Page 86 of Rookie Moves

“But what if I’m shit?”

Pressing my lips to his, I kiss him, slow and tender, but full of promise. When I pull away, I hold his chin with my thumbs, keeping his gaze locked on me.

“You won’t be, because you were fucking incredible the other night, and that kind of talent just doesn’t disappear like that.” I raise one hand to snap my fingers once. “But in the very highly unlikely situation that you are, then we’ll come back here, and I’ll suck your dick and tell you how hot you are.”

Tyler coughs out a laugh, causing me to grin.

“Is that right?” he asks, amusement dancing in his eyes.

“Yep, so how about it?” I trace my finger along his bottom lip. “We can go, and if you decide once we get there that you don’t want to do it, then that’s okay. We can just hang out for a couple of hours, watch a few people perform, then we’ll come back here, and I’ll still suck your dick and tell you how hot you are.”

Raising his hands, he cups my face and slides his mouth onto mine. My eyes instantly fall closed, and I let out a low, mewling sound as his tongue licks into my mouth.

“You really want me to do this?” he murmurs against my lips.

“Yes, I do,” I confess. “I want you to discover what makes you burn for life, Ty. I want you to see that anything is possible if you allow yourself to put your happiness first.”

Lifting his head a fraction, his eyes search mine, deep and imploring. Our lips brush as we breathe in the same air.

I’m silently begging him to take a chance on himself. To allow himself to have a taste of something that could be his future if he put his needs first.

To take the risk and know I’ll be there for him, no matter what.

“Will you come with me?” he asks in a whisper.

“Of course,” I reply without hesitation. “Always.”

He kisses me once more, then tips his head back until it hits the door behind him and groans at the ceiling. “What if I get stage fright?”

“Did you use to get that in school?”

“No, but I was also a teenager and a cocky shit.” His gaze returns to me again, and he gives me a lopsided smirk. “There weren’t many things I was afraid of or thought I couldn’t do.”

Grabbing his hand, I drag Tyler over to my bed and push him down onto the mattress. He gets the memo and kicks off his sneakers when I remove his hat and toss it onto my desk.

With my hands on his shoulders, I push him to lie back and straddle his hips.

“You know what I’m afraid of?” I say, placing my hands either side of his head as his hands move to roam up my sides.

“What’s that?”

“That I’m going to be disappointed or hurt by everything I’ve wanted in life. That I’ll get drafted and play in the NHL and find out it isn’t as amazing as I hoped it would be.”

“That’s not going to happen,” he counters.

“It might, but at least I’ll be able to say I tried.” I look down at him with pleading eyes. “It kills me to know you’re going to be unhappy when you’re back in Arizona. It doesn’t have to be like this.”

His expression softens, and his tongue darts out to wet his lips before quietly saying, “Are you talking about working for my dad or about us?”

My heart leaps into my throat, and I suck in a sharp breath.

This is it.

This is the moment I need to tell him how I feel.

“Both,” I whisper, curling my fingers around his traps, tightening my hold on him. “I don’t want it to be the end of us when you graduate, Ty. I don’t know how it’ll work or where I’ll be, but all I know is I don’t want to let you go.”

His pulse flickers wildly in his neck as he swallows roughly. He curves his hand around the back of my head and tugs me down until our noses are touching.