to get what she wanted and she had no problem dropping them like a bad habit. I don’t quite understand how she did it. It wasn’t like she was a slut. She didn’t really sleep around like that—even though she has hooked up with quite a few guys. It was like she was constantly guarding herself, just in case.

“You’re crazy if you think PG-13 is going to quench my thirst. Perhaps I should call Hudson and see what he’s doing tonight.” She winks before we walk to the front door.

We stop in front of it and I turn the knob before pulling it open for Emery to exit. “Are you and Hudson talking again?”

Her eyes widen as she shakes her head at me. “Absolutely not. That ship sailed many moons ago.” She pauses for a moment, a mischievous look playing in her eyes as a smirk pulls on her lips. “I just know that if I ever needed some D, he’d come running as soon as I called.”

“That’s extremely unhealthy.”

Her face falls momentarily and I don’t miss the wave of pain that washes over her eyes. “No shit.”

She and Hudson have a rocky past. They were constantly on and off, so hearing that they’re not talking again has me surprised. Usually the summers at the lake are when they end up being back together.

“Okay!” Emery claps her hands together. “You have the best time ever and don’t forget to call me.”

We hug before I watch her walk out into the driveway and hop onto her golf cart. She doesn’t live far from us and a lot of people use other means of transportation here at the lake instead of a car. Glancing down at my phone in my hand, I notice the time. My stomach does a somersault and I grab my clutch from inside the house before making my way out onto the back deck.

I make my way across the lawn before stepping onto the Carters’ property. My palms are sweating and I feel more nervous than I have in a long time. My footsteps are light, my flip-flops slapping my heels as I step onto the dock. Vaughn pulls the boat around the side, stopping by the end of the dock.

He’s wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a black t-shirt. I feel my body relax, instantly feeling glad that I didn’t go ahead and get super dressed up. This is just casual, nothing more than that. A ghost of a smile plays on Vaughn’s lips as he meets me by the side of the boat, his arm outstretched to help me on board.

His palm is warm against my skin, lighting up my nerve endings as the warmth spreads through my body. I’m standing in front of him and I have to tilt my head back to look up into those clear blue eyes.

“Hey,” he breathes softly, his hand still wrapped around my arm. A fire burns in his gaze and the flames lick at my soul as he stares directly at me. “You’re fucking beautiful.”

My breath catches in my throat and I struggle to maintain my composure as I begin to feel like I could melt into a puddle at his feet. “So are you.” I instantly regret the words because of how stupid they sound, but goddammit, he really is.

Vaughn’s lips twitch. “Are you ready to go?”

I nod, my throat bobbing as I swallow roughly. He doesn’t wait for a verbal answer and makes his way back behind the steering wheel of the boat. I take a seat on the bench—the same one he fucked me on the other day. My body burns at the thought of it and I direct my gaze out to the lake as I squeeze my legs together, searching for some kind of relief.

We pass a few boats with some of our friends, but Vaughn doesn’t bother to stop and talk to anyone. It’s only about a five-minute ride until we’re pulling up to the docks at one of the seafood restaurants on the lake. It’s more upscale, pricier, and known for having better food than the other restaurants in Stillwater Lake.

I glance back at Vaughn and he winks at me as he turns off the engine. Walking up to the front of the boat, I grab one of the ropes that he already had ready and I toss it to him as he steps off the boat. I watch him for a moment, the way his skilled fingers move as he wraps it around one of the cleats. His eyes meet mine and he raises an eyebrow but doesn’t call me out on watching him.

We move to the end of the boat and repeat the same action before I hop off. He surprises me, sliding his hand into mine without a single word. I don’t know what I was expecting him to say, but it wasn’t an action that I was expecting from him.

We don’t have a label, there’s nothing definitive between us. Hell, I don’t even know what we’re doing exactly. Just because we slept together doesn’t mean I need to be reading into it and trying to overanalyze whatever this is between us. I just didn’t expect him to hold my hand in public.

It’s a relatively intimate gesture to display in front of other people.

I don’t dare question him on it. Instead, I weave my fingers with his and silently follow along as he leads me over to the restaurant. When we reach the hostess, he gives his name and she seats us at a table out on the back deck that overlooks the lake.

He really had this all planned, having reservations and all.

“So, how was your week?” Vaughn asks me like this is something normal between us. I stare at him for a moment as I take a sip of my water.

“It was pretty good. Not much happened,” I admit as I set my glass back down. “How was yours?”

“Good,” he tells me as he flips open the menu. “It was pretty busy at the shop. Sorry I wasn’t around really. I was pretty exhausted each day.”

“Well, busy is always good,” I say, flipping open my own menu. “You don’t have to apologize, Vaughn. You don’t owe me any explanations.”

He lifts his gaze from the menu and studies me for a moment. “I know I don’t. I just didn’t want you to think I was avoiding you at all.”

“I appreciate that,” I tell him, smiling back at him. I noticed his absence but I didn’t want to be the one who brought it up. The last thing I want to do is seem like I’m being clingy when we’re not in a relationship of any sort.

We fall into an easy conversation afterward, pausing to order our food and talking through our meal after it arrives. It isn’t long before our night is coming to an end and I’m finding myself wishing we had just gotten here. Vaughn isn’t one for many words, but when he speaks, I find myself hanging on to every last syllable that falls from those perfect lips of his.

Vaughn doesn’t give me the chance to try and fight him to pay for the bill. He walks over and begins to pull my chair back for me. He doesn’t say a word as he slips his hand back into mine and we find our way back out to the boat.

It’s a comfortable silence and I don’t feel like I need to fill the space with any words. Just being with him is more than enough. I stand beside him as he sits down at the seat behind the steering wheel. Just as I’m about to walk back over to the bench seat, he grabs my hips and pulls me down onto his lap.

“This is where you belong, London,” he murmurs into my ear as he starts the engine. The sound drowns out any words that I could possibly say, but there aren’t any that come to my mind. I’m floating on cloud nine right now with my head in the sky.

And I don’t ever want to come back down.