Your body is torn from a dream, your orgasm crashing through you, making you gasp and bunch up the sheets in your arms as he wakes you up in his favorite way.
"Baby?" You pant. "Mmm... fuck. Howโ"
"Missed you," he murmurs into your sex. โI need this. Let me keep taking care of you.โ
โKeep taking care of me?โ You whisper, lifting your fingers to catch a tear rolling down your cheek.
โNumber threeโฆ goinโ for four.โ His laugh rumbles low before he slaps your pussy, and you swear you can feel him smile. โBeen down here since practice, baby.โ
Your legs try to close, but he grabs your thighs and pushes them into the mattress, keeping you spread for him, thumb rubbing along the crease of your thigh.
Garrett leans in, his shoulders flexing, eyes locked on yours as he gives you a few slow licks.
He wraps his arms around you, dragging you closer to his mouth. He teases your entrance with his tongue before licking a long stripe up your folds, landing on your clit again.
You glance down and meet his half-lidded gaze. He looks completely gone.
"So good," you whimper, hips bucking. His nose brushes your clit as his tongue slips in and out of you.
He kisses your clit first and then sucks hard. You wrap your fingers in his hair, needing him closer. One hand slides away, and you moan as he sinks his long fingers deep inside you, stretching you open while he keeps sucking your clit.
The moan punches out of you before you can stop it, your thighs tightening around his head. "I'm close," you whimper, and he moans in response, curling his fingers deeper.
Garrett sucks down with more pressure as your walls flutter around his fingers, your thighs shaking hard. You soak his hand and the sheet beneath you, your back arching as he stays locked in, bottoming you out with his hand.
"Atta baby," he breathes, not looking away from you once. You cry out, twisting beneath him, but he only holds you there, tongue and fingers working you through it until every extra swipe pulls another helpless twitch out of you, breath breaking. โFuckโฆ thatโs it.โ
โOh my god,โ you moan.
"Damn, babyโฆ look at you, huh?โ He murmurs, brushing your clit with soft kisses.
"Garrett..." You whisper, blinking down at him. He looks up with a crooked smile, mouth still wet.
โStill with me, pretty?โ He teases, pressing a kiss to your inner thigh that makes you shiver.
You let out a frazzled laugh, hands rubbing across your eyes, your muscles still trembling. โHow was practice?โ The words barely make their way past your quivering lips.
He chuckles at that, his laugh vibrating against your thigh. โFineโhow was your nap, baby?โ
โAmazing.โ You smile at him, tugging at his dark hair, pulling closer. He crawls up to your lips, kissing you with a lazy grin.
โYou taste damn good, baby.โ
โYeah?โ You giggle bashfully.
โKnew you would. You always do.โ
โMissed you,โ you whisper, tasting yourself on his soft lips when he kisses you.
"Missed you more, baby,โ he mumbles. โGot all jealous when you said you were napping without me.โ
โMโsorry,โ you breathe sleepily between kisses, his smile brushing along your lips.
โApologizing to me like you didnโt make my whole afternoon with that text telling me exactly what you wanted from meโโ
โYeah?โ You hum, fingers brushing through his curls, still a little damp like he ran here from the rink, his weight pressing heavy into yours.
โMy favorite way to wake up my girl.โ
โSo good to me,โ you whisper.
โLove taking care of you,โ he mumbles, moving off of you underneath the covers, rolling to his side, gripping your hips in his big hands. โMโa little tired, baby.โ You giggle softly, arching back into him.
He tucks his face into your neck as he drags his cock through your slick, easing inside inch by inch.
You look over your shoulder, his lips matching yours, swallowing your moan as he sinks in deep. You gasp his name while yours falls from his lips.
โThereโs my girl,โ he murmurs, his grip tightening on your body, holding you tucked against him. He laughs softly, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. โGoodnight, baby.โ
๐งธ๐ค taglist on my pinned post ๐ @rafesthroatbaby @liss2709-blog @sushi-girl04 @judesgfirl @cdiaz18 @fiercetigerpoison @obsessedwrafe @vanillaiceyhot @maialopez23 @rexit-mo @georgiastars13 @princessaaa13 @dragonvalyria @livlovesfastcars
c/w แฐ.แ post op/sports injuries, pet names (baby, pretty, pretty girl, my girl + no y/n), weed/smoking, intox, possessive!garrett, unprotected p in v, praise, overstim, needy!/clingy!garrett + language
Youโre still standing in the doorway when Garrett looks up from the joint between his fingers, eyes closing for a second, a grin pulling at his mouth like youโre exactly what heโs been waiting for.
โThere she is,โ he mutters.
Three weeks post-op and finally cleared for light activity this morning. No skating yet. No lifting. No contact. No drug testing for another couple weeks either.
Heโs been restless for days nowโsleeping upright, on a never-ending loop of painkillers, ice packs, physical therapy, and everybody telling him what he could and couldnโt do.
Garrett Graham immediately decided to break his rigorous routine and indulge mid-season for once in his whole-damn life.
The second one of the boys handed him a joint downstairs, he was texting you with a dopey grin like the whole night was playing out in his head.
Now heโs sprawled across his bed shirtless and high, sling still strapped around his shoulder, gold chain catching against his chest while black curls fall messily into his eyes.
His brown eyes already look heavy, lingering on you slow enough to make you feel it.
โYou gonna keep starinโ at me like that,โ he asks, smoke curling from his mouth, โor are you gonna come here so I can finally touch you again?โ
You smirk as you step closer, taking in this rare sight as he relaxes further against the headboard, joint tucked between his fingers while he watches you come closer.
His hand rests on your bare thigh the second you get close enough to touch, his grip tightening immediately.
โYouโre trouble, you know that?โ He says quietly, slapping your ass like a warning but he was just looking for an excuse.
โNo clue what youโre talkinโ about, babyโโ
You laugh under your breath, climbing carefully into his lap so you donโt bump his shoulder. Your lips curl into a smile, feeling him stiff already, hard between your thighs just like he told you over text when he was telling you to hurry up and stop teasing him. He was done waiting.
โBullshit,โ he snorts, his hand settling against you with a squeeze. โSendinโ me pictures all day while Iโm stuck here like some pathetic loser for youโyou love it.โ
You giggle harder, fingers sliding into his damp, dark curls. His head falls back to the headboard with a thump, a lazy smile spreading across his face. He smells goodโhis signature cologne and a fresh shower mixing with the weed, making your head go a little fuzzy. You rest your hands on him, his tanned skin warm under your palms.
โI was busyโโ
โToo busy for me, huh?โ He grins and you roll your eyes. โYou ignored me for four hours.โ
โNever too busy for you,โ you breathe as you dip in, kissing the corner of his mouth. โI was studyingโโ
โShoulda been studyinโ this dick,โ he laughs as the room clouds a little around him.
โSuch a slut, Garrett.โ
โYouโve got no clue,โ he answers honestly, shaking his head. โDreamt about you three nights straight.โ
โYeah?โ You ask as you cup his cheeks in your hands, thumb brushing along his lip, stubble rough on your palms. โSo have I.โ
He kisses you again, smoke still clinging to his mouth, one hand sliding up the back of your shirt while the other squeezes you.
โSorry for teasing youโโ
โAwful liar. You know that?โ His grin widens before you gasp when his big hand pushes under your skirt, fingers tracing up the inside of your thigh. โYou sent me that picture and disappeared.โ
You laugh breathlessly, rolling your hips to tease and he moans into your mouth.
โItโs almost like my girl knew I was gettinโ cleared today.โ
โBeen counting down the day,โ you whisper sweetly against his mouth.
โYou still wearing it?โ He asks as he draws back.
โThought youโd like it.โ
โLike it?โ Garrett laughs breathlessly. โIโve been losing my mind over you all damn day. Love when you wear black.โ
He takes a deep breath as you look back at him through the smokey haze. His gaze falls to the button between your breasts, locking with yours before he nods. You take his cue, pinching it between your fingers, popping it open, then the next.
He watches every inch of skin, teeth biting into his bottom lip as you let the shirt fall off your shoulders, flicking it off his bed.
โHoly shit,โ he breathes out, his grip on you tightening, swallowing hard. โYouโre my favorite thingโso fucking perfect for me,โ he sucks in a breath as you reach behind your back, unclipping your bra, his eyes fixed on your chest.
He leans closer, hot and wet as he wraps his lips around your nipple, sucking at you slowly while his hand pinches and pulls your panties to the side. His breath fans against your skin, the heat of him dizzying as he whines softly into your tits.
You whimper softly when his fingers finally slide between your thighs. โGoddamn,โ he mutters. โYouโre wet already. Gettinโ off on teasing me.โ
โMaybe,โ you smile as he takes another hit, shivering when his fingers drag through you.
โMaybe?โ He laughs under his breath. โYouโre just as desperate as I amโโ
โI am,โ you answer without hesitation as your hand presses against his cock over his sweats, palming him slowly through the fabric. โYou gonna keep watchinโ me like that, Graham,โ you ask, taking the joint from him, โor are you gonna let me have it.โ
โDamn, babyโโCourse,โ he answers, his voice raspy and deep as he lifts his hips a little, pulling down his sweats with a single hand, watching your mouth as you take a hit of your own.
You wrap your fingers quickly around his cock, pumping slowly, feeling yourself throb. His hand holds the back of your neck, pulling you close, lips barely brushing yours while you exhale between them.
He barely lets you pull away before heโs kissing you again, slower this time. โFuck, pretty,โ he says quietly against your mouth, tasting the weed and your sugary lip gloss. โYou taste so damn goodโso sweet.โ His thumb drags across your thigh again. โObsessed with it.โ
His mouth lingers close to yours as you stroke, trying to keep his eyes lifted but heโs so mellowed out.
โI feel so damn good right now,โ he mutters. Your fingers slide through his curls carefully and his whole body softens underneath you.
You lift up on your knees, panties still pushed to the side, teasing the tip of his cock with your sex, making him release a pathetic whine for more. His shoulders fall as he exhales, feeling you tighten around him.
You rest the joint between his lips and he takes a rip, his eyes fluttering shut as he exhales when you widen your thighs, taking all of him.
โPerfect fucking pussy,โ he slurs against your mouth, pinching your chin between his fingers, kissing you softly.
You shift your weight and he curses under his breath, his hands tightening on your hips as you circle them.
"That's it," he breathes, his hands guiding you gently. "Easy, baby. Just like that."
Your nails dig into his chest as you begin to move, slow and steady at first, your body finding its rhythm while his muscles tense beneath your palms, his mouth falling open.
"Fuck," he exhales sharply when you grab the rung of his headboard, riding him, your hips finding a deeper rhythm. "You move like you were made for me."
โI am,โ you whisper, and he sighs, tapping out the ash before he pinches it between his lips again.
โMissed your pussy,โ he mumbles, still breathless. โFeels so much better than my hand. Oh my god.โ
He smiles when he feels your thighs start to tremble, your wet warmth tightening around him.
โGonna cum for me?โ He asks, all low and raspy, and you nod frantically. โCome on, baby. Cum all over me.โ
His hand slaps and kneads your ass, guiding your rhythm with his tight grip, your hands squeezing the headboard to keep from clawing at his bare skin. Your pussy tightens around him, pulling broken sounds from him loud enough that everyone in the house probably heard itโbut he couldnโt care less.
โBaby,โ he says quietly, lips and teeth grazing your neck. โYou takinโ such good care of me.โ
You take another hit when he passes it back, your hips still rocking on top of him as he fights to keep his eyes focused on yours.
โFrom the back? Hands and knees, baby. Can you help me out?โ His words are needy and brokenโpussy-drunk and he hasnโt even cum yet.
โOf course,โ you whisper, dragging him out of you with a whimper, dropping to the mattress as he sets the joint back in the ashtray, fighting with his sweats, tugging the rest of the way down his thighs, his eyes focused on your warmth.
Garrett reaches for the hem of your skirt immediately, shoving the fabric up your waist impatiently, throat working as he swallows hard.
Your hands twist in the sheets and your knees dip into the bed, back arching, hips lifted, giving him a view that hauls a moan from deep in his chest.
His palm lands hard against your skin before he spreads you open with a low whistle, eyes fixed on how wet he got you.
โMโgonna try not to lose it,โ he mumbles just under his breath, his lip tucked between his teeth when you look over your shoulder.
Heโs holding his thick length in his hand, stroking himself as he looks down at you, slapping the tip of his cock against the soft curve of you.
โPlease, baby,โ you whisper, the sound of your begging making his eyes roll back, his head lulling to the ceiling.
You cry out when he thrusts in rough and hard. His hand clamps down on your waist, dragging you back against him hard enough to make your body bounce.
โYouโre squeezinโ meโฆ Youโre gonnaโโ he chokes out, dragging back before thrusting deeper, eyes fixed where he disappears into you. โYouโre gonna empty me out.โ
You moan, your body falling forward when he presses down, toned hips snapping against your skin again and again, making the headboard thump against the wall.
His hand slides back, circling your curves before he grabs your panties in his fist, tugging them to the side, using the grip to pull you back against him deeper.
โYou know how perfect you are? Takinโ me so deepโฆ Lookinโ this fucking good?โ He asks, seemingly hypnotized by the way you move for him with every rough clap, chasing every fucked-out cry you make, as your fists twist tight in the sheets.
The knot in your stomach starts to tighten, each rut driving you closer and closer to the edge, your body pushing back against him now, meeting him stroke for stroke as his hand squeezes tighter.
โYeah, baby,โ he pants. โYou gonna cum with me? Been dreaming about thisโlet me have it.โ
โFuck,โ your voice comes out in a hoarse cry as your pussy pulses around his cock again.
โGood girl. Make a mess on me,โ he grits through his teeth, trying to hold out, fucking into you deep with thick, sticky ropes of cum spilling inside you.
He grins, cock still twitching, both your thighs slick with your shared release. โShit, pretty girl,โ he pants, reaching up to rub his hands over his red-rimmed eyes.
You gasp and giggle as he reaches his free arm down, wrapping it around your throat in a lazy headlock, pulling you up onto your knees for a kiss, your body still full of him.
A soft breath leaves you against his mouth as he smiles lazily, nose nudging against yours before he kisses you again, slow and deep, the high settling.
โMissed my girl.โ
๐จ๐taglist on my pinned post ๐ @rafesthroatbaby @liss2709-blog @sushi-girl04 @judesgfirl @cdiaz18 @fiercetigerpoison @obsessedwrafe @vanillaiceyhot @maialopez23 @rexit-mo @georgiastars13 @princessaaa13 @dragonvalyria @livlovesfastcars @thebitchylibra @corvusmorte @st8rkey @imperfectlyperfect78 @winchestersbgirl @glitterandviolence13 @miramindlesslywriting
c/w แฐ.แ slight exhibitionism (during online class), teasing, oral (fem. receiving), fingering, praise, pet names (baby, good girl, princess, pretty, thatโs my girl + no y/n), possessive!garrett, unprotected p in v, cockwarming, established relationship + swearing
"Fuck, baby..." His eyes work up your skin slowly, hands holding and kneading the globes of your ass. Garrett's big hands trace your soft skin before cupping your breasts, squeezing, and watching the way you melt into him.
Grabbing for his t-shirt, you tug it over his head. Your lips claim his as your fingers trace over the deep indentations of his abs, his cut v-lines disappearing below the band of his sweats. You curl your fingers under the elastic as your tongue slips in his mouth, swirling with his as you pull his pants off.
Garrett lifts you clean off the floor, mouths still tangled as he walks you backward toward the bed. Heat curls low in your stomach when your thighs brush his bare skin, his grip tightening instinctively around you.
He throws you down on the bed and crawls on with youโthe devilish grin on his handsome face spreading wider. "I needed this," he hums against your lips.
Your gaze drifts down his perfect body, Garrett's hard dick pressed between the band of his boxer briefs and his hot skin. His tipโs slick with precum, making your mouth water. You reach out your finger, teasing his fat tip, tracing his slit as his mouth falls open. Lifting your finger, you bring it to your lips, running it along your tongue.
"Yeah, baby?" You whisper. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
You look over at your phone, trembling on the nightstand.
Alarm: British and World Literature
"No... No, baby. C'mon," Garrett groans breathily as he hovers over you, reading it as well.
"I'm sorry," you sigh, running your fingers through your hair, trying to look half-presentable as you reach for your laptop, resting on your lap, before pulling it open for class.
"You're jokin' me," he rasps as he looks at you over your laptop as the faces of your classmates fill the digital classroom. You shush him, and he scoffs, his face twisting in disgust.
"M'sorry," you whisper, keeping your voice soft.
"Nah, baby... Don't be," he hums as he rests his hand on your thigh, making your brows draw together in confusion with his sudden change of heart.
Your professor's face pops up on the screen, delivering her usual greeting.
Your breath snags when his hand tightens on your thigh. The brief surrender in his expression disappears almost immediately, replaced by something sharper.
Your heart starts to race a little faster, pussy throbbing as Garrett's large hand traces up your leg, squeezing your upper thigh. "Present," you speak, pushing out the word for attendance as his rough fingers draw along your soft skin.
You feel your cheeks warm up, your thighs press in slightly, but he stops you, spreading you wider, making you bite your lips to keep your whimper inside. Garrett chuckles just under his breath at the sound that slips past your lips, angling himself slightly to get a better look at your pretty face.
"Pretend I'm not even here," he taunts through a whisper as his fingers cup your pussy, pushing against your sex.
You try your best to focus, your pulse stutters as class drags on. Garrett slides two long fingers inside you, pressing his lips against your clit, making you have to lift your laptop ever so slightly so he won't knock it. You clear your throat, pretending to ignore him, but it's useless.
Garrett kisses your thigh as he starts to fuck his fingers into you.
He curls his long digits, making you fight back moan after moan from his hand alone.
You try to close your legs, but he catches you immediately, pinning them to the mattress again, holding you open to look down at your drooling hole, giving you a few teasing licks.
"Holy shit," you breathe as Garrett flicks his tongue against your clit before sucking down. He drops one arm, pushing his fingers inside your pussy as his mouth works on you as well.
Your head gets fuzzy, your body quaking hard enough to make the screen shake visibly. Fuck, Garrett. You grab the top of your laptop, slamming it shut, letting a deep moan pour from your lips as you cum hard off his tongue and his fingers, throwing your head into the pillows.
Garrett crawls up to your lips, pressing a gentle kiss on your mouth as you come down from your high, tasting yourself on his lips. "Mmm... I love you, baby," he hums, and you want to be mad, but you just can't.
Your brows pinch together in confusion as Garrett rolls flat on the mattress. He grabs the elastic band of his boxers, looking up at you with a smirk as he pulls them down his thighs, his heavy cock slapping against his skin.
"You got thirty minutes left, baby," he smiles smugly as he wraps his fist around his thick dick, waiting for you to climb on top.
"Garrett..." You chuckle breathlessly, still breathing heavily from your first release. "I don't know."
"Looks like you donโt know," he mumbles teasingly as he reaches for you, but you're already moving toward him, your actions telling a different story entirely. "Just be a good girl and sit on it," he hums.
You climb onto him backwards, Garrett's big hands slapping and kneading your ass, pulling you open slightly as he watches you trace his tip through your wetness.
"Goddamn, princess. C'mon... Shittt," he moans as you slide down on his dick, inch by inch, your pussy swallowing him whole 'til you're fully sat, nails clawing into his muscular thighs. "Atta girl. Fuck, you're wet, pretty," he praises as you let the oversized t-shirt Garrett gave you loose.
