Page 78 of Sticks and Stones (Shadow Valley U)

“I didn’t come,” she says.

I smile. I kneel in front of her and tug her pants back up. Before I get them all the way secure, I slip my finger into her. She makes some noise, choking it off, and my smile widens.

“I know,” I say simply.

And then I’ve got her pants buttoned and her tank top mostly righted. It still bares her stomach, and her bra is painfully visible.

I shed my sweatshirt and shove it at her. It has my name on it, at the very fucking least.

“Archer’s jersey—”

“He’ll pay the fine to get a new one.” I wave my hand. “Or you will. Either way.”

I pick up my fallen cardboard crown, planting it back on my head.

She glowers at me. “And not letting me finish? Is that punishment?”

I unlock and open the door, letting much more light flood into the small room. As small as it is, it’s bigger than the space she was sleeping in. Good thing she’s never going back there.

I steal a kiss from her lips as she moves past me. “Now you’re getting it.”

CHAPTER27

STONE

The after-party is killer.A few puck bunnies were wrangled, thanks to Taylor or Grant, to set up our house. The doors to all our bedrooms upstairs are locked. The downstairs is almost unrecognizable. The furniture is shoved to the far edges of the rooms, a bar set up in the kitchen, a keg out on the back porch.

We were nearly the last to arrive, and I must’ve forgotten to mention those plans, because the glower Wren gave me to discover a massive amount of people in and around our house… well, it was enough to make me want to drag her around the side and repeat our storage closet adventure.

I didn’t, though, because as soon as they caught sight of us, we were dragged into the thick of the party. More congratulations, more cheers and high fives, and echoes of how Shadow Valley is going places this year. All the way to the playoffs.

Wren has been plastered to my side since we arrived, even going so far as to pull me out on the makeshift dance floor and grind on me until my dick woke up.Again. Payback, I suspect, although I kept that thought to myself.

We’ve been served a steady stream of drinks into her waiting hand and mine.

Tomorrow is a day of rest. We’ve got it off from practice, there are no classes, and my homework is miraculously caught up. If I wanted to do absolutely nothing but watch the 1980 Olympic hockey final, then I could.

Now, I’m drunk in a warm way. My face has stopped throbbing, although one of the girls pouring the drinks informed me of the nasty bruises making an appearance. More tequila was the solution to that one. I feel like I’m floating in one of those pools that makes you feel like you’re in a womb.

Wren’s on my lap, grinding against my groin and sucking on my neck. I palm her ass and close my eyes, wanting to just exist for a moment.

Her teeth graze my skin. She does it again, then giggles. She’s drunk, too.

I crack one eye open. “What?”

Shit, my speech is slurring.

“Your dick twitches every time I do that.” She cups me through my jeans.

We’re in the living room. The lights are low, and the party has devolved into debauchery. The only ones left are pairs in various levels of undress. If she was wearing a skirt, it would be easy to just…slide into her. Fuck her here.

“Well, my dick likes you.” I frown. “Obviously.”

She giggles again.

I don’t think I’ve heard her giggle. It’s so fucking freeing, my heart gives an erratic thump. And anything that happens with my heart in relation to Wren Davis is concerning. But with the tequila in my system, it’s easy to brush it off. To not think it means anything, even though it obviously does.

Catching feelings for my best friend’s sister wasn’t on my to-do list, and yet…