What Are The Odds?: Chapter 35

Levi.

“Jaw off the floor, Holloway,” Will teased as he passed me.

I couldn’t help it. Grace looked . . . I couldn’t even put it into words.

“Hughesy.” Tripp bounced over to her, bundling her in his arms. “Wanna be my beer pong partner?”

“Ah, sure.”

He dragged her away before I had a chance to say hello. Which probably wasn’t a bad thing. I needed a moment to get myself together. When Ryan chose Grease as the costume, I originally envisioned the Sandy who wore long skirts and cardigans over her shoulders. I should’ve known better. The leather pants he’d unpacked last night had knocked the breath from me. I’d gone to sleep imagining Grace wearing them. Now I could confirm the reality was much better than my fantasies. I moved outside to where Will was standing. Cool temperature would do me good right now.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I quipped. “Things are good. School’s fine and the team are looking–”

“No,” he interjected.

He gestured through the window where Grace and Tripp were playing beer pong. They were versing Stella and Ryan. Ava was on the sidelines, talking to Morrison.

“I tried to get Richardson to call off the bet.”

“And?”

I shook my head in answer.

Will let out a heavy sigh, a white cloud forming in front of his mouth. “You like her, Levi.”

I swallowed. “I know.”

I more than liked Grace. This was beyond a crush.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know, man.” I dragged a hand through my hair. “Neither of us are playing for the gym anymore.”

Will nodded in understanding. “Maybe you should tell her.”

I’d thought about it, but the risk was too high. That basically guaranteed she’d never speak to me again. So long as I kept Richardson shut out, I could be with her without the bet blowing up in my face. That’s what I was praying for. I hated past Ryker. And I hated past Levi. Both deserved to be kicked in the dick.

Will lowered his voice. “You’re not worried about her being around Ryker tonight?”

“Nah. Grace and I had the exclusive chat. I trust her.”

“Fuck me. Levi and exclusive has never sounded right in the same sentence. But it does now.” Will sobered. “It’s good you trust Grace. But can you trust Richardson?”

Good question. If roles were reversed, would I stop pursuing her? Probably not. It was going to be a long night. I made my way inside, heading straight to where Grace was playing beer pong. I came up behind her, wrapping my arms around her stomach and bending to rest my head in the crook of her neck. She shivered as she leant into me. I liked Grace in heels. I didn’t have to crouch as far.

“Hey,” I whispered.

“Hi.”

She spun to face me but was snatched out of my hands.

“Hand’s off, Cap,” Tripp snapped. “Hughesy’s mine for the rest of the game.”

Chuckling, Grace turned back to the table, leaving me sporting a semi. Fucking Tripp. I wanted to pull rank and steal her away, but it looked like she was having fun, so I patiently waited until the game was done. The second it was, I took her hand and dragged her to the empty hallway. I pinned her against the wall, caging her between my arms as I tilted down to kiss her. She parted her lips obediently. I wasted no time tangling my tongue with hers. We had a rhythm now. There was no awkwardness. We knew each other. I loved that. Pulling back, Grace wiped at my lip with her thumb.

“Red lipstick,” she explained.

My imagination turned dark. I pictured those same lips leaving red marks on my dick. Grace seemed to know where my mind had gone. She pulled her lip between her teeth.

“You look amazing,” I told her.

“So I’ve been told.”

I glared. “By who?”

Laughing, she placed a hand on my chest. “Calm down, caveman. I’m all yours tonight.”

What a good fucking thought. I returned my lips to hers, deepening the exchange. Grace moaned, causing my partial to become a full hard on. Forget the party. Staying in with Grace sounded a hell of a lot better. Though as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t. I knew how much the team were looking forward to this. Heck, they were all wearing matching costumes. I’d have to be patient with Grace. Unless we had time now to–

“Where are my Sandy and Danny?” Ryan called out. “It’s time to do a TikTok.”

*

We walked as a rowdy group to the football party. The house wasn’t far from mine. Grace was wearing my jacket. She’d literally been shivering. It was 60 degrees. Barely cold for most of us. But her Australian blood was yet to adjust. She’d slowed down on the drinks since finishing beer pong. The bottle she was carrying now was still full. With no game for five days, the boys had free reign to enjoy a wild night. I’d had plans to enjoy it with them. And I had been. Then Grace walked in and consumed my thoughts. I was in so deep. She was laughing along with Tripp and Morrison as they recounted the story of our final away game last season. It involved a fire alarm, Jäger, and a handful of puck bunnies, and had ended with our entire team getting kicked out of the hotel and having to sleep in the team bus overnight. Stella was a few steps ahead, chatting to some of the guys. And Ava was a few steps behind, explaining to Will and Ryan what a shoey meant. Grace had slotted into my life so easily. She fit. I was starting to rethink my stance on not dating. That’s practically what Grace and I were doing. We didn’t hook up with other people. She slept over. She hung out with my friends. She got along with my friends. And we spoke all the time. If this is what all relationships were like, I wouldn’t have been so against them. There was the issue that hockey took up a lot of my time. But with her own sport, I knew Grace understood that. That wasn’t a draw card. I halted briefly. Holy shit. I think we could make this work. Grace paused, checking over her shoulder.

“You good, Holloway?”

“Yeah.” I reached for her hand, interlacing our fingers. “I’m good.”

And that’s how I ended up walking hand in hand to a college party with a girl.