Seduced by the Game (6 page)

A grin came over his lips,
and she returned it before whispering, “Yes.”

* * * *

Karson wasn’t sure who
moved first but the next thing he knew, he was wrapped up in Lacey’s arms,
kissing her so hard that he couldn’t breathe. Not that he wanted to. All he
wanted was to kiss her for the rest of his life. As his mouth moved with hers,
he knew this was it for him, and he didn’t plan on ever letting her go.
Deepening the kiss, his tongue moved with hers in the most delicious way,
causing the passion in him to rise. Holding her close, he separated only an
inch to look deep into her eyes.

Into his heaven.

“As much as I don’t want
to let you go, I have to pay these guys, so one second,” he said with a quick
grin, reluctantly letting her go to pull some twenties out of his pocket.
Thankfully, they had turned the lights back on, and everyone went back to doing
what they were doing before Karson turned into a completely pussy and serenaded
her. While he knew that he was going to get shit for it at practice tomorrow,
he couldn’t muster up anything to care. All he cared about was making Lacey
happy, and he thought he succeeded pretty damn well.

“Great job, guys,” he
said, before handing them money. They all grinned before heading off, leaving
him with Lacey. Turning, he smiled at her before taking her hand in his. “What
are your plans tonight?”

She smiled as she laced
her fingers with his. “I need to study.”

“Wanna get some dinner
first?”

“Is this the date you
spoke of?”

“Yeah, one of many to
come. Can I please steal you away from studying? I know that’s bad, but I
really can’t imagine leaving you after all this.”

A grin pulled at her lips
as she said, “Yeah, I can study later. Let’s go.”

Elated, Karson waited as
she packed up her stuff, before wrapping his arm around her waist and leaving
the coffee shop. Heading into the snow, they walked quickly to the Logan’s
Roadhouse that was on campus. He knew there was a chance that it could be
swamped but, luckily, it wasn’t. Being seated, he scooted into the same side of
the booth that she did, grinning when she looked at him surprised. Taking her
book bag, he placed it in the empty spot across from them before looking down
at the menu. He could feel her staring at him and looked over to find her
grinning at him.

“I have to admit, this is
my first date in years, probably, so I may be a tad bit rusty, but aren’t you
supposed to sit over there?”

He laughed. “I could, but
I don’t want to.” He shot her a grin before saying, “Your kissing isn’t rusty,
that’s for sure.”

A giggle escaped her
before she pressed her lips shut tight, looking over at him with playfulness in
her eyes. “Well, thank you.”

Leaning over, he pressed
his lips to hers softly before saying, “No, thank you.”

They held each other’s
gazes until the waitress came over for their orders. After their food was
ordered and drinks were delivered, Karson turned to ask, “So, how’s school
going?”

She shrugged as she folded
her hands under her chin. “Good, I failed my math pop quiz today. I hate math.”

“I’m pretty good at it.
I’ll help you out if you’d like.”

“I would, thank you.”

“No problem. I won’t miss
school once I go into the draft. I hate writing papers and crap. It’ll be nice
to just relax and play. Knowing my mom though, she’ll probably suggest I take
online classes.”

“Why did you go to school
in the first place? Weren’t you offered to go into the draft after high
school?”

Karson’s mouth turned up
at the side. “Been stalking me?”

She laughed. “Please, if
anyone is the stalker in this relationship, it’s you.”

“Maybe… But to answer your
question, yes, I was offered, but my mom pushed me to go to school first to
make sure that hockey was what I wanted to do.”

“Is it?”

“Hell yeah,” he scoffed
with a laugh.

She smiled as she agreed.
“You were born for it.”

“Yeah, I love it.”

Holding his gaze, she
smiled as she said, “So you want to start a relationship with me when you have
one foot out the door?”

“See, I thought about
that, but then I figured that you’re the kind of girl that’s worth the trouble
of a long-distance relationship. I know you want to stay here because your
family is here. I would never expect you to go with me, but wherever I go,
believe me, I’ll be yours only.”

“If this works, and the
time came for you to leave, then you best believe you’ll be only mine. Don’t
cheat on me, Karson King. I’ll kill you… with a hockey stick.”

Laughing, Karson said,
“You think I don’t know that?”

Laughing along with him,
she leaned into him as she asked, “So where are your mom and dad?”

“Wisconsin. My sister
Kacey goes here though, plays for the women’s team.”

“Wisconsin is a good place
to go to college, especially for hockey. Why come here?”

“They offered me a full
ride. I couldn’t pass it up. Plus, your dad promised to mold me into a great
player. He’s succeeded, I think.”

She nodded as their plates
were delivered. “Yeah, he is good at what he does. Been doing it his whole
life.”

“Yeah, my dad believed in
him, so I did. Now though, I’m ready for the pros.”

Lacey agreed as she dug
into her food, and he did the same. After swallowing, he asked, “Do you live on
campus?”

“Yeah, I had to get out of
the house before my dad smothered me. We get free room and board here since he
is the coach. Even though he and Grady begged me to stay home, I decided to be
a rebel and do what I want.”

That made him smile before
he asked, “Why did they want you to stay home?”

Looking away, she shrugged
slowly. “I don’t know, maybe because I’m the only girl? My mom passed away when
I was six from breast cancer.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, his
heart going out to her.

She gave him a tight smile
before she went on. “Thank you, but they’ve been a little smothering since
then. I think they are scared I’ll get hurt, when I could take out anyone who
tried to hurt me. They are nuts and overprotective, which reminds me, I’m sorry
Grady did that. He’s a bonehead.”

“He loves you; I
understand it. Anyone ever touches Kacey, and I’ll do the same. It’s a big
brother thing.”

“I guess, but he goes over
and beyond the big brother requirements. He’s treated me like a walking time
bomb since the diagnosis. It’s annoying.”