His hands slip beneath the fabric, settling on your ass while you grab your laptop again, trying desperately to keep a straight face with your boyfriend buried deep inside you.
He looks up from the pillow, seeing your face captured in the virtual classroomโwatching as you bite your cheek and brows soften, to keep from cracking and letting the class know.
His big palm settles against your tailbone, chuckling under his breath as his thumb presses in your ass, making you gasp. Your composure slips and your eyes go wider, your pussy squeezes around his cock a little tighter, and he grits out a soft moan.
โFuck,โ he mumbles under his breath, head dropping back into the pillow. โThatโs my girl.โ
๐ป๐taglist on my pinned post ๐ @rafesthroatbaby @liss2709-blog @sushi-girl04 @judesgfirl @cdiaz18 @fiercetigerpoison @obsessedwrafe @vanillaiceyhot @maialopez23 @rexit-mo @georgiastars13 @princessaaa13 @dragonvalyria @livlovesfastcars @thebitchylibra @corvusmorte @st8rkey @imperfectlyperfect78 @winchestersbgirl @glitterandviolence13
pairing โ garrett graham x reader
notes from me โ i know i usually only write rafe/drew but i'm on my second rewatch of off campus and i couldn't help myself!!
warnings โ alcohol, drunken silliness, soft/protective garrett, party chaos, mild innuendo
word count โ 4.1k
navigation โ masterlist
The thing about Garrett Graham being on a one-drink limit was that it made him unbearably observant.
Usually, at parties like this, Garrett was loud in the easy way he always was when the room already liked him. Leaning against the kitchen island with a red cup in one hand, shoulder knocked against Loganโs while Tucker said something dry enough to make both of them laugh through their noses, still getting pulled into conversations every two minutes by guys who remembered Briar had a game tomorrow and thought โbury those assholesโ counted as both analysis and encouragement.
He was still doing that, still smiling when somebody slapped his shoulder on the way past. Still nodding along when a freshman he vaguely knew started talking at him about the power play with the intense glassy-eyed sincerity of a man who had consumed too much cheap vodka and exactly one hockey podcast. Still charming people mostly by accident, because Garrett had never once walked into a room and thought maybe he should make himself smaller for everybody elseโs sake.
But sober Garrett had range. Unfortunately for her, sober Garrett noticed things.
He noticed when Loganโs cup went from beer to something stronger. Not his problem. He noticed Dean talking with both hands while Allie stood tucked under his arm, laughing like she knew whatever came out of his mouth next was going to be either stupid or actionable. Also not his problem.
He noticed Tucker quietly moving somebodyโs drink away from the edge of the counter before it got knocked onto the floor, because Tucker had always possessed the exhausting dignity of a man born already tired of everyoneโs shit.
And he noticed the exact second his girlfriend put one hand on the kitchen bench again. That was his problem.
Heโd already stopped this exact mission twice in the last ten minutes, which felt excessive for a girl who kept insisting she was literally fine while blinking a little too slowly and smiling at him like the lights had all gone soft around the edges.
The first time, heโd caught her by the waist and set her back on the floor with a calm, captainly, โNope,โ said close to her ear. The second time, heโd stepped between her and the counter like a very attractive barricade while she pouted at him like he'd personally cancelled fun.
Now she was trying again, because, apparently, the second a vodka cranberry and an Ariana Grande song got into the same room, her ability to retain recent history collapsed entirely.
Her skirt was too short for climbing. It was probably too short for several forms of normal standing, if Garrett was being honest, but that was between him, God, and the part of his brain currently doing threat assessment on behalf of her underwear.
Her heels were tall enough that Allie had called them hot but fucking dangerous when they arrived, and now one of them scraped against the cabinet front as she lifted her knee with absolutely no concern for balance, modesty, or Garrettโs long-term cardiovascular health.
Dean, from the other side of the kitchen, had been waiting for this. Garrett could feel it in the air. The man had made three separate comments about keeping her away from elevated surfaces and then looked personally enriched every time Garrett told him to shut the fuck up.
Garrett moved before the room really had time to understand what was happening. One second he was beside Logan, cup loose in his hand. The next he was behind her, cup abandoned somewhere near the sink, palm landing firm and warm against the back of her thigh as he tugged the hem of her skirt down with the grim focus of a man handling something highly flammable.
โYeah, nope,โ he said, low against her shoulder, his voice amused even as his hand stayed where it was. โNot doinโ that.โ
She turned around like she'd been caught doing something cute instead of deeply stupid, her face bright with that pleased, unfocused warmth she got when the room had started moving a little faster than she could keep up with and Garrett was suddenly close enough to touch.
Her hands went straight to his chest, fingers sliding up the front of his shirt with drunken affection and absolutely no subtlety, and she beamed at him like she hadn't seen him in months. โBaby!โ
Garrett looked down at her hands, then back at her face, his mouth twitching. โHi.โ
โWhere were you?โ
โRight there.โ He nodded vaguely over his shoulder, where Logan had turned to watch them with the exact expression of a man who would rather die than become useful. โSaw you, like, ten seconds ago.โ
โOh.โ She seemed to consider this very seriously, brows knitting for one whole beat before her face opened again, delighted by the rediscovery. โHi.โ
โYeah, we did that part.โ
She smiled anyway, her hands still sitting flat against his chest like she had every right to keep them there. Which she did. That was becoming a problem, actually. The newness of it. The fact that they were together enough now for people to know, for her to touch him without pretending it was accidental, for him to stand in a crowded kitchen the night before a game with one beer in his system and her skirt in his hand like this was a normal responsibility a man could acquire through dating.
She swayed into him. A small tilt of her weight, the kind someone else might have missed if they were drunker or less embarrassingly tuned to her. Garrettโs hand tightened at her waist before she seemed to notice sheโd moved at all.
โOkay,โ he said, dragging the word out in warning. โBar stool. Right now.โ
โIโm fine.โ
โYouโre beautiful.โ
Her eyes narrowed at him, suspicious and visibly pleased. โThatโs not what I said.โ
โNo, but it worked better.โ He turned her neatly by the hips before she could decide the counter still had unfinished business with her. โSit.โ
She made a noise of offence, but she let him guide her onto the stool, mostly because it was already there and because Garrettโs hands were warm and annoyingly sure and doing that thing where they seemed to make decisions for her body a full second before her brain managed to file an objection.
The room tilted pleasantly when she sat. The bass pushed through the kitchen floor and up into the bones of her legs. Someone had spilled beer near the fridge and the tile caught lightly under the heel she kept tapping against the stool rung. Across the room, Allie was tucked into Deanโs side, laughing at something Tucker said while Dean looked over her head with the bright, vicious joy of someone watching Garrett suffer a romantic inconvenience in real time.
Garrett went to the sink and filled a plastic cup with water. He came back holding it out like evidence.
She reached for it.
He lifted it just out of range.
She blinked at him.
His face went blank in that innocent way that always meant he was about to become deeply irritating. โWhat?โ
โGimme.โ
โI am.โ
โNo, youโre not.โ
โIโm trying.โ
She pouted. โYouโre being mean.โ
โIโm providing medical care.โ
โYouโre making me work for water, Garrett.โ
His laugh came out before he could stop it, quick and real, his head ducking for half a second as if he was genuinely annoyed with himself for enjoying her this much. He lowered the cup again. She reached. He moved it left. Her fingers closed around absolutely nothing.
โGarrett.โ
โReflexes are a little rough tonight, huh?โ
โI will break up with you.โ
โNo, you wonโt.โ He brought the cup close again, then jerked it back when she lunged, and she burst into giggles so hard her knee knocked against his thigh.
โBaby, this is bleak. This is like watching a kitten lose a fight with a shoelace.โ
โI hate you.โ
He finally let her take it, but only after wrapping his hand around hers to steady the cup because she came in too fast and almost sent half of it down her front. โSlow. Drink it like youโve used a mouth before.โ
She glared at him over the rim while she drank, which would have worked better if he hadnโt still been holding the cup with her. The water was cold enough to make her teeth ache, cutting through the sugary film of whatever Allie had mixed earlier and landing hard in the warm, spinning centre of her stomach.
Garrett watched her with his head tipped slightly, all amused mouth and attentive eyes, and she hated, immediately and deeply, how much she liked it. Not the fussing, she would deny enjoying the fussing until the end of time. But the way he did it. Like he could tease her without making her feel stupid. Like the joke was never that she was embarrassing him. Like he had simply accepted that she was drunk, pretty, badly behaved, and his to keep upright for the next hour.
His hand settled on her thigh while she drank, thumb resting just under the edge of her skirt, not doing anything much except being there. The contact was casual enough to look like nothing from the outside. From inside her body, it had weight. A small, steady point in a room full of noise.
Someone yelled his name from the living room. โGraham!โ
Garrett turned his head. โWhat?โ
A couple of hockey guys were waving him over, one of them yelling something about the line changes tomorrow and another immediately shouting over him that they were not talking strategy at a party because some of us actually know how to live.
Garrettโs attention shifted for barely two seconds. Barely. His hand left her knee. His shoulders angled away. And then the opening presented itself. It wasn't her fault. It really wasnโt. Because Ariana came on.
The song that reached into the middle of her chest and hit whatever drunk, glittery emergency button existed in girls at parties. The one that made Allie gasp from across the room and point at her because Allie understood. Allie knew. This was not about Garrett and his very boring anti-countertop agenda anymore. This was bigger than him. This was practically civic duty.
She set the water down very carefully, which felt mature enough to balance the scales of whatever happened next, and slid off the stool.
Dean noticed first. Dean noticed anything with potential for either nudity or injury, especially if both were being offered at once.
His whole face lit up. โWooo!โ he shouted, lifting his cup. โGet up there!โ
Allie smacked him in the stomach, laughing even as she did it. โDon't encourage her.โ
The timing was, unfortunately, beautiful. Her knee was already on the counter. One hand braced against the surface. Her skirt was doing its absolute best in conditions no garment that short should ever have been expected to survive.
She looked back over her shoulder at the exact moment Garrettโs expression shifted from distracted amusement to flat, immediate disbelief.
His cup was gone again. Nobody knew where he kept putting them. One second his hands were empty; the next they were on her waist.
โAlright,โ he said, hauling her backward before the second knee could get involved. โWeโre done here.โ
She made a sound that was half laugh, half protest, her feet finding the floor with such minimal commitment to the task that he had to catch more of her weight.
โWeโre done.โ
โI didnโt do anything.โ
โYou were halfway to a public incident.โ
She furrowed her brow, glaring up at him. โI was dancing.โ
โYou were climbing furniture.โ
โFor art.โ
โFor urgent care.โ He bent a little to look into her face, and fuck, he was so annoying like this. So sure of himself. So warm around the edges of his authority that it made arguing with him feel less like resistance and more like foreplayโs better-behaved cousin. โUp we go.โ
Her eyes widened. โWhere?โ
โAnywhere that isnโt this kitchen.โ
โGarrett, noโโ
But she was already laughing, because he had that look. The one that said he had made a decision and her role in the next thirty seconds was mostly decorative. His arm slid around the backs of her thighs, the other braced firm at her waist, and before she could do anything more strategic than clutch at his shirt, the whole kitchen flipped.
Light, ceiling, cabinets, Loganโs deeply entertained face, Deanโs open-mouthed delight. All of it went upside down in one warm, dizzy rush as Garrett threw her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing and he had reached the end of negotiations.
She shrieked.
Everyone cheered.
โGarrett!โ
โYup.โ He adjusted his hold like this was a normal thing to be doing in somebodyโs kitchen, one hand firm across the backs of her thighs, the other keeping her skirt decent. โThatโs my name.โ
She smacked his back, badly, mostly because she was laughing too hard to aim. โPut me down!โ
โNo.โ
โIโm serious!โ
โYouโre drunk and upside down. Youโre not serious.โ
Dean was losing his mind across the room, bent halfway over Allieโs shoulder while she tried and failed to look disapproving. Logan lifted his cup with solemn respect. Tucker, because he had chosen betrayal, called, โHonestly, I think this is the safest option available.โ
โI hate all of you,โ she announced to the kitchen, though it came out wobbly with laughter because Garrett had started walking and every step made her bounce lightly against his shoulder.
Garrett paused in the doorway and turned just enough for the room to see her dangling there, hair falling toward the floor, cheeks hot, both hands planted uselessly against his back while her skirt remained under the firm jurisdiction of his palm.
โSay goodnight, everyone,โ he said.
She lifted her head with great effort, spotted Allie first, then Dean, then Logan, then the blurry, bright collection of cups and boys and bad decisions behind them, and waved with both hands like she was leaving a pageant. โGoodnight, everyone!โ
The kitchen erupted again. Dean actually clapped. Allie blew her a kiss. Logan yelled, โHydrate!โ with the confidence of a man who had not had water since Thursday.
Garrett carried her through the house, past the crush of bodies in the hallway, past two people making out badly against the wall by the stairs, past somebodyโs abandoned jacket and an open front door letting in a thin slice of cold night air.
The music followed them out in pieces, bass first, then voices, then the muffled whole of the party dropping behind them as Garrett stepped onto the porch and the night came up around her bare legs.
The air sharpened everything at the edges. Damp grass. Car exhaust. The metallic bite of early spring. Garrettโs cologne caught in the cotton of his shirt where her cheek had ended up pressed against his back.
For a few seconds she kept wriggling on principle, because it seemed important for the record that she hadn't gone quietly. Then the path dipped slightly and the world swung with it, and she decided stillness had a lot going for it.
Halfway down the walk, she stopped struggling altogether and just hung there, arms loose, one heel slipping lower on her foot.
โBabe,โ she said.
โYeah?โ
โYou have a nice butt.โ
Garrett did not miss a step. โThanks, baby.โ
โLike, really nice.โ
โI know.โ
She gasped, offended despite having introduced the subject herself. โYouโre so cocky.โ
โYouโre upside down staring at my ass and giving live commentary. I feel like the confidence is evidence-based.โ
She giggled again, softer this time, the sound spilling out into the cold. Garrettโs hand shifted against the backs of her thighs, careful with her balance, careful with the hem of her skirt, careful in a way that shouldn't have been noticeable when she was upside down and full of vodka and openly objectifying him, but was.
He could have made a thing of it. Could have rolled his eyes harder. Could have acted like taking care of his drunk girlfriend was some massive inconvenience being inflicted on him by the universe and Ariana Grande.
But Garrett just carried her like it was easy. Like she was funny. Like she was his problem, and he was, privately and embarrassingly, kind of pleased about it.
At his car, he set her down slowly, both hands at her waist until her heels found pavement and stayed there. The world rushed upright too fast, porch light blurring behind his shoulder, and she grabbed his forearms while her stomach took a second to remember where it lived.
Garrett watched her face, his smile fading into something more focused. โGood?โ
She nodded, then immediately leaned forward until her forehead touched his chest because nodding had been a little ambitious. โMhm.โ
โThat was wildly convincing.โ
โIโm graceful.โ
โYou tried to climb a kitchen counter because Ariana Grande told you to.โ
โShe did.โ
โShe didn't personally tell you shit.โ
She pointed one finger up at him. โYou donโt know our relationship.โ
His mouth curved again, and he brushed her hair back from her face, knuckles grazing her cheek in a touch so light it made her eyes want to close. โYour relationship with gravity is a little unstable right now.โ
She looked up at him. The kitchen light was still on him somehow, caught in the angles of his face, in the dark sweep of his lashes, in the small amused pull at the corner of his mouth. He was close enough that she could see the faint scrape near his jaw from shaving, the tiredness tucked under his eyes from practice, the way his attention kept moving over her in pieces. Eyes. Mouth. Balance. Mood.
He was still teasing her, still Garrett, still unfairly pleased with himself, but under it sat the thing he did without announcing it. The checking. The steadiness. The hand already there before the fall happened.
She slid her hands up his chest again because it was the easiest place to put them, fingers curling loosely in his shirt. โAre you mad?โ
Garrett looked genuinely insulted by the question. โAt you?โ
โMm.โ
โFor trying to flash half the hockey team and die on a countertop?โ He pretended to consider it. โNah.โ
Her mouth turned down. โThat sounded judgy.โ
โThat was the edited version.โ
โYouโre mean.โ
โIโm driving you home, giving you water, and preventing you from becoming a cautionary tale. Iโm a hero.โ His hands settled at her hips again, thumbs warm through the thin fabric at her waist. โA hot one, apparently. Nice butt. Heard that somewhere.โ
She groaned and dropped her forehead back against his chest, and his laugh moved under her ear, low and pleased.
For a few seconds they just stood there beside his car while the party carried on without them, muffled and distant now, her body still buzzing with music and alcohol and the delayed embarrassment of nearly becoming a story Dean would tell until graduation. Garrettโs hand moved once down her back, then up again.
When she tipped her face up, he was already looking.
โWhat?โ she asked, suspicious.
โNothing.โ
โYouโre doing a face.โ
โThat's because I have a face.โ
โA smug one.โ
โYeah, thatโs genetic.โ He opened the passenger door and guided her toward it, one hand hovering near her head so she didnโt knock it against the frame. โIn.โ
She sat with less dignity than she would have preferred, knees bumping together, one heel catching awkwardly on the floor mat. Garrett crouched before she could fully process the problem, fingers closing gently around her ankle as he straightened the shoe and set her foot flat. The intimacy of it caught weirdly in her stomach.
โThere,โ he said. โBoth shoes accounted for. Huge night for us.โ
She stared down at him. โYouโre really pretty from this angle.โ
He looked up, one brow lifting. โFrom the floor?โ
โMhm.โ
โGood to know.โ He reached across her for the seatbelt, and she took the opportunity to press a messy kiss to his cheek, catching more jaw than anything else. Garrett paused with the belt pulled across her lap, mouth twitching like he was trying very hard not to smile too obviously. โYou missed.โ
โI didnโt.โ
โThat was my jaw.โ
โI know what I did.โ
โTerrifying sentence.โ He clicked the belt into place and tugged once to check it, then braced one hand on the roof of the car and looked down at her. โYou gonna puke in my car?โ
She considered lying, then made a face. โNo.โ
โVery long pause.โ
โI was thinking.โ
โThatโs what scared me.โ
She laughed, head falling back against the seat, and Garrettโs smile went helpless for half a second. There and then mostly gone, swallowed back under the usual cocky tilt of his mouth before she could do anything devastating with it, like point it out.
But she saw it. The fondness. The stupid, pleased little crease near his eye, like this โ her drunk and difficult and half-asleep in his passenger seat, mascara probably doing something unfortunate, skirt riding high enough on her thighs that he reached in and tugged it down again with a muttered, โJesus, baby,โ โ was somehow not a nuisance to him.
Somehow, it was worth smiling about.
He shut the door and walked around the front of the car, and through the windshield she watched him shake his head to himself, still grinning.
When he got in, the party disappeared almost completely. Door closed. Engine on. The car filled with the low blue glow of the dashboard and the clean, familiar smell of Garrettโs hoodie thrown in the backseat.
He handed her a half-full water bottle from the backseat. โDrink.โ
She took it with both hands. โYouโre bossy.โ
โYou like it.โ
She hummed into the rim, then looked over at him with her cheek pressed against the seat. โMaybe.โ
Garrett pulled away from the curb with one hand on the wheel, the other reaching over without looking to settle warm over her bare knee.
