Sidelined Love: A Hockey Romance (The Crestwood University Series Book 1)

The next morning, I can feel myself slowly drifting back to consciousness, but I’m not sure I want to. Right now, the thought of getting up and diving into whatever the day is going to bring feels like too much.

It’s still dark outside or that’s what the lack of sunlight behind my eyelids is telling me. As I shift my body slightly, I feel an ache from muscles I didn’t know I had. And I can’t help but notice the hard warm body that I’m currently curled up against.

The immediate question is where the hell am I?

It takes me a second to remember the night before.

Levi and I having dinner at his place, which sounded suspiciously like a date.

The evening ending in his bedroom.

Me being so exhausted from sex that I’m positive I passed out almost immediately.

I had sex with Levi Jamison, and it was magical.

That thought makes me open my eyes and I’m greeted by what I thought I would be: almost complete darkness. The peace that surrounds me is lovely, but I know it can’t last forever.

The sliver of light coming in through the window casts a dull glow around the room. I let my eyes adjust to the dimness, taking in the sight of Levi’s peaceful face. His features are softened by sleep, and I find myself tracing my fingers lightly over his chest. The realization that I’m in his bed, wrapped up in his arms, makes me question everything.

His chest rises and falls slowly as my fingers draw imaginary designs over his pecs. The sheets are cool against my bare skin and tangled around our legs as if we’d been rolling around in them all night. Which is exactly what we did until we both passed out.

My hand starts to move lower and lower before my fingers are playing with the edge of the sheet where it rests on his waist. He’s none the wiser, remaining asleep under my caresses.

I move my hand lower until it brushes over his cock and I can’t help but smile. An idea pops into my mind as soon as I decide that I want more. After all, he did tell me if I needed more sex at any time, I could go as far as to wake him up. There’s no time like the present.

My hand slips under the sheet and finds his dick already hard and ready for me. I pull the covers over my head and slowly wiggle my body, releasing myself from the hold he has me under. I pause for a second, happy that both of us decided clothes weren’t necessary because it only makes my job that much easier.

I open my mouth and lick the tip before I wait to see if he acknowledges the sensation. When he doesn’t, I repeat the move before sucking on the tip gently. It only takes a few seconds before a groan escapes his lips as he stirs in his sleep. His hand comes down to my hair and pulls but not enough to hurt me. I shiver when he moans my name as if it’s the only word he knows. His hips jerk up on instinct, showing me that he’s seeking more.

And I’m willing to give it to him.

I move my lips, allowing me to take him deeper in my mouth. He tastes salty and so damn good. Knowing I’m the reason why he’s losing his mind only further encourages me.

“Fuck,” he whispers, and it takes everything in me not to laugh. So he does know another word.

I bob my head up and down, taking him in deeper each time. One of my hands holds his cock while my other plays with his balls. His hips start to buck against me, grinding him into my face. I feel his grip tighten on my hair, pulling me closer to him. He moans, and I swear it bounces off the walls. I take him down my throat and then back up slowly.

“Rook,” he pauses, and he takes in a shit ton of air. “You’re going to have to stop right now or⁠—”

His words die on his lips as I start moving faster. Adrenaline is driving me, and I won’t be happy until he comes. I look up at him and find him staring at me, watching my every move. Well, at least for a moment before he closes his eyes tightly and throws his head back on the pillow.

His hand further tangles itself in my hair and I can feel his fist just behind my ear. He looks down at me, but even in the dim light, I can see he’s struggling to focus on anything.

“I’m not going to last.” His words come out at three times speed. “I’m going to come into your mouth.”

I moan around his cock, letting him know I’m fine with that plan. The next sound that leaves his mouth, I can’t quite describe. It sounds like a mixture of him trying to speak a groan, and it happens just before his cock jerks in my mouth. He comes on my tongue and down my throat in a hot wave. I swallow every last bit of it, and when I’m done, I wipe my mouth.

“Good morning,” I say with a grin.

“Fuck. Good morning to you too.” There’s not a trace of sleep left in his body after the show I just put on. “What was that all about?”

“You told me to wake you up whenever I wanted sex. I woke up this morning wanting to give you a blow job. Is that okay?”

“Absolutely,” he says as he pulls me back down on his chest. We both end up chuckling before he rolls me over so he’s now on top and places a searing kiss on my lips. When our kiss breaks apart, he pulls me back into his chest. “That was mind-blowing.”

“Literally or figuratively?”

“Both.”

I chuckle at his response, and I have to agree with him. Even though I was on the giving end in this instance, seeing him come apart like that is something I won’t ever forget.

“What are you up to this weekend?”

His questions make me stop laughing as I think about what he said. “Jade and I are going to visit Oak Terrace tomorrow. We plan on seeing her grandmother, and I’m going to talk to the activities director to make sure we have everything set for the chess event. Why?”

“I was going to invite you to my hockey game again, despite knowing that chances are high you’re going to say no.”

I feel somewhat guilty that he already assumed what my answer is going to be. It’s not as if he’s wrong, but the comment still stings.

Before I can think of something to say, he speaks again. “Don’t you have to work a morning shift today?”

Those words make every nerve in my body stand at attention. My time spent here with Levi has thrown off my schedule completely although the fading darkness outside should have clued me in on what time it was.

I groan from the pain of it all. “I do. How did you know?”

Levi throws a smirk my way before he responds. “I saw you for the first time on a Friday. Figured it was your usual shift.”

The fact that he kept track of it is sweet. “What time is it?”Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

He manages to find his phone and says, “Almost five-fifteen.”

“Shit,” I say as I scramble out of bed, looking for my clothes.

Levi doesn’t move an inch. Instead, he chuckles from the bed, watching my frantic search.

