The Deal (Off Campus #1)(48)

I'm still catching my breath when he starts thrusting upward, fast and  deep, his hips snapping up as he fills me, over and over again until  finally he gives one final thrust and groans. His features tighten, dark  brows drawn together as if he's in pain, but I know he's not. I kiss  his neck again, sucking on his feverish flesh as he trembles beneath me,  holding me so tight he traps all the air in my lungs.

After we've both recovered and the condom is disposed of, Garrett crawls  beside me and spoons me from behind. The heavy weight of his arm makes  me feel safe and warm and treasured. So does the way he flattens his  palm on my belly and absently strokes my naked flesh. His lips press  into the nape of my neck, and I can honestly say I've never been more  content in my life.

"Stay over tonight?" he murmurs.

"Can't," I murmur back. "I have to return Tracy's car."

"Tell her it was stolen," he offers. "I'll vouch for you."

I laugh softly. "No way. She'd kill me."

Garrett rests his cheek on my shoulder, rotating his hips so that his  semi-hard cock rubs against my butt. He sighs happily. "You've got the  sweetest ass on the planet."

I have no idea how we got to this point. One day I was telling him to  get lost, the next, I'm snuggling in bed with him. Life is so frickin'  weird sometimes.





  

"Hey," he says a while later. "You don't work Friday nights, right?"

"No. Why?"

"We're playing Harvard tomorrow." He hesitates. "Maybe you want to come to the game?"

I hesitate too. I feel like I'm getting in over my head. I told him  things tonight that I've never told anyone, and I'm pretty sure his  confession about his father isn't something too many people know,  either. I don't want to ask him what it all means, though. I'm terrified  that I'm reading too much into it.

I'm terrified of making it real.

"You can take my Jeep," he adds, his voice gruff. "I'll be riding on the  bus with the team, so it'll just be sitting in my driveway anyway."

"Can I bring Allie?"

"Sure." He kisses my shoulder, and a shiver runs through me. "Bring  anyone you want. We could use the support, actually. Away games suck  because nobody's ever cheering for us."

I swallow the odd little lump in my throat. "Okay. Yeah … I guess I can do that."

We go quiet again, and I suddenly become aware of the hard ridge poking  against my butt. His very obvious erection makes me laugh. "Really,  dude? Again?"

He chuckles. "What was that you were saying about my stamina the other day? Shame on you. Dude."

Still laughing, I roll over and plaster myself to his warm, hard body. "Round two?" I murmur.

His lips find mine. "Fuck yeah."





30

Hannah


"I CAN'T BELIEVE this is happening," Dexter announces-for about the millionth time-from the backseat of Garrett's Jeep.

Next to Dex, Stella sighs and voices her agreement-also for the  millionth time. "I know, right? We're in Garrett Graham's car. Part of  me is tempted to go Carrie Underwood on it and carve my name into his  leather seats."

"Don't you dare!" I order from the driver's seat.

"Relax, I won't. But I feel like if I don't leave my mark on this car, nobody will ever believe I was in it."

Hell, I can't believe she's in it. I wasn't surprised when Allie jumped  on the chance to come to Cambridge with me, since she's still on the  quest for details about Garrett, but I was startled when Stella and Dex  insisted on coming along.

So far during this car ride, both of them have asked me at least twice  if Garrett and I are dating. I've replied with my standard response-we  just hang out sometimes. But it's getting harder to convince even myself  of that.

We blast music for the rest of the drive. Dex and I sing along, and our  harmonies are ridiculously awesome-why didn't I ask him to duet with me,  damn it? Allie and Stella can't stay on key to save their lives, but  they join in for the choruses, and we're all in high spirits when I pull  into the parking lot of the hockey center.

I've never been to Harvard before, and I wish I had more time to explore  the campus, but we're running late as it is, so I usher my friends  inside because I don't want us to lose out on finding seats. I'm floored  by how big and modern the arena is and how many people are here  tonight. Luckily, we find four empty seats near the Briar team's side of  the rink. We don't bother hitting up concessions since we ate a shit  ton of corn chips in the car.

"Okay, so how does this game work again?" Dexter asks me.