โNext party,โ he said, โweโre putting you in pants.โ
She made a horrified noise. โAbsolutely not.โ
โFine. Longer skirt.โ
โNo.โ
โFlats?โ
She turned her head very slowly, giving him the full weight of her disappointment. โGarrett.โ
He glanced over, and the grin came back. โYeah, okay. That was too far.โ
โThank you.โ
โBut no counters.โ
She sighed like he had asked her to give up art. โYouโre ruining my brand.โ
โYour brand almost gave Tucker a full view of your underwear.โ
โWas he impressed?โ
Garrettโs hand tightened on her knee. Enough that she felt the shift before she saw the look he kept aimed at the road. โCareful.โ
Garrett Graham, competitive down to the bone. Still warm, still amused, but with that little edge in his voice that made her grin against the side of the water bottle because he was so easy sometimes. Pretty and cocky and gone for her in ways he kept trying to disguise as confidence.
She reached over and covered his hand with hers, fingers slipping between his. โIโm kidding.โ
โI know.โ
โYouโre my favourite.โ
His mouth softened before he could stop it. โYeah?โ
โMhm.โ Her eyes were getting heavy now, the night stretching into something blurred and honey-warm around the edges. โEven when youโre mean and anti-Ariana.โ
โIโm pro-Ariana. Iโm anti-head injury.โ
She hummed again, sinking lower in the seat, her thumb moving lazily over his knuckles. The car rolled through the quiet streets around Briar, past porch lights and parked cars and the occasional burst of noise from other parties spilling out over lawns.
Garrett drove slower than usual, glancing over every so often like she might attempt to climb something inside the car if left unsupervised.
Maybe she loved that. Just a little.
Maybe that was the problem with him. The dangerous part wasnโt the grin, or the body, or the fact that half the girls at every party seemed to know where he was without looking directly at him.
It was this. His hand steady under hers. His hoodie in the backseat. His voice still teasing because he knew she would hate being fussed over too seriously, even while he kept watch like it mattered.
She turned her face toward him, smiling sleepily. โGarrett?โ
โYeah, baby?โ
โNext time she plays that song, Iโm getting on the bench.โ
He laughed under his breath, eyes on the road, thumb brushing once over the side of her hand.
โ โ โ do you dare or not ? โ โ โนโ โ garrett graham x fem!reader.
warnings: cute nicknames, soft kisses, french kissing, gentle butt squeeze, best friend x best friend.
a/n: I've had this draft for weeks, i'm uploading it because i'm not happy with it at all and i feel like my english is terrible.
PS: I LOVE GARRETT GRAHAM SO MUCH.
PS2: I thought about making a taglist, if you read this part, let me know in the comments if you want to be included.
โ โ โ โ โ โ So, to sum up how you ended up standing in front of Garrett Graham, about to be taught how to kiss a guy properly and awesomely? Well, it was a long story, not that long.
The two had known each other since last summer, having met at hockey practice. You wanted to be a great journalist, a really good one who left her mark everywhere you went, but having Garrett around like a real pain in the neck... Ugh, it was annoying.
You needed an interview to get into an important committee and he... Well, he didn't need any benefit, but he just gave you the incentive to be his new female friend: a friend without any preconditions, no sex, no kisses, just a genuine friendship.
You accepted without hesitation, and from that moment on... well, you shared a certain special friendship. Every party he went to, you had to go, like a set of rules. He had practice, you had to go; you had to study, knowing that Garrett hated spending time studying, he was... things like that.
Until that summer passes, the new season arrives and you start to see a boy on campus in a different light; what's more, you'll have a date with that boy.
The only problem? You didn't know how to kiss.
You were inexperienced. You hated men, yet you started to like one and there was no going back.
And asking Garrett for help hadn't been that complicated because he gladly agreed if it meant making you nervous.
Now they were here, in the gym, where Garrett was working out, and you were waiting around like an idiot. You tapped your foot on the floor, trying to get his attention.
โ "Heyyyyy," you greeted him, and he smiled. "Stop ignoring me. I have a date with a guy in three hours, Garrett! And if i don't learn to kiss properly, i might be embarrassed for the rest of my life."
โ "Can you calm down? It's not the end of the world, sunshine," Garrett mocks, still holding the dumbbells.
โ "I hate that nickname," you said, shaking your head. You reached out to snatch the dumbbell and sighed because, yes, it was a little heavy. "Stop holding these dumbbells and show me."
โ "Why are you so needy? Do you want to learn or kiss me?" Garrett teases, trying to make you nervous.
You rolled your eyes, you couldn't believe it, did he really have to be so... mocking? You had no words to describe him, however, you took the other dumbbell and put them back in place, when you turned to look at him again, he was already in front of you.
Damn... Having him near made you blush a little.
โ "I haven't even touched or kissed you and you're already blushing."
โ Garrett smiled again. His smile was so... sexy, there was something about him when he smiled that... "Do i make you nervous, sunshine?"
โ "Idiot," you muttered, crossing your arms. "Now, give me the advice, i don't know, the step-by-step instructions."
โ "Okay, first: don't be so nervous. You're going to make the guy realize you're inexperienced at this," Garrett advises, looking down at you as he takes a step closer. "Second: if he doesn't give you 'the look,' don't go near him."
โ "'The look?' What's that supposed to mean?" you asked curiously.
โ "This..." Garrett lowers his gaze to your lips and looks back at you. "Look"
Holy shit, you thought to yourself. Your eyes got a little more... Well, how to explain it? Your pupils dilated and he noticed that, and he knows it's having an effect on you.
Garrett gave you every piece of advice, every instruction that made your hair stand on end, especially when it came to placing your hand on a particular point.
There was a point where they almost kissed, however, he stepped back to look at you first; you didn't notice it, but you felt it: your cheeks were as red as could be.
โ "Now. Make this a scene," Garrett instructs. "I'm the guy. Let's say dinner's over, you're chatting, and you want to see if I'll let you have a kiss. What's the first thing you'd do?"
โ "Ah... I don't know." You said nervously. You're such an idiot, nervous and shy about a scene you don't even know will happen with that guy.
โ "Come on, sunshine, i've given you all the steps, just let yourself go." Garrett says.
โ "What if i mess it up? It's one thing to practice with you, where there's a certain level of trust and..." you paused, gesturing with your hands. "And it's another thing entirely to kiss the guy i'm going to date, you understand?"
โ "Can you stop babbling and do it? I swear I'll leave here and..." Garrett is interrupted by you.
โ "Okay, grumpy! I'll do it," you exclaimed, shaking your body to get rid of any nerves that might make you refuse to do this. "Here i go."
The moment you approached him, taking slow steps, your heart pounded wildly, especially when he stepped back slightly, making you feel a little rejected. However, instead of feeling that way, you replaced the emotion with something more pleasurable, a fury at him for provoking you like that. So you grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled him closer, glancing at one eye, then his lips, then the other, and so on, without making it too obvious.
Garrett was mesmerized, in fact, he realized your trick and yet, he remained still in front of you while you stood on your tiptoes, caressing the back of his neck and he looked at you.
It was a step towards you kissing him, and as soon as you did, you felt the softness of the kiss, his lips brushing against yours as you pulled him closer. He didn't hesitate to lower his large hands and gently squeeze your bottom, eliciting a gasp from you that made him kiss you with more hunger than he had anticipated.
His tongue collided with yours, he pressed you against the dumbbells as you spread your legs slightly to feel him between them, and without meaning to, as you lowered your hand, you could feel how hard he was... And an obscene thought made you blush until someone cleared their throat behind you.
โ "Am i interrupting something?" Logan asks, raising his hands as he holds the water bottle with one.
You turned around, unintentionally, covering Garrett's bulge, who, with great discretion, was able to adjust himself completely.
โ "Aaaah... No, no. I was... Well, i..." you stammered nervously. "I have a date and... Well, i wanted Garrett to give me some advice about something, I... I won't say anything else, I'll go."
โ "Okay... Whatever you say." Logan nods, stepping aside to let you pass.
You say goodbye to Garrett, thanking him as he leaves the room with a sigh. Damn, your best friend just got a boner because of you... You did that to him with a practice kiss. You couldn't believe what your hand felt and what your mouth tasted.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Logan looked at his friend and smiled mockingly.
โ "You should cover up..." Logan points at him. "You look like a teenage kid with his first high school crush, dude."
โ "Oh, come on, shut up." Garrett shakes his head, settling back to listen to his friend's laughter, and he laughs too.
summary: garrett shows you how much he truly loves the way his jersey looks on you
content warning: mirror sex, explicit sexual content 18+ MDNI
w/c: 827
a/n: taking an *incredibly* blind shot at this :P
The mirror in Garrett's bedroom was going to be the death of you, but perhaps itโd all be worth it.ย
You'd pulled on his jersey that morning, the fabric hanging loose past your thighs as it smelled like him, cedar and sweat and entirely Garrett. It was hard to miss the way his eyes had darkened when he caught you wearing it when you came down for breakfast, but you hadn't expected this.
"Well, well," he'd drawled from the doorway, arms crossed with the same infuriating smirk playing at his lips. "Stealing my jersey now? That's a serious offence, you know. Could get you in a lot of trouble."
"Trouble?" you'd asked, turning to face him, trying to look innocent. โYou donโt say.โ
"Oh yeah." He'd pushed off the doorframe, prowling toward you with that loose, confident stride that made your stomach flip. "See, in hockey, when someone takes something that belongs to you..." He'd reached you then, his hands settling on your hips, tugging you close. "...you ought to teach them a lesson."
He'd spun you around before you could respond, positioning you in front of the full-length mirror, his big body crowding behind yours. You watched his face in the reflectionโthat sharp jawline, those heavy-lidded eyes, his gaze dropping to where his fingers were tracing the number on your back.
"Look at you," he murmured, his voice dropping an octave, losing some of that teasing edge. "Fucking hell, you look so good in my colours." His hands slid under the hem of the jersey, palming your hips, his thumbs stroking soft, reverent circles on your skin. "Better than I ever did."
You'd tried to turn, to kiss him, but he'd held you in place, his mouth finding your neck instead.
"Nuh-uh," he whispered against your skin, his stubble scraping deliciously. "I want you to watch. Want you to see what you do to me."
His hands moved higher, palming your breasts through the jersey, his thumbs dragging over your nipples until you arched back against him. You could feel how hard he was pressed against your ass, and you'd ground back, needy, shameless.
"Wow. So that's the game plan?" He'd chuckled, dark and pleased, his breath hot against your ear. "Wear my jersey and pretend you didn't know exactly what you were doing?"
His hand had slipped down your stomach then, disappearing beneath the waistband of your underwear, and your eyes had fluttered shut.ย
โMhm.โ You barely got out, entirely consumed by his touch, how hot it felt against your skin like he was branding you.
"Eyes open, baby," he'd commanded softly, his fingers finding you wet and ready. "Stay with me. Look how beautiful you are."
You'd forced your eyes open, watching in the mirror as his tattooed forearm moved beneath the fabric, his fingers working between your legs with devastating precision. The sight of itโthe jersey hanging off one shoulder, his rough hands against your soft skin, the way your body responded to him like it was second natureโhad your knees buckling.
He'd held you up, his arm banding around your waist, his chin resting on your shoulder so he could watch your face in the reflection.
"God," he'd breathed, and there it was. That softness breaking through the smugness, his voice going rough with wonder. "Look at you. You have no idea, do you? No idea what you look like right now."
"Garrett-"
"I could watch you like this forever," he admitted, his fingers curling inside you, making you gasp. "My girl in my jersey? Fuck, whatโd I do to deserve this?"
Before you knew it, he was spinning you around, lifting you onto the dresser beneath the mirror, his mouth finding yours in a kiss that tasted like devotion and desire all mixed together. He'd shoved the jersey up to your waist, spreading your legs wide, and when he'd pushed inside you, you'd both moaned, loud and unguarded.
He'd fucked you slow at first, almost tenderly, his forehead pressed to yours, his thumbs stroking your cheeks. But then his hips had snapped harder, that cocky grin returning as he gripped the edge of the jersey.
"Mine," he'd grunted, his eyes locking on yours in the mirror, fierce and possessive and utterly wrecked at the sight of you falling apart against him, your moans hanging in the atmosphere of his bedroom. "You're wearing my number, baby. Means you're mine. Means I'm yours."
You'd come apart with his name breaking across your lips, and he'd follow you over the edge, burying his face in your neck, his arms wrapping around you so tight you could barely breathe.
"Keep it," he'd whispered after, his voice muffled against your skin, his hands still stroking up and down your back like he couldn't stop touching you.ย
โHuh?โ You hazily asked, the sex still clouding your mind.
"The jersey. It's yours. Itโd be a disservice if I kept wearing it."
You'd smiled against his hair, thinking of all the times youโd have to prove his judgment wrong. And perhaps go for a few more roundsโฆ
โโ garrett graham x figure skater!reader ; wc 1.5k
tw ; 1 mention of readers hair being slicked back ( color, texture, or length is not described ) , garrett is so mean in this tbh ( but all in good character development ) , reader's sport is severely under appreciated ( by the school + the hockey team ) , fem!reader , curvy!reader , body image issues , weight tracking ( by someone other than the reader ) , unedited
part one \ part two
Cold lived differently inside Briar Arena than it did outdoors.ย
Outside winter wind bit at exposed skin and sent people rushing for heavier coats. Inside the rink, the cold settled deeper than that. It seeped through fabric slowly.ย
It crawled into your lungs on every inhale, settled into joints and fingertips until you body either adapted or suffered.ย
Most people suffered.ย
The hockey team clustered together near the center ice in layers of Briar hoodies and thick jackets, their breath fogged faintly beneath the fluorescent lights overhead.
One of them wore gloveds beneath his hockey gloves. Another kept rubbing his hands together between complaints like he could bully warmth back into them through friction alone.ย
You could tell they weren't used to being on the ice without their padding and protection.ย
You stood beside Coach Lauren without a jacket at all.ย
Black compression fabric hugged your arms from wrist to shoulder, the long sleeves ending in thumb holes worn soft with use. Your leggings flared slightly at the ankle over pristine white skates, your hair slicked back to avoid flyways.ย
The cold had barely registered anymore and really it hadn't in years. Three in the morning practices in nearly empty arena had cured you of that weakness before you were old enough to drive.ย
Coach Jensen blew he whistle once. The sharp sound cracked through the arena loud enough to bounce off the rafters. Conversations died in uneven waves across the team.ย
"That game against St. Anthony's was embarrassing."
Groans answered him immediately, no doubt to argue their side of the events that transpired during last weeks game. You tune most of it out. Excuses sounded the same no matter the sport, you'd come to learn that.ย
Coach Jensen folded his arms over his chest. "You lost edge control every time the pressure shifted. That's sloppy work, gentlemen."
"That's bullshit," Garrett Graham muttered.ย
You knew who he was before Coach Jensen had even said his name to you earlier that morning. Everybody at Briar knewย Garrett Graham. Captian of the schools prized hockey team, campus golden boy. The kind of athlete whose face got plastered across university banners while your own championship medals sat locked inside display cases most student never bothered looking at.ย
Not to mention his reputation as an absolute manwhore. So yes, you knew Garrett Graham, but only by reputation because he would never associate himself with someone like you.ย
Jensen had insisted Garrett could rally the troopes and get them to listen to what you had to say. Though the look on his face made you think Coach Jensen didn't know Garrett as well as he thought he did.ย
โItโs skating, Graham,โ Coach Jensen replied flatly. โI can teach you hockey, but I canโt teach you toย respect the ice.โ
A few players snickered. Garrett rolled his eyes so hard his eyebrows dusted the top of his black beanie, wholly unconvinced. Jensen then jerked his chin towards you and your coach.
โThis is Coach Lauren from Briarโs figure skating program and thisโโ his hand gestured toward you briefly, โโis one of his championship skaters. Sheโll be helping with edge control, balance, and overall agility.โ
There was a brief silence. Then Dean Di Laurentis, another hockey boy you only knew by reputation, blinked confusedly. "Wait," he said slowly, genuine confusion all over his face. "We have a figure skating team?"
Laughter broke across the group. It didn't matter whether Dean had meant it seriously or as a joke, his teammate had taken it as one. Beside you, Coach Lauren sighed through his nose like a man profoundly tired of hockey players, you knew because you felt his same frustration.ย
Garrett shook his head once. "With all due respect, Coach, we don't needย skating lessonsย from some . . . ," he gestured vaguely in your direction, "Ice princess."
You didn't react. Years ago comments like that used to crawl beneath your skin. But by now they mostly just exhaused you. Coach Jensen continued anyway, entirely unimpressed.ย
"She has medaled nationally three years running and just returned from internationals."
That quieted them more effectively than the whistle had.ย
You hated hearing accomplishments listed out loud like that. They never sounded real coming from someone else's mouth. Just neat little bullet points people could clap for without really understanding the years behind them.ย
The six hour practices that you had endured with stress fractures and taped up ribs. The way your skating partner monitored every ounce you gained before competition season like your body belonged more to the sport than it did to you now.ย
Garrett tilted his head back, but you didn't understand what was running though his head. But you surmised it was probably a lot of what he'd already said out loud. Dean, however, looked at you properly now for the first time. "Wait, so you're like famous famous?" he asked.ย
The question caught strangely against your ribs. You didn't answer in fear that you would say something to harsh. Because really it shouldn't matter if you were objectively famous. Whether or not they listened to what you had to say shouldn't be determined by how many gold medals you had sitting on your shelf.ย
So, you began with what you knew, what you understood better than anyone.ย The ice. "We're starting with outside edges and weight distribution."
Again, Garrett scoffed quietly. You continued anyway. โHockey players rely too heavily on power skating, which means most of you compensate poorly when your center shifts unexpectedly.โ
Dean nodded along with exaggerated seriousness.ย
โAh yes,โ Logan said solemnly beside him. โMy center.โ
Tucker bit down on a grin.
A few more laughs scattered through the group as you kept talking.ย
You could feel their attention drifting anyway. Not toward your instructions but lower instead. Toward the curve of your hips beneath thin leggings. The compression top you suddenly wished youโd covered before coming out here.
Garrett crossed his arms over his chest. "Like I said," he drawled, "we don't need this princess. We just need ice time."
Coach Jensen's expression hardened instantly. โShe has absolutely nothing to gain from being here,โ he said sharply. โYou do.โ
"Coachโ" Garrett started to protest once again.ย
โShe took time out of her own training schedule to help you idiots after last weekโs disaster.โ A few players looked appropriately chastised.
Garrettย did not.ย
Jensen pointed towards the team. "You will give her your full attention and respect. Anyone with a problem can spend next game on the bench."
Without another word, Coach Jensen pushed off across the ice alongside Coach Lauren, leaving you alone with the team in the sudden hollow quiet that followed.
The atmosphere shifted almost immediately.
You brushed your hands together once.
โWeโll start simple.โ
Garrett snorted. โNo offense,ย princess, but if we wanted dance lessons we wouldโve signed up for ballet.โ The team laughed automatically.ย You didn't.
The laughter thinned awkwardly after that. You tilted your head slightly. โYou think figure skating is easy?โ Garrett smirked. โI think hockey players donโt need rhinestones and makeup to take to the ice.โ
โOh shit,โ Logan whispered under his breath.
You inhaled slowly through your nose.
โDo you even know how much money my competitions bring into this school?โ
Garrettโs smirk slipped.
