23. ARAN

CHAPTER 23

ARAN

M y phone starts ringing as I park at the library the next afternoon. I turn off the car and check the name on the dashboard. Frowning, I pick up. "What?"

"So, uh. I may have screwed up." Archie clears his throat, and since I keep quiet, he continues. "I ran into Kelsey after class and, well, I didn't want to be impolite. So we talked a bit, and your name came up."

I rub my eyes. "You should've been impolite. Often, it's better."

"But other times, it gets you slapped in the face." Very annoying that he has a point. Archie adds, "Anyway, long story short. I may have mentioned you were going to the library."

"I know where you live, Archibald Bracken," I say in a growl.

"Listen, I'm not the one who dated a menace to society."

I hate even more that he has another point, and that these are the consequences to my actions.

"Fine, I guess I won't go to the library."

"What if she shows up at practice tonight?"

I suck in air sharply. That would actually be worse. If she shows up at the gym and makes another scene, Coach is going to have my head on a pike. And it's not like I can bodily keep her away.

Shit, it's time to fess up. I need help.

"Archie," I say, somewhat reluctantly. "Last time, Kelsey got me in serious trouble with Coach."

"I'm not surprised. Is that related to why you've been acting all weird?"

"Yeah," I admit, sighing in exasperation. "Coach wants me off dating for the rest of the season. If Kelsey shows up and makes another mess, he's going to bench my ass for at least two games."

"Whoa." Archie repeats the word several times. "Bro, that's way too harsh."

"You know Coach Green, though."

"Okay, wow. So your moodiness has been a serious case of no action under threat of suspension. You could've just told me instead of acting all precious."

"Archie." There's a clear warning in my voice that he ignores, because he starts chuckling.

"I get it, don't worry. I'll make some anti-Kelsey plan with Mark and Jamal to cover your six."

"If you tell them?—"

"You will murder me, I know. Trust me."

I snort. "How can I when you just told Kelsey where I was going?"

"I'll take that L and compensate you by not making too much fun of the fact that you can't get laid for at least two more months."

"Damn you. This is why I didn't want to say anything."

"'Kay, thanks, bye ." He drags the last word out like a kid and hangs up.

I don't know why I put up with him when I want to throttle him half the time. But right now I have a more pressing concern. I scroll through my contacts until I find my tutor and press call. I know she's already in the building because I can see her yellow Beetle a couple of rows ahead.

She picks up after too many rings. "Hey, Aran."

Her voice alone has the power to dial back my bad mood scale at least one point.

"Hi. I can't go to the library."

"Oh, okay." Is that disappointment in her voice? "We can reschedule?—"

"No," I cut in, turning my car back on. "I can't go to the library, but we can go somewhere else."

After a short stretch of silence, she hums. "That's not a bad idea. The weather's too nice to be cooped up in the same place I'm in every day."

I don't add anything to that because I'm not in the library every day, but that seems to be her favorite spot to write her hockey romance. Actually, this may be the perfect excuse to ask if she needs any more tutoring. And I have the perfect place in mind for it.

Well, well. Maybe Archie didn't screw up after all.

"I'll wait for you in my car."

"Okay!" With that, she hangs up, and I wait.

The seconds feel like days until she comes out of the library. Her coat is draped over her arm, and her hair is in a loose braid over her shoulder. I hope I get the chance to undo it. I want to run my fingers through her hair, tangle it around my fists again, find the spot between her neck and shoulder and lick it.

"Buenas tardes," she says, all sunny, as she climbs to the passenger seat and shuts the door. "Did I say it okay?"

"Your r 's need work," I tease to distract her from the fact that I'm breathing funny.

She buckles up. "Yeah, not sure I'm ever going to get that one right."

I set the car in motion as her scent invades the cab, not helping my situation at all. She loves her strawberry shampoo and soap, but that's not all. There's something else underneath that is sweeter, warmer. That's the stuff that's making my blood thrum.

"So, are you sick and tired of the library, or…?"

With my attention on traffic, I say, "Definitely not or . The library's my favorite place now."

She chokes, and I hide a smile with my left hand. I knew she was thinking about yesterday when our session focused on studying each other's mouth. No matter how hard she pretends like it was no big deal, I know it affected her. It was in the way she moaned in my ear, how her eyes hooded, in the unmistakable flush in her skin.

I want to see all that again.

Clearing my throat, I pick up on her question again. "No, according to Archibald, my quasi ex was waiting for me in there."

"I take it that it didn't end well?"

"No. She marched into the locker room while we were changing and slapped me in front of everyone. Got me in trouble with Coach."

We're at a red light, so I turn. Strawberry's jaw hangs and her eyes are wide. "Whoa. Um, that's intense."

I run my hand over my freshly cut hair. "Yeah. It was like a damn telenovela."

"I can see why you'd want to avoid another episode," she says in a mumble, her eyes on the road. The light changes, and I can't pay attention to her anymore. "Erm, so, where are we going?"

