Chapter 45

Over the week that follows, Hollis and I see each other every day. We attempt a coffee date between classes and practices at one of the local shops, but with Toronto in the playoffs, it’s impossible for him to go anywhere without being recognized.

We ended up at the Watering Hole the other night because it’s safe, but Tristan and Dallas showed up, and then it became an everyone night out. It was the first time we’d been out with the crew since Hollis took me on the date and I decided to give us an honest shot. No one made a big deal of it. I hadn’t realized how hard it was to keep this from the people we care about until we didn’t have to anymore. Having Hollis casually put his arm around my shoulder and kiss my temple was freeing in the way I’ve always known it would be.

The hugs good night are long, and the forehead kisses are sweet. But not giving in to the chemistry is wearing me down. Hollis has set a clear boundary about getting physical again until I’m ready to commit to being his girlfriend. My head is ready—and my lady bits too—but my heart is still bruised and nervous.

He heals it a little more every day with his thoughtfulness, though. He’s taken to bringing me treats and gifts. Sometimes it’s as simple as a snack from my favorite bakery, or a bag of those horrible but delicious marshmallow bananas. My favorite gift so far, though, is the Terror hoodie that reads Hollis’s Girl across the shoulders. I wore it to my final exam, which I’ve just handed in.

I’m meeting Rix, Tally, Hemi, Dred, and Shilpa at the Watering Hole this evening to celebrate my freedom from university life. Next week, Hemi’s assistant PR director posting goes up, and I’m obviously applying.

I’m about to send the girls a message when I notice I have new ones from Hollis, asking if I’ve finished my exam.

Aurora

All done!

I step outside and shiver at the cool spring breeze. We’re in that weird time of year where Canada can’t decide if she’s hot or cold yet. I pause to fish my hoodie out of my crossbody bag.

“Hey! Aurora!” Jameson calls as he approaches. “How’d the exam go?”

“Good. How about you?” I shoulder my bag.

He was still finishing up when I handed mine in. I stopped at the bathroom before I left the building, though.

“Same. I think I nailed the essay question.”

I fall into step with him as we round the corner of the building. A parking lot separates us from the quad and the campus pub. I frown when I notice a horde of students gathered in one corner of the lot. “What the heck is going on over there?”

“Maybe a fender bender?” Jameson says.

As we get closer, I recognize the car. How could I not? I’ve been in the passenger seat recently. It’s also a custom shade of blue that stands out. “Oh my God, what the hell is he thinking?” Hollis is ostentatious about two things: his hoodie collection and his car.

As we get closer, I note that most of the excited horde are wearing various Toronto Terror clothing items, like hoodies and ball caps. A few even have patches on their backpacks. It’s a cool logo, so it’s understandable.

“What the hell was who thinking?” Jameson asks.

“Hollis.” I don’t know whether to roll my eyes or laugh. “I need to save him.”

How would Hemi handle this? We’ve been out with the team before when one of the guys ended up swarmed by excited fans. She always steps in, and most of the time she gives the fans a minute to take a picture and get something signed before sending them on their merry way. This is a sizable group, though, which means it’ll take more than a few minutes. Hollis can handle signing hats, but he gets antsy when there’s no crowd control. Which is where I come in. “You want to help me manage this situation?” I ask Jameson. “There are playoff tickets in it for you.” I don’t have the authority to do that, but Hollis does. And I’ve learned recently that he’ll do just about anything to make me happy.

“Are you serious?” Jameson looks like he’s going to pee his pants.

“Absolutely.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Calm this crowd.”

A group of screaming girls—judging from the look of them, probably first years—try to push their way to the front.

I channel my inner Hemi as I approach the group, whistling shrilly. “Everyone, please take three steps back,” I shout. “Move aside, please,” I tell the girls who are freaking out.

“It’s somebody famous!” one of them gushes.

“Do you watch hockey?” I ask.

She wrinkles her nose. “Um, no?”

“He’s a hockey player.”

“Oh.” That gets rid of four girls and allows me room to slip through a gap in the crowd.

Hollis is passing back a ball cap when I reach him.