โWhat?โ
โNo, like genuinely.โ Your voice stayed perfectly even. โDo you know?โ
Silence answered you. Of course he didnโt. You nodded once anyway. โOf course not. Because it isnโt hockey and thatโs all Briar cares about.โ
Nobody spoke.ย
โMy team doesnโt even have our own rink,โ you continued. โOur practice times change depending onย your schedules. We train aroundย you. Compete aroundย you. Fundraise aroundย you.โ
โNo, itโs alright.โ You gave him a small polite smile that somehow felt sharper than anger. โIโm used to hockey players treating my sport like a joke.โ
โThatโs not what I said.โ
โItโs what you meant.โ
The rink went quiet.
Even Dean looked uncomfortable now.
Garrett glanced around suddenly aware every single person was listening. Embarrassment flashed across his face fast enough to almost miss before irritation covered it again.
โWell maybe,โ he said, sharper this time, โthereโs a reason hockey gets more attention around here.โ
Dean closed his eyes briefly. Logan mouthed, holy shit. Tucker physically winced. You stared at Garrett for a long moment.
Then you pushed off the ice without another word, skating toward the exit.
Garrett frowned immediately. โWhere are you going?โ
You didnโt look back. โI have better things to do than hang around trying to teach a bunch of wannabe skaters how to respect the ice. Enjoy warming the bench.โ
pairing โ garrett graham x reader
summary โ a random class assignment sends garrett to celibacy club, where a stupid bet, four weeks of tension, and one almost-kiss turn into a much bigger problem.
warnings โ sexual tension, abstinence/celibacy themes, masturbation mention, party setting, suggestive content, strong language
notes from me โ thank u anon for the request!! such a fun idea <3
word count โ 9k
navigation โ masterlist | taglist
The assignment was already stupid before Garrett Graham got involved. That was the part she kept coming back to. Sheโd walked into Sociology of Community and Campus Life that morning with a coffee sheโd paid too much for, half a bagel wrapped in a napkin at the bottom of her tote, and the soft, optimistic hope that Dr. Miller would spend the first twenty minutes talking through the rubric while she sat in the third row and slowly became human.ย
That had been the dream. A gentle lecture. Maybe a discussion board reminder. Maybe one of those meandering tangents about institutional belonging that sounded important enough to write down but loose enough that nobody really had to understand it.
Instead, there was a hat on the front desk. Ugly, brown, soft around the edges, with little folded pieces of paper sitting inside it like the worldโs least exciting raffle.
The lecture theatre had noticed it immediately. There was a weird, restless buzz moving through the rows, people shifting in their seats and leaning toward each other, whispering guesses with the kind of energy usually reserved for fire alarms or free pizza.ย
Beside her, a girl in a Briar hoodie muttered, โI swear to God, if this is an icebreaker, Iโm dropping out,โ and someone two rows back laughed too loudly.
Dr. Miller looked delighted, which was always a terrible sign.
โAlright,โ she said, clapping her hands together once. โSettle down. I promise this will be painless.โ
That was, historically, the kind of sentence said before something deeply annoying happened. She reached for her coffee and took a careful sip as Dr. Miller started explaining the assignment.ย
Community participation. Immersion. Observational research. Four weeks of attendance. A reflective essay at the end on the role of student clubs in shaping identity, support networks, and campus culture. Partners randomly assigned. Club randomly selected.
A few people groaned. Someone near the front said, โRandomly?โ with real fear in his voice.
โYes, randomly,โ Dr. Miller said, still smiling. โWhich means no, Mr. Collins, you cannot choose the Gaming Society again because you already go every Friday.โ
There was a ripple of laughter. The guy in question sank a little lower in his seat. She was still trying to decide whether this was annoying in a normal way or annoying in a potentially disastrous way when Dr. Miller started reading names off a printed list.
โJenna Clark and Olivia Redding. Mateo Alvarez and Priya Shah. Daniel West and Claire Thompson.โ
Her pen rolled off her notebook and hit the floor near her boot. She bent down to grab it, already only half listening, until Dr. Miller said her name.
Then, after one awful little beat, โGarrett Graham.โ
The lecture theatre did that thing people did when they were trying not to react and reacting anyway. A soft swell of noise, a few heads turning, a couple of muffled laughs.ย
Someone behind her said, โLucky,โ under their breath, and she felt heat crawl up the back of her neck in a way that made her want to turn around and throw her coffee at them.
Garrett, two rows behind and three seats over, lifted his head like heโd been called in a locker room instead of a classroom. He had one arm slung over the back of the chair beside him, a black Briar Hockey hoodie stretched across his shoulders, and dark curls still slightly damp at the ends, like heโd showered after morning practice and then barely made it here on time.ย
He looked too comfortable for someone who had just been handed a four-week group assignment with a stranger, mouth curving faintly as his eyes cut over to hers.
Obviously he was cute. It was Garrett Graham. You would have to be blind to miss it, and even then, she was pretty sure blind people probably sensed it in the air around him. Some kind of deeply irritating atmospheric pressure. A shift in the room. Girls fixing their hair for no reason. Boys pretending not to be impressed by him. Professors learning his name faster than everyone elseโs.
He raised his brows at her, all easy recognition and lazy amusement, like they were already in on a joke together. She looked back down at her notebook because she refused to be taken out by a man with wet hockey hair before ten in the morning.
Once all the partners had been assigned, Dr. Miller waved them down by pair to draw their clubs. There were normal options at first. Environmental Action. Debate Society. Campus Radio. The French Film Club, which got a pained little silence from the two guys who pulled it. Someone got Knitting for Beginners and looked weirdly pleased about it. Someone else got Ballroom Dance and immediately started bargaining with God.
When Dr. Miller called their names, Garrett stood first. He was taller up close than he looked from a distance, which was rude because he already looked tall from a distance. He came down the lecture steps with his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie, moving with that loose, athletic ease that made everything seem like less effort than it probably was.ย
She met him at the aisle and tried very hard not to notice the faint clean smell of soap and cold air coming off him.
โPartner,โ he said, like theyโd planned this.
โGraham,โ she said, because her brain had decided the best defence against hot men was sounding unimpressed.
His grin twitched. โAlready using my last name. Feels serious.โ
โDonโt get attached. Iโm mostly trying to remember which one you are.โ
โOuch.โ
โYouโll survive.โ
โI dunno.โ He pressed a hand to his chest as they reached the front. โThat one hit pretty hard.โ
Dr. Miller held the hat out toward them with theatrical importance. โMoment of truth.โ
Garrett glanced sideways at her and made a small sweeping gesture with one hand. โLadies first.โ
โWow,โ she said, reaching into the hat. โChivalryโs alive.โ
Her fingers closed around one folded slip of paper. Garrett leaned over her shoulder before she could open it, close enough that she caught another brief hit of soap and wintergreen gum. โDonโt get us something weird.โ
โIโm not controlling the hat, Graham.โ
โManifest better.โ
She unfolded the paper. For a second, the words didnโt make sense. They were just black ink on white paper, the letters sitting there with obscene calm while her stomach did a slow, cold drop toward the floor.
CELIBACY CLUB.
She blinked.
Garrettโs breath left him in a low, disbelieving groan beside her ear. โOh, fuck me.โ
Which was, considering the club, maybe not ideal phrasing.
Dr. Miller tilted her head. โWhat did you get?โ
There was a horrible little pause. She looked at Garrett. Garrett looked at the paper. Then he lifted his head and called out, voice carrying easily across the theatre, โCelibacy Club.โ
The room exploded. Actual, full-body laughter rolled up the rows. Someone whooped. Someone clapped. A guy near the back yelled, โDamn, sorry, G!โ and another voice immediately followed with, โSeason-ending injury!โ
Garrett turned just enough to shoot the back rows a look, but it was impossible to tell whether he was annoyed or fighting a laugh. His jaw flexed once. The corner of his mouth gave him away. She wanted to crawl directly into the hat and live there.
Dr. Miller, traitor that she was, looked amused. โWonderful. A valuable perspective on campus values and social norms.โ
โValuable,โ Garrett repeated, so dryly that the front row snickered.
She folded the paper back up with very deliberate fingers and handed it over. โThis is going to be a nightmare.โ
Garrett glanced at her as they started back up the stairs. โYou think?โ
โI think the universe is either hilarious or evil.โ
โBoth, probably.โ
They got back to their row under the soft, gleeful attention of what felt like every person in the room. Garrett dropped into the seat beside her this time, deciding partnership meant proximity now, and leaned back with his knees spread wide enough that one of them nearly brushed hers.
โOh, fuckinโ hell,โ he muttered, scrubbing a hand over his mouth.
She looked at him. โAlready struggling?โ
His eyes cut to hers. Dark, amused, offended. โCareful.โ
โWhat?โ
โYou sound like youโre doubting me.โ
โI donโt sound like anything.โ
โYou sounded very doubt-y.โ
She pressed her lips together and looked toward the front where Dr. Miller was explaining attendance logs. โMaybe Iโm just worried about the quality of our research.โ
โUh-huh.โ
โImmersion matters, Graham.โ
He huffed a laugh, low in his chest. โYeah? You gonna immerse yourself in celibacy?โ
The way he said it made her want to laugh, which was annoying. โFor the grade? Sure.โ
โFor the grade,โ he echoed, nodding slowly, like he was considering a play on the ice. โRight.โ
She should have known, probably, that this was the beginning of the problem. Garrett Graham sitting beside her with his knee almost touching hers, acting like four weeks was nothing, while the entire lecture theatre continued to make jokes under their breath because Briar University had the emotional maturity of a middle school cafeteria.
The problem was that she found him funny. That was where things started going downhill.
Their first actual meeting outside class was in the library two days later, and Garrett arrived only twelve minutes late, which, based on what she knew about hockey players as a species, was basically early.
He came in carrying a laptop under one arm and two coffees in the other hand, wearing a backwards cap and a grey Henley that looked unfairly good on him for something that was technically just a shirt.ย
There was a fading bruise along one side of his jaw, yellow-green at the edges, and she caught herself looking at it before she could stop.
โPeace offering,โ he said, setting one of the coffees in front of her.
She looked at the cup, then at him. โFor being late?โ
โFor beingโฆ a bit delayed.โ
โYou mean late.โ
โYeah, but your version makes me sound bad.โ
โYou are bad.โ
His grin flashed. โThatโs what I hear.โ
She stared at him for half a second, then down at her laptop, mostly because smiling felt too much like encouragement. โIโm not rewarding that.โ
โYou donโt have to. Your face did.โ
โMy face did nothing.โ
โYour face said Garrett, wow, thank you for this coffee, youโre so thoughtful and punctual.โ
โMy face has never sounded like that.โ
โAgree to disagree.โ
He pulled out the chair across from her and sat down, sprawling almost immediately, one foot nudging the leg of the table as he opened his laptop.ย
For someone with a reputation that moved around campus ahead of him like weather, he was weirdly focused once they started. He asked about the rubric. He made a shared document. He typed notes in short, messy fragments and frowned at the assignment sheet.ย
When she made a joke about him outsourcing all his academic labour to her, he looked genuinely offended.
โI need a good grade in this class.โ
She glanced up. โFor hockey?โ
โYeah.โ
โRight.โ She leaned back in her chair and wrapped both hands around her coffee. โSo youโre actually taking this seriously.โ
His eyes flicked up. โWhyโd you say it like that?โ
โLike what?โ
โLike you expected me to just sit back and do nothing.โ
โI didnโt say that.โ
โNo, but you implied it.โ
She shrugged and shook her head. โYour GPA is not my business.โ
โDamn right it isnโt.โ
โBut,โ she added, because she had a death wish, โI still donโt think youโre going to take the club part that seriously.โ
Garrett stopped typing. His fingers rested on the keyboard. Slowly, he looked at her. โWhatโs that mean?โ
โIt meansโฆโ She dragged the word out, already regretting it and enjoying herself too much to stop. โIt means youโre Garrett Graham.โ
His brows lifted. โAnd?โ
โAnd your sex life is kind ofโฆ well known.โ
โMy sex life?โ
โGirls talk, Garrett.โ
He stared at her for a second, then barked out a laugh and leaned back in his chair, hand rubbing along his jaw. โJesus. Whatโre they saying?โ
โIโm not giving you a performance review.โ
โOh, come on.โ
โNo.โ
โIs it good?โ
She gave him a look.
His grin widened. โOkay, so itโs good.โ
โYouโre proving my point.โ
โYour point being?โ
โThat you are absolutely not abstaining from sex for four weeks.โ
Something shifted in his face so quickly she almost missed it. The amusement stayed, but sharpened a little at the edges, catching on pride. His knee stopped bouncing under the table.ย
He leaned forward, forearms braced near his laptop, and looked at her like sheโd just challenged him to a shootout. โYou think I canโt?โ
She took a sip of coffee. โI think you wonโt.โ
โThat wasnโt the question.โ
โNo,โ she said, and smiled a little despite herself. โI donโt think you can.โ
Garrett went very still. Then he huffed once, almost to himself, and nodded. โOkay.โ
She narrowed her eyes. โOkay?โ
โYouโre on.โ
โI didnโt bet anything.โ
โYou bet my pride.โ
โThat sounds like a you problem.โ
โItโs now a shared academic problem.โ He pointed at the document. โFour weeks. Full immersion. No sex.โ
She should have backed out. A normal person would have backed out. A normal person would have said, Garrett, I was making fun of you, please stop turning sociology into a masculinity crisis.ย
Instead, she looked at his smug, stupid, determined face and felt something bright and reckless kick at the inside of her ribs. โFine,โ she said. โNo sex.โ
His eyes held hers for a beat too long. โFor either of us.โ
Her stomach gave an inconvenient little twist. โExcuse me?โ
โIf Iโm doing it, youโre doing it.โ
โYou think I canโt?โ
โI think,โ he said, leaning back again, all lazy confidence now that heโd successfully dragged her into the mud with him, โyou suddenly look less smug.โ
โI do not.โ
โYou do.โ
โI can go four weeks without sex.โ
โGreat. Then youโve got nothing to worry about.โ
She hated him a little for that.
By the time they walked into their first Celibacy Club meeting, sheโd already decided the essay was going to be either a masterpiece or evidence in a future trial. The club met in a small multipurpose room on the second floor of the student union, the kind with beige walls, fluorescent lights, and a whiteboard that still had faint ghost words from someoneโs failed attempt at erasing a finance club agenda.ย
There were folding chairs arranged in a circle. Someone had set out a tray of grocery store cookies and a stack of napkins with tiny pink hearts on them, which felt either deeply sincere or deeply hostile.
Garrett paused in the doorway beside her. She looked at him. โYou okay?โ
He looked at the circle. Then the cookies. Then the hand-lettered poster taped to the wall that said SELF-CONTROL IS SELF-RESPECT.
โYeah,โ he said. โIโm just trying to decide if this is too late to switch to French Film Club.โ
โYou wanted the bet.โ
โI wanted to defend my honour.โ
โYour honour is sitting in a folding chair for fifty minutes.โ
He sighed. โMy honourโs been through worse.โ
They took two seats near the back of the circle, which was a ridiculous concept because circles didnโt have backs, but somehow Garrett found one anyway. He sat the way he did everywhere, one arm draped over the back of his chair, legs spread, knee bouncing occasionally while people introduced themselves and talked about why theyโd joined.
Some of them were sweet. One girl spoke shyly about wanting a space where dating didnโt feel like pressure. A guy with glasses talked about religion in a way that was earnest without being preachy. Another girl said she was tired of people acting like you had to hook up to be interesting. Then a girl named Bethany started talking about hookup culture like it had personally murdered her family.
โSex,โ Bethany said, with both hands folded in her lap and the expression of someone delivering a eulogy, โhas become a distraction from true emotional purity.โ
Garrettโs knee stopped bouncing. She looked down at her phone and typed, emotional purity??? in her notes.
Garrett leaned subtly closer, his voice barely above breath. โDonโt write โbullshitโ in the notes.โ
โI wrote emotional purity.โ
โSame shit.โ
She had to bite the inside of her cheek.
Bethany kept going. โWhen we deny the body, we free the soul.โ
Garrettโs mouth twitched. She typed, denies body, frees soul, makes everyone uncomfortable.
He glanced at her phone and made a soft sound that could have been a cough if he had any discipline at all.ย
After the meeting, they spilled out into the hallway with everyone else, blinking under the brighter lights of the student union. For a moment neither of them said anything.ย
They just walked side by side past the bulletin boards, past a girl putting up flyers for an a cappella audition, past two guys arguing over whether the vending machine had eaten their money or whether they were simply idiots.
Garrett pushed open the glass doors and held one for her with his shoulder. Cold air slid under her jacket and made her shiver.
โI mean,โ he said, once they were outside, โitโs bullshit, right?โ
She laughed immediately, the sound puffing white in the cold. โComplete bullshit.โ
โThank God.โ
โI was worried you were about to tell me your soul felt free.โ
He scoffed. โMy soul sat through Bethany calling sex a distraction from purity.โ
They started down the path cutting across campus, the lamps turning the wet pavement gold in patches. It had rained earlier, one of those thin, miserable showers that made everything smell like damp leaves and concrete, and the air still had that cleaned-out bite to it. Garrett walked close enough that his shoulder almost brushed hers every few steps.ย
โThat girl,โ she said, tucking her hands deeper into her coat pockets, โhas definitely never had good sex.โ
Garrett nodded instantly. โClearly.โ
โLike, Iโm not even being mean.โ
โNo, thatโs just facts.โ
They talked about the essay at first because that was what they were supposed to be doing. Themes. Contradictions. The useful parts of the club versus the more cult-adjacent energy of the poster.ย
Garrett wanted to write about pressure in athletics, which surprised her for half a second before it made perfect sense. He talked about locker rooms and expectations and the way guys turned sex into a scoreboard because nobody had ever taught them how to shut up and be normal. He said it lightly, but not flippantly. Like heโd thought about it before and didnโt love that he had.
Then they talked about other things. Her roommate who stole oat milk and pretended she thought it was communal. His housemates, who sounded exactly as exhausting as their reputations suggested. A class he hated. A professor she loved. The weirdly aggressive squirrel outside the science building. The way Briar acted like hockey games were civic holidays and how, according to Garrett, that was because they were.
โSchool spirit matters,โ heโd explained.
โYou mean people screaming your name matters.โ
โThat also matters.โ
She rolled her eyes, smiling, and then realised with a little start that they were outside her dorm.
The building rose in front of them, warm rectangles of light in the windows, music faintly thumping from somewhere on the second floor. She stopped at the foot of the steps and looked up, then back at him. โThis is me.โ
Garrett glanced at the building like he was only now noticing where theyโd ended up. His hands were in his jacket pockets, shoulders slightly hunched against the cold, hair curling messily over his forehead.
โOkay,โ he said. โWell. Iโll see you next week?โ
โYeah.โ She shifted her weight, suddenly conscious of the space between them. โFor round two of soul freedom.โ
His mouth curved. โCanโt wait.โ
โLiar.โ
โYeah.โ He smiled properly then. โYou coming to the game Saturday?โ
She blinked. โWhat?โ
โThe game.โ He nodded toward the direction of the rink, like she might have forgotten where hockey lived. โYou coming?โ
โProbably. I think my friends are going.โ
โCool.โ He looked pleased in a way that was small but annoyingly visible. โIโll see you there, then.โ
She nodded, gripping the strap of her tote. โThanks for walking me.โ
โYeah,โ he said, softer. โAnytime.โ
She went up the steps before she could make the moment weird. At the door, she glanced back once, because she was very committed to embarrassing herself in private. Garrett was still there, standing at the bottom of the stairs with his hands in his pockets, watching long enough to make sure she got inside.