Karson stopped and glanced
over at her. He could see it all over her face. She hadn’t meant to tell him
that. “Diagnosis?”

Clearing her throat, she
asked, “Huh?”

“You said diagnosis.”

She laughed, waving her
hand at him. “I don’t know why, silly me.”

Still looking at her, he
said, “I know this is new, but I know when you are lying to me. Lacey, what
diagnosis?”

Dropping her fork, she let
out a breath before wrapping her fingers together in her lap. She picked at the
nail polish that was flaking off her fingers. Karson watched as she took in a
deep breath before letting it out again. Looking up at him, she said, “I had
breast cancer.”

His heart stopped as she
held his gaze. “You had it, too?”

“Yeah, that’s how they
found out about it. My mom had, so I was at risk. They suggested I come in
early, just as a precaution, and found it.”

“Do you still?”

“No,” she answered,
shaking her head.

“Well, that’s good, great
even, that you fought it. Why are you bashful about something like that? You
should be proud that you are a survivor.”

“I am. It’s just that I’ve
been sick for so long, and I am just now getting back to me. You know what I
mean? Like, I still don’t look like me. I used to be healthy looking and my
hair was so long, but the chemo took it, and then I—” She stopped suddenly and
shook her head. “It’s just that I have this second chance and I want to make
the most of it, but sometimes I am so scared that I’m not the girl I used to
be.”

Turning to her, Karson
took her hand in his. “I didn’t know that girl, but I bet she was as amazing as
you are now. You’ve taken something that could be a tragedy and are
capitalizing on it, wanting to help women feel sexy after something that could
make them feel like they aren’t female anymore. Breast cancer is scary. I
admire you for what you’ve overcome and for your plans for the future. You are
amazing, Lacey, and gorgeous. Don’t ever forget that.”

Her mouth pulled up at the
side as she looked away bashfully. He said, “And to let you know, I’ve fallen
just a bit more for you. You blow me away, Lacey. The more I learn about you,
the more I know this instant attraction to you is more than I thought. I hope
you’re ready.”

Confused, she asked,
“Ready?”

“Yeah, ready for the kind
of relationship that will ruin you for anyone else. Not that we have to worry
about that, because I know this is a forever kind of thing.”

“You’re so confident,” she
said, shaking her head, a grin pulling at her lips.

“Yeah, because I know what
I want, and when I want something as bad as I want you, I know I’ll do anything
to keep it.”

“I admire that about you.”

“Good… because I’ve never
been in love, and I want to do this right. I want to do you right. I read once
that being someone’s first love is great, but to be their last is beyond
perfect. I want that with you, and I don’t care how crazy that sounds.”

Looking away, she pulled
in a deep breath before looking back at him. “You scare me shitless, Karson King,
because I have decided to trust you. I hope to God that everything you say will
be true, because cancer broke me in to a billion pieces, and I’m just now
putting that all back together. Picking all those pieces up again would be the
hardest thing I would ever have do, so please don’t break me.”

Cupping her face, he
leaned in, running his nose along hers before he whispered, “There won’t be any
pieces to pick up because I’m not breaking you. I’ll hold you together. You’ll
never face anything without me right there. I’ll be there until the end. I
promise you that.”

“I trust you.”

That was all he needed to
hear.

You’re beautiful.

Their relationship was on
the fast track from that moment on. It was intense and maybe a little insane,
but Lacey wouldn’t have it any other way. She was falling madly for him, and
she wasn’t the least bit ashamed of it. Wherever Karson was, Lacey was, and
vice versa. They were constantly together, studying, going out, and just
enjoying each other. She had never felt so free in her life, and she knew it
was because of him. He made her feel alive, like the most beautiful girl in the
world, and he continually told her that. She had never felt so strongly about
someone and, despite Rachel and Grady telling her she was nuts for falling for
him so quickly, she still allowed herself to do so.

It was just that Karson
made everything feel so right, so perfect, as if it was meant to be. He made
her feel as if there was nothing but them, and she loved that about him. And
boy, could he make her hotter than anybody ever had before. Lacey wasn’t a
virgin, not by a long shot. Growing up around nothing but Grady’s friends,
she’d lost her virginity when she was sixteen, but there was a difference
between fooling around with boys and being with Karson.

He made her feel so
special with each touch. They hadn’t had sex, but there had been heavy touching
and rubbing because he said he wanted to wait. What twenty-year-old guy wanted
to wait? Karson King did because he wanted her to be completely ready and trust
him. It was night and she was thankful, because every time they fooled around
and things got hot and heavy, her anxiety was always high when his hands
gravitated toward her breasts. She knew she needed to tell him about them, but
she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She loved their relationship and didn’t
want to feel the sting of rejection if he felt he couldn’t deal with it. In her
heart she knew that wasn’t true, but still, it made her nervous.

Along with spending every
waking moment together, they never missed an event for the other person either.
Every game, Lacey was there, Karson’s number written on her cheek with Rachel
right beside her, Grady’s number on her cheek. Grady still wasn’t okay with
Karson and Lacey being together, but at least he hadn’t tried to swing on
Karson in the last two months. When Lacey performed with the Catappellas,
Karson was front row, watching every moment, and the loudest person cheering
when they finished a set. They had a routine; Karson walked her to every class
and was always there at the end to greet her before rushing off to his own. She
wasn’t sure how he got away with missing so much, but he guaranteed her it
wasn’t a big deal, that he was passing. She was fine with whatever he was doing
as long as she got to see him. Call her selfish, but she valued the time she
got to spend with him since, more than likely, he’d be going into the draft.
After being picked for a team, he’d be shipped off to whatever team chose him.
He had been flying out a lot, interviewing with all kinds of teams, and it was
nerve-racking, but she was so proud of him.