Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 131271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
@hotslapshot
“Drayton needs to keep his head in the game or other players will take his place.”
5
RILEY
“So, what happened with Hayes Drayton last night? You guys looked as thick as thieves,” Imani says, eyeing me as she sips her coffee and licks foam from her upper lip.
The campus coffee shop is unusually quiet today, with only three other tables occupied.
“Hayes Drayton?” Katerina twists her long dark hair behind her head and fixes it into place with a leopard-print plastic clip like she means business. “Since when did you start mixing with hockey royalty?”
“Mixing is a stretch,” I say, fiddling with a chocolate chunk that’s fallen from my muffin. Royalty is a definite stretch when it comes to the Drayton brothers.
“You were standing outside the frat house with him, wearing his hoodie,” Imani reminds me.
Immediately, I’m taken back to the clean scent lingering on the fabric and its sheer size as it pooled around me. I’m transported to the moment I pressed my lips to the corner of his mouth and the way he froze at the simple touch.
What the fuck was I thinking?
Keeping a low profile slipped from my head after he turned into a hero in the face of a manhandling football douche. It was so unexpected that I forgot who he was and why I wanted to stay as far from the Drayton brothers as possible.
“It was cold, and it turns out he’s not a total asshole.” I stuff a big chunk of muffin into my mouth, hoping it’ll stop Imani from questioning me anymore.
She sips her coffee again and waits me out. “Not all hockey boys are assholes. Look at Malik.”
“He’s your brother, and he’s totally awesome, but he’s still a hockey whore-bag,” I say. “His stick sees more off-ice action than on!”
Imani shrugs and presses her red lips together. “It’s what they do.”
“Not all of them,” Katerina says. “Hayes isn’t like his brothers.”
“How do you know?” I ask.
“Because my cousin plays, too, and he told me Hayes is a loner. He only comes out because his brothers like to party. Never heard him talk about a conquest. Never seen him take a girl home.”
“Doesn’t mean he hasn’t. Maybe he’s an undercover slut.” I pull my sweater closer around me as the door behind opens and cool, fall air streams inside.
Imani’s eyes widen, and she jerks her head in the direction of a figure who’s standing at the counter. Following her gaze, I find Hayes’ hulking form, dressed in gray sweats, a matching hoodie with the Icebreakers logo emblazoned on the back, sneakers so big they look like small boats, and a dark ball cap pulled low over his face. He’s distracted, staring at his phone, unaware that I’m drinking in the insane curve of his fine ass and the way his thighs stretch his pants so perfectly in his wide stance.
“So, what did he do that wasn’t assholey?” Imani whispers.
I quickly fill her and Katerina in on the story, leaving Imani with an annoyingly knowing look that sets a twinkle in her eyes and Katerina chewing her plastic straw thoughtfully.
Katerina lowers the straw to the table. “So, you kissed him out of gratitude?” She raises her dark eyebrows so high, her forehead creases in three deep lines.
“I didn’t mean to,” I hiss. “It was the shock… and Forester was really forceful. I was fighting, but I couldn’t escape his grip.”
“He’s on the shitlist,” Imani says, referring to a list of dudes in circulation amongst the freshman girls. Creeps. Weirdos. The handsy guys. And ones like Forester, who are one step closer to something criminal.
“Right. I need to check out that list again.” I glance over at Hayes again. “Is he on it?”
“No,” Katerina says. “He’s on the other list.”
“What other list?” me and Imani ask in unison.
“The unicorn list.”
“What the fuck is that?” I whisper.
“The ones who are a mystery. No one knows anything about them. No one has a story about their dick or how good they are in bed. They’re either great at keeping their love lives on the down-low or…” Katerina leans in closer, lowering her heavy-lined lids. “A virgin.”
The last two words are said in the lowest of whispers, but even so, they hit me like an arrow, slicing through a part of me that’s hidden and tender. Hayes can’t be a virgin. He’s beautiful. A total smoke-show just like his brothers. If anything, he draws the eye even more because he’s understated and watchful; like a mountain on the horizon, he stands tall and stoic, seemingly unbothered by who’s looking appreciatively in his direction.
My own inexperience is a secret I don’t intend to share, not with my friends, maybe even not with the man I finally end up giving my V-card. There’s too much pressure to make popping the cherry some kind of ethereal experience. I’m too old to do what my friends did. They lost their virginities to their first boyfriends, learning together. Now, I’m left out on a limb, alone in my so-called innocence. At my age, virginity is either a trophy to claim or a badge, labeling me as boring in bed. Neither is appealing.