By Saturday, she had officially gone one week without sex, which wasnโt impressive, it was barely even interesting. She was not, despite what her roommate implied after finding her glaring at a banana in the dining hall, some kind of feral creature who needed to be locked in a basement every time she went seven days without getting laid.
The annoying part was the rule. The annoying part was knowing she couldnโt.
It made everything louder. Every couple making out near the mailroom, every girl walking down the hallway in a borrowed hoodie, every low laugh from some guy on the other side of the library shelves. Even her own bed had started feeling rude. Too soft. Too big. Too aware of her.
And then there was Garrett. Briarโs rink was packed by the time she and her friends found seats, the air already hot with bodies and sharp with the scrape of skates from warmups. The student section was a mess of jerseys, painted cheeks, noise bouncing hard off the glass.ย
Sheโd been to games before. Plenty of them. Briar hockey was one of those things people attended even when they didnโt care about hockey because the atmosphere made caring feel mandatory.
But Garrett on the ice after a week of thinking about not having sex was a whole new category of problem. He was fast in a way that made her stomach drop. Controlled, like every turn and burst and stop came from somewhere deep in his body that understood force better than gravity did. His shoulders looked broader in pads. His jaw was set under the helmet, mouthguard tucked against his teeth, eyes locked hard on the play.ย
There was nothing lazy about him out there. Only focus, aggression, a kind of clean, ruthless confidence that made the crowd lean forward whenever he touched the puck.
โOh my God,โ her roommate said beside her, laughing. โAre you okay?โ
She realised her legs were crossed so tightly her knee had started bouncing. โIโm fine.โ
โYou look stressed.โ
โIโm appreciating athleticism.โ
โYouโre appreciating something.โ
Garrett slammed an opposing player into the boards directly in front of their section with a hard, satisfying crash that made everyone scream. He peeled away like it was nothing, barely glancing up, and she felt the sound of it somewhere low in her stomach. This was actually so stupid.
He scored in the third period because the universe wanted her dead.
The place erupted, people jumping up around her, drinks sloshing, arms hitting arms. Garrettโs teammates slammed into him near the net, helmets knocking, gloves grabbing at his jersey.ย
He grinned then, bright and vicious, and when he looked toward the student section for half a second, she had the horrible, impossible thought that he might have found her in the crowd.
He probably hadnโt. He was Garrett Graham. He probably did that to every section. Probably glanced into the stands and made twenty girls feel selected by accident.
Still, when his eyes seemed to catch hers through the glass and the noise and all the bodies, her breath snagged in a way that made her hate him on principle.
By the end of the second week, Garrett was starting to think heโd made a massive error. Not because he couldnโt go without sex, he could, obviously. He was a grown man with discipline.ย
He woke up at five for practice, lifted until his muscles shook, skated through drills that made freshmen look like they were about to meet God, and had spent most of his life being told his body was a machine that existed to obey him. Four weeks without sex should have been nothing.
Except she was sitting on his bedroom floor in a tank top and jeans, chewing the end of her pen while she read over their introduction, and Garrett was having a hard time remembering any word in the English language that wasnโt related to her mouth.
It wasnโt even a fancy tank top โ that was the part that felt insulting. Plain black, thin straps, tucked just slightly into the waist of her jeans because sheโd been warm when she came in and shrugged off her sweater twenty minutes ago. Her hair was pulled back messily, she had one socked foot tucked under her thigh and the other stretched out toward his bed, toes flexing occasionally while she concentrated.
Heโd seen her around before this. She came to games sometimes. She went to parties sometimes. She was in his class, and Briar wasnโt that big, not really, not when you lived in the gravitational pull of the same few houses and bars and lecture halls.ย
Heโd always thought she was pretty. Pretty enough to notice. Pretty enough to look at twice. But sheโd never looked especially interested in him, which was weird only because most people were at least a little interested in him. Sheโd been polite. Funny sometimes. A little unimpressed, like she knew exactly what he was and had decided it wasnโt urgent.
And because Garrett was not in the habit of begging girls to want him when there was usually someone already leaning into his side at a party, heโd left it alone. That was before the hat. That was before she started sending him texts about Bethanyโs latest club email with the subject line PLEASE READ: TEMPTATION TRIGGERS.
That was before he knew she drank coffee too late and then complained about being awake. Before he knew she made little notes in the margins of articles that were half useful and half insults. Before he knew she got mean when she was hungry and weirdly soft about people who were earnestly trying, even when they were annoying. Before she sat in his room and made his sheets smell faintly like her shampoo just by leaning against his bed.
She snapped her fingers in front of him. โGarrett.โ
His eyes jerked up. She was staring at him over the top of her laptop, brows raised. โFocus.โ
โI am focused.โ
She gave him a flat look. โWe should have written way more of this by now.โ
โYeah.โ He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. โSorry. Distracted.โ
โClearly.โ
He looked at her mouth again before he could stop himself. Her lips parted slightly, just enough for the air between them to change.
Garrett looked back at his laptop so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. This was fine. Everything was fine. He was the captain of a Division I hockey team. He could survive one girl in a tank top on his bedroom floor.
Then she leaned forward to grab her coffee from his desk, her shoulder brushed his knee and he got a view of right down the front of her top. Garrett closed his eyes for one second and asked whatever god was available to stop laughing.
Halfway through the third week, she was in bed with the lights off, her laptop abandoned on the floor and her phone held above her face while she scrolled without absorbing anything. Her roommate was out. The hallway was noisy in patches, doors opening and closing, someone laughing too loudly near the bathrooms, the distant thud of music from a room where apparently nobody had a morning class.
Her whole body felt restless in a way that had stopped being funny days ago. It wasnโt only sex. Sex would have been simpler. Sex was a clean, obvious want.ย
This had edges. This had Garrett sending her a photo of the Celibacy Clubโs latest inspirational quote with the message this feels targeted. This had Garrett bringing her coffee again without asking how she took it because he knew now. This had Garrett walking her back to her dorm after meetings and lingering at the bottom of the steps like he was always deciding whether to say one more thing.
Her phone buzzed in her hand.
Garrett: Is this as shit for you as it is for me?
She stared at it, then let out a laugh that felt too loud in the dark room. Her thumbs moved before she could overthink it.
Yeah. Itโs fucking awful. Why the fuck do people do this willingly?
The response came almost instantly.
Garrett: Torture I guess.
She smiled up at the screen, helplessly stupid about it.
Very academic take.
Garrett: Put it in the paper.
โAfter three weeks of immersive observation, we conclude: torture, I guess.โ
Garrett: A+
Dr. Miller cries. Harvard calls.
Garrett: I transfer. Become a monk.
Youโd last nine minutes as a monk.
Garrett: Generous.
She rolled onto her side, tucking one hand under her cheek while the phone lit her pillow blue-white. For a minute, neither of them sent anything. She watched the typing bubble appear, disappear, appear again.
Garrett: You awake because of the assignment?
Her chest tightened in a small, irritating way.
Sure.
Garrett: Liar.
She bit her lip, smiling despite herself.
Go to sleep, Graham.
Garrett: Trying.
Try harder.
Garrett: Bossy.
Garrett: Night.
She stared at the word for a long moment. Then she typed back.
Night.
At the end of the third week, the hockey house was so loud the walls were shaking. The boys had won again, which meant the place was packed and sticky-floored and pulsing with the kind of victorious male energy that probably needed to be studied under supervision. Someone had knocked over a lamp in the living room and simply moved it into a corner like that solved the problem.ย
The kitchen smelled like beer, pizza, and whatever cheap cologne the freshman boys had decided to bathe in. Music shook through the floorboards. There were people on the stairs, people leaning against doorframes, people making out badly near the back hall like theyโd been assigned it for extra credit.
She stood near the kitchen island with her friends, nursing a drink she didnโt really want, her eyes tracking toward the living room every few seconds without permission.ย
Garrett was somewhere in the house. She knew that because the whole house felt different when he was in it. Which was a stupid thought. Horrible. Embarrassing. She wished she could reach into her own brain and remove it with salad tongs.
โYouโre seriously still doing the no-sex thing?โ one of her friends asked, staring at her like sheโd announced a minor cult membership.
โYes.โ
โFor this stupid assignment?โ
โYes.โ
Her roommate leaned against the counter, eyes glittering with the mean little joy of someone who had been living with her through all three weeks. โSheโs committed.โ
โIโm principled,โ she said.
โYou snapped at me yesterday because I breathed too loud while eating cereal.โ
โYou were chewing aggressively.โ
โI was eating Cheerios.โ
Her friend laughed and took a sip from her cup. โOkay, but Garrett would never know if you hooked up with someone.โ
She looked at her sharply. โThatโs not the point.โ
โWhat is the point?โ
She gestured with her drink. โThe deal was he wouldnโt have sex, and I wouldnโt either.โ
Her friend rolled her eyes. โYou get that heโs Garrett Graham, right?โ
โYes, thank you, I was present for the lecture theatreโs public mourning.โ
โSo heโs probably suffering way more than you are.โ
โRude.โ
โIโm just saying.โ
Her roommate pointed at her with her drink. โYouโve been antsy.โ
โI have not.โ
โYou reorganised the spice shelf at midnight.โ
โIt needed reorganising.โ
โYou donโt cook.โ
Before she could defend herself, which would have been difficult because that last part was unfortunately true, the laughter from the living room shifted. She looked over automatically.
Garrett was near the doorway with Logan and Tucker, one shoulder against the wall, beer loose in his hand. Heโd changed after the game into dark jeans and a black t-shirt that sat too well across his chest, his hair still damp from a shower, a thin gold chain visible at his throat whenever the collar shifted. He was listening to Logan with an expression that suggested he was physically present but mentally elsewhere.
Then his eyes found her across the room. Everything in her body tightened at once. She looked away so quickly her neck almost cracked.
Garrett, meanwhile, was beginning to understand that pride was a disease.
โThe fuck is up with you, man?โ Logan asked, following his gaze with shameless interest. โIf you like that girl, just go talk to her.โ
Garrett looked back at him. โI do talk to her.โ
โCool. Great. Inspiring. Maybe try doing it without looking like youโre about to skate through a wall.โ
โI donโt look like that.โ
Tucker, sitting on the arm of the couch with a beer balanced on one knee, looked over. โYou kinda do.โ
Garrett shot him a look.
Tucker lifted his free hand. โJust reporting what Iโm seeing.โ
โWeโre partners on this assignment,โ Garrett said, which sounded stupid even before Loganโs face lit up.
โOh shit,โ Tucker said. โThe no-sex one?โ
Loganโs head snapped around. โYouโre actually doing that shit?โ
Garrett took a drink of beer. โYeah.โ
โWhy?โ
โShe bet me I couldnโt.โ
There was a silence. Then Logan started laughing.
Garrett scowled. โFuck off.โ
โNo, no, sorry.โ Logan pressed a hand over his mouth, failing badly. โThatโs beautiful. Youโre celibate because a pretty girl hurt your feelings.โ
โShe didnโt hurt my feelings.โ
โShe looked at you with those big judgmental eyes and said bet you canโt keep it in your pants, and now youโre three weeks into monkhood.โ
Tucker winced through a grin. โMan.โ
โIโm not gonna lose,โ Garrett said.
โJesus Christ,โ Logan said, still delighted. โYou realise thereโs no trophy, right?โ
โThereโs dignity.โ
โThereโs absolutely no dignity in whatโs happening to you right now.โ
Garrett looked across the room again. She was laughing at something her roommate said, head tipped down, hair sliding over one shoulder. She had this little crease at the corner of her mouth when she tried not to smile too hard. He knew that now. He knew too many things now.
Tucker followed his gaze and his expression softened, just a little. โYou actually like her.โ
By the start of the fourth week, the tension had stopped being a background problem and started becoming something that sat in the room with them like a third person.
They talked every day now. Sometimes about the assignment. Sometimes about Celibacy Club, which had somehow become less bizarre and more interesting the longer they spent around it. Sometimes about nothing at all. Garrett sent her dumb pictures from the hockey house. A broken toaster with the caption Dean says this is still usable. A sock frozen into the back porch ice. His laptop open beside a plate of eggs, morning light catching the edge of his kitchen table, captioned if I fail this class Iโm blaming emotional purity.
She sent him things too. The club poster sheโd seen peeling off the student union wall. Her roommateโs aggressively labelled oat milk. A picture of her laptop screen at one in the morning with the cursor blinking after the words The function of abstinence-based student communities and the caption kill me.
The sex part had become unbearable somewhere along the way, but worse than that was the fact that she liked him. Really liked him.
Which felt like the bigger betrayal. Wanting Garrett Graham was basic biology. Liking him was inconvenient. Liking the way he listened, the way he made fun of himself before anyone else could, the way he remembered little things and pretended he hadnโt. Liking how serious he got about hockey without making it everyone elseโs problem. Liking that he walked her home and never made a big thing out of it. Liking that when she said something sharper than she meant to, he didnโt flinch or get mean back; he just tilted his head and looked at her until she rolled her eyes and softened.
They were in his room again, supposedly polishing the essay, which was a generous way of describing two people staring at the same paragraph while actively losing their minds.
His room was cleaner than sheโd expected the first time sheโd seen it. Hockey gear shoved into one corner. A pile of textbooks on the desk. Laundry in a basket. The bed was made badly, one side of the comforter dragging lower than the other, pillows dented from where theyโd been leaning against them for the last hour. Outside the window, late afternoon light had gone grey-blue, turning the glass reflective enough that she could see the vague shape of them sitting side by side on the bed.
Garrett had the laptop balanced between them, one hand on the trackpad, the other braced behind him. Heโd been explaining how he wanted to word the section about athletics and social pressure, his voice lower than usual because they were close and because, apparently, volume control became impossible when every inch of air felt charged.
โI donโt think it should sound like weโre saying the club fixed anything,โ he said. โBecause it didnโt. But it gives people a place to talk about stuff withoutโโ
He stopped when she turned her head. He was right there.
So close she could see the faint stubble along his jaw, the little healing split at the corner of his mouth from the last game, the way his eyes dropped to her lips before lifting again. His hand, resting on the bed between them, flexed once against the comforter.
Her pulse moved everywhere at once. Throat, wrists, stomach, the warm hollow behind her knees. She forgot the laptop. Forgot the essay. Forgot Dr. Miller and Bethany and the stupid hat. The room seemed to pull tight around them, all the noise of the house going muffled and far away until there was only Garrettโs breathing and her own.
He shifted forward, barely. A small, helpless tilt, his nose brushing hers so softly she felt it more in the anticipation than the touch itself.
Her eyes fluttered shut. His lips hovered over hers.
A ghost of warmth. The almost-shape of his mouth. So close her body answered like theyโd already kissed, like some wire had been cut and sparked anyway. Her fingers curled into the comforter. His breath shuddered out against her cheek, and the sound went through her with such clean, stupid force that she nearly made one of her own.
โGarrett,โ she whispered. โPlease.โ
He went still. For one second, she thought he was going to do it. She felt the decision move through him, felt the way his hand came up like he was going to touch her face, felt his mouth brush so faintly against hers it might have been imagined if her whole body hadnโt clenched around it.
Then he exhaled, rough and furious. โFuck.โ He pulled back like it hurt. โNope. No.โ
Her eyes opened. He was staring at the wall over her shoulder, jaw tight, one hand dragging down his face.
She blinked at him. โNo?โ
โNo.โ
โNo?โ she repeated, because the only word her brain had retained was the worst one.
He looked back at her and laughed once, breathless and pained. โWe canโt.โ
โWe absolutely can.โ
โNo, we canโt.โ
โWhy not?โ
โBecause if I kiss you,โ he said, and his voice had gone lower, scraped raw at the edges, โIโm not gonna stop.โ
The words landed low in her stomach. She pressed her lips together, partly because they were still tingling from nothing. โYou suck.โ
His grin broke through then, slow and crooked and dangerous enough that she almost threw the laptop at him. โUnless you wanna lose.โ
That snapped her back into herself. Barely. โNope.โ
โNo?โ
โI donโt lose. Ever.โ
โGood.โ He stood abruptly, like putting vertical distance between them might save his life. โGreat. Perfect.โ
She sat there on his bed, pulse still stupid, mouth still warm, and watched him pace once toward the desk. He shoved both hands through his hair, turning away from her. His shirt rode up slightly at the back, showing a strip of skin above his jeans.
The room was silent except for the hum of his laptop. Something petty and reckless unfurled in her chest. Garrett turned back around and she was still looking at him.
โWhat?โ he asked.
She shrugged. โNothing.โ
His eyes narrowed. โThatโs a lie.โ
โYou started it.โ
โI stopped it.โ
โThatโs the problem.โ
His mouth twitched. โYou mad?โ
โIโm inspired.โ
โThat sounds worse.โ
โIt is.โ
He held her gaze for a beat. Then, with the kind of awful calm that should have been illegal, he reached back and pulled his t-shirt over his head.
Her entire brain went white. It wasnโt like she hadnโt known he was built. Everyone knew Garrett was built. There were posters. Games. Photos online. An entire campus of people capable of reporting, with varying degrees of thirst, that Garrett Graham had abs.ย
But knowing something in theory and having it standing shirtless in front of you in a bedroom were very different academic experiences.
His shoulders. His chest. The hard line of his stomach. The faint dusting of hair low on his abdomen disappearing under the waistband of his jeans. His arms flexing as he tossed the shirt onto his desk chair. The chain at his neck catching the dim light when he breathed.
Garrettโs grin was pure trouble. โYou good?โ
โOh, fuck you.โ
โThat feels like losing.โ
โYou wish.โ
โDo I?โ
She stood before she could talk herself out of it. His grin faded slightly. Good. She held his gaze, reached for the hem of her top, and pulled it over her head. The air hit her skin cool enough to make her stomach tighten. She dropped the shirt on his floor and stood there in jeans and a lacy bra she had absolutely not worn for him, except maybe some horrible secret part of her had known she was coming here and chosen it anyway.ย
Garrettโs eyes dropped instantly. Straight to her chest, then lower, then back up like he had to physically drag himself by the collar. His jaw flexed.
โJesus Christ,โ he said.
Her skin felt too small for her body. โYou gonna break?โ
His eyes were dark when they met hers. โNope.โ
โNo?โ
โNo.โ
She shrugged, even though her heart was punching at the inside of her ribs. โMe neither.โ
For a moment neither of them moved. Then Garrett nodded toward the laptop on the bed, voice rough with effort. โGuess weโre writing our paper like this, then.โ
She sat back down, chin lifted. โGuess we are.โ
They lasted nine minutes. Nine full, academically useless minutes of sitting on opposite sides of his bed, half-dressed, pretending to care about sentence structure while Garrettโs bare shoulder nearly brushed hers and her own bra seemed to become more noticeable with every breath.ย
At one point he corrected a comma splice with the grave concentration of a man defusing a bomb. At another, she leaned forward to type and heard his breath catch so quietly she almost missed it. She didnโt miss it.
That night, alone in her bed, she thought about his mouth hovering over hers, his chain against his chest, the way heโd said if I kiss you Iโm not gonna stop like a warning and a promise and a problem he was barely surviving.
She lasted about three minutes before her hand slid under the waistband of her sleep shorts. She was not proud. She was also not sorry.
