What Are The Odds?: A college hockey romance. (Phil-U Book 1)

Levi

I rested my hand on Grace’s leg. Will’s family had joined us for dinner. The moment she’d seen another familiar face, Grace had relaxed. She was probably feeling out of depth here. The afternoon had gone well, I think. Mum and dad had kept the questions above board, barely venturing into unchartered territory. My parents were wonderful. I knew that. But they were my parents. They’d always have my best interests at heart. If there was something that bothered them, I knew they’d call it out.

“Do you have any siblings, Grace?” Will’s mum questioned.

I felt for Grace. All questions had been directed at her today. Whenever I tried to steer the conversation away, it came straight back.

“Two older brothers.”

This time it was Will’s dad. “And what do they do?”

“They run an aquatics business. Seth is a diving instructor and Dylan teaches surfing lessons.”

“Will you work for them when you’re back?” Will’s mum again.

I was kind of glad she’d asked that question. I was keen to hear Grace’s answer. She never spoke about what happened after graduation.

Grace shrugged. “We’ve spoken about adding swimming lessons to the mix. But nothing is set in stone.”

I could work with nothing is set in stone.

It was my dad’s turn now. “And what about your parents?”

Fuck. I mentally chastised myself. I hadn’t given my parents a head’s up. Grace’s eyes momentarily widened, as if she was surprised by the question too.

“My parents passed away when I was sixteen.”

“Oh, Grace,” Mum said soothingly, in the same voice that’d coaxed me through sicknesses and hockey losses. “I’m so sorry. That must have been tough.”

Grace smiled politely, though it wasn’t the full smile I’d come to learn and love.

“It was. But I got through it.”

Mum craned her head. “How?”

That was a bit too personal. I subtly shot her a warning shake of my head. She shrugged, feigning innocence.

“My brothers and I have always been close. And my boyfriend at the time and his parents were amazing.”

Grace shot me an apologetic smile. Fucking Luke and his nice family.

“Do you live with your brothers?” Lana pressed.

Grace nodded. “They became my legal guardians until I turned eighteen.”

“Are they hot?”

“Lana,” I groaned, exhaling exasperatedly.

“It must have been hard leaving them to come here,” mum said.

Dad nodded in agreement. “I’ll bet you’re looking forward to seeing them.”

“Definitely,” Grace answered. “I miss home a lot.”

Dad shot me a look over the top of his wine glass. I purposely avoided his gaze.

“Why Phil-U?” Will’s mum asked.

“It’s where my parents met,” Grace explained. “On mum’s exchange year. Dad was from Philadelphia.”

“How wonderful,” Mum said. “Though I hope you don’t plan on stealing Levi back to Australia, too. That’s way too far for me to live from him.”

And there it was. The first small dig.

“Not possible,” dad chimed in. “Levi’s future is here. With the Colorado Eagles.”

Second dig.

“What’s everyone having?” Will asked, shutting that down stat.

Thank fuck. I owed him. Now the attention was off her, Grace picked up her water and took a long sip. Beneath the table I squeezed her leg. She’d handled that well. I hoped talking about her parents and home hadn’t upset her too much.

Lana stood, dropping her napkin on the table. “I need the bathroom. Come with me, Grace?”

Grace’s leg slipped from beneath my hand as she slid back in her seat. I watched her follow Lana to the bathroom, kind of envious I hadn’t used that excuse myself. I couldn’t wait to be alone with her. Sharing her with my friends was one thing, but sharing her with my family was another. We were together, but we weren’t. I was craving unfiltered Grace and Levi time. Lana was already team Grace. She’d hung around us non-stop this afternoon, and had tried to sit beside Grace at dinner tonight. Not on my watch.

“Levi? Will?”

Will and I both tensed. Serena, the queen of our high school, sauntered over. She was dressed in a fitted, knit dress and knee-high-boots that gave her more height than my hockey skates. She walked with the same confidence she had in high school. Serena and I had lost our virginities to each other, and we’d lapsed plenty of times since then. One of them being last Christmas when I was home. Someone had thrown a party with the old high school group while we were all in town. I hadn’t given Grace the head’s up about Serena because I hadn’t thought we’d run into her. I had no intention of going to whatever party was being thrown this time.

“The dynamic duo is back,” Serena squealed.

After sharing a look, Will and I reluctantly got up. We weren’t rude savages and going to pretend she didn’t exist, as much as I wish I could. Mine and Serena’s hug was awkward and stiff. She held on a little while too long.

“You’ve beefed up,” she said, resting her manicured hand on my chest.

It made me shiver, for all the wrong reasons.

“Are you both coming to AJ’s Friday night?”

Her eager eyes moved between us.

“We weren’t planning on it,” I answered.

“Why not?” Serena pouted. “Everyone will be there.”

“You should go,” dad chimed in. “All your old hockey buddies will be there. I’ll bet they want to celebrate the Eagles with you.”

Fucking relentless.

“I’ll text you the details, Levi,” Serena said.

“No need. I have AJ’s number.”

I doubt that would stop her.

“Enjoy your dinner, Serena,” Will said, turning his back on her and retaking his seat.

