PARKER

I wake up with the biggest smile on my face, remembering the events of last night.

With my eyes still closed, I turn over and reach out an arm to pull Dakota back to me, missing her warmth. When my hand only feels cold sheets, my eyes shoot open and I sit up, looking around the room. Realizing I'm alone, my eyebrows furrow together in confusion and I quickly pull on my boxers and Connors t-shirt, heading out towards the living room.

My shoulders relax when I hear a familiar voice humming in the kitchen, and my speed increases, eager to get to my girl. I smile when I finally see her through the doorway, hair up in a messy bun, dressed in a crewneck and barely-there shorts. I lean a shoulder against the wall, crossing my arms and ankles as I watch her move with her back facing me.

There seems to be a bounce to her step today, and I'd be lying if I said that didn't feed my ego. When I woke up alone, part of me was worried she had gone to Ellie's room, feeling like we had rushed things or that I had pushed her last night. I didn't bring her back here last night expecting for her to go down on me, my only goal was to make sure she was taken care of.

When I realize I've probably been staring for a few minutes too long, I go up behind Dakota, wrapping my arms around her small waist and resting my chin on her shoulder. "Goodmorning, love."

One of her small hands goes to my forearm, squeezing as she turns her head to face me. "Morning, Park," she pecks my cheek.

"Are you feeling okay about last night?" My question comes out less confident than I would have liked.

She sets down her spatula, turns in my arms, and wraps her small ones around my neck. She smiles at me, "I'm feeling great about it, you?"

I let out a relieved breath, kissing her softly, "better than great." I peek over her shoulder at the pancakes on the stove, "are you gonna cook me breakfast every time I eat you out?" I can't help but smirk.

Her face turns bright red as she pushes me away, suddenly turning shy. "You wish. If anything, I'm mad at you"

A chuckle escapes my lips, "why?"

She gives me a pointed look, pulling down the neck of her crewneck and showing me her collarbones that are littered with hickies.

"I don't see the problem here," I gloat.

"So you wouldn't mind if Connor saw your little art project?"

My eyes widen and I reach forward, pulling up her crewneck and hiding her collarbones once again. "I'll buy you Dunkin every day for the rest of your life," I plead.

Her head falls back as she breaks out into laughter. "I'm just messing with you, but maybe next time keep it to two or three max? And low enough to where I can hide them easier." She pecks my lips, turning back to finish our breakfast.

My brain is still stuck on the "next time" part, and I look up to the ceiling, thanking whoever made me the luckiest son of a bitch in the world.

"By the way," she starts, "I'll be at yours for breakfast Thursday, Ellie got me roped into making Brooks a birthday cake for breakfast."

"You're coming with us to morning skate that day right?" She nods in response, "I'll come over while you bake it and then drive you and Ellie over after."

"Parker, you don't have to do that. I'll need to start at six, and I don't want you to be tired for practice," she looks at me seriously.

"I'll be here at five forty-five," I respond, ignoring her statement.

She just laughs, doing a double-take when she finally notices the shirt I'm wearing. "Is that Connors?"

~

Once home, I walk into a perfectly clean house, thanks to Brooks' cleaning ladies.

His family is loaded, and while he doesn't talk to his parents much, they still send him loads of money every month. Even though he doesn't tell us a lot about them, we all know they have a strained relationship, it's part of the reason that Connor and Kota's parents have taken him in as one of their own.

As if he can sense I'm thinking about him, Brooks walks into the entryway, smirking at me. "Parker Cadell, are you doing the walk of shame?"

"It's not a walk if you drive yourself home dumbass," I counter, slapping him on the chest.

Connor pauses, halfway down the stairs. "I don't want to know," he shakes his head, "is that my shirt?"

"Uh, yes?" My voice is high.

Brooks wraps an arm around Connor's shoulders, holding himself up from falling as laughter overtakes him.

"Just hurry up," he sighs, "we need to get to the rink. Who schedules practice the day after Halloween?"

~

I think I'm the only guy here without a hangover.

Coach didn't bring us here to practice, he brought us to condition. I think he finds joy in watching us suffer, well everyone but me. I'm the only one who hasn't puked yet and I think it's winning me some brownie points.

Lincon has been giving me a weird look all day, but as an assistant captain, I have to stay cordial on the ice. Which is part of the reason why I got excited when he approached me the moment I stepped off of it.

"Hey, Cadell," he moves quickly towards me, "can I grab you for a second?"

I plaster a smile on my face, "of course man. Let's head to a more private area," I gesture to the guys trickling down the hallway.

Lincon walks silently behind me as I lead us to an empty office. "What's up?"

He smirks creepily, "I just wanted to warn you, I guess. I saw you and Lowen getting close on the dance floor last night, then you were out the door twenty minutes later." His eyebrow raises, and it takes everything in me to keep from smashing my fist into his smug face.

I take a large step towards him, my face turning stern. "Do not think you can speak to me about Dakota and me, nothing about either of our personal lives is any of your goddamn business."

