Page 100 of Scoring Lessons

I felt it more than I saw it—the glass shaking, the crowd erupting, my teammates’ celebrations echoing around me.

“Fuck yeah, Hayes. That’s what I’m talking about!” my best friend shouted as he patted my helmet.

Through all the commotion around me, though exciting, my eyes couldn’t help but scan our bench until they found Olivia. Her natural frown was in place as she clapped, but when she noticed I was looking at her, she gave me a quiet smile. The kind I knew she reserved for only me.

And though getting to play where I felt like I belonged had been amazing, nothing could compare to the way Olivia’s smile shot right to my heart, making me feel, for the first time in months, like I was finally back.

“Come on, Hayes. You just got here,” Parker said through a groan as he tried to hand me another beer. “You scored our winning goal. You can’t possibly be trying to ditch us right now.”

The beats of some ’90s R&B filtered through our usual spot to hang out. The smell of greasy food filled the air. It was like comfort. And yet…it was the last place I wanted to be.

My head was clear for once, and adrenaline still coursed through my body hours after the game. And I wanted to spend this monumental moment with Olivia and only Olivia.

“Nah, man.” I dropped a few bills in the bar’s tip jar. “I’m beat. I want to get home.”

Parker looked over his shoulder, then his eyes settled on me, skeptical as he leaned forward. “You and Olivia have been oddly close lately. Is there anything you want to tell me?”

“No,” I said too quickly. “Definitely not.”

He rubbed his temple with a sigh. “I guess the less I know, the better. I don’t want to be guilty by association.” He gulped his beer then thinned his lips. “Promise me you’re being careful?”

“Since when do you worry about shit like that?” I chuckled. Parker was probably one of the most reckless guys I knew.

“This is Olivia we’re talking about here. When this inevitably blows over, you need to be ready for the consequences.”

“Nothing is happening.” Technically, not a lie. We weren’t anything. I was only giving her lessons. Kind of. They weren’t really lessons anymore. We’d move past that a long time ago, but it was easier to label it like that than to sit and think about what the possibilities were.

When I arrived at my place, Olivia was already in her room. I was disappointed, and even if I was dying to celebrate with her—in more or less innocent ways that I could think of—I didn’t want to get in her way. She’d worked today, too, so she must have been exhausted.

I was wrapping a towel around my waist as I stepped out of my bathroom when there was a soft knock on my door.

Without thinking much, I opened it.

My throat turned as dry as a desert when I took Olivia in.

“Hey,” she said, casual as ever.

I couldn’t form any words as my eyes traveled her exposed legs, until they landed on the oversize hockey jersey she was wearing.

“Okay, this is the moment you say something before I regret ever coming over and knocking on your door wearing something so⁠—”

“Incredibly fucking sexy,” I interrupted her as I blinked, still stunned. “You’re…wearing my jersey.”

“It’s no big deal.”

“Oh.” My laugh was dry. “No, no. This is unlocking some fantasies I never knew about.”

Her eyes flicked down my happy trail, down to the towel. “I could say the same.”

“Livvie girl…” I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my arms. “Are you flirting?”

“Thought I’d take one page out of your book, player.” She lifted her chin, ready to meet whatever silent challenge was happening between us. “Got a problem?”

I raised my hands in mock defeat. “Hey, I like it.” I gripped her jersey and brought her inside my room then shut the door. “So much so, I think you deserve a reward for it.”

She laughed and leaned against my door, her arms behind her back. “I didn’t come to your room for this.”

I dropped to my knees and stared at her with a lazy grin. “Yeah, you did,” I rasped, my hands traveling up her calves, her outer thighs, until I found her ass and squeezed with the kind of possession I had no business feeling. “And I’m not complaining.”