Relief crosses his face when he sees me, followed by concern. He wraps a protective arm around my waist.

I smile. “What were you thinking, coming to a university campus in your flashy sports car?”

His grin is sheepish. “That I wanted to pick you up from your last exam so we could celebrate.”

“That was sweet, but you probably should have driven your other car.” Before he can defend himself, I curve a hand around the back of his neck and pull his mouth to mine. I even indulge in a few strokes of tongue before I pull away.

“You know that’ll end up on the hockey sites,” he says, but he’s still smiling.

“Yeah. We need to manage this situation you’ve created. Then we can go celebrate.” I pat his chest and turn around, whistling the way Hemi taught me again.

The people closest to us step back. I raise my hand. “Hi, my name is Aurora. I’m Hollis’s girlfriend, and I completely understand your excitement that he’s here, because I share it.”

That gets me a few shocked gasps and some laughter. “Hollis has twenty minutes. He will sign hats, shirts, or bags, but no body parts. Please have your camera phone ready for a photo. Any inappropriate touching or comments, and he will leave immediately.”

With the help of Jameson and campus security, who have come over to check on the commotion, we’re able to handle the crowd while Hollis signs hats and bags and takes photos with fans. I grab contact information from the security guards and promise Jameson I’ll text later this weekend with ticket information.

Once we’re in the car and out of the parking lot, I angle my body toward Hollis. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. That was…unexpected.”

“Toronto is in the playoffs, and a university campus is a hotbed for excitement, especially on the final day of exams.” We’re lucky more than half the campus has already cleared out.

“I wanted to surprise you.” His gaze moves over me in that familiar fiery way that makes my toes curl. “You were sexy as fuck back there, by the way.”

“Thanks.” I beam at the compliment.

“Did you mean what you said?” he asks as he stops at a red light.

I bite back a smile. “About being your girlfriend?”

“That’s the part, yeah.” His expression is hopeful.

“I’d sort of hoped we’d have a little more privacy when I said that, but there were some thirsty women eyeing you.” When his face starts to fall, I rush on. “But yes. I mean it. I choose you, Hollis. I mean, I’ve been choosing you for a while, and I know you’re in this with me. I’m ready for this, for us.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I am so fucking glad to hear that.” His smile is wide and warm and full of so much love my heart gets all gushy, along with other body parts.

“I think we should go back to your place and celebrate our new relationship status and my being finished with university.”

“What kind of celebration do you have in mind?”

“Hmm…” I tap my lip. “How about the kind that includes a look at that list of fantasies I have?”

He kisses the back of my hand, and I feel it in my vagina. “I love that idea. Plus, I have a surprise waiting for you at home.” The light turns green, and he refocuses on the road.

“Oooh, I love surprises. Except the kind where my dad walks into my apartment unannounced, or when Tristan can’t wait for Rix to come over and they end up having a fuckfest in our apartment instead of at his place.” They haven’t done that without warning since I mentioned to Rix how the walls can be thin. Tristan even apologized for ever making me feel uncomfortable. I think it was more painful watching how awkward he was than accidentally hearing their antics.

“It would be justifiable to return the favor before she moves in with him full time,” Hollis muses.

“We’re tamer than they are by a long shot, though.”

“Yeah. There’s no way I’ll put my entire hand in your vagina.”

“Three fingers are always welcome.”

Hollis groans. “Let’s hope we make it past the front door.”

“I sort of hope we don’t.”

We hit the next red light, and Hollis taps agitatedly on the steering wheel.

I shift in my seat and slide my hands between my thighs. “I can’t wait to get you out of those clothes.”

He eyes me from the side. “What else can’t you wait for?”

“Mm… So many things. I’ve missed kissing you.”

“I’ve missed that, too.”

“And the feel of your mouth on me. God, I’m dying for your tongue between my thighs.”

He makes a deep noise in the back of his throat.

“And that sound. I want more of that.” I skim the back of his hand with my fingertips, and he groans again. “I love that so much.”

“What else do you want, Princess?”

“I want to be under you. I want the weight of you pressing me into the mattress, your hand on my throat, and your eyes on mine while you fuck me hard and slow.”