The essay was due Friday at four. They handed it in at three-forty-two. Dr. Millerโs TA accepted it with the dead-eyed calm of someone who had received too many PDFs named final_FINAL_real_final.docx and no longer believed in students as people.
The second the submission confirmation appeared on Garrettโs laptop screen, she felt something unclench in her chest. Done.
Four weeks of meetings, notes, longing glances, stupid texts, Garrettโs room, Garrettโs mouth almost on hers, Garrett shirtless like a criminal, all wrapped up in twelve pages of sociological analysis and one works cited list.
โI never want to see the words campus values again.โ
โOr emotional purity.โ
โEspecially emotional purity.โ
He closed the laptop slowly. โSo.โ
She could feel him looking at her, and suddenly, horribly, everything that had been funny and electric for the last four weeks felt fragile in a way she didnโt know what to do with.ย
Because maybe this had only been fun because they were trapped in it. Maybe Garrett liked the chase. Maybe heโd wanted her because he couldnโt have anyone else, because deprivation did strange things to ego and attention. Maybe now that the assignment was done and the bet was over, he would go back to being Garrett Graham, campus golden boy, and she would go back to being a girl from his sociology class who had almost kissed him once in his room.
She couldnโt stand there and watch that happen in real time. So she shoved her laptop into her bag and stood too quickly. โI have to go.โ
Garrett blinked. โYou do?โ
โYeah. I told my roommate Iโd meet her.โ
โYou didnโt mention that.โ
โI forgot.โ
His brows drew together slightly. โOkay.โ
โThanks for doing the paper.โ God, why did she sound like a colleague in a group project from hell? โI mean, obviously we both did it, butโ yeah. Good work.โ
โGood work?โ he repeated.
โShut up.โ
His mouth curved, but his eyes stayed on her face, searching. โYou okay?โ
That was worse. Him noticing was worse. โYeah.โ She forced a smile. โIโm just glad itโs over.โ
Something moved across his face. Too quick to catch. โRight.โ
She hated herself a little as she turned away.
The party that night was not technically a celibacy-is-over party, because nobody else in the universe was insane enough to care, but it felt like one to her.
The hockey house was crowded again. They had a game tomorrow, so the team was pretending to behave, which mostly meant the beer was slightly less visible and the music was low enough that people could hear their bad decisions forming.ย
She arrived with her friends and immediately regretted the top sheโd worn because it was cute and a little too deliberate, and if Garrett didnโt care, she was going to have to live with having dressed like she hoped he would.
She stayed near her friends. That was the plan. Drink something. Laugh. Be normal. Prove she could exist in the same house as him.
For twenty-three minutes, the plan worked. Then an arm slid over her shoulders. Warm. Heavy. Familiar now, somehow, even though heโd never done it like this before.
Garrett leaned in from behind, his mouth near her ear, smelling like clean laundry and mint and the faint cold air from outside. โWhatโre we talking about?โ
Her whole body lit up so fast it was embarrassing. Her friends went quiet in the exact way people went quiet when they were about to be incredibly annoying later.
She turned her head. Garrett was right there, grin easy, eyes not easy at all. He wore a dark hoodie and jeans, curls messier than usual, one hand hanging loose over her shoulder like heโd been doing this for years.
โHi?โ she said. โCan I help you?โ
His grin widened. โYeah. Hopinโ so.โ
Her stomach dropped. His eyes flicked briefly toward the stairs.
Oh, fuck.
She bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to keep from smiling too big. โYou have a game tomorrow.โ
โI know.โ
โShouldnโt you be hydrating and doing captain things?โ
โI had water.โ
โOne water?โ
โDonโt worry about my performance.โ
Her friend made a strangled little sound into her cup. Garrett ignored her completely, still looking at her. After four weeks of proving he could stop himself, he needed her to be the one to move now.
Her fingers found his where they rested near her collarbone. She squeezed once. His hand turned immediately, catching hers.
They made it upstairs faster than was dignified. The hallway was dimmer up there, the noise from downstairs turning thick and muffled through the floor. Someone had left a laundry basket outside one door. A sock sat abandoned near the bathroom. Garrettโs hand stayed wrapped around hers, warm and firm, tugging her behind him with just enough urgency that she had to bite back a laugh.
โThis feels very scholarly,โ she whispered.
He glanced back, eyes bright. โIโm about to conduct research.โ
โWow.โ
โPeer reviewed.โ
โYouโre so embarrassing.โ
He opened his bedroom door, pulled her inside, and shut it behind them, and for one tiny second, there was quiet. Then he was on her.
His hands came up to her face, decisive, like he had spent four weeks thinking about the exact angle of her jaw and was done being patient about it. He pulled her in and kissed her hard enough that her back hit the door, the sound of it dull behind her.ย
She gasped into his mouth, and he took it, his lips warm and firm and so much better than the almost-kiss that had been haunting her all week. This wasnโt careful. This was Garrettโs restraint snapping clean down the middle. His mouth moved over hers like he had a point to prove, like every second heโd spent not kissing her had been stored somewhere in his body and now wanted out.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him back with the same helpless lack of dignity. Her fingers pushed into his hair, and he made a low sound against her mouth when she tugged, one hand sliding from her cheek to the side of her neck, thumb brushing under her jaw. His other hand found her waist, pulling her closer until there was no polite space left between them.
He tasted like mint and beer and Garrett, which was an insane thought but the only one her brain had. Warm. Familiar. New enough to make her dizzy. His hoodie was soft under her hands, his body hard beneath it, and when he pressed his hips into hers, she broke the kiss on a shaky little inhale.
Garrettโs mouth moved to her jaw immediately. โFuck,โ he breathed, the word hot against her skin.
She tilted her head back against the door. He kissed down the side of her neck, open-mouthed and unhurried now, like urgency had gotten him here but hunger was deciding what happened next. His teeth grazed under her ear and her knees actually softened, one hand tightening in his hair.
โI,โ he said against her throat, then kissed her again, lower. โReally.โ Another kiss, slower, meaner. โLike you.โ
The words hit harder than she expected. He sounded wrecked and a little annoyed by it, like the confession had been dragged out of him by proximity and her pulse under his mouth. It was so Garrett, that warmth cracked open under all the want, soft and bright and horribly sweet.
She tugged him back up by his hair. His eyes met hers, dark and slightly unfocused.
โI really like you,โ she said.
His expression shifted, just a little. The smugness flickered, and something younger, more pleased, came through before he buried it under a grin. โYeah?โ
โDonโt make me say it again.โ
โI kind of want you to.โ
โGarrett.โ
โFine.โ He kissed her again, smiling into it this time. โIโll earn it.โ
His hands slid down to her ass, and then he lifted her like she weighed nothing. She made a startled sound against his mouth, legs wrapping around his waist automatically, and he laughed low in his throat as he carried her toward the desk.
โShow-off,โ she muttered.
โYou into it?โ
โShut up.โ
He sat her on the edge of the desk, stepping between her knees, and she shoved at his hoodie before heโd even settled. He pulled it off in one clean motion, shirt rucking up underneath for a flash of stomach before he tossed the hoodie aside. She caught the front of his t-shirt and dragged him back down to her mouth.
This kiss was messier. His hands were everywhere in a way that still managed to feel like he was paying attention: her waist, her thighs, the curve of her back, his thumbs slipping under the hem of her top just enough to make her skin jump. She hooked one foot behind his thigh and pulled him closer, smiling when his breath punched out.
โYou gonna fuck me, Graham?โ she asked against his mouth.
His hand slid up her thigh. โGot four weeks to make up for.โ
He lifted her again before she could answer, and this time she did squeal when he tossed her onto the bed, the sound breaking into a laugh as she bounced against the comforter. Garrett stood at the foot of the bed for a second, looking down at her with his hair a mess from her fingers, mouth swollen from kissing, chest rising harder than it should have been.
He wiped a hand down over his mouth like he couldnโt quite believe she was there. โFuck Celibacy Club,โ he said.
She laughed, breathless and warm and still reaching for him. โFuck Celibacy Club.โ
His grin came slow. Then he crawled over her, one knee sinking into the mattress between her legs, chain swinging loose at his throat, and kissed her like he'd been waiting all month to do it properly.
pairing โ garrett graham x nursing student!reader
summary โ clinical exam spiral, meet garrett grahamโs preferred method of stress relief.
warnings โ smut, fingering, praise kink-ish, dirty talk, orgasm, exam stress, suggestive humour, strong language
notes from me โ decided these two needed some actual smut ๐โโ๏ธ enjoy!!
word count โ 3.4k
navigation โ masterlist | taglist
She lasted forty-three minutes after Garrett told her to close the textbook. Forty-three minutes of sitting cross-legged on his bed in one of his old Briar hockey shirts, hair twisted up badly with a pencil shoved through it, one sock half-slipping off her foot, tapping the end of a highlighter against her bottom lip hard enough that he was going to start taking it personally.ย
Garrett had been trying to give her space, which was very generous of him, actually, considering she was in his bed looking like that and pretending the brachial plexus was more interesting than him. Heโd stretched out beside her with his phone in one hand and his other arm tucked behind his head, quiet in the way he only got when he was making a conscious effort not to be annoying, but every few minutes his eyes shifted from the screen to her face.ย
The little crease between her brows. The tense set of her mouth. The way she kept rereading the same paragraph and absorbing absolutely none of it.
โBaby,โ he said eventually, because enough was enough. โYouโve highlighted the same sentence three times.โ
She blinked down at the page like it had personally betrayed her. โNo, I havenโt.โ
โYou have. Itโs neon yellow, then pink, then yellow again. Looks like a rave in a textbook.โ
โThatโs called active recall.โ
โThatโs called losing your mind.โ
She shot him a look over the top of the book, but there wasnโt enough heat in it to count. Her eyes were too tired, lashes heavy, shoulders sitting high near her ears like sheโd forgotten there was a version of her body that didnโt have to brace for impact. โI have three clinical exams, Garrett.โ
โI know.โ
โAnd I still need to go over cardiac meds.โ
โYou went over cardiac meds.โ
โI need to go over them better.โ
He pushed himself up on one elbow, the mattress dipping with the movement, and plucked the highlighter out of her fingers before she could tighten her grip around it. โYouโre going to start prescribing beta blockers in your sleep if you keep going.โ
โThat would be efficient.โ
โThat would be terrifying.โ His mouth twitched when she tried to grab it back, and he lifted it just out of reach because he was an athlete and an asshole and unfortunately very committed to both. โNope. Studying is over.โ
โGive it back.โ
โNo.โ
โGarrett.โ
He loved when she said his name like that, all warning and exhausted dignity, as if she wasnโt sitting in his bed with one bare thigh pressed warm against his hip and a pencil slowly slipping out of her hair.ย
He set the highlighter on his nightstand, far enough away to be insulting, and then reached for the textbook.
She clamped a hand over the page.
Garrett looked at her hand, then at her face, then back at her hand again, eyebrows lifting. โYou really wanna fight me for it?โ
โI could.โ
โYou absolutely could,โ he said, sincere enough that her mouth softened for half a second before she remembered she was supposed to be stressed. โAnd Iโd let you win, obviously, because I respect women and also because you get mean when youโre sleep-deprived.โ
โIโm not sleep-deprived.โ
โYou asked Tucker where the fridge was this morning.โ
She opened her mouth, shut it again, then frowned down at the page. โThat was different. I was thinking about electrolytes.โ
โSure you were.โ Garrettโs hand slid over hers on the textbook, warm and broad, his thumb brushing once across her knuckles before he started easing her fingers loose one by one. He wasnโt rough about it. That was the annoying part. It wouldโve been easier if he was being obnoxious enough to justify fighting him properly, but he just kept looking at her with that quiet, amused patience, like he could see the whole frantic machinery of her brain grinding itself down and wasnโt impressed by the performance. โCโmere.โ
Her breath caught in a way she clearly hoped he didnโt notice, which was cute, because Garrett noticed everything when it came to her. He tugged the book free and lowered it to the floor with a dull, final thump, then hooked a finger beneath the hem of his shirt where it had ridden up over her thigh. Touching enough to make her attention stutter, enough for her eyes to flick from his hand to his mouth and back again.
โGarrett,โ she said again, quieter this time, and there it was โ the first crack in all that stubborn control.
He leaned in until his lips brushed the corner of her jaw, barely there, the kind of kiss that made no real argument and still somehow ruined the entire debate. โYouโre vibrating,โ he murmured against her skin.
โIโm not.โ
โYou are. Like a tiny academic Chihuahua.โ
A laugh slipped out of her before she could stop it, breathy and irritated and so painfully tired that Garrettโs chest did something stupid with it.
He kissed the spot just beneath her ear, felt her fingers curl weakly in the sheets, and smiled there because he was a good person, probably, but he was still himself. โThere she is.โ
โDonโt sound so proud of yourself.โ
โImpossible. Iโm doing great.โ
โYouโre stealing my study time.โ
โIโm saving your brain from becoming soup.โ His hand moved to her waist, palm settling over the soft give of her beneath the shirt, and when she didnโt pull away, when her head tipped back the smallest amount like her body had voted before her pride could, his voice dropped into something lower, rougher, less playful around the edges. โLet me get you out of your head for a little bit.โ
She swallowed. Her eyes stayed open, fixed on him in that stubborn, wary way of hers, but her knee shifted against his thigh under the duvet. A tiny surrender. Almost nothing. Enough. โI still have to study after.โ
โSure,โ Garrett said, already easing her down into the pillows, his mouth hovering over hers, close enough that the next breath belonged to both of them. โAfter.โ
He kissed her before she could answer, mostly because Garrett knew her well enough by now to know she would keep negotiating with herself until morning if someone gave her room to do it.ย
He kissed her slow, warm, almost maddeningly patient, one hand braced on the pillow beside her head and the other still resting at her waist, thumb moving in a lazy arc beneath the hem of his shirt.
She made a tiny sound into his mouth, half protest and half something else entirely, and Garrett smiled against her like the smug bastard he was.ย
โDonโt start,โ she breathed, though her fingers had already found the front of his hoodie, curling there instead of pushing him away.ย
โI didnโt say anything,โ he murmured, and she huffed, soft and annoyed, because he didnโt have to. His whole face was a comment.
The textbook slid the rest of the way off the mattress at some point, hitting the hardwood with a dull slap that made her eyes flick open.ย
Garrett didnโt even look at it.
โCasualty of war,โ he said against the corner of her mouth, and that got another laugh out of her, small and helpless and warm enough that something in his chest eased.ย
He shifted the duvet up over them with one knee, blocking out the cooler air of the room, and she let herself sink a little deeper into the pillows even as the tension still clung to her in stubborn places โ the tight line of her shoulders, the twitch of her fingers at his sleeve, the way her mind kept trying to crawl back toward dosage charts and exam rubrics even with his mouth on her neck.ย
Garrett felt the little delay in her, the part of her that kept answering him half a second too late, like her body was right there under his hands but her mind kept slipping sideways into some fluorescent-lit corner of the library.
He kissed the hinge of her jaw once, slow enough to make her lashes dip, and murmured, โStill with me?โ
She swallowed, eyes shiny and unfocused beneath the soft fall of her lashes. โMostly.โ
โYeah?โ His mouth tilted, but the hand at her hip stayed warm and steady, his thumb dragging once over the soft skin there before sliding lower, under the duvet, to the outside of her thigh. โThen Iโm gonna have to do better than mostly.โ
The room had gone soft around them by then, all amber lamplight and messy sheets and the low, settled hush of the house beyond Garrettโs door. His bedside lamp was the only thing still on, throwing a warm stripe over the rumpled duvet, the hardwood floor, the nursing textbook lying face-down where it had landed like even it had finally given up for the night.
It wasnโt that she didnโt want him. That wouldโve been easier, probably. Cleaner. It was that wanting him had to fight its way through cardiac meds, cranial nerves, the stupid table in her notes sheโd rewritten twice and still didnโt trust herself to remember.
Her body was in Garrettโs bed, tucked into the warmth of him and his sheets and the old Briar shirt riding up her thighs, but some awful, overachieving part of her was still hunched over a library desk under fluorescent lights, chewing the end of a pen and spiralling herself into an early grave.
Garrett watched it happen in real time, propped up on one elbow beside her, broad shoulder cutting into the lamplight, dark curls mussed from where her fingers had already been in them, that familiar half-smile sitting at the edge of his mouth like he was trying very hard not to look too pleased with how transparent she was to him.
His gaze moved over her face, catching the tiny twitch in her jaw, the way her eyes kept drifting past him instead of staying on him, the restless flex of her fingers against the sheet like they still wanted something to highlight, underline, fix.
His thumb moved slowly across her waist, once, then again, warm and deliberate enough to pull her attention back by inches. โYouโre still in there, arenโt you?โ he murmured.
She blinked at him. โWhere?โ
โThe library.โ His mouth tilted. โProbably muttering about pharmacology.โ
A laugh caught in her throat, small and breathless despite herself. โI donโt mutter.โ
โYou absolutely mutter.โ His hand slid lower beneath the duvet, moving with that awful, patient confidence that made her stomach tighten before heโd even really done anything. His palm found her thigh and stayed there, warm and broad, fingers pressing lightly into the skin like he was reminding her where she was. โYou were doing it ten minutes ago.โ
โI was revising.โ
โYou were arguing with a textbook.โ
โIt was wrong.โ
โYeah, baby, Iโm sure the textbook was wrong.โ
She opened her mouth to say something back, probably something sharp and very reasonable, but his hand shifted higher and whatever brilliant defence sheโd been building fell straight through the floor. Garrett noticed. His eyes flicked over her face, dark and warm and much too focused, and the smirk softened into something heavier.ย
He didnโt look away when his fingers brushed over her, didnโt duck his head or make it feel like some separate thing happening under the covers. He watched her breath catch. Watched her lashes flutter. Watched the exact second her knees stopped pretending they werenโt going to part for him.
โThere you go,โ he said quietly, voice rougher now, all that teasing dragged low. โThatโs better.โ
โItโs notโโ Her sentence disappeared into a shaky inhale when he touched her again, sliding his fingers upward to her damp, aching centre, slow enough to be mean, careful enough to make her toes curl under the sheets.ย
She turned her face toward the pillow like that might give her back some dignity, but Garrett made a disapproving sound under his breath and nudged his forehead against her temple.
โUh-uh. Donโt hide from me.โ His mouth brushed the side of her cheek, barely a kiss. โYou can stare down a doctor whoโs being an asshole on four hours of sleep, but you canโt look at me?โ
โThatโs different,โ she breathed.
โYeah?โ His fingers moved again, a little firmer this time, and the word nearly broke in his mouth when he felt how wet she was. He exhaled through his nose, a short, pleased sound that made heat flare hard under her ribs. โSeems like youโre doing fine to me.โ
โGarrett.โ
โI know.โ His voice gentled instantly, and that was the unfair part, really. The way he could be smug and soft at the same time, cocky enough to make her want to smack him and careful enough to make her chest ache. โIโve got you. Stop trying to think through it.โ
โIโm not.โ
โYou are.โ He slipped one finger into her, slow and deliberate, and her whole body went tight around the feeling, breath punching out of her in a tiny, helpless sound she would deny later if anyone asked. Garrettโs eyes stayed on hers, his expression shifting in that small, dangerous way it did when he realised he had her. โYeah. There she is.โ
Her hand shot up out of the covers, grabbing at his shoulder first, fingers digging into hard muscle through the worn cotton of his shirt, then sliding up to the back of his neck. She needed something to hold on to. His curls were soft between her fingers when she tugged, and Garrettโs mouth twitched like he was enjoying himself far too much for someone performing an alleged act of emotional support.
