7. Kennedy

Now it all makes sense.

The super-cut body.

His total confidence.

The black and gold school jacket.

When Shane reaches up and flicks the collar of his windbreaker, revealing the team’s sunburst logo stitched underneath, I can’t help but react.

“So you”re a puckhead too?” I tease, taking another shot glass from the bar top and knocking it back.

He chuckles at my terminology, his slightly crooked smile shining against his olive-hued skin, his eyes gleaming with amusement. ”That”s a new one. But yes, I”m a puckhead as you so eloquently put it.”

”Well don”t worry, your secret is safe with me.” I wink at him, clearly feeling a little flirty as I feel the liquid courage glide through my veins.

His laugh is throaty and genuine, filling the air between us as we continue our chatter. The noise around us fades into the background, the smell of beer and sweat getting drowned out by our shared laughter and tequila shots.

“I should probably buy your friends another round. Seems like we’re short a few shots now.”

“I would order them myself but I don’t think the bartender will come back over here if you’re not the one doing the asking.”

“I got it.”

Sure enough, Shane manages to get the bartender’s attention again and she pours us another round of shots.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” she says to him in the voice of a seductress.

“Appreciate you,” he thanks her while handing her a five-dollar tip.

“You think she was hot for me?” he asks when she walks away to take care of someone else.

“Pretty sure she was.” I roll my eyes.

“Are you hot for me?” he asks with a look on his face that I can’t discern. Is he playing around with me right now or am I seriously supposed to answer that?

Suddenly, another loud cheer erupts from behind us, saving me from the ridiculous attempt I was about to make of lying through my teeth because hell yeah, I’m hot for him. Who wouldn’t be?

We both turn to see two members of his team locking horns in what looks to be an impromptu wrestling match right in the middle of the pub.

”I should probably go handle that,” he says apologetically.

“Don”t worry about it,” I reply casually, ”I”m used to being ditched at this point.”

He looks taken aback by my bad attempt at a joke, but before he can respond, his teammates’ shouting can no longer be ignored. He grimaces slightly before turning back towards me.

”Hey, it was really nice meeting you.” He spares a quick glance over his shoulder at the commotion and back at me. ”But duty calls.”

“Go ahead,” I nod and give him a tight-lipped smile. ”Your herd needs tending.”

He laughs at my statement; the sound is hearty and endearing. Then he leans in for a brief moment, his lips barely grazing my ear as he speaks above the noise of the bar. His proximity sends a shiver down my spine and my nipples instantly pebble.

“I’ll make sure we run into each other again, Kennedy.” His breath is warm and smells faintly of mint mixed with tequila. “You can count on it.”

His lips move dangerously closer to mine, and he plants a gentle kiss on my mouth as his fingertips graze the side of my waistline. I don’t know if it’s the tequila or what, but I part my lips, craving more exploration of the kiss. In the moment, I don’t care that I’m standing in a crowded bar full of strangers, especially when his tongue slides across mine for the briefest of moments. The kiss is short, but it’s incredibly erotic, and my thong is drenched with the yearning for something more.

“I’ll find you,” he says. Then he straightens up, giving me a last look before stepping away, maneuvering with ease through the crowd.

Damn, that was sexy.

Pepper and Minka finally join me at the bar, each sporting a wide grin plastered on their face. “Kennedy, this is our baby-faced Minka. Minka, this is Kennedy.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say politely, my head still in a fog from the hottest first kiss I’ve ever had.

“Same, girl.”

Now that I’ve met Minka it makes total sense why she always gets carded. While I’m slight in build, she’s built like a bean pole, with very few curves and several blackhead pimples across her t-zone. At best, she looks like a ninth grader with a cool wardrobe, definitely not a sophomore in college.

”Who was that?” Pepper asks curiously, following my gaze to where the hockey players are gathered.

”No one,” I reply nonchalantly, waving her off.

Did they see us kiss?

Her eyes twinkle with mischief as she nudges Minka. ”She is so lying.”

Minka giggles, glancing between us. Pepper”s gaze turns back to me, an eyebrow cocked expectantly. ”Spill the beans.”

”There”s nothing to spill,” I argue half-heartedly while chugging back the rest of my shot. The liquid is smoother this time around as it slides down my throat.

”Bullshit,” she says, reaching over to the bar for two shots, handing one to Minka. “I leave you alone for five minutes and you”ve made friends with the damn hockey team? I told you’d they’d be easy to find.”

“Impressive for a freshman,” Minka adds.

“Hardly.” I try playing it off even as a blush creeps up my neck for the second time tonight. “I met one hockey player, and he was helping me order your tequila shots. Evidently, he’s got a way with the ladies,” I say, referencing the female bartender near our end of the bar.

Pepper playfully leans in closer to me, her bleach-blonde hair falling over her freckled shoulders. ”And just who is this one hockey player? Did you get a name?”

”Does it matter?” I ask, but even as I say it, I steal yet another glance toward where Shane is standing. I can’t help it. He’s like a bright shiny new object, twinkling among the boring beige and brown bodies among us. I can’t keep my eyes off of him.

“Courtesy of The Suns,” the same bartender interrupts us, sliding yet three more tequila shots onto the counter.

When I turn to look back over at the crowd, Shane has his arm playfully hooked around one of his teammates, but his eyes are completely on me.

“Holy hell, is that him?” Minka demands to know.

“Whoa, he’s beautiful,” Pepper comments as well.

“And he’s trying to get you drunk too?” Minka laughs as she picks one up. “That is even more impressive, freshman. Here”s to new experiences and a fine-ass hockey player who wants to get in your panties.”

“You should definitely let him,” Pepper adds.

I say nothing else about it as they clink their glasses against each other’s and then throw back their shots. Their laughter fills the air around us, mixing with the familiar sounds of the bar: shuffling feet on worn-out wooden floors, raucous conversations blending into an indistinct hum, and high-octane music floating above it all.

Later, we visit several bars along the crawl, and it feels as if Shane is watching me at every stop, not in a weird way, but in a way that makes me feel seen in a way that no guy has ever looked at me before.

“Are you going to put dude out of his misery and finally give him your phone number?” Minka asks, and I’m amazed at how well her little body seems to metabolize tequila.

“He didn’t ask for it,” I tell them. By this point in the evening, several of Pepper’s other friends have joined us too.

“Yeah, but he so clearly wants it. He can’t keep his eyes off you.”

A few days ago I would have said that you’d never catch me accepting drinks and chatting it up with a stranger. Yet tonight, I find myself in the middle of a stare-off with someone I wouldn’t mind getting to know a little better. And just maybe it’s something to look forward to.

I pick up my last shot of the night and hold it up to them. ”To new experiences,” I echo before tipping the glass back and letting the liquid burn a trail down my throat, reminding me of the heat I felt between my legs when Shane’s lips grazed mine.

Maybe the next four years are going to be a lot more intriguing than I thought.