Page 67 of Rival Season
“I’m glad you think so,” he says with a slight smirk, easing his face even closer to mine.
His oaky scent wraps around me, comforting me in a way I didn’t know a scent could. I don’t want to wait a moment longer, so I close the distance, pressing my lips to his.
Penn’s hand comes to rest against my cheek, his thumb tracing the line of my jaw. He tilts his head, kissing me slowly…sweetly. This is unlike our frenzied kiss during his party. This time he kisses me like he’s savoring it. Something about the tenderness feels even more real than last time.
Penn pulls away slowly, pressing one more soft kiss to my lips. “I could kiss you all day.” He smiles. “But the sun is setting, and I want to get you home before it gets dark.”
Straightening, I glance up at the sky. The hues of pink and orange swirl together in a glorious sunset.
We finish eating in comfortable silence, then pack up the remnants of our dinner and begin our short walk back to Penn’s pickup.
When he opens my door and I scoot inside the truck, he turns to me. “Oh, I meant to ask…are you coming to my game Wednesday?”
His question takes me by surprise because it’s part of our deal that I attend his home games, and I have to wonder if he’s asking because this relationship is starting to feel all too real.
I huff an awkward laugh. “Yes, of course. It’s in our Revenge Rules.”
A momentary look of hurt crosses his face before he disguises it with a chuckle. I wonder if I said the wrong thing and regret the words. I should’ve just told him I’d love to come, rather than reminding him I’m obligated to as per our agreement, becausewhile the lines between real and fake are becoming blurrier each day, there’s no denying that Penn is a good man who treats everyone around him well—no matter what my mother and Chadwick have to say about him. He was so thoughtful with the picnic and the gift, making me feel truly adored and cared for.
I need to think of some way to do something for him, too. Something that’s meaningful and just from me, unlike the birthday party I helped with.
“Oh, right. I forgot,” Penn says, his expression so casual I start to wonder if I imagined the look of hurt on his face a second ago. Or worse, if I was projecting my own growing feelings onto him, in hopes he might be feeling the same.
I shake away the thought and smile at him. “Remember, Penn, rules make everything more fun,” I tease, trying to match his nonchalance so he doesn’t guess what’s running through my mind with one look at me.
Our rules also state that we were going to do this for only six weeks, and now that the deadline is looming faster than I expected, I realize a huge part of me doesn’t want this to end.
Penn smiles. “Some rules are made to be broken, Bubbles,” he says, before he kisses me again, making me wonder if we could ever break the rest of our rules and just be together for real—or if that’s something that will forever live only in my imagination.
CHAPTER 25
PENN
“Dude,are you even listening to me?”
I look up from where I’m sitting and lacing my skates on the bench to see Fisher towering over me and frowning. He’s already fully geared up for our game, ready to hit the ice for warmies.
Meanwhile, I’m so distracted, I’m still half-dressed and had no idea he was even standing there, never mind saying something to me.
“Didn’t hear a word you said,” I admit as I bend back down to knot my laces.
Fisher’s expression morphs from annoyed to annoyingly smirky. “Daydreaming about why you missed ninety percent of your party the other night, Matthews?”
All damn day, every day since, actually. Thanks for asking.
“Just getting mentally prepared for our game,” I say.
“Yeah, right.” Fisher chuckles. “Your body might be here in this locker room, but your mind is one thousand percent locked in your bedroom with Hazel.”
“Speaking of Hazel.” Noah, who’s sitting nearby—also fully dressed and ready, of course—looks up from his phone. “Ally just texted me. She and Hazel are in their seats already.” He waggleshis eyebrows at me. “That’s the second home game in a row your girl has come to. I’m impressed.”
“You saying Hazel loves me more than Ally loves you?” I raise a taunting brow.
“Impossible,” Noah replies dismissively, not taking the bait. “What I’m saying is things must be getting serious between you guys if she’s coming to all your games…”
Because shehasto, as per our rules—which she made sure to remind me of last time we hung out.
I shove away the sour thought and paste on a smirk. “Don’t read too much into it. I like her. We’re having fun together,” I tell Noah.