I grin. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. I'm a black kid from Biloxi, Han-Han. What the fuck do I know about hockey?"

"Fair enough."

As Allie and Stella chat about one of their acting classes, I give Dex a  quick rundown of what he can expect. And yet when the players hit the  ice, I realize my explanation hasn't done it justice. This is the first  hockey game I've seen in person, and I don't expect the roar of the  crowd, the deafening blare of the PA system, the lightning fast speed of  the players.

Garrett's jersey is #44, but I don't need to look at the number to know  which black-and-silver-clad player he is. He's the center of the  starting line, and the second the ref drops the puck, Garrett wins the  opening faceoff and snaps the puck back to Dean, who I thought was a  wing but is apparently a defenseman.

I'm too busy watching Garrett to focus on any of the other players.  He's … mesmerizing. He's already tall without skates on, so the added  height makes him appear massive. And he's so fucking fast I have a tough  time keeping my gaze on him. He flies down the ice, chasing the puck  that Harvard has stolen from us and checking the opposing player like a  pro. Briar takes an early lead, thanks to a goal by a player the  announcer refers to as "Jacob Berderon," and it takes me a second to  realize he means Birdie, the dark-haired senior I met at Malone's.





  

The clock on the scoreboard ticks down, but just when I think Briar will  shut out Harvard in the first period, one of the opposing forwards gets  a fast snapshot past Simms to tie the game.

As the period ends and the players disappear into their respective  tunnels, Dex pokes me in the ribs and says, "You know what? This ain't  half bad. Maybe I should start playing hockey."

"Can you skate?" I ask him.

"Naah. But it can't be that hard, right?"

I snort. "Stick to music," I advise. "Or if you're really determined to get into sports, play football. Briar could use you."

From what I've heard, our football team is putting up the worst record  the school has seen in years, winning only three of the eight games  they've played so far. But Sean said they still have a chance to make it  to the post-season if they, and I quote, "get their motherfucking shit  together and start winning some motherfucking games." It makes me feel  sorry for Beau, who I genuinely enjoyed talking to at the party.

The moment I think about Beau, Justin's face swooshes into my head like a gust of wind.

Shit.

We have a dinner date Sunday night.

How the hell did I forget about that?

Because you were too busy having sex with Garrett?

Yep, that's it.

I bite my lip as I debate what to do. I haven't thought about Justin all  week, but that doesn't trump the fact that I've been thinking about him  all semester. Something drew me to him in the first place, and I can't  just ignore that. Besides, I don't even know what's happening between me  and Garrett. He hasn't brought up the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing.  I don't know if I want to be his girlfriend.

I have a type when it comes to guys. Quiet, serious, moody. Creative, if  I'm lucky. Plays music is always a plus. Smart. Sarcastic but not in a  snide way. Unafraid to show his emotions. Someone who makes me feel … at  peace.

Garrett has some of those qualities, but not all of them. And I'm not  sure peaceful is the accurate word to describe how I feel when I'm with  him. When we're arguing or shooting wisecracks back and forth, it's like  my whole body is wired with electricity. And when we're naked … it's like  an entire Fourth of July fireworks display going off inside me.

I think that might be a good thing?

Fuck, I don't know. My track record with guys isn't exactly a series of  successes. What do I know about relationships? And how can I be certain  that Justin isn't the guy I should be with if I don't go out with him at  least once?

"So why do they call it the crease?" Dex asks in fascination after the  second period commences. "And why does it sound so dirty?"

On my other side, Allie leans in to grin at Dexter. "Babe, everything  about hockey sounds dirty. Five-hole? Poke check? Backdoor?" She sighs.  "Come home with me one time and listen to my dad yell Jam it in! over  and over again when he watches hockey, and then you can talk to me about  dirty. Not to mention uncomfortable."

Dex and I laugh so hard we almost fall out of our chairs.

*

Garrett

AS THE GUYS and I shuffle out of the guest locker room after the game,  we're still riding the high of crushing the home team. Even though it's  one of our sophomores who landed that last beauty of a goal that secured  our win, I've decided that Hannah is my good luck charm and must now  attend all of our games, because the last three times we played Harvard,  we got our asses handed to us.