“Um yeah, you better not be with anyone else and think you’re gonna be with me,” she snaps back at me, her brows coming together. There is a flash of intense jealousy that gives me chills. She likes me a lot. She’s just fighting it.

Laughing, I grin over at her. “Wasn’t even a thought, just making sure on your part.”

“I’m good. Believe that,” she states very firmly. “I’m with you, but we can’t be all lovey-dovey and shit. Not that I would be. I mean, it’s me.”

“Yeah,” I agree with a nod, a smirk on my face. “Would be nice though.”

“Sorry, not gonna happen,” she laughs with a shrug. “I don’t even know how to be with someone.”

“Really? You haven’t dated anyone?”

“No, usually it’s just sex. I never had time for it, and no one really made me want to date them. And then Seth came along. But even when I was with him, it was sex, which consisted of him getting off while I just lay there. I came for the first time, like ever, with you.”

Yeah, that makes me a little too happy. Puffing my chest out, I say, “Of course you did, it’s me.” Laughing, she leans into me, and I smile as I say, “You should laugh more.”

Looking over at me, she shrugs. “I find I do it a lot more with you than usual.”

“Again, it’s me,” I say with a grin, and she rolls her eyes, laughing some more as the house comes into view.

On the subject of dickfuck, I ask, “You loved him, though?”

That makes her stop laughing before she nods. “I think it was that stupid puppy love shit. I admired his game, he was older than me, and he was going places.”

“Oh, okay,” I say, and I really don’t like the guy, not that I liked him before.

“Yeah, he needed my dad for the recommendation to his contacts, so the closest thing to my dad was me.”

Stopping in place, I halt her by reaching for her wrist. She looks back at me, confused, and I suck in a breath. “I would never do that.”

“I know.”

“But,” I say, and her eyes narrow as she watches me. “When we started camp, your dad asked me to keep an eye out for you. I was already doing it though, but he promised that as long as you are good, that he’ll look out for me in the draft.”

She holds my gaze for a moment, and I can see the gears turning in her head. Finally, she waves me off. “That’s different.”

Letting out the breath I was holding, we begin walking again. “Totally expected you to use that as an excuse to blow me off.”

She scoffs as she shakes her head. “I’m in it to win it, Jayden. I’m going to do this, and I’m going to try to open up and be me. I am.”

“Good, that’s what I want.”

“But it won’t be easy. I’m kinda prickly.”

“Just a tad,” I tease, and she smacks my arm, not in the playful matter either.

Turning to me then, she says, “I just want you to know that it really does mean a lot to me that you wanted to look out for me when I was such a bitch to you.”

Grinning, I reach out to hold her hand, but then I remember that someone could see us, so I tuck it back in my jeans. Yeah, this is going to be hard. I want to touch her. Like all the time, and to be restrained on that is going to suck balls.

Royally.

“I knew the day I saw you on the beach that you were different, and that I would do anything to make sure you’re safe. I was going to do it no matter what, but he offered to help me out and Jace, so I took it.”

“I don’t blame you,” she says softly. “Jace too?”

“Yeah,” I say with a shrug. “I gotta look out for his little pansy-ass.”

“You look out for everyone.”

I nod. “Because I love them.”

Eyeing me, she says, “Whoa, you aren’t professing love for me, are you?”

I laugh as I shake my head, hoping to God I play it off. “Not yet.”

“Oh, good. I don’t know how I would handle that,” she says, but then she snaps her mouth shut. She looks at me and I grin as she makes a face. “I probably should have said something else, eh?”

Holding her gaze, I love that she said that. It’s the truth, she isn’t holding back, and that’s all I can ask for. “No, say what you feel, Baylor.”

Letting out a breath in a whoosh, she grins. “Okay, I can do that.”

“Awesome.”

She smiles shyly as she shrugs. “Yeah, most guys run from me. I don’t think I’m socially normal.”

“I’m not most guys,” I answer back, and she nods. “I think you’re fucking perfect.”

Blushing, she rocks back on her heels as she meets me gaze, shy and completely unsure of herself. It’s so beautiful to see. On the ice, she knows who she is. Off, she’s so uncertain, which blows my mind. When she lets go, she’s amazing, but most of the time she walks around wound so tight. I just need her to let go.

Biting into her lip, she asks, “I’m supposed to say thank you, right?”

“It’d be nice, but I know you, you want to deflect it.”

“’Cause it’s so weird!” she laughs and I shake my head. “I’m not perfect. I’m far from it.”

“But in my eyes, you are,” I say softly as her laughter subsides. I hold her beautiful gaze and love burns in my chest for her. She’s so perfectly not perfect. A beautiful fucking mess and she’s all mine. But I can’t say that. “To me, man, Bay, you have no clue.”

Heat creeps up her neck as she looks away, toeing the ground with her foot. “I don’t let anyone but my dad call me Bay.”

“Oh. My bad,” I say with a shrug. “Do you want me to stop?”

Looking up at me, she slowly shakes her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Then I won’t,” I answer back, my eyes burning into hers. I want to touch her so bad. Just a small caress, anything. Man, I’m dying here and it’s only been twenty minutes! “This not touching you shit is wack.”

Grinning up at me, she says, “Wonder how long it will last?”

“We could just say fuck it and do what we want?”

She shakes her head. “My dad would flip, and plus, I don’t want that getting in the way on the ice.”