*Being Published in 2022*
❝You can't deny that you're attracted to me, Nyx. Instead of fighting it, let's see what happens,❞ he grumbled, hands roaming my body. His thumb brushed my bottom lip. ❝Open up for me, baby.❞
...
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Kids. Everywhere. Some were having their lunch break and gawked at me as I passed through the hallways, paper gripped in my hand with the number of the class that I was searching for. J. Hemisphere Middle School had potential. It was in a pretty area, but the buildings looked aged as if they weren't taken care of. I'd been here before, to coach the hockey team alongside some of my teammates. Lexington's community was very involved in everything, which was why it played a consequential role in the Grandslam Gauntlet.
Keep the community together. It was what we always heard before the championships started. Just last weekend, we concluded our third fundraiser, the coaching session. No money was raised, but we figured that those kids deserved a chance at a sport they loved. Their school didn't offer ice hockey, so we volunteered to coach them. As I turned another corner, I detected a giant banner with my team on it. I was in the middle, helmet in hand. On either side of me were Sebastian and Grayson, followed by Oliver, Jasper and Zeke. Underneath it was; support our boys in the fight for the Grandslam Gauntlet!
I grinned at the sight of it. When I got to the classroom I was looking for, I found it empty with a sign that said the kids were on a lunch break. Confused, I tried to make my way to the cafeteria, recognising the layout of the building. After five minutes of wandering around like an idiot, I discovered the big blue doors that spanned into the cafeteria. More kids were gawking at me now, probably recognising me from the banner. I found Poppy resting in one corner, her right foot propped up on a chair, and Julie sitting next to her. The cafeteria went hushed as I entered, but my focus was on Poppy.
She looked up when she saw me, beaming. "They sent you? I thought your match was taking place."
Julie waved at me and I flicked her head affectionately before responding to Poppy, "ended an hour ago. Annie's got a shift and Nyx has class. So, here I am. Disappointed?" It was a joke, and Poppy snorted, shaking her head. I glanced at her bandaged foot. "So what exactly happened?"
"She tripped when we were lining up for class," Julie informed me, her words a murmur as she gesticulated for me to drift closer. "Or better yet, someone tripped her." Poppy froze at her best friend's words, looking apprehensive and peeping around at the attention we were receiving.
One glower from me had everyone minding their own business, and I scowled when demanding, "who?" The two girls stayed soundless, and I veered to the blonde. "Who tripped you, Poppy?" I'd already heard from her sisters that she had physiotherapy for a sprained right foot, and currently, that same foot was swathed. When Nyx got the call from the principal to pick her sister up, he apprised her that Poppy tripped, and looking at the blonde now, she didn't tell the principal what actually happened.
