The following weekend, the team walks away with back-to-back home game wins.
We hope to keep it going, but if I don’t start acing some tests soon, they’re going to have to do it without me. No pressure or anything.
As I wait anxiously in my seat next to Kole in the library and watch him go over the answers of the mock test he gave me, I bite my lip and picture what my life will look like without hockey or what my job prospects will be without a college degree.
Maybe I should learn the phrase “Would you like fries with that?”
Not that there’s anything wrong with food service jobs, but could I imagine myself being pleasant enough to live off tips? Hell fucking no. I’m pretty sure my face would speak for itself. Underpaid, overworked asshole at your service.
Kole smiles at me. I can’t tell if it’s a “Oh, you’re so fucked, lucky you’re pretty” type smile or a genuine one.
“You got them all right.”
I blink at him. “I what?”
He turns the paper toward me. All that’s there is red check marks next to each question.
“I did it?”
“You did it. You know the material, Asher. There’s no reason you can’t get at least a C if not higher.”
Relief surges through me. Hey, it’s only one subject, but it’s one less I’ll have to worry about.
“Fuck, thank you. Thank you so much.” Without thinking, I lean forward and press my lips to his.
Then I remember that, one, when my mouth is on Kole’s, I lose all sense of my surroundings, and two, I can never just give him a small, chaste peck.
I cup his face and tease his lips with my tongue. He opens for me but only for a couple of seconds before he pulls back. His gaze darts around the room, and I realize I’ve messed up. This thing between us isn’t public, and even though there’s only a couple of people in here, if someone saw who knew someone who could tell one of the team—or his dad …
I pull back, and a feeling of never measuring up to him sits heavy in my chest. “Sorry. I got a bit carried away with finding out I’m a genius. Is this how you feel all the time?”
Kole laughs. “You should be invited to join Mensa.”
“What’s that?”
He snorts. “Never mind. Do you want me to give you another practice test? The more you use the formula, the easier it will be to remember it.”
“What happens if I get them all right again?”
His hazel eyes turn my way. “What were you thinking?”
I lean in and whisper, “Really awkward anal in the back of my car.”
“How enticing. However will I say no to that?”
My eyes narrow. “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”
“Definitely sarcastic. But we can totally do other things in your car.”
“Aren’t I getting that anyway for being such a good boy and studying hard?”
Kole licks his lips, and I’m two seconds away from offering to do that for him. “You’re right. Maybe I should start making the reward level higher. You have to get so many questions right without help before you get any reward.”
I pull back. “What? No, that’s not what I said. At all.”
“Don’t worry. I have faith you can do it.”
“Because I’m Mensa smart?” Still don’t know what Mensa is, but whatever.
“Nope.” Kole leans in this time. “Because my mouth is worth it.”
“So true,” I murmur.
He slaps my shoulder. “Good. Then that’s settled. You need at least eighty percent on this quiz before you get sex.” He starts scribbling down some questions.
I’m starting to forget what I see in him, but there’s no doubt Kole Hogan has some weird hold over me because I’ll do anything to have his mouth on me again. Even use my brain to think all the things with the smart stuff. So much brainage. Braining?
I don’t distract him as he writes out the questions. I’m just content to sit and watch the side of his face as he concentrates.
Kole passes me the new quiz, and I get to work. The sooner I can get these questions answered, the sooner I can touch him. Ah, I mean, the sooner his mouth will be wrapped around my dick. Obviously. That’s what I want.
While I focus on the questions, making sure I don’t rush it too much and miss important information that will change the whole outcome, someone approaches the table.
At first I don’t pay them attention because I assume it’s someone to talk to Kole—Katey probably—but then the sound that comes out of them makes me tense. It’s deep and masculine, and the words?
“Hey, Kole, I texted you. Did you get it?”
My pen freezes on the page, but I refuse to look up. I’m not interested at all in the guy asking Kole to text him back.