Fire on Ice (Fire on Ice Series) (3 page)

Three

Kian

The Twisted Mug was a small indie coffee shop that was just across the street from the west side of campus. I knew the place would be filled with students from the U and that made me a little uneasy. Most of them were from wealthy families and walked around like their shit didn’t stink. They had a sense of entitlement, like the world owed them everything, probably because most of them had gotten everything handed to them on a silver platter. When I was growing up, I just felt lucky not to get back-handed or smacked in the head with the platter
-
you can bet your ass it wasn’t silver.

I would have preferred to meet in more neutral territory, like maybe the Starbucks at the mall. The little mom and pop pizza place that Runt and I frequented would have been even better.

I slipped my hands into the pockets of my favorite well-worn jeans and paced up and down the block outside The Twisted Mug waiting for Taylor to arrive.

Imagine my surprise when I glanced up to see Kyle standing in front of me. We both stared at each other for a long moment and I tried to keep my cool but inside I was seething. What the fuck was that douche-nozzle doing here? 

As the two of us continued glaring at each other, it occurred to me that he may have been thinking the same thing that I was.

I almost laughed when he crossed his arms over his chest and took an assertive stance. The guy was a complete tool. Not only did I outweigh him by like fifty pounds, the jerkoff didn’t look like he worked out—ever. And I would be willing to bet a million dollars of future earnings that the guy never fought a day in his life.

“You’re not meeting Taylor, are you?” He looked at me with the disdain of a guy who had just stepped in dog shit and now had it all over his hundred dollar pair of Oxfords.

“What if I am?” I shot him my most threatening look and I swear he actually start
ed shaking a little. I had to stifle a grin.

He started blinking furiously, like he had butterflies for ey
elids. It was freaky. The guy was a bundle of nerves. He really thought I was going to hurt him and I had no intention of dispelling that myth.

“You know she doesn’t date athletes,” he stated, his face d
efiant. “Especially hockey players.”

“She doesn’t date you either, so I guess that makes us even.”

For just a fleeting moment, a look flashed across his face like I’d punched him in the stomach and just as quickly, it was gone.

“You’re not even a real hockey player,” he spat. “You’re a minor league
wanna-be. Why would Taylor ever want someone like you?”

That hit a nerve but I didn’t show it. The Firestorm was
a brand new min
or league franchise in a small market. The chances of me getting to the pros weren’t great but there was still a chance. And I was going to do everything in my power to get that chance.

I also knew Taylor was too good for me. It certainly wasn’t a secret. As Tal Bachman sang in his song,
She’s So High… Above Me
, I knew Taylor was just that. But I had something I knew this guy didn’t and that was gumption. When I set my mind on something, I didn’t give up until I achieved it. I had already set my mind on having Taylor and this little puke wasn’t going to stand in my way.

I had to choke back a laugh when the
dickwad actually pointed a finger at me.

“Hey, Dude,” I warned. “Unless you want me to break that thing, keep your finger to yourself.”

He gulped and then put down his finger like I told him to. At least he was good at following directions. But wasn’t that one of the reasons people earned a college degree? It was proof that they knew how to follow the rules and do as they were told.

“Taylor’s not the type of girl you can just hump and dump you know.”

I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I actually laughed right in Kyle’s homely pie-face. “And just what would you know about humping and dumping?”

His eyes started with the furious blinking again and I wo
ndered how Taylor could stand being around the guy. Just the blinking thing was enough to drive anyone nuts.

“I know how guys like you are. Hit it and quit it. That’s all you’re about. Taylor’s better than that.”

I had my share of one-night stands, I’d been with so many girls I’d lost count, but I wanted more with Taylor.
Much
more. She was all I thought about since I laid eyes on her. I didn’t believe in shit like love-at-first-sight but there was definitely something there with Taylor, I just didn’t know what it was. 

I crossed my arms over my chest and gave Kyle my best trash stare. “And you think you’re the guy for Taylor.”

He actually lifted his shoulders and stood a little taller. “I know I am.”

“Why don’t we let her decide who’s the guy for her?”

When he started with the rapid-fire blinking again, I wanted to slap him.

“Okay,” he finally agreed. Then he just stood there—waiting. At that moment, I wanted him to be anywhere but there. Could I just tell him to take a hike?

He must have read it on my face because he said, “I’d better get ready for class.”

Then he turned and headed toward the campus. When I saw him sneak in
a quick peek back at me, I snarled and he practically started running away.

A few minutes later, I spotted Taylor heading toward the co
ffee shop. My heart actually skipped a few beats when I laid eyes on her again. I didn’t think it was possible but she actually looked even more striking than when I first saw her at the bar.

She had on an above the knee number that showed off her amazing legs and a tight little blouse that gave me the idea that she was probab
ly closer to a C cup than the B’s I imagined were under the blouse she was wearing at the bar. I could see she had a hot body and I wanted to see even more. I could feel myself getting hard just thinking about it.

She had her hair pulled back in a long, loose pony tail making her near perfect features even more prominent. What took me
back, though, were those gorgeous brown eyes. They were even more dazzling in the daylight with flecks of gold shimmering in the sunlight. I knew I must have looked like a complete fucking dork but I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. But the thought of me turning into pathetic Kyle was enough to knock me back to reality and I tried to act cool and casual, even though my heart was nearly pounding out of my chest.

