“Why would he flip?” I ask, and she lets out a breath, looking toward her dad’s house.

“He doesn’t want anything distracting me,” she says before looking back at me.

“So I’m a distraction?”

Scoffing, she nods her head quickly. “Hell yeah, you are.”

“Good,” I say with a wink. “But we got this. When we are on the ice, it’s business. We work.”

“Agree,” she states with a nod. “But off the ice…”

A smirk comes over my face as my body burns for hers. “I’ll be looking for every private spot just so I can touch you.”

As she bites into her lip, her eyes darken. “Well, just to let you know, if Markus and Jace weren’t watching us right now, I’d kiss you.”

Say what?

Looking toward the window, I see my dim-witted brother and his best friend. “Idiots.”

“Yeah, but they are funny,” she says as they start to act like they are making out with each other.

“I think I should kick their asses.”

She laughs. “Don’t. I like them. They are so cute, like little puppies.”

When Markus starts to hump Jace’s leg, I can see the resemblance.

Chuckling, I look over at her and smile. “Look at you. All liking people and shit.”

She grins at me, her eyes bright as the sun peeks through the clouds to warm her face. She looks almost like an angel, but I know that looks can be very deceiving. She may look like a beautiful, harmless flower, but she’ll lash out at you with that mouth of hers and kick you in the balls faster than you can say hockey.

Which is why I’m completely taken by her.

With a wink, she nods her head at me. “Don’t worry. I like you the most.”

As we stare into each other’s eyes, I decide I’ll take what I can get. But my mother’s words weigh heavy on my mind.

Don’t be a doormat.

And I won’t be.

I just hope she falls for me before I can be considered one.

“You guys are assholes,” I say once I enter my room. Markus and Jace look up from where they are playing Xbox and grin at me.

“What?” Markus asks innocently.

“Yeah, did we interrupt an important moment?” Jace chuckles, and I smack him upside the head as I pass. Markus laughs at that but then yells out when I smack him too.

“No, not at all. But come on, leave us alone,” I say as I throw my beanie and jacket down on my desk.

“So is there an us?” Markus asks then, waggling his eyebrows at me. “Body language says yes,” he adds, and I roll my eyes.

“Fuck off, both of you,” I snap as I hop onto the trampoline by my bed and land on my bunk. I was always jealous of Jude when he got to do that. Now that I get to, it’s kind of awesome. Okay, more than awesome. It’s so fucking cool. Reaching for my remote, I turn my TV on, going to Netflix so I can start the show once Baylor shows up. She had to change or something. I don’t know. I do know that I need to study for the exam I have tomorrow, but I figure I can do that later since she won’t be in here that long. As much as I want to spend all night with her in my bed, that will raise suspicion.

Stupid rules.

“We’re about to watch TV,” I say to them, but Jace waves me off.

“Who?” he asks.

“Me and Baylor.”

“But there isn’t anything going on,” Markus adds, and I glare. Picking up the closest thing to me, which is a pillow, I throw it at him. But like a ninja, he dodges it and continues to play.

Asshole.

“Don’t care, we are playing intense hockey here,” he says as he shoots in the game, scoring on Markus’s goalie. “Booyah! In your face.”

I smile at that, remembering when Baylor said that to me. But then I remember that I need these two idiots gone. “No, really, I’m not going to fight for volume here.”

“Fine,” he says before hitting mute and looking back at me. “It isn’t like you two need privacy or anything.”

His eyes challenge me to admit that there is something going on, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of winning over me. Flipping him off, I go to say something very colorful and probably illegal in some states, but then I notice Baylor in the doorway.

“Hey,” I say, sitting up, and she smiles. She’s wearing a tank and her Arkansas sweat pants. Her hair is in a bun high on top of her head, no makeup but her trusty lipstick on her beautiful mouth. I want to smear it so badly with all the passion in my soul, but there is no way in hell I’m gonna be able to do that with Tweedledee and Tweedledum in the room.

“Hey,” she says to me, but then she looks at the TV, her eyes lighting up. “I could so kick y’all’s asses at that,” she says before walking past them.

“Bring it then, Moore,” Jace challenges.

“Yeah, you talk a lot, but I bet you can’t back it up. We are champions around here,” Markus informs her, and I scoff.

“Excuse me? I won that championship,” I correct him, and he laughs.

“I let you win, for fear of my life,” he says, and that has us all laughing.

“Whatever,” I say, but I can see it in her eyes, she wants to play. When she looks back at me, biting her lip, I smile as I shrug. Giving her the option. If she wants to play, we can, but I’d rather lie down together.

“No, I already have plans, but I got you,” she says before jumping on the trampoline and landing beside me in perfect form.

Impressed, I grin. “Can I say that just turned me on?”

She giggles. “What? Jumping on the bed?”

“Gag,” Jace groans.

“But nothing is going on, remember,” Markus reminds him, and Jace laughs.

“So full of shit,” is his opinion, and I glare at the backs of their heads before glancing back at her.

“Yeah, I’ve watched a lot of girls climb in this bed, but not one jumped.”

Her grin drops then as Jace says, “That’s exactly what to tell a girl when you want to do her.”

“No wonder nothing is going on. Your brother has no game,” Markus says, and Baylor sputters with laughter.

“Get out!” I yell, but they don’t move.

“Sorry, we’re busy,” Jace says, waving me off, and I let out an annoyed breath. Now I know how Jude felt when he wanted to get busy with Claire and I wouldn’t leave the room.