I followed his lead. I didn’t want her lingering when Grace and Lana came back. The rest of dinner was uneventful. Much to Will’s dad’s despise, we spoke a lot about Phil-U’s season, going over our past games in detail and what to expect after the break. Grace was having a hard time keeping up with the hockey jargon, but I’d rather that than the focus centring on her any longer. I continually moved my hand on her leg, rubbing my thumb back and forth. As the courses went on, I inched it higher and higher until I was able to slip it beneath the winter skirt she was wearing. Her breath hitched. We were now two-hours in, and I was counting down the seconds until I could get her out of here. When the waitress came to announce the restaurant was closing and we could move to the bar, I dove on the opportunity and stole Grace away. Much to my parent’s disappointment. I’m surprised they hadn’t cottoned onto my intentions when I suggested we take separate cars. It was a short drive back home. Grace was quiet for most of it, watching the landscape as I sped along the freeway. I parked in the underground garage alongside the other vehicles. There were more cars than there were people. It was ridiculous. The moment Grace closed her car door, I had her pinned against it. Her breath caught in her throat when I slammed my lips over hers.

“I want you so fucking badly,” I growled, pressing my groin against her to prove how much.

She whimpered, the sound setting my skin on fire.

“Tell me what you want,” I whispered. “Otherwise I’ll be greedy and take you against the car right now.”

“I’m okay with that.”

As much as I liked the sound of that, it was too risky. If Lana didn’t come through with the text, we’d be sprung before we’d even had a chance to find our clothes. Though now I knew Grace didn’t mind the idea of having sex on the hood of the car, I made note to investigate how I could make that happen once we were home.

“Remember that video I showed you of me surfing?” she asked.

I slowed my onslaught of kisses across her throat.

“Yeah?”

“Well, I brought it.”

“The bikini?”

Grace swallowed, then nodded. That settled it. I grabbed her hand and all but dragged her inside and up the stairs. She kept doing little jogs to keep up. We had an hour. Tops. I wasn’t going to waste time ticking off one of her fantasies. Her bag was where I’d left it in my room. While she went to it, I rummaged through my wardrobe for a pair of shorts. I had my sneakers, jeans, hoodie and flannel off in record time.

“Do you remember how to find the pool?” I checked.

Grace nodded.

“Meet me there. And don’t take too long.”

I had to detour past the laundry to grab some towels. While I was on my way, I also swiped some cold water from the kitchen. I expect we were going to be thirsty soon. The familiar hum of the pool did nothing to extinguish the building pressure in me. I flicked on the night lights, the ones that looked like stars. Between them and the water, the room was basked in a dusky gloom. After setting my phone on loud waiting for Lana’s text, I dove in. I was hoping the water would work wonders and cool me the fuck down, otherwise I was going to be very quick on the trigger. When Grace strolled in, all my efforts were wasted. She was wearing the shit out of that bikini. As she walked to the edge of the pool, I caught sight of her ass. The bottoms were nothing more than a thong. It left practically nothing to the imagination. Given it was just the two of us, I was okay with that. Though I was vetoing her ever wearing it at a public beach again. Her dive was flawless, a lot more graceful than I’m sure mine had been. She swam below the surface before emerging right in front of me, the skin of our chests grazing against each other. I couldn’t wait a second longer. I swam us backwards until her back hit the edge of the pool, all the while moving my mouth over hers. Exploring. Tasting. Biting. Beneath the water I wrapped her legs around my waist, bringing our centres directly together. I pushed aside the lack of bikini bottoms and slipped two fingers inside.

“Oh my god,” she breathed.

She ground against my hand, her head falling back in pleasure. It wasn’t long before her moans became too much. I needed to be inside her. With my spare hand I edged down my shorts and boxers. Grace’s hooded eyes held mine, her tongue dancing over her lip. I removed my fingers then positioned myself at her centre.

“Tell me if it’s too much, okay?”

“Okay.”

I thrust into her so hard I almost saw stars. Water splashed around us as we moved in sync. It was hard and fast while we caught up on the past five days. We were fucking starving for each other. This was definitely the most primal I’d been with Grace. Though the noises she was making told me she was enjoying herself as much as I was. Her hair fanned out on the surface of the water. I grabbed it in my palm and brought her head forward to rest on my shoulder. I liked hearing her sweet sounds directly in my ear. She sunk her teeth into my shoulder. I dug my nails into her ass.

“You good, Hughesy?”

“So good,” she moaned.

She tightened her arms around me as she climbed higher. It caused her tits to peak out above the water. I pushed her bikini top to the side then pulled one nipple into my mouth. Her head rolled back, lips parting open. After another few pumps she lost control, her legs shaking as she cried out. I didn’t last much longer than her, my own end causing many expletives to leave my mouth. Grace always looked fucking hot after an orgasm, but she looked especially hot with wet hair and her bikini top messily pushed aside. She returned her head to my shoulder as we fought to control our breathing. I wasn’t sure how long it was before I finally broke the silence.

“So what’s next on your list?”

Chuckling, Grace kissed my forehead.

“Anything with you, Holloway.”