Hollis nearly misses the turn into the parking garage. The tires squeal as he makes the hard right. He barely has the car in park before he jams the release on his seat belt, spears his hands into my hair, and takes my mouth in a searing, bone-melting kiss.

When I reach for his belt buckle, he covers my hand with his. “As much as I want your hands on me, Roman is finally talking to me again, and being caught getting a handy in my car when we’re an elevator ride away from a bed seems unnecessary.”

“Fair.” I back off, and Hollis rearranges himself before we exit the vehicle. The elevator takes forever to arrive, but it’s empty, so he backs me into the corner. “I can’t wait to get my hands all over you,” he murmurs as he kisses a path up my neck.

The elevator dings, and he puts distance between us as the doors slide open. Which is good because my dad is in the hall, holding a giant gift bag with the word Congratulations written across the front in cursive.

“Oh, hey. I tried to drop this off, but you obviously weren’t there, and the safety latch was on, so I guess Rix and Tristan are.”

“That’s a safe bet.”

He nods, and his gaze shifts between me and Hollis. “I thought you’d want to celebrate a little, but uh…maybe later?”

My heart squeezes. He’s really trying. Do I want to celebrate by getting naked? Yes. But I want to help repair my dad’s relationship with Hollis first.

“I was supposed to meet the girls at the Watering Hole in a couple of hours, but we could head over now?” I suggest.

“I don’t want to interfere with whatever plans you’ve made.” He looks so unsure of himself, and sad.

“You’re not interfering, Dado. This is a big deal and a big day. I want you to be part of it. We both do.” I squeeze Hollis’s hand.

“Come on, Roman.” Hollis pulls my dad into the elevator with us.

I hit the button for the lobby and send a group message about the slight change in plans.

When we step out of the elevator, Hollis laces my fingers with his, and we walk down the street together. We grab our favorite table, but instead of sliding into the seat beside my dad, Hollis takes the spot beside me and stretches his arm across the back of my chair. Our regular server pops by, and Hollis orders me a martini the way I like it and beers for him and my dad.

Dad looks between us. “You picked Aurora up from her exam?” He’s started calling me Aurora recently. I’m not a hundred percent sure I want him to anymore. I don’t feel like I’m fighting to be seen as an adult the way I used to.

“I did,” Hollis says.

My mouth is suddenly dry. I’m not sure where this is going.

“You take your SUV or the Audi?” Dad asks.

“The Audi.”

He nods and rubs his bottom lip with his thumb. “How long before you got mobbed?”

Hollis laughs. “As soon as I got out of the car.”

“That was a rookie move.”

“I wasn’t thinking.”

“Don’t you remember when we picked Aurora up from one of her high school dances in my Porsche?” Dad asks.

I slap the table. It was green and over the top and impossible not to notice. “I was so freaking embarrassed! And then I had to cram myself in the back seat!”

“Shit. I do remember that. You were pissed at us.” Hollis laughs.

“You were all my friends talked about for weeks. It was so annoying.” I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling. It wasn’t long after that when I flubbed my math test and tried to make Hollis my tutor. Never in my wildest dreams did I actually believe we’d end up here.

“I’m sure it was frustrating.” Hollis gives me a knowing smile.

I elbow him in the side. “Oh my God, check your ego.”

“I gotta use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” Hollis kisses me on the cheek and slides out of the booth.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see it,” Dad muses.

“See what?”

“The way you look at each other.”

“We were trying to hide it for a long while. And I’m sorry for that.”

He shakes his head. “I would have had a hard time no matter what, Pe—Aurora. I know you’re an adult, but you’ll always be my baby girl. And Hollis is my best friend. There wasn’t an easy way around this.”

“He’s still your best friend?” I ask.

“Yeah. It’ll take me a while to get over this, but I see how he is with you. How he feels about you is written all over his face. That he was able to hide it for as long as he did is a freaking miracle. No one was ever going to be good enough for you, but if there’s one person I trust to put you first, it’s him.”

I reach across the table and squeeze his hand. “I love you, Dado.”

“I love you, too, kiddo, with all my heart.”