โDonโt look soโ mmpfโ smug,โ she managed, though it came out embarrassingly thin.
โIโm not.โ
โYou are.โ
โIโm proud.โ He curled his finger and she jolted, hips lifting before she could stop them, a broken little gasp catching high in her throat. Garrettโs grin flashed, quick and devastating, then disappeared against her jaw as he kissed her there. โSee? Supportive boyfriend behaviour.โ
โYouโre notโ you're not my boyfriend.โ
โRight. My mistake.โ He moved again, slow, steady, maddeningly sure of himself, his thumb finding her clit with the kind of precision that made her eyes slam shut. โSupportive guy who gets to do this.โ
โFuck,โ she breathed, the word soft and ruined.
Garrett hummed, pleased but quiet about it now, his mouth dragging from her jaw to the corner of her lips. โGood. Thatโs the first useful thing youโve said in an hour.โ
She wouldโve laughed if she had the air for it. Instead she made some horrible, needy sound and tightened her fingers in his hair, dragging him closer until his chest was almost flush with hers.ย
The room felt warmer beneath the duvet, too close and too dim and too full of him โ his hand between her thighs, his breath against her mouth, the steady weight of his body beside her anchoring her to the bed when her brain kept trying to skitter away.
Every time a stray thought tried to rise โ exam timetable, lab values, whether sheโd left her notes open to the wrong chapter โ Garrett seemed to catch it before she did, pressing his thumb a little harder, curling his finger in that same slow rhythm until her mind went blank at the edges.
โThatโs it,โ he murmured, like he could feel the exact moment she started giving up. โStay here. Right here with me.โ
โI canโtโโ Her voice snagged. Her hips rolled against his hand, needy and uncoordinated, and her face burned at how obvious she was being, at the wet sound beneath the covers, at the way Garrettโs eyes darkened like heโd happily spend the rest of the night ruining her study schedule on principle. โI canโt think.โ
โThat was the whole idea, baby.โ He kissed her, messy and brief, swallowing the next little sound she made before pulling back just enough to watch her again. โYouโve been thinking all week. Youโre done.โ
โIโm not done.โ
โYouโre so done.โ He added a second finger and she made a sound that wasnโt even close to an argument, her head tipping back into the pillow, throat exposed, thighs trembling beneath the sheets. Garrettโs voice dropped lower, rough now, but still steady. โThere you go. Fuck, youโre pretty like this.โ
Her nails scraped lightly at his scalp. โGarrettโโ
โI know.โ His thumb kept moving, steady circles that made pleasure gather tight and hot low in her belly, every nerve in her body narrowing down to his hand and his voice and the unbearable closeness of his mouth near hers. โI know, baby. Let it happen. Stop fighting it.โ
โIโm not fighting.โ
He gave her a look, amused even now, even with his breathing gone a little uneven. โYou fight everything.โ
She tried to glare at him. She really did. But then he shifted his wrist, changing the angle just enough that the pleasure went sharp and white-hot, and the glare collapsed into a gasp that sounded humiliatingly close to a whimper.ย
Garrett caught it with a kiss to the corner of her mouth, then another to her cheek, then lower, to the place just under her ear that always made her melt no matter how stubborn she felt about it.
โGood girl,โ he murmured, and the words slid through her like a match strike.
Her whole body clenched around him. Garrett felt it, because his mouth curved against her skin and his hand didnโt falter for a second. If anything, he got more focused, more intent, the playful edge thinning into something almost reverent as he watched her fall apart by degrees.ย
The disciplined, exhausted, overworked part of her loosened its grip one finger at a time. Her shoulders dropped. Her mouth parted. Her breath came in broken little pulls that made Garrettโs jaw flex like he was barely keeping himself in check.
โThatโs it,โ he whispered, closer now, his forehead nearly touching hers. โDonโt go anywhere. Look at me.โ
โI canโt,โ she whined.
โYou can.โ His voice was gentle, but there was that captain note under it, that quiet certainty he slipped into without thinking. The one that made people listen before they realised they were doing it. โCome on, baby. Eyes on me.โ
Her eyes fluttered open, unfocused and glossy, and Garrettโs expression did something stupidly soft before he covered it with another smug little curve of his mouth.ย
โThere you are,โ he breathed. โKnew Iโd find you eventually.โ
The pressure in her belly pulled tighter, coiling hard enough that her fingers locked in his hair. Her thighs shook under the duvet, one knee pressing into his hip, her body chasing his hand even as the feeling started to tip into too much. She made a small, panicked sound, and Garrett kissed her again, quick and grounding.
โIโve got you,โ he said, right against her mouth. โJust let go. Iโm right here.โ
The orgasm hit before she could brace for it, sharp and bright and full-bodied, ripping a soft, strangled sound out of her as her back arched off the mattress. For a second there was nothing useful in her head at all. No notes. No exams. No lab values. Only Garrettโs hand working her through it, his body close beside hers, his voice low and steady as he talked her down from the edge.ย
โYeah, thatโs it. Good. Just like that. Breathe for me, baby. There you go.โ He didnโt stop until the last wave had dragged through her and left her shaking, boneless, fingers still tangled in his curls like sheโd forgotten how to let go.
When she finally collapsed back into the pillows, she felt wrung out in the best and most embarrassing way, chest rising and falling too fast, skin damp under his shirt, brain blessedly, beautifully quiet. Garrett eased his hand away slowly, careful, then leaned down and kissed her cheek, then the corner of her mouth, then her properly, warm and lingering and annoyingly pleased with himself.
She laughed against him, soft and breathless, because she could feel the grin before she even opened her eyes. โDonโt.โ
โI didnโt say anything.โ
โYouโre about to.โ
โYeah, because I was right.โ He pulled back just enough for her to see that golden-boy smile, the one that made her want to roll her eyes and kiss him until he shut up, usually in that order. โTold you Iโd get you out of your head.โ
Her eyes fluttered shut again, her hand sliding from his hair to the back of his neck, keeping him close because apparently she had no self-respect left and, honestly, good. โI hate when youโre useful.โ
Garrett kissed the corner of her mouth, still smiling. โNo, you donโt.โ
And for once, with the room warm around them and the textbook abandoned on the floor and her thoughts finally gone soft and quiet, she didnโt bother arguing.
pairing โ garrett graham x reader
summary โ four times garrettโs chain causes problems, and one very smug hockey captain pretends he isnโt loving every second of it.
warnings โ suggestive content, making out/grinding, mild sexual references, implied oral sex, drinking, party setting, garrett being smug and whipped.
notes from me โ as part of my 1k celebrations, here's the top requested fic!! enjoy ๐ซถ๐ผ
word count โ 5k
navigation โ masterlist | taglist
The first time Garrett realises his chain is a problem, they're in his room with the door locked, the bass from downstairs moving through the floorboards in lazy, uneven pulses and the old house doing what the old house always does around a party, which is pretend itโs not seen worse.ย
There are voices below them, Loganโs laugh cutting through once in a bright, drunken bark, Dean yelling something that sounds like an accusation and Tucker answering with the sort of dry, patient tone that means someone is absolutely about to be called an idiot.ย
But up here, everything has gone smaller. Warmer. The room narrowed down to Garrettโs weight between her thighs, the soft give of his mattress under her back, the skirt shoved high enough on her hips that there's no point pretending itโs even a skirt anymore, and his mouth dragging over hers like he has all night and no better use for it.
He kisses like an athlete too, which is deeply annoying information to have about him because it makes too much sense. Confident, paced, unfairly good at changing pressure right when she starts thinking sheโs adjusted to him.ย
One hand is braced beside her head, the other curled around her thigh, thumb pressing absent little circles into skin like he doesn't know itโs making her thoughts get weird and slippery around the edges. Heโs still wearing his t-shirt, which feels rude considering sheโs in a bra and skirt and whatever dignity survived the trip up the stairs is now lying somewhere dead near his laundry basket.ย
His chain has slipped out from under his collar while he kisses her, warm gold catching against the side of her throat every time he grinds down into her and makes her breath come out embarrassingly thin.
โGarrett,โ she gets out, though it doesn't have much purpose beyond giving her mouth something to do when his is suddenly leaving it.
He hums like heโs heard her and decided to take it under advisement at a later date. His mouth drifts to her jaw, then lower, slow and pleased and entirely too smug about the way her body moves before she can stop it.ย
He kisses down her throat, over the spot where her pulse is doing something humiliating, then lower still, along the top edge of her bra, and she should probably let him. She should probably enjoy the fact that Garrett Graham, Briar hockey captain, walking campus hazard, has decided her chest deserves sustained attention.ย
But the second his mouth leaves hers properly, some spoiled little part of her lights up in objection.
โNo,โ she whines, which is not her proudest moment, and is made worse by the fact that Garrett pauses against her skin like heโs trying not to laugh. She reaches down and gets her fingers in his hair, gentle but insistent, tugging him back up until his face appears over hers again, curls mussed, mouth shiny, eyes bright with the kind of amusement that makes her want to either kiss him harder or shove him off the bed. โCome back.โ
His grin spreads slowly. โBossy.โ
โYou stopped kissing me.โ
โI was kissing you somewhere else.โ
She pouts. โWrong somewhere.โ
He gives one of those little laughs that starts in his chest before it reaches his mouth, warm and low and stupidly pleased, and then he comes back happily, because thatโs the worst part of Garrett.ย
He has all this cocky-boy resistance in theory, all this mouth and attitude and captain-of-every-room energy, and then she asks for him directly and his body gives him away before his ego can file an appeal. He kisses her again, deep enough that the complaint evaporates under her tongue, and for a few seconds she forgets about the chain entirely.
Then he pulls back to sit up on his knees, one thigh planted on either side of her hips, and reaches behind his neck for his shirt.
โOh,โ she says before she can stop herself.
Garrett pauses with the hem already half up his stomach, eyebrows lifting. โOh?โ
โShut up.โ
โI didnโt say anything.โ
โYou were about to.โ
His teeth catch at his bottom lip. โI was about to ask if you needed a minute to process.โ
She narrows her eyes at him, which would probably have more force if she were not lying under him with her skirt bunched around her waist and her hands already drifting up his exposed stomach. โYouโre so annoying.โ
โYeah, but youโre still looking.โ
And she is. Tragically. Openly. With no legal defence. The shirt comes off the rest of the way and lands somewhere near the chair, and Garrett is there above her in the soft lamplight, shoulders broad from hockey, stomach tight under her palms, chain resting against his chest like itโs been placed there for the express purpose of ruining her life.ย
It's not even that fancy. Thatโs the insulting part. Just a gold chain. Simple. Warm from his skin. Sitting right at the base of his throat.
Her hands slide up his stomach, over the hard shift of muscle when he breathes, and she catches her bottom lip between her teeth without meaning to.
Garrettโs grin softens into something more dangerous because he knows. Because Garrett is many things, but oblivious is not one of them, especially not when a girl is looking at his chest like sheโs discovered a new academic field.
โBaby,โ he says, amused.
She doesn't answer. She hooks two fingers under the chain and pulls. Garrett comes down with it, one hand shooting to the mattress beside her head, the other catching her waist as he laughs into the space above her mouth. โJesus. Okay.โ
She smiles, breath already uneven again. โCome here.โ
โI was here.โ
โCloser.โ
His mouth hovers over hers, his chain trapped between her fingers, the metal a little warm, a little slick where itโs been resting against his skin. โYou always this demanding?โ
She tugs again, smaller this time, mostly because she likes the way his eyes drop to her mouth when she does it. โOnly when youโre slow.โ
Garrett stares at her for one beat, and then the smile goes all bright and helpless at the edges, like sheโs pleased him against his will.ย
โYeah,โ he murmurs, bending until the chain brushes her collarbone and his mouth is almost on hers again. โThatโs gonna be a problem.โ
The second time is quieter, though quiet in the hockey house is a relative concept and mostly means no one is actively breaking furniture within their line of sight. They're downstairs on the couch after dinner, the living room dim except for the television throwing blue-white light over everyoneโs faces and the standing lamp Tucker keeps insisting gives the room ambience, which Dean keeps calling divorced dad lighting.ย
A movieโs on, something Logan picked with the confidence of a man who would be asleep within twenty minutes, and sure enough heโs already slumped in the armchair with his head tipped back and one socked foot on the coffee table, snoring faintly through the loudest action sequence anyone has ever failed to respect.
Garrettโs stretched out behind her on the couch, one arm tucked under her head like a pillow, the other lying heavy over her waist. Sheโs settled half on top of him, half against him, legs tangled beneath the old throw blanket that smells faintly like fabric softener and Garrettโs laundry detergent and whatever popcorn crime Dean committed earlier.ย
The whole room has that late-night, lived-in warmth to it. Empty bowls on the coffee table, Tucker leaning on the other end of the couch with his phone in one hand and his attention somehow still half on the movie, Dean sprawled on the floor with his back against Allieโs legs while she runs her fingers lazily through his hair like sheโs rewarding a large, badly behaved dog.
Garrettโs chain has worked its way out again. She doesn't mean to start fiddling with it. Her hand is just there, resting against his chest, and the chain is right under her fingertips, cool at first and then quickly warming up.ย
Her thumb catches the tiny curve of one link. Then another. Then sheโs sliding it back and forth lightly against his skin, not really thinking, only listening to the movie and the steady sound of his breathing under her cheek and the occasional thud of Dean kicking the coffee table because he refuses to understand where his legs end.
Garrett lets it happen for a while. Long enough that she forgets sheโs doing it. Long enough for the metal to move in a tiny, repetitive drag under her fingers, a private little rhythm tucked beneath explosions and the muffled rain starting against the windows.ย
His chest rises under her palm. His hand at her waist flexes once, absent, and she shifts closer without lifting her head. Then his fingers close around her wrist. Warm and sure, stopping the motion.
She glances up. โWhat?โ
Garrett looks down at her with the deeply patient expression of a man being tortured in a way heโs not allowed to enjoy too obviously. โYouโve been doing that for ten minutes.โ
โDoing what?โ
His eyes flick to the chain. Then back to her. โThat.โ
โOh.โ She looks down at her hand, caught in his like evidence. โWas I annoying you?โ
โNo.โ
โYou stopped me.โ
โBecause,โ he says, lowering his voice as Dean makes a disgusted noise at the movie and Allie tells him to stop talking before she smothers him with a cushion, โyou keep touching my neck, and Iโm trying to be a decent citizen in a communal living space.โ
Her mouth twitches. โYour neck?โ
โMy chain is on my neck.โ
She bites back a smile. โThatโs very scientific of you.โ
โI go to college.โ
โFor hockey.โ
He sucks at his teeth, a grin spreading across his face. โFor hockey and the pursuit of knowledge.โ
She laughs into his chest, and he immediately looks pleased with himself in that quiet Garrett way, like making her laugh while half the room is asleep counts as a personal win.ย
His hand slides from her wrist to her fingers, lifting them to his mouth. He kisses her knuckles once, soft and warm, then again, slower, like he can get away with it because nobodyโs looking directly at them. The contact sends a stupid little wave through her, low and gentle, a sudden looseness in her ribs and the sense that her body has settled another inch into his.
โStop playing with it,โ he murmurs against her hand.
โI didnโt know it was an activity with rules.โ
โIt is now.โ
โSounds controlling.โ
โSounds like youโre too hot for your own good and Iโm a responsible man.โ
She lifts her head just enough to look at him properly. โYouโre so full of shit.โ
Garrett smiles like thatโs his favourite thing sheโs said all day. โA little, yeah.โ
Then he threads his fingers through hers and brings their joined hands down to rest against his stomach, trapping her there with him. Garrettโs hand stays wrapped around hers. Firm. Warm. His thumb moves once over the side of her finger, slow enough that it feels accidental and deliberate at the same time.
The third time, she should know somethingโs wrong with the whole arrangement because Garrett offers it too easily. It's the morning of her exam, a big one, the kind that has lived in the back of her head for three weeks like an unpaid bill and ruined several perfectly good evenings by existing near them.ย
Sheโs already eaten half a banana, stared at her notes until the words lost meaning, changed shirts twice, and accused Garrett of breathing too loudly while he sat on her bed watching her spiral with the sort of affectionate calm that made her want to throw a highlighter at him.
โYou studied,โ he says, for maybe the fourth time, lying on his side with one elbow propped under him and his curls still damp from the shower. โLike, a disgusting amount. I know because you made me quiz you last night and I learned things against my will.โ
She stands in front of the mirror, smoothing her top down and then immediately undoing the smoothing because now it looks too deliberate. โThat doesnโt mean I know it.โ
โThatโs actually exactly what studying means.โ
โNo, studying means I knew it at midnight in your bed while you were half asleep and kept pronouncing things wrong on purpose.โ
โI was keeping morale up.โ
She turns to glare at him, and he grins at her from the bed, annoyingly gorgeous and unhelpfully relaxed, his chain sitting against his bare collarbone because he hasnโt put a shirt on yet. Which is also rude. Honestly, the whole morning has been a campaign of emotional terrorism.
โIโm serious,โ she says, and the words come out thinner than she wants.
His face changes then. The grin doesn't disappear entirely, because Garrett without some amount of grin would be genuinely concerning, but it settles. He sits up properly, feet hitting the floor, and reaches for her when she comes close enough. His hands land at her hips, warm through the fabric, thumbs pressing once like heโs reminding her she has a body and it's standing here, not drowning somewhere in the imagined future of a badly answered essay question.
โI know you are,โ he says. โI also know youโre gonna kill it.โ
โDonโt say that.โ
โWhat, kill it?โ
โYes.โ
โFine. Youโre gonnaโฆ respectfully and academically dominate.โ
โGarrett.โ
He laughs under his breath and tugs her closer until sheโs standing between his knees. Then, with the sudden seriousness of someone remembering an ancient ritual and not a bit he came up with seven seconds ago, he reaches behind his neck and unclasps the chain.
She looks down at it. โWhat are you doing?โ
โGood luck.โ
Her eyes lift to his. โWhat?โ
He holds it up between them, gold catching the morning light from her window. โItโs lucky.โ
She stares at him. โYour chain is lucky?โ
โExtremely.โ
โYouโve never said that.โ
He looks almost offended. โI donโt tell everyone my deeply personal athletic superstitions.โ
โYou told Dean you had to wear the same socks for playoffs.โ
โThat was different. He touched them.โ
โThat feels like a public health issue more than a superstition.โ
Garrett ignores this, and gestures for her to turn around. She does, suspicious but too nervous to fight him properly. He stands behind her, and for a second the mirror catches both of them: her in exam clothes and stress, him shirtless and too calm, chain hanging from his fingers.ย
He lifts it around her neck, his knuckles grazing the sides of her throat as he brings the clasp together. The metal lands cool against her skin, heavier than she expects, and something in her chest gives one stupid little pull.
โThere,โ he says, hands settling briefly on her shoulders. โGuaranteed.โ
She touches the chain with two fingers. โGuaranteed?โ
โYeah.โ
โIf I fail, Iโm blaming your jewellery.โ
โIf you fail, Iโll fake my death and start over somewhere chainless.โ
She laughs then, finally, and it comes out shaky but real. Garrettโs eyes meet hers in the mirror, his mouth tipped in a way thatโs half smug and half proud of having pulled the sound out of her.ย
He bends and kisses the side of her head, quick, easy, like he doesn't know the chain suddenly feels like some ridiculous little anchor against her collarbone.
