"Do you want to talk about it?" Jack asks, looking over his shoulder as he walks into the bathroom to brush his teeth. I already used his spare toothbrush to wash the taste of beer out of my mouth. It's kinda nice that he has his own bathroom. Peyton has her own too while Dylan and Coop share one.

I've only heard them complain about it a dozen times.

"Not really," I answer, pulling my knees up to my chest as I lean against his headboard.

"You barely said more than five words all night," He points out and I shrug indifferently. What am I supposed to say? 'Hey, sorry I didn't leave the rink when you told me to so I got distracted kissing you and then I got caught by my dad?'

I look at his wall which has pictures of Jack and his mom but there's also just as many pictures of him with his teammates. Hockey is everything to him just like my dad said.

Did I ever really love skating if I was able to walk away from it so easily for a boy I thought loved me? I know I was good at it, but did I love it?

That's the question I've been asking myself all day.

I'm not saying it was an easy choice to make. I was so far in over my head with Grady. At one point I believed him that I deserved to be hit for making him mad. I would have done anything to make him happy.

"Al, I would never force you to talk about it with me, but it might make you feel better." He says, reemerging to sit next to me on the bed.

"I don't know what there is to even talk about. Don't you know I'm a distraction for you?" I reply sarcastically and Jack frowns, marring his handsome features. I remember when I judged him at Twin City for being too pretty, assuming he'd never had to work for anything in his life.

I don't think I've met anyone who works harder for what they want than Jack.

"You and I both know that's not true."

I rest my head on my knee, looking at him from a sideways angle. "Do we? What was your performance like in that game before Halloween when we weren't talking?"

He gives me a flat look, "I'm allowed to have a bad game without it being your fault. I'm only one person, I don't dictate whether the team is going to win or lose."

"No, but you're the captain of the team. You play a pretty big role whether you like it or not."

"You're right, I am the captain, and your dad is my coach whether we like it or not. I can't change that, but I'm not going to let it affect our friendship. Church and state remember?" Jack says, brushing a knuckle over my cheek.

I shut my eyes tightly, feeling the tenderness of his action stab me straight through the heart. "You didn't see how disappointed in me he was. He told me that I would understand why he's asking me to leave you alone if I ever loved something as much as you love hockey."

"Shit Al, you have to know that your dad is fucking wrong about that. I've been skating with you so many times lately, and it's so easy to see how much you love it."

"What if he's right? I quit skating so quickly. If I could do that, does that mean I really ever loved it?"

"He's not right. Coach doesn't know what happened during your relationship with Grady. He doesn't know that you made that decision to protect yourself. And he certainly doesn't know that you were fucking strong enough to leave him because I know how hard that decision can be."

I feel a tear slip down my cheek because that was kind of exactly what I needed to hear. "Thanks," I say softly, lifting my head to wipe my cheek with the back of my hand.

"I'm sorry that he caught you at the rink this morning," He says softly, leaning back to sit like me.

"It was my own fault. I should have been more careful with the time. If I'm being honest, I don't really want to talk about this anymore because it's depressing as shit." I let out a short chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. As shitty as everything was this morning with my dad being an ass, I've been looking forward to spending time alone with just Jack.

Jack rests his hand on top of mine, fanning that little spark of hope that I'm trying to prevent from turning into a flame. "Anything you do want to talk about?"

"I say we talk about your game plan for tomorrow night?"

"You really want to talk about hockey right now?" He asks, his eyebrows raised skeptically. Jack knows me scarily well by this point.

I smile at him, "Not really." I get up, bringing my leg over his waist to straddle him before pressing my lips against his. "We really don't have to talk at all if that's alright with you?"

Jack reciprocates quickly as I bunch the fabric of his shirt in my fists. "I think I like how you think."

For as complicated as everything else fucking is in my life, moments like this are nice.

He lifts his hand, unclipping my hair so it falls down my back. He wasn't kidding earlier when he said he preferred it down. Well I prefer him shirtless but Jack's still wearing his. I slide my hand under his shirt, dragging my hands over his strong core, enjoying the feel of Jack's muscles beneath my fingertips. He groans at the touch, biting down softly on my lower lip.

It continues on like this for longer than I can keep track of. Jack loses his shirt and I pull my own off at some point. Honestly I feel like I could kiss him forever. Well not forever, but for the foreseeable future. If kissing him feels this great, then I wonder—

Then suddenly as if he can hear the thoughts in my head, Jack pulls back, twisting the ends of my hair through his fingers. "We're not having sex tonight," He says decidedly.

"Well why not?" I pout, looking down at the tent in his shorts that is clearly telling a different story.

Jack tilts my head back up to look at his face. "Because you were just upset about your dad thirty minutes ago or however long it was. I care too much about you to have sex or do anything other than kiss you while you're upset. Darling, I promise you it is killing me to say no to you right now, but not tonight."

"Jack, I'm fine." I insist and he shakes his head at me.

"Even if you are, trust me, I want the feeling of how fucking great it will be as I'm sliding into you over and over to be the only thing you're focused on when we are having sex. Not whatever your dad said to you this morning or whatever that piece of shit did to you before. I want to have your sole attention."

My mouth falls slightly open as Jack smirks knowingly at me. A few things: one, that was hot as fuck. Two, Jack is a really great guy. Three, I really want to have sex with him. I nod quickly, feeling almost like a bobblehead, "Okay."

"Just okay? You're not going to fight me on it?" He teases, and I slide off of him, not really trusting myself not to jump him at this point.