"Just telling you to be careful, man. She's a desperate whore. I wouldn't be surprised if she's getting it somewhere else, too." His hands go up by his head as if he's talking innocently.

I fist his jersey, bringing my face close to his. "You're fucking lucky we're at the rink right now. If I ever hear you talk about a woman like that again, I won't hesitate to make your life a living hell." I purposefully spit as I speak, making sure he can physically feel my threat. "And stay the fuck away from Dakota."

When Lincon doesn't respond after a few seconds, I drop my hold on him, turning to leave. "When you fuck her, just remember, I got there first."

It takes everything in me to keep my eyes forward and continue walking away from him.

I need to go for a fucking run.

~

My fingers drum against the two bouquets of sunflowers in my hand as I stand in front of Dakota's front door. I've been standing here for two minutes now, and am still yet to knock. I'm still pissed about Lincon yesterday, and while I don't believe anything that he said, the whole interaction has still been bothering me.

As I stand here, still unmoving, the door swings open and a smiling Dakota stands on the other side. The second our eyes meet, all of the tension in my body disappears, and I can't think of anything but her.

"I've been watching you through the peephole for the last three minutes," she laughs at me, eyes sparkling.

"I was hyping myself up," I joke back, stepping forward and placing a kiss on her waiting lips. "I missed you," I whisper.

Her arms wrap around my neck as she kisses me once more, "I saw you yesterday."

I smile against her lips, "that was a whole thirty-six hours ago, love. These are for you," I hand her one of the bouquets.

"Thank you," she says quietly, thumbing the petals. "What's the other for?"

"Ellie. I felt bad for stealing you away from her the other night," my shoulders shrug.

"First Dunkin now flowers? She's gonna try to steal you away from me," Dakota giggles, turning to take the flowers inside. My eyes drift to her ass, loving the way her skin-tight jeans make it look.

I'm an ass man, what can I say?

As I pull out onto the main road, I waste no time in reaching over to lace my fingers through Dakota's, always needing to be touching her in some way.

"Where are you taking me?" She looks comfortable in my truck, the large seats making her look tiny. She will never admit it, but if she was even an inch shorter, she'd need help getting into the car.

"You'll find out in about thirty minutes," my thumb rubs over her knuckles. Halloween night, I decided I wanted to make things official with Dakota. I want to assure her that I'm in this for more than the physical aspect, and I was worried she'd want to go farther the other night, knowing I would have to turn her down. I haven't been in a relationship since junior year of high school, and I don't want her to think she's just another name on the list when that time comes.

She huffs, releasing my hand and giving me a mock angry look, "I don't like surprises, Cadell."

I laugh, squeezing her upper thigh, "You'll like this one, I promise." I pause, "it always throws me off when you call me that, I've never had anyone but my teammates and coaches last name me."

"You like when I call you Coach," she points out.

My cock twitches under the restraint of my pants, "damn straight I do. Maybe save that one for when we're in private, though."

Her eyes drop to my crotch for a split second, "probably a good idea," she smirks.

~

"Park, did you bring me out here to kill me?" She tentatively takes my hand and jumps out of the car, feet crunching against the gravel in front of the dock.

"You caught me," I laugh, grabbing the Tupperware and blanket out of my back seat. I wrap my free arm around her waist, pulling her body firmly to mine and guiding her to the end of the dock.

I lay the blanket down and Dakota sits, smiling brightly up at me. She's easily the most beautiful person I've ever seen. I sit directly in front of her, spreading my legs and pulling her closer to me. She places her legs over the top of mine, feet planting themselves right behind me.

"You're always baking for us guys, so I thought it was time to return the favor." I open the basket and pull out the peanut butter cup brownies I made earlier. Well, the second batch of them since I horrendously fucked up the first.

Dakota takes the brownies from me, opening the container and studying the goods. After a few seconds, she looks at me sincerely, "these look incredible, have you tried them yet?"

I squeeze her waist, "of course not. I wanted to wait for you," I smile.

She grabs a large piece. "You know I'm not going to tell you if they're bad, right?"

"My ego thanks you," I laugh, urging her to take the first bite.

"Holy shit, Parker," she moans. "These are actually so good, try it," she holds the brownie out to me.

I wrap a hand around her wrist, guiding her hand to my mouth and taking a large bite. "Fuck," my eyes widen. "Watch out, babe, there's a new baker in town," Dakota burst into laughter, shoving the rest into her mouth.

The brownies are gone in the next five minutes. "When can I get more?" She asks, starting to lick the crumbs off of her fingers.

I grab her hand right before she gets to her thumb, popping it into my mouth instead. My eyes stay locked on hers as my tongue swirls her finger, sucking lightly as I pull it out. "Whenever you want," I say casually with a pop of my shoulder.

"Ye-yeah," she stutters out, blinking rapidly. "I'll take you up on that."

