Jericho

God was a man. I knew that much because the man in front of me looked like one.

Honey-brown eyes, a jawline sharper than my future, and a body sculpted by the divine. I believe my jaws dropped to the floor when his familiar body bangs against the glass. Ajax winked at me, his grin toothy and wide; and I nearly died.

I screamed, my fingers squeezing Marie's as I jumped like a kid. “Did you see that, Marie? He told me he loved me.”

“No. Ouch.” She pulled away and massaged her fingers. “He only winked at you. He does that all the time to his fans.”

“No but this one was a very unique one.” I return my gaze to the hockey match, my eyes following every move Ajax makes.

“He's so dreamy.” I smiled.

“Eww! Stop drooling at my boyfriend.” The water bottle hit my head in a loud chunk and I whipped around to find Missy Cooper laughing with her friends.

She was not wearing a jersey like most of the women in the box were. She was wearing a jacket with Ajax's number on it. Your guess is right. She's his girlfriend.

She has this green streak in her lush blonde hair and her skin was so bright I wonder if she was carved out of pearls. She's prettier than I'd ever be in ten years.

“I'm sorry. She won't do it again.” Marie apologized to both of us.

“She better not. Creep.” Missy shot me a glare before returning to her seat.

I massaged the spot the bottle had hit and winced. I'll have to ice that later.

“Are you okay?” Marie asked, putting her arms around me to comfort me.

The horn blared and I shoved Marie aside.

Ajax had scored and I didn't get to see it. Oh crud.

“Ouch,” Marie rolled her eyes.

I scoffed. “Oh come on. We both know I'm light like a feather.”

The crowd behind me went ballistic and I shushed Marie before she could say another word, joining the rest of the stadium in the scream.

I even picked up Missy's water bottle and banged it against the plexiglass while leading Ajax's chant. What can I say? I'm a super fan.

“GO AJAX!” We chorused.

Ajax did a short lap around the side of the rink and when our eyes met, he cracked another smile. He bumped slightly against the glass and put his gloved right hand on the surface. My heart leapt to my throat as I reached out my hand. Ajax was really doing this with me. Before my hand could touch the glass, a hand shoved me away.

“I love you too, babe!” Missy smiles as she puts her hand where he meets hers on the Plexi.

While he was skating away, she turned to me and glared. “If I see you near my boyfriend again, I'll hurt you, you stupid nerd.”

And then she was off.

But that didn't stop me from screaming when he scored two more times. The hat trick sent the crowd into a frenzy and I found myself celebrating with everyone.

***

Marie had tried dragging me back to our dorm to complete our biology assignment but I had bigger priorities. Ajax was meeting his fans soon and I couldn't miss that for anything. However, being a Pre-med student meant you had to put in the work and I couldn't miss out on one more assignment or Dr. Howard will screw me over. So instead of loitering in the stands like other fans, I decided to pay Ajax a personal visit. I snuck into his personal locker room.

My footsteps wobbled as I inched closer to Ajax's private en suite. He had a personal locker room different from the other players — courtesy of his rich parents.

Cold air slashed through my thighs and I winced. I wished I hadn't worn this short skirt. I'd forgotten we were in October. I fidgeted with my jersey and wet my dry lips as I crept inside. I could hear the shower running and figured he must be taking his bath. I'll wait outside.

Just as I took a step back, I heard a loud bang and ran into the en suite.

“Get the fuck out of my bathroom, Missy!” I heard Ajax growl in anger. He was upset. What's going on?

“I didn't mean to, babe,” I heard Missy sob uncontrollably. “It was a mistake.”

“A mistake huh? So you pulling down your pants for another guy was a mistake?”

Oh. That's rough. Missy cheated?

Her voice cracked as she tried to pout her words together. “I'm terribly sorry. Owen… Owen came onto me. I tried to push him away.”

“You looked like you were enjoying yourself, Missy! You know what? I can't do this with you. We're done. Get out!”

“But Ajax please!”

“I said leave!”

A few sniffles and running footsteps echo around the place as Missy leaves. Finally,

I loosened my grip from the curtains ready to leave when I heard the ruffle of material.

Wait. What was going on?

I heard a soft hiss and a low thud. Was he taking off his clothes?

Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I looked around the en suite. There was no way out of this and if I step out, it'll only make things worse. Crud, why did I have to hide in here?

I took a step back, my body touching the shower when he finally stepped inside.

I closed my eyes and braced for impact.

“What the fuck are you doing here?!”

I stammered for words. “I … I promise you I am not who you think I am.”

“What do you expect me to think when you're standing in my bathroom?! You know what? I'm calling security!”

I threw my eyes open. “No, please, don't call security!”

“You've got a lot of nerve, you Peeping Tom!” He stalked out of the bathroom and I followed him.

“Ajax, please… I'm a huge fan of yours. I was only trying to get your —” the rest of my words trailed off when he grabbed his phone. He was serious about calling security on me. Oh no.

I went on my knees and grabbed his leg. “Please, sir, don't do this to me.”

“Get off me, you freak!” He tried to push me off him but I latched on so tight. I couldn't let him go.

“Hey!” He reached for the door and grabbed the doorknob but when he attended to open the door, I pulled on the towel around his waist in hopes of stopping him but it didn't. It however, stopped my breathing because the towel fell off and the doors opened.

I'd never heard a scream so loud in my entire life.