21

DAVIES

“Do not flatter yourself.” Standing up fast, her hand fell away from my face. The sudden loss of contact left a cold, empty void in my chest. “I was just blowing off steam. The tournament is Friday. My head is in the game. You should head home. I have a party to get ready for tonight.”

She stepped back. A flash of raw hurt crossed her beautiful face. “A party?”

“Yes. Julian is throwing a bash at the Sigma house. Need to keep up appearances with the team. See you around, Maya.”

Grabbing my massive gym bag, the walk out of the locker room felt like marching toward a firing squad.

---

The Sigma house looked like a literal war zone.

Neon purple lights flashed through the living room windows, blinding anyone walking up the street. Bass shook the wooden porch steps. Empty red plastic cups littered the front lawn like fallen soldiers. The smell of cheap beer, sweet vape smoke, and terrible decisions hung thick in the freezing night air.

Pushing through the front door, a solid wall of heat and noise slammed into my chest.

“Captain!” Julian yelled from the kitchen. He held up a huge glass bottle of clear vodka. “You made it! No cap, I thought Vance suspended your crazy ass!”

“Takes more than a rough drill to bench me,” grabbing the heavy bottle from his hand, a long pull of the burning liquid slid down my throat. It tasted like straight rubbing alcohol, but the deep burn felt good. It numbed the sharp ache in my head.

Walking through the crowded living room, teammates patted my broad shoulders. Girls threw daring, flirtatious smiles my way. My mind stayed far away from all of it.

Taking a seat on a torn leather sofa in the dark corner, the loud trap music pounded against my eardrums.

Maya was not here. She stayed back at her quiet dorm. Good. Seeing her would just piss me off more. I needed to forget that terrifying moment in the truck. I needed to forget the way her lips parted right before her brain ruined the vibe and brought up the contract.

“Hey, Davies.”

A high-pitched voice broke through my dark, brooding thoughts.

Looking up, a blonde girl in a tiny black dress stood over me. Tiffany. She hung around the hockey team all season, hunting for a varsity jersey to wear on Sunday mornings. Her makeup looked flawless. She smelled like expensive fruit and desperation.

“Seat taken?” she asked, pointing a long, manicured finger at the empty cushion right next to me.

“Go ahead.”

She dropped down, sitting way too close. Her bare thigh pressed against my dark denim jeans. Leaning forward, she gave me a clear, deliberate view of her chest.

“You looked so intense on the ice today,” Tiffany purred, tracing the rim of her red plastic cup. “It was super hot. The blogs say you are tied down with Maya, but she is not here tonight. Trouble in paradise?”

Looking at Tiffany, a reckless idea formed in my dark, twisted brain.

Maya wanted a contract. She wanted a fake arrangement. Kissing another girl would burn this stupid obsession out of my system. It would prove that the fake contract meant nothing. It would fix the annoying glitch in my head. I was Davies Jnr. I did not chase girls who ran away.

“No trouble,” setting my bottle on the sticky wooden floor, my right arm stretched across the back of the torn sofa. “Just taking the night off.”

Tiffany smiled. A hungry, eager grin stretched her bright red lips. She leaned closer, her eyes dropping straight to my mouth. “I can help you take the night off, Captain.”

Without a second thought, my large hand grabbed the back of her neck.

Pulling her forward, our lips crashed together.

She let out a soft moan, dropping her red cup. It spilled cheap beer all over the dirty rug. Her hands tangled in my dark hair. She kissed hard, aggressive, trying to impress me with her skill.

Five seconds passed.

Nothing.

Ten seconds passed.

Zero spark. Zero heat. Zero anything.

Her lips felt wrong. Her fruit perfume smelled cheap and suffocating. The entire kiss felt like chewing damp cardboard. My heart beat a slow, bored rhythm against my ribs. There was no racing pulse. No desperate hunger in my gut. No fire in my veins.

It was a dead, hollow action.

A sudden wave of intense disgust hit my stomach.

Grabbing her bare shoulders, a hard, firm shove pushed her back.

Breaking the empty kiss, my chest heaved a ragged breath. The sticky taste of her cherry lip gloss coated my mouth like poison. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, a harsh scowl twisted my face.

Tiffany looked stunned. Her blue eyes blinked wide, confused and visibly hurt. “Davies? What is wrong?”

“Get out,” my voice came out in a low, terrifying growl.

“What? But we were just—”

“I said get out!” Standing up, my massive frame towered over her small body. “Move away from me. Now.”

She scrambled off the leather sofa. Pure fear flashed across her face. Smoothing down her tight black dress with shaking hands, she turned on her high heels and ran toward the kitchen. She disappeared fast into the crowded sea of dancing bodies.

Falling back onto the torn cushions, my hands dragged down my face.

The loud bass rattled my bones, but the brutal realization hit much harder.

Kissing another girl did not fix the problem. It made the problem ten times worse. I felt zero attraction for Tiffany. The fire, the heat, the insane protective rage inside my soul, all of it belonged to one person.

Maya ruined me.

She built a massive brick wall using a fake piece of paper, and I stood on the outside freezing to death. Nathan broke her trust, but fixing her broken heart was not part of our deal. I was supposed to pretend.

Pretending was no longer an option. The contract was a massive joke.

Leaning my head back against the drywall, the harsh purple party lights flashed over my closed eyes. A bitter truth settled deep in my heavy bones.

I was falling hard for a girl who wanted nothing to do with my damaged heart.