I chuckle, pulling her closer so that our fronts are touching before resting a hand softly on her cheek. "I actually brought you out here to talk about something," my words are quiet, my nerves creeping in.

A quick flash of worry passes over her soft features, but she covers it up quickly. "Is everything okay?" Her eyes flicker back and forth between mine, looking for clues of what I'm about to say.

"Better than okay," I give her a bright smile, feeling her body relax in my hold. "I know it hasn't even been two months, but I like you a lot, Kota." My thumb bruises back and forth on her cheek, "I can't go more than a few hours without talking to you, you've quickly become one of my best friends."

"One of?" She mock gasps, eyes bright.

"Don't tell Brooks, but you're my favorite person I've met in Michigan," I smirk at her.

"Our little secret," her arms wrap around my torso. "I like you a lot, too, Parker. More than I probably should," she laughs.

"I just need you to know this isn't a fling for me, Kota. I know it may seem soon, but I'm ready to make this official if you are."

Her smile could light up the world. "I'd really, really like that."

"In that case," I pause, clearing my throat exaggeratingly, making her giggle. "Dakota Marie Lowen, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Will you cook for me again?"

"Of course," I answer immediately.

"Then yes, I'll be your girlfriend, Parker Cadell."

I can't wipe the shit-eating grin off of my face, "get over here." I pull her impossibly close, kissing her deeply.

Dakota opens her mouth immediately, a silent way of asking me to take control and deepen the kiss. Wasting no time, my tongue invades her mouth as I try to memorize every inch of it. She tugs on my hair, knowing it turns me on, so I drop a hand to her ass and push our covered crotches together. She whimpers at the contact, rolling her hips into mine, both of us desperate for the pressure.

She pulls back, sucking on my tongue before dropping her lips to my neck. I continue to palm her ass as she goes to town, licking and sucking at my skin.

She pulls back a few minutes later, "payback," she smirks.

"How many did you just give me?" My hands fly to my neck, feeling a few spots of heat.

"Only one...or four," she smiles as she backs away from me, taking a long look at the lake. "Wait! There's something I've always wanted to try," her hands go to the hem of her sweater.

My eyebrows furrow, trying to figure out if she's about to jump me. "What're you doing, Kota?"

She rips her sweater off, leaning down to untie her converse. Ten seconds later, my girl is standing in front of me, only covered by her bra and panties. My jaw goes slack as I openly ogle her.

"Skinny dipping, obviously." She makes quick work of her bra, turning her back to me before letting it fall to the ground. She smiles over her shoulder before jumping off of the dock.

Dakota resurfaces a moment later, swimming over and grabbing into the ladder as she throws her panties at my frozen body. "You coming or what?"

Her words make me realize that this is not a dream, and my hands fly to my zipper as I quickly undress and jump in the freezing water.

She laughs as I swim to her, clinging to me like a koala as soon as I'm close enough since I can reach the bottom and she can't. "Maybe this should've waited until summer," I offer as her teeth begin to chatter.

"There's zero chance you'll still be here next summer," she smiles, pushing the wet hair off of my face. "So what better time than the present?"

I lightly kiss her forehead, holding her close. "Wanna see who can do the longest handstand?" I whisper.

"Game on, baby," she laughs, detaching her body from mine.

~

We lasted all of ten minutes before our legs started to go numb.

Luckily I had some clothes in the back of my truck, so now I have the pleasure of seeing Dakota in my passenger seat wearing my hoodie. Unfortunately for me, the lack of traffic means it's a quick drive back and the next thing I know, we're in front of her apartment complex.

"Would you maybe want to stay over tonight?" Her voice is quiet, nervous.

"I already had a bag packed," I lightly chuckle. "I knew I wouldn't want to leave you tonight."

She smiles, opening the door, "perfect. I can throw your clothes in the wash too before they smell like lake water."

"You spoil me, love." I quickly grab my things, jumping out to meet her in front of the car.

While Dakota takes my dirty clothes to the washer, I start pulling out some clothes and hanging them in her closet.

"You need that much for one night?" She giggles, "didn't know you were that high maintenance."

"Haha," I deadpan. "They're for you. So you don't have to wear Connor and Brooks' anymore."

I feel her small arms wrap around my torso, her body tucking itself under my right arm as she peeks into the bag. "Is that a jersey?"

"Uh yeah," I look away from her. "I know you like wearing Connor's, but I got it just in case you ever wanted to wear it. No pressure, obviously, I got you this too if you'd prefer to keep wearing his." I pull out a beanie with my number on the front, holding it out to her.

She says nothing, taking the beanie from my hands and leaning up to place a peck on my now pink cheek. "Thank you, Park." She holds it close to her chest as she walks to her dresser, opening a drawer, and placing it inside.

I quickly hang up the jersey, turning to face my favorite girl. "Want to watch a movie? I'll even let you pick."

She leaps onto her bed, shuffling around until she's under the covers. "You're going to regret that offer," she smirks. "Come on, big boy."

And that's how I ended up watching the One Direction documentary.