Ruined on Ice

Chapter Seven

~Maverick~

Damn. This girl has some serious backbone.

I hadn’t expected her to grab me and kiss me like that, right in the middle of the quad, in front of Rory and half the damn campus. But the second her lips crashed into mine, instinct took over.

I kissed her back.

Hard.

One hand slid to her waist, fingers spreading over the curve there like they belonged. The other came up to cup her face, thumb brushing her cheek. She tasted faintly of pancakes and strawberries, sweet, warm, and so f*****g addictive I forgot we were standing in public. I loved strawberries. Always had. Now the flavor was tied to Taylor Jensen’s mouth, and that was dangerous.

Pure lust hit me like a body check. Heat flooded my veins. I wanted to pull her closer, tilt her head, deepen the kiss until she made some soft sound I could keep forever. My blood was still boiling from seeing Rory storm up like he still owned her. The f*****g bastard’s nerve, calling her his girlfriend after what he had done. I wanted to break his nose, and make him bleed all over again.

Taylor pulled away first, breathing hard. Her lips were pink and slightly swollen. A pretty blush crawled up her neck and across her cheeks. She looked like a mess in the best way possible.

Rory stood there frozen in place, face bandaged to hell, eyes filled with rage. “You b***h,” he spat at her, and I hated the way she flinched. Then he turned and stalked off, shoving through the crowd of onlookers.

Whispers exploded around us. Phones were still out. Great. The rumor mill would be spinning at light speed by dinner.

Taylor blinked like she was coming out of a trance, and her eyes went wide with panic. “Oh s**t—” She tried to scurry off, but I caught her wrist gently and pulled her back.

“Hey, hey. Not so fast.”

She scrambled, her cheeks burning even brighter. “I’m sorry I did that! I just got carried away. I didn’t— I mean, I wasn’t thinking—”

I chuckled. She was adorable when she was flustered, eyes darting everywhere but at me, teeth worrying her bottom lip. “It’s fine,” I said. “We’ll be doing a lot of that anyway if we’re gonna fake date.”

She nodded quickly, still blushing. Then, almost shyly, she added, “I did enjoy the look on the bastard’s face, though.”

I looked at her face, her slightly swollen eyes. There was fire in them now, buried under the heartbreak. And I liked it. It suited her.

“What?” she asked, defensive.

“Nothing.”

She shifted on her feet, suddenly all business. “Okay, so we need some ground rules.”

I rolled my eyes. “This isn’t complicated, Jensen. You come to my games. I spend more time at Linden. You occasionally show up at Northwood. We hold hands, post a couple pictures, make it look real enough to shut Calloway’s parents up. End of story.”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“But nothing.” I pulled out my phone and handed it to her. “Number.”

She swallowed, hesitating for a second before typing it in. I sent her a quick text so she’d have mine.

Me: This is Maverick. Don’t ghost me, Jensen.

Her phone buzzed. She read it and gave a small, shy nod. The blush hadn’t faded. She looked almost……vulnerable standing there in her cheer jacket, hair a little messy from the wind and our kiss.

I reminded myself: It’s fake dating, Maverick. Don’t get carried away.

“It’s fake,” I said aloud, my voice steady. “Don’t forget. We can't complicate this by developing feelings.”

Taylor rolled her eyes, some of that fire coming back. “You don't have to tell me twice. Like I would ever fall for you.”

I chuckled again. The sound surprised even me. “That’s good then.”

She turned to leave, but I wasn’t ready to let her go yet. My hand found her waist again, tugging her back toward me. I leaned in, close enough that our breaths mingled, tempted to kiss her properly this time, just to see what she would do.

She pushed lightly against my chest. “Hold your horses there, mister. You can't just kiss me whenever you want to. You're only allowed to kiss me….hmm." Her eyebrows furrowed in tight concentration. "Once a week.”

I pulled back, staring at her incredulously. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am,” she said, biting her lip again. “I….I don’t have much experience. Rory was my first and only, so……it'll take time for me to adjust.”

Motherfucker.

Rage flared hot in my gut all over again. That bastard had been her only everything, then treated her like garbage. I wanted to hunt him down and finish what I started on the ice. Instead, I forced my jaw to unclench.

“It’s fine,” I said, voice quieter. “Take your time.”

Before she could overthink it, I grabbed her waist again, pulled her in, and pressed a slow kiss to her cheek. My lips lingered for half a second longer than necessary, right at the corner of her jaw. She smelled like vanilla and cold winter air. Addicting.

“See you soon,” I murmured against her skin.

She didn’t answer. Just stood there, frozen, as I stepped back. Her fingers brushed the spot I had kissed like she couldn’t quite believe it happened.

I turned and walked away first, hands shoved in my pockets, fighting the urge to look back. My heart was still pounding harder than it did during overtime. That kiss, her taste, the way she had melted into me for those few seconds, had lit something up I thought I’d buried after my ex.

It’s fake, I reminded myself again as I crossed the quad. No feelings. Keep it simple.