โGo,โ he says. โAce it. Then come back and be unbearable about it.โ
She does ace it.
She walks out of the exam hall two hours later with the weird, floating, slightly manic clarity of someone who knows the questions landed exactly where she needed them to, who wrote until her hand cramped, who remembered the thing from the bottom of page seven that she had absolutely expected to die with no audience.ย
She calls Garrett from the sidewalk and says, โI think I nailed it,โ and he shouts so loudly through the phone that a girl walking past looks over in alarm.
โTell the chain I said thank you,โ she says later that night, when sheโs in his room again, sitting cross-legged on his bed with takeout containers open between them and his hoodie swallowed over her exam clothes because the adrenaline crash has finally arrived and brought a mild existential fog with it.
Garrett looks up from stealing one of her fries. โWhat?โ
โThe chain.โ She taps it where it still sits at her throat. โYour ancient family luck charm.โ
There's a pause. It's tiny. Almost nothing. But Garrett Graham has many gifts, and hiding guilt from his girlfriend while his mouth is full of stolen fries is not one of them.
Her eyes narrow. โGarrett.โ
He chews slowly.
โGarrett Graham.โ
He swallows. โOkay, before you get madโโ
โOh my God.โ She sits up straighter. โItโs not lucky?โ
โItโs, uh, lucky adjacent.โ
โWhat does that mean?โ
โIt means Iโve worn it to some good games.โ
โYou told me it was extremely lucky.โ
โI was trying to get you out of your head.โ
โYou lied!โ
โI motivated.โ He points at her with a fry. โAnd you crushed your exam, so actually, whereโs my thank you?โ
She stares at him for one second. Then another. The chainโs warm now from her skin, and the fact that he made it up should be annoying. It is annoying.ย
It's also so Garrett that something in her gives up and goes soft around the edges despite herself, because he saw her standing in front of the mirror two seconds from vibrating through the floorboards and decided the solution was to hand her something of his and make it sound official enough for her nervous system to believe him.
โYouโre unbelievable,โ she says.
His grin comes back immediately, bright with relief and bad ideas. โBut effective.โ
โYouโre never getting this back.โ
โBaby, I look really good in that chain.โ
โI look better.โ
He studies her for a second, eyes dropping to where the gold sits against the oversized neckline of his hoodie, and his mouth does something slower.ย
โYeah,โ he says, voice rougher. โYou do.โ
Her fingers move to the chain. His eyes track the motion. The takeout goes forgotten between them, steam thinning in the cartons, the lamp laying warm light over his bed and the stupid little lucky-not-lucky object at her throat.
She crawls toward him, slow enough to make his brows lift.
โWhat?โ he asks, though his hands are already moving to her waist when she pushes the cartons aside with the care of someone who doesn't want to get sauce on his sheets but absolutely does want to ruin his evening in other ways.
โYou want a thank you?โ
Garrettโs mouth opens, then closes. He tilts his head, trying for casual and missing by a heroic distance. โI mean, Iโm not gonna say no to gratitude.โ
โGood,โ she says, and leans in to kiss him once, soft enough that he follows when she pulls away.
His hands tighten on her hips. โGood?โ
โMhm.โ
Then she slides off the bed onto her knees between his legs, and Garrett goes very, very still. For once in his life, he doesn't have a comeback ready.
She looks up at him, the chain hanging forward from her neck, gold swinging slightly in the space between them, and his eyes drop to it like heโs experiencing several personal revelations at once.
โStill think itโs lucky?โ she asks.
Garrett exhales through his nose, a smile breaking helplessly at one corner of his mouth as his hand comes up to brush her hair back, careful and warm and already a little wrecked.ย
โBaby,โ he says, voice low with absolute reverence and zero shame, โIโm about to start fucking worshipping it.โ
The fourth time is after a home game, which means the hockey house is operating at a volume level that could probably be reported to local authorities if local authorities hadn't long ago made peace with the fact that Briar hockey players were simply going to make too much noise.ย
The living room is packed in that loose, post-win sprawl of bodies and beer and boys shouting over one another from distances that donโt require shouting at all. Someone has put the game highlights on the television and every single person in the room is pretending they're not watching themselves while absolutely watching themselves.ย
Logan is arguing with a guy from the second line about whether his assist should have been cleaner, Tucker is sitting on the arm of the couch with a beer in hand and the calm expression of a man who played very well and doesn't need to scream about it, and Dean is stretched in the middle of the room like a Renaissance painting sponsored by bad decisions, loudly explaining to Allie that his defensive effort has layers.
Garrettโs on the couch below her, sitting with his legs spread, one arm hooked along the back cushions, hair still damp from the post-game shower and curling messily. He looks good in the obnoxious, lived-in way he always does after a win. Tired under the eyes, mouth lazy with satisfaction, hoodie pushed up at the forearms, chain glinting at his throat every time he turns his head to answer someone.ย
There's a faint bruise starting near one cheekbone and stiffness in the way he holds his shoulders that heโs pretending doesn't exist because men who willingly block shots with their bodies have a complicated relationship with the concept of pain.
Sheโs standing behind the couch with her arms looped around his shoulders, her cheek resting against the side of his head, close enough that when he laughs she feels it before she hears it. The room smells like beer and aftershave and pizza grease and wet pavement dragged in from outside.ย
Her chin is tucked near his temple, and his hand comes up every so often to touch her wrist where it crosses his chest, as if checking sheโs still there even though sheโs been draped over him for fifteen minutes like an affectionate scarf.
โYouโre tense,โ she murmurs near his ear.
Garrett tilts his head slightly toward her. โI got checked into the boards by a guy built like a refrigerator.โ
โI saw.โ
โYou also yelled โget upโ at me.โ
โYou did get up.โ
He huffs. โSupportive.โ
โIโm very motivational.โ
He smiles, eyes still on Logan across the room. โYeah, Coach, youโre a real asset.โ
She presses her thumb into the muscle at the top of his shoulder before he can get too smug, and his mouth shuts in the middle of whatever he was about to say. Thereโs a small drop in his posture, a breath leaving through his nose, his head tipping forward half an inch because the pressure hits somewhere useful.
โOh,โ she says softly, pleased. โThere he is.โ
โDonโt sound so happy about my suffering.โ
โIโm happy about being right.โ
He hums quietly. โYou usually are.โ
She starts working at his shoulders properly, thumbs pressing slow circles into the hard knots there, fingers sliding under the edge of his hoodie collar. Garrett tries to keep participating in the conversation around him, because Garrett Graham could be dying and still find time to chirp a teammate, but she feels him lose focus by degrees.ย
His answers get shorter. His hand drops from his beer to rest loosely on his thigh. When she presses into the muscle beside his neck, he makes a low sound under his breath that is almost nothing and somehow still deeply satisfying.
Dean notices, of course. Dean would notice a private moment through drywall.
โOh, thatโs cute,โ he says from the floor, voice carrying with surgical precision. โCaptainโs getting a little spa treatment.โ
Garrett doesn't open his eyes. โYou jealous, Di Laurentis?โ
โOf a shoulder rub? No. Of your girlfriend looking at you like you just returned from war? Little bit.โ
Allie leans around him. โHe did get slammed pretty hard.โ
Dean points at her. โSee? This is why I date women. Compassion.โ
Tucker takes a sip of beer. โYou date Allie because she tolerates you.โ
โThat too.โ
She ignores them, and keeps working her thumbs into Garrettโs shoulders. The only problem is the chain. It keeps getting in the way, slipping under her fingers every time she moves toward the base of his neck, catching lightly against her knuckle, dragging sideways over his skin. She shifts it once. Twice. The third time, Garrett reaches up without looking, catches her wrist, and then lifts his other hand to the clasp.
โHere,โ he says.
She pauses. โWhat?โ
He takes the chain off in one smooth motion, turning his head enough to glance up at her with that soft, amused look that always feels worse when other people are around because it's not performative. It's just his face, open for one second before he remembers to make a joke. โHere, baby. Wear it before you strangle me with it.โ
The room hears baby. Naturally. The room reacts with the dignity of wolves spotting an injured deer. Loganโs head snaps over. โOh, wow.โ
Dean sits up so fast Allie has to move her knees. โDid he just give her the chain?โ
Tuckerโs mouth twitches. โBig night.โ
Garrett points vaguely at all of them without turning around. โEverybody shut up.โ
No one shuts up. That would go against the entire founding philosophy of the house.
She bends down anyway, smiling despite herself, hair falling forward over one shoulder. Garrett lifts the chain around her neck from where he sits, reaching back and up, his fingers careful as they brush the sides of her throat. It's an awkward angle, and he fumbles once with the clasp.
Dean gasps. โHeโs putting jewellery on her. In public. Garrett Graham has fallen.โ
โI will throw this beer at you,โ Garrett says.
โNo, you wonโt. Your girlโs wearing your chain and touching your shoulders. Youโre domesticated now.โ
Logan lifts his cup. โRIP to a slut.โ
Garrett finally opens his eyes and looks over. โIโm still alive, asshole.โ
She laughs into Garrettโs hair before she can stop herself, and his hands settle briefly at her collarbone once the clasp is done, thumbs brushing over the chain where it sits against her skin.ย
The touch is quick. Almost hidden. But his eyes stay there for a second too long, and the whole loud room blurs slightly at the edges in that private way it sometimes does around him, even when Dean is three feet away preparing to be the worst person alive.
The chain is warm from Garrettโs skin when it lands against her throat. Something about that should not matter as much as it does.
Garrettโs head tips back until he can look up at her. โGood?โ
She nods, fingers touching the chain. โGood.โ
โCan I have my massage now, or are we hosting a ceremony?โ
โCeremony,โ Dean says immediately. โI have a speech.โ
โNo one wants that,โ Tucker says.
โI do,โ Logan contributes, raising a hand.
Garrett groans and drops his head forward again, but she can see the grin at the corner of his mouth, tucked away where the boys cannot fully get to it.
She goes back to his shoulders, the chain now resting against her instead of him, rising and falling gently with her breathing as she works the tension out from under his hoodie.
The boys keep going, because of course they do.
โWhipped,โ Dean says.
โTragically,โ Logan adds.
โClinically,โ Tucker says, which makes Allie laugh so hard she almost spills her drink.
Garrett lifts one hand just enough to flip them off without opening his eyes. โKeep talking. Iโm cutting all of you from the power play.โ
โYou canโt cut me from the power play,โ Dean says. โI am the power play.โ
She leans closer, thumbs pressing into Garrettโs neck, and murmurs, โTheyโre not wrong, you know.โ
His eyes open slightly. โCareful.โ
โWhat?โ she says, voice innocent near his ear. โYou gave me your chain in front of everyone.โ
โYou were choking me with it.โ
โI was massaging your shoulders.โ
โPoorly.โ
She pinches him lightly.
He laughs, catching her wrist and bringing her hand down just long enough to kiss the inside of it, quick and warm and entirely too natural for a room full of men actively trying to ruin his reputation. Then he lets her go and sinks back against the couch, shoulders finally loosening under her hands.
Across the room, Logan makes a wounded noise. โOh my God. He kissed her hand. We lost him.โ
Dean presses his beer to his heart. โHe was so young.โ
Tucker, dry as dust, says, โHe died doing what he loved. Pretending he wasnโt in love.โ
Garrettโs jaw ticks once, but the smile wins. She feels it more than sees it, the small shift under her cheek when she bends down again and rests against him for a second, her arms around his shoulders, his chain warm at her throat, the whole loud, stupid house moving around them.
โLove is a strong word,โ Garrett says, which is exactly the sort of thing Garrett says when everyone is looking and the truth has wandered too close to the middle of the room.
She smiles against his cheek. โMm.โ
His hand comes up and covers her forearm, fingers curling there, thumb sweeping once over her skin in a slow little pass that says more than his mouth is willing to risk with Dean waiting to pounce.
Around them, the boys keep chirping, the television keeps replaying Garrettโs goal from the second period, someone in the kitchen shouts about beer pong, and the chain rests against her collarbone like a tiny, ridiculous victory.
Garrett turns his head just enough that his mouth brushes near her temple, hidden from most of the room by the angle of her body.
โYou look good in it,โ he says quietly.
Her hands pause on his shoulders for half a second.
Then Dean yells, โI can see you whispering sweet nothings, Graham,โ and Garrett closes his eyes like heโs begging a very unhelpful God for patience, and she laughs so hard into his hair that the chain jumps lightly at her throat.
pairing โ garrett graham x reader
summary โ garrett's girlfriend is drunk, freezing, and extremely loyal. so loyal, in fact, that she refuses his water, his jacket, and his flirting because sheโs waiting forโฆ garrett graham.
warnings โ fluff, drunk antics, alcohol, post-game party, protective boyfriend garrett, reader doesn't recognise him for most of the fic
notes from me โ part of my 1k celebrations!! & based on this request!! thank u anon, such a cute idea ๐ฅน
word count โ 4.4k
navigation โ masterlist | taglist
There was two versions of Garrett Graham. The version people got in the rink, all sharp focus and captain voice and that very specific game-day intensity that made even strangers in the stands start sitting a little straighter when he skated past.ย
Then there was the version people got after heโd won, showered, changed, and been handed exactly two beers at a party by Logan, who had called it recovery hydration with the confidence of a man who had never once been trusted by medical professionals.
That Garrett was looser. Warmer. Still tired in the shoulders, still carrying the ache of a hard check somewhere along his ribs, but smiling more easily now, head tipped back while Tucker said something dry beside him and Dean yelled over the music from the kitchen like volume could make a story better.ย
His hair was still damp at the edges from his post-game shower, curling slightly where heโd shoved his hand through it too many times, and the dark blue Briar letterman jacket had stayed on for maybe twelve minutes before the house got too hot and he dumped it over the back of a chair.
He was, by every reasonable standard, doing great. His girlfriend was not. His girlfriend had arrived at the party with Allie and a plan that had included one drink, maybe two, and absolutely no consideration for the fact that girls pouring vodka cranberries in hockey houses tended to treat measurements as a loose concept.ย
Garrett had been across the living room when sheโd taken the first one. Heโd been in the kitchen with Tucker when sheโd finished the second. By the time he saw her again, she was standing near the bottom of the stairs with one hand wrapped around a red cup, smiling at something Allie said with the bright, floaty concentration of a girl whose whole body had started operating on a two-second delay.
He could notice a winger drifting out of formation from half a rink away with two guys trying to take his head off. He could absolutely notice his girlfriend blinking too slowly under the hallway light, her cheeks warm from alcohol and the heat of too many bodies packed into the house, her mouth glossy and parted slightly like she kept forgetting whether she was meant to be talking or laughing.ย
She looked happy, which helped. Loose and giggly and pleased. But she also kept shifting her weight like the floor had become more wobbly than usual, and Garrett had not fought for his life against Harvardโs second line that afternoon just to let his girlfriend get taken out by hardwood.
So he left Logan mid-sentence. Logan didnโt even pretend to be offended. He just followed Garrettโs line of sight, saw her trying to drink from the cup and missing her mouth by half an inch, and winced. โOh, buddy.โ
Garrett pointed at him without looking back. โDonโt.โ
โI didnโt say anything.โ
โYou were about to.โ
โI was gonna say she looks graceful.โ
โDie.โ
Garrett crossed the room with the easy confidence of someone everyone automatically moved for, red cup of water in hand because Tucker, thank God, had seen the situation unfolding and passed it over like a medic on a battlefield.ย
She didnโt see Garrett coming. She was too busy nodding very seriously at Allie, who was holding both her hands and saying something that involved the words no, babe, Iโm so serious and eyebrow blindness.
Garrett stepped into her space, close enough that his knee brushed hers. โHey, baby.โ
She turned toward him. For one beautiful second, her face went blank. Then her entire expression rearranged itself into scandalised horror.
โExcuse you,โ she said, pulling herself up to her full height, which was less effective than usual because she swayed slightly at the top and had to catch Allieโs wrist. โI have a boyfriend.โ
Garrett blinked.
Allie made a noise like sheโd swallowed a firework. Garrett looked at his girlfriend. His girlfriend looked back at him with genuine, drunken offence, like heโd approached her in a bar wearing a leather bracelet and too much confidence.
โUh huh,โ he said slowly, because there were moments in life that required leadership and moments that required not laughing directly in the face of the girl you loved while she was doing her best. โThatโs great.โ
โIt is great,โ she said, lifting her chin. โHeโs very tall.โ
Garrettโs mouth twitched. โGood for him.โ
โAnd he plays hockey.โ
โNo shit?โ
โAnd heโs, like, really good at it.โ
Allie had turned away now, one hand clamped over her mouth, shoulders shaking. Garrett refused to look at her because if he did, he was going to lose it, and that felt like the sort of thing his girlfriend would interpret as disrespect from a strange man at a party, which apparently he was now.
He held out the cup. โCan you drink some water for me?โ
Her eyes narrowed. Suspicious. Wobbly. Deeply loyal to the absent boyfriend currently standing less than a foot in front of her. โWhy?โ
โBecause youโre drunk.โ
โIโm not drunk.โ
โBaby.โ
Her mouth dropped open. โDonโt call me baby.โ
โRight. Sorry.โ He pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek, nodding with a level of solemnity he absolutely did not feel. โMy bad.โ
โMy boyfriend calls me baby.โ
โDoes he?โ
โYes.โ
โSounds annoying.โ
โHeโs not annoying.โ She frowned at him with such force that it seemed to briefly take all her balance with it. Garrettโs free hand shot out to her waist before she could tip sideways into Allie. She looked down at it, then back up at him, appalled. โDonโt touch my waist.โ
Garrett removed his hand at once, palms lifting. โAlright.โ
Allie, still dying, leaned in and said, โBabe, maybe just drink the water.โ
She looked betrayed. โYouโre taking his side?โ
โIโm taking hydrationโs side.โ
Garrett offered the cup again. โJust a couple sips.โ
She stared at him for another second, clearly weighing the moral implications of accepting water from a man who looked suspiciously like her boyfriend but who she had, for reasons unclear to everyone except the vodka, decided was not.ย
Finally, she took the cup with great caution, like he might use the transfer to propose something criminal, and drank.
Garrett watched her swallow three obedient little sips, then nodded. โGood girl.โ
The look she gave him could have killed a weaker man. โNope.โ
โRight. Yep. Forgot.โ
โMy boyfriend says that.โ
โBet he does,โ Garrett muttered.
โWhat?โ
โNothing.โ
She handed the cup back, pleased with herself and still indignant, and then immediately turned toward Allie like the conversation had been handled.
Garrett stood there for half a second, holding the water, staring at the side of her face.
Dean appeared beside him like he had been summoned by humiliation itself. โHey, man.โ
Garrett didnโt look over. โDo not.โ
Deanโs grin was audible. โShe knows youโre her boyfriend, right?โ
โSheโs drunk.โ
โShe just told you she has a boyfriend.โ
โYeah, Dean, I was here.โ
Dean leaned around him to look at her, delighted. โThis is the best thing thatโs ever happened to me.โ
Garrett finally turned his head and gave him a flat look. โThatโs sad.โ
โNo, whatโs sad is getting rejected by your own girlfriend.โ Dean clapped him once on the shoulder and immediately stepped out of reach. โTough shift, captain.โ
Garrett pointed at him. โI