“I’ll get you there on time,” he assures me as he turns on the lamp closest to where he’s lying. “How about you shower here while I fix you a quick breakfast, and then I’ll drive you back to your place so you can change? Then, if you want me to, I can drive you into work.”

I stop moving as if I’m frozen in place. There’s no way he said that, right?

“You’d do that? For me?” My voice cracks, and I hate how vulnerable it sounds. I’m so used to doing everything myself that I hadn’t even thought to ask him for help.

He props himself up on one elbow, his eyes meeting mine and they don’t waver. “Yeah, Hailey,” he says softly with a small smile. “I would.”

“I thought we were keeping things casual? No labels, right?”

He rolls his eyes at me, and I can read the annoyance loud and clear. “I can help you without being your boyfriend, Rook.”

He makes a good point. I’ve just never expected kindness from most people without strings attached.

“Fine. Thank you so much.”

Levi’s grin returns to his face. “Now get your pretty ass in the shower so we can head out in a bit.”

I don’t need to be told twice. I dash into the bathroom, and it takes me a moment to figure out how to turn on the hot water. I tie my hair into a messy bun and pray it stays where it is. Once again, being fully naked is a plus because it makes it that much easier to step into the shower.

As water cascades down my back, I take a moment to relax some of my achy muscles before I get to work on quickly washing up. Soon I’m scrubbing away sleep and any traces of what happened last night. While showering, I think about everything that has transpired over the last twenty-four hours and what might come next. But no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to find any answers.

I step out onto the bathroom mat and wrap the towel around my body. The mirror is fogged up, but I can still see the redness in my cheeks. I’m not sure if it’s because of the shower or because I’ve felt heated from the moment I stepped into Levi’s home.

By the time I emerge from the bathroom, Levi is nowhere to be found, but there are a pair of black sweatpants, t-shirt, and a hoodie next to my clothes that were neatly folded on the bed. Assuming they are for me to wear, I quickly put the clothes on, making sure to roll the waist down so the pants will somewhat fit me. When I walk out into the kitchen area, Levi has breakfast laid out on the counter. As I’m staring at the fried egg and avocado toast with a cup of water, I’m impressed. My stomach growls as I walk over.

“You cook breakfast too?” I ask with raised eyebrows as I slide onto a barstool.

He gives me an exaggerated bow from where he’s leaning against the counter. “I am a man of many talents,” he says with a smirk.

I roll my eyes and we both eat quickly because time is of the essence. Once we’re finished, I quickly pack my backpack with most of the clothes I wore yesterday. Levi grabs his keys and together we walk out of his apartment and to his SUV. He disengages the locks and opens the passenger door for me.

As I settle into the leather seat, Levi starts the engine and pulls out onto the road.

“FYI, I probably should have said something earlier, but I sometimes get nauseous when I’m in a car and I’m not driving.”

“Okay, I’ll take it easy then and won’t pretend I’m driving a Formula 1 car.”

The joke pulls a laugh from me and the rest of the ride back to my place is quiet, but it’s a comfortable silence. As I glance down at the clock, I’m slightly worried I’ll be late because it all depends on how quickly I can change my clothes and unpack and repack my bag.

When we pull up outside my apartment building, the sky is turning a soft shade of blue-pink as the sun is beginning to rise. Levi turns off the ignition and looks over at me.

“I’ll wait here,” he says as if reading my thoughts about asking him to come up. Having him come up will further complicate things in my mind given what he’s doing for me, so having this space is the right call. I could tell him that I can drive myself to work, but I don’t really want to because I have class about an hour after my shift and parking near the campus building I need to go to is a pain in the ass.

Instead, I nod before exiting the car. Once I’m inside my apartment, I move as fast as possible to finish the tasks I need to do while doing my best to not wake up Jade. I change my clothes, redo my bun, brush my teeth, and double-check that my name tag is in my bag.

As I head back downstairs and outside, the cool morning air finally feels wonderful against my face because I know that I should be able to get to work on time now. I don’t realize how fast I’m walking back to Levi’s SUV until I’m sitting in the passenger seat with my seat belt on and I’m kind of out of breath.

“Made it,” I say as Levi starts the SUV.

“Excellent. Let’s head out,” he says as he pulls away from the curb.

“I’m not looking forward to today. Having to deal with Marc.”

“Marc…” Levi’s voice trails off as if she’s trying to piece together who I’m talking about. “Isn’t he the guy that interrupted us the day we met?”

I nod. “Yes, that’s him. He’s my manager and is a pain in the ass. He makes my life a living hell at the coffee shop.”

Levi doesn’t say a word for a moment, then he says, “Something should be done about him.”

“What do you mean?” I can’t help but question.

“Don’t worry about it, Rook.”

“Why do you call me that anyway?”

“Because Queen didn’t flow as well.”

I roll my eyes. “Tell me the real reason.”

“It’s one of the most powerful pieces on the board and that’s how I view you and your strength.”

I have no words and thankfully we’re only a block away from Brewed Beginnings. We get there in record time, thanks to it being super early in the morning. He pulls up close to the entrance and throws the SUV into park.

“Thanks for the ride—and for breakfast,” I say as I unbuckle my seat belt. The words sound lame coming from my lips, but I’m not sure what else to say after his nickname explanation.

Levi turns to me and says, “Anytime.”

If this was a romance novel, this would be the moment where we lean into each other slowly and kiss over the console. But this isn’t a romance novel.

Instead, I pull back and grab my backpack. “See you later then,” I say with a small wave as I step out of the SUV.

“Yeah, later,” he says as I close the door behind me. I can feel his eyes on me as I walk toward Brewed Beginnings. I shove any thoughts of Levi into the furthest corner of my mind because if I don’t, there’s not a chance in hell I’ll be productive for the remainder of the day.