I chew on my lip, "Nope. It's bedtime. Goodnight."

I curl up under the covers, pulling them over my shoulders as I try to quell the wild thrum of desire coursing through my body. Jack laughs, flipping off his light to lay down next to me.

"Goodnight Alondra."

"Don't say my name like that," I reply, nudging him with my foot.

"Like what Alondra?"

This time he takes special note to drawl out my name in his stupid sexy southern drawl. I grumble under my breath as he wraps an arm around me, his chest shaking with silent laughter against my back.

*********

I decided I didn't give a flying fuck what my dad said. He can't ban me from the skating rink for being friends with one of his players. Jack reminded me this morning that I'm his good luck charm and I'm required to be in attendance of as many games as possible.

So here I am.

I wish I could deny it, but he's playing like someone's lit a fire under his ass. We just started the third quarter and Jack's scored two of the four goals. Coop's definitely worked on his blocking to the right side and hasn't let anything past him.

The energy in the building is unmatchable.

My dad hasn't spotted me yet and quite frankly, I don't care if he does. Pritchett is bundled up next to me along with Ruby. I'm not sure where Peyton is, but I don't think she's here.

There's a burst of excitement when Jack gets a breakaway with the puck, sending a sick wrist flick into the net, just under the goalie's mitt. I jump to my feet, cheering loudly along with the rest of the crowd.

He scans his eyes through the wave of people, but I catch the smile on his face when he spots me before his team is surrounding him.

Ruby nudges my shoulder and I'm still smiling when I turn to her. "Dylan told me what happened with your dad. You okay?"

I open my mouth to respond, but Pritchett beats me to it. "What happened with your dad?"

"I uh... he caught me at the skating rink yesterday with Jack. Saying he wasn't happy would be the understatement of the year, but I'm fine."

Ruby rubs my shoulder reassuringly, "I'm sorry. Let me know if you need anything."

Pritchett is stunned for a moment and I can see the hurt in her eyes that I didn't tell her before now. I honestly just haven't seen her since it happened until now. I was going to tell her later. How was I supposed to know that Ruby was going to bring it up?

It's not like it was something I could just send in a text.

Maybe I haven't been spending as much time with Pritchett as I should, but we both have different things going on in our lives. I'm not intentionally cutting her out or not telling her things again like when I was with Grady. Well I didn't tell her about skating again, but that's different.

Ruby goes to the bathroom at some point and I loop my arm with Pritchett's. "Wanna have a movie night tonight?" I ask, laying my head on her shoulder.

"Thought you were staying at Jack's again." There's a coldness to her voice that isn't ever there.

"I'll just say bye after the game and that I'll see him another time. You're my best friend; I love you and I miss you."

"I miss you too."

"I'm sorry for not telling you about what happened with my dad. I was going to, there just hasn't been a good time yet." I say apologetically and she bumps me with her hip.

"It's okay. I get it. A movie night sounds perfect."

The game finishes not too long after and I cannot believe I'm standing in the freezing cold waiting to talk to Jack and let him know the change of plans for tonight.

His face lights up when he sees me and I immediately smile as Jack walks towards me. There's pure confidence in his gait and in addition to the suit he's wearing, it causes my heart to flip flop. Before I can say anything, he's pulling me into his arms and I laugh at his forwardness.

"Congratulations Jack," I say and he only squeezes me tighter.

"Al, you have no idea what seeing you in my jersey does to me." His voice is low and rumbling, sending shockwaves through me. "It's taking everything in me to not kiss you in front of everybody. I don't think I fucking care."

I'm slowly set back on my feet and I lean up, pressing my lips against his cheek. To anyone else, I'm sure it looks innocent. Like Jack said, I don't fucking care. People are going to believe what they want. I keep my voice quiet so no one else hears, "Sorry, but we're not having sex tonight."

I wink playfully at him and he shakes his head, laughing in disbelief. "Okay," He agrees. Jack runs a hand through his hair, messing it up further. My mouth waters at the sight and I tear my attention somewhere else.

"Just okay? You're not going to fight me on it?" I tease, repeating his words and Jack smirks.

"Don't worry. My hand and I are pretty comfortable together so I'll just have to deal for tonight," Jack says and my jaw drops as my cheeks erupt into flames.

I shove his shoulder as Jack laughs deeply and Coop wanders over to where we are. "What are you two laughing about?"

I scrunch my nose up as Jack moves to wrap an arm around my shoulder, "Just talking about biology."

"Really? Why is her face that red then?" He asks with a knowing smile and I shake my head.

"You really don't want to know the answer to that."

"Whatever, are you guys coming out tonight?" Coop asks and Jack looks at me, waiting for my answer.

"Sorry, I'm not coming. Pritchett and I are going to have a movie night instead." I smile apologetically, "I hope you guys have fun though. It was a great game."

Coop grins, "Yeah it was."

I lean into Jack, "You worked on your right side. It certainly helped you tonight. But unfortunately, I do have to get going. Pritchett's waiting for me."

"I'll be at the car in a second," Jack says to Coop and he walks off. Jack lowers his head to drop his own kiss to my cheek. "If it makes you feel better about leaving me with blue balls, I'll be thinking of you."

I cover my mouth with my hand to hide my smile. "Bye Jack."

"See you later, darling."

I walk back to Pritchett's car where she's waiting, giggling the entire time because he's just so...unapologetically himself.

Maybe some day I can be like that too.