I know she's uncomfortable now, but I'm not in the business of lying, even if it would make me sound like a better person than I am. All my friends know I'm a little shit, so why should it be different with Strawberry? We're just friends, after all.

Friends who shared such an amazing kiss that I can't stop thinking about it.

"We're going on a little adventure" is all I can manage to say.

Several times through the course of the drive, she tries to get it out of me. At first, she guesses a local café, then the public library. Her next guess is either of our apartments, but when I drive by them, she seems fresh out of options.

It's when I hit the country roads that she asks, "You're not taking me somewhere rural to kill me and hide my body, are you?"

"Do I look like someone who'd go through all that effort?"

"Fair. You're too straightforward for a murderer."

I flash her a deadpan expression. "Have you been reading thriller books or something?"

Strawberry gasps. "How did you know? Did you install a secret camera in my room?"

"Please." I snort. "First of all, that would be a crime and would ruin my chances at playing pro."

"Right, that's how I know for sure you're not going to kill me now."

"Second," I say, shaking my head, "if I did install a spy camera in your room, the last thing I'd care about would be what book you're reading."

I pull onto the back road to the lake just as she asks, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Do you sleep with clothes on or not?"

"Aran!"

"I'm just explaining what I'd care about."

She laughs and looks away. "You're absolutely terrible."

The car bounces on the rough road, but it's a short stretch, and soon, we're approaching a clearing. I'm not the only person in the world who knows about this spot, but it's not as frequented as other areas of the lake that are more manicured. This one's a bit wild, just sand and rocks, with a strip of shore that looks like a beach but has a quite steep incline past a certain point. There's nothing interesting about it other than it's peaceful and quiet.

She leans forward, hands on the dashboard as she drinks it up. I love the wonder that takes over her expression, as if this is the last thing she imagined she'd see today.

"What is this place?"

"My secret hideaway." I maneuver the car so it's parked with the back close to the lake lapping at the shore.

Slowly, she tilts her head toward me. "Is this where you disappeared to last week?"

"I was going to." I turn off the car and undo my seat belt. "Until my sister called on her way to the hospital." I get out of the car and stretch like I've been on the road for hours.

"What happened?" she asks with alarm.

"She's fine. Just scared us all with her peanut allergy."

I head to the back of the SUV and open the back door. She meets me there and says, "I'm glad she's fine. And I didn't say it before, but I'm glad you're fine too."

I freeze for a moment. She really has no idea that the reason I'm fine one second and not the next is her, huh? I expel air out of my lungs.

Pulling at the floor, I uncover a compartment that normally would house a spare tire, but now that you only need a patch kit to survive, I'm using it to store a blanket and some other things for when I come out here. Since we only have a few hours until I have to head back for practice, I leave the lamp in there. And with an abnormally warm February day like this, I don't need to get a fire going.

"How did you discover this place?" Strawberry leans against the car, drinking in the smooth surface of the lake that is only disturbed by a soft breeze. It plays with the wisps of hair that escape her braid. A strand caresses her cheek just like my hand itches to do.

She pulls the hair behind her ear, and it snaps me back awake.

My voice comes out as rough as the gravel under our shoes. "Dad and I come fish by the lake in the summer. That's how I found it."

She cocks an eyebrow at me. "Do you bring girls often?"

"No," I admit. She's the first one I've brought here.

I make quick work of lowering the back seats and spreading the thick blanket across the cargo area. When she sees me taking out my laptop and sliding it over the blanket, she finally gets it.

"Oh. Um. Okay, so that's the plan."

I smirk. "What else did you think we came here for?"

To my surprise, she punches my arm. "Of course it's to study, you perv. What I mean is that I don't know how I'm going to climb into the back. Your car is really tall."

"Like this." I crouch under the overhead door to stand in front of her and wrap my hands around her waist.

Her brown eyes go wide. "No, Aran?—"

I lift her and set her on the bed, but I don't let go of her right away. Having to bend down under the door means I'm very close to her as I say, "Like that."

"Oh." Strawberry swallows hard. "I forgot you're very strong."

"Do you need more reminders?"

"How about we start the session? We're like an hour late."

"I like it when you go all tutor on me."

"Aran, please. I'm trying to be professional here," she whines.

I feel a smile stretching my lips. I pretend like I'm pushing hair away from her face just so I can brush my fingers across her hot cheek. Making her blush feels just as good as catching a puck.

"What if we're unprofessional for a bit?"

Her eyes flutter closed, but her lips set in a stern line. "I would like to be able to pay my bills, though."

I jerk back, hitting the top of my head on the door.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." I grunt. "And you're right. Today's session is supposed to compensate for yesterday's."

She nods too fast. "Right, and I know it's going to be harder to schedule new sessions starting next week with so many games coming up."

Sighing, I relent. "Let's get to work, then."