Get a grip
, Kian, I tried to tell myself.
If you act like a pussy, you’ll end up in the friend zone just like pie-face
. And there was no way in hell I was ever going to allow myself to be put in the friend zone. I wanted all of Taylor Thompson.

“Hey,” I said as I slid my hands into my pockets trying to tame the erection that was springing to life.

“Hey, yourself,” she replied giving me a cute little half smile.

When she gazed up at me with those big brown eyes of hers, I thought my heart was going to explode.

“We should go in,” she suggested
.
“I don’t have much time before my next class.”

“Right.”
The last thing I wanted to hear was that our time together would be cut short. I wanted to savor every moment I had with this girl.

I opened the door for Taylor and
as she walked in, I took a quick peek at her tight little ass. It took every ounce of restraint I had not to pull her into my arms and feel that little ass of hers against my dick which seemed to get harder by the moment. 

I jammed my hands in my pockets a little further and tried my best to calm the wild beast growing in my pants.

As we headed up to the counter, I placed my hand at the small of her back and my heart started pounding again. So much for being some big stud hockey player. I felt like someone had put me in a time machine and transported me back to my 12-year-old self. Around Taylor, I was like that dumb kid who got nervous around girls.

I half expected her to jerk away at my touch but was pleasan
tly surprised when she glanced back at me and gave me a genuine smile. I felt like the world around me completely stopped for a few seconds as I took in her gorgeous grin.

I was fucking lost in this girl. Everything about her made my head spin.

Girls usually gave me one of two looks:
they looked at me like they wanted to fuck me
or
they looked at me like they wanted to get fucked
. But the way Taylor looked at me was different. She looked at me like she could really see me. Like she wasn’t looking at Kian Kavanagh the star athlete. She looked at me liked she wanted to know the real Kian, the guy that I was when I wasn’t on the ice. The guy underneath the hockey star façade.

I would have done anything for that moment not to end. I would have followed her to the moon on roller skates if she had asked, as long as she kept looking at me, the real me.

“What do you want?” I asked. “You must be hungry. We could get lunch.”

“Okay, sure,” she replied as she turned toward the giant menu that hung on the wall behind the counter.

“Do you know what’s good here?” I asked. I was more of a burgers-and-fries kind of guy and this place looked like it had a lot of stuff with bean sprouts and spinach.

“I really like the wraps but the pitas are good, too,” she r
eplied.

I wanted to ask what the difference was between a wrap and a pita but I didn’t want to come across as a complete idiot, so I just nodded.

“I’ll have an avocado wrap,” she said. Then she snuck a quick glance my way and it made me wonder what she was up to. “And a peach smoothie?”

Did she want my permission to splurge? I got close and whispered in her ear, “You can order whatever you want.”

I was so close to her, I could smell the light fragrance of the shampoo she used—her hair smelled like strawberries. I inhaled softly. I was trying not to be too obvious but also enjoying the sensation too much to refrain.

The dorky-looking college kid behind the counter gaped at me. He was about five feet tall, weighed maybe all of 120 pounds and still had acne.

“You’re Kian Kavanagh,” he muttered still staring at me, his mouth open.

“That’s me,” I replied.

When I snuck a glance at Taylor, she looked embarrassed and I wished to hell the kid hadn’t recognized me. Girls usually loved the attention of being with
the
Kian Kavanagh, one of the star players of the Firestorm, but it seemed to really put Taylor off.

“What can I get for you,” the kid said a little too eagerly.

“Do you have anything with meat?” I asked.

Taylor stifled a giggle and I could feel my face redden in r
esponse.

“We just ran out of ham salad. But we have tuna salad. And egg salad, which is kind of like meat. You could think of it as meat before it has a chance to grow up and become real meat.”

Ham salad, tuna salad and egg salad—some choices. It sounded like crap women ate at fancy tea parties.

“I guess I’ll go with the tuna salad.” Just the thought of it made my stomach knot a little bit.

“Do you want a pita or a wrap?” the kid asked.

I wished someone would explain what the difference was b
etween a freakin’ pita and a wrap. “Does it matter?” I replied, trying not to let my frustration with the place show.

“Most people prefer their tuna on a pita,” he said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Then give me the pita.”

He gulped and I was just a little bit stoked that I could inti
midate the kid with just the smallest of eye muscle movements.

“What do you want to drink?” the kid asked.

The menu had like fifty different kinds of smoothies, no exaggeration. The choices were overwhelming. “Whatever she’s having,” I said to make it easy.

Taylor leaned close to me and whispered, “Good choice.” The closeness of her body to mine and the sound of her sexy voice made my dick spring to life again.

And back my hands went into my pockets.

As the kid tended to our orders, Taylor turned and looked up at me with her big beautiful brown eyes. “I guess this really isn’t your kind of place.”

“It’s okay,” I conceded “It’s convenient for you and I know you have to get to class. I’m really here for the company.”

That made her cheeks redden
. Her skin was so white, like a porcelain doll, I guessed she didn’t get out in the sun very much.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Like there’s something you want to tell me but you’re afraid to say it.”

There were a lot of things I wanted to say to this girl. I wanted to tell her how much I already felt connected to her. I wanted to tell her how beautiful she was and how I thought about her every moment.

There were just as many things I wanted to
do
to her. Like kiss her and touch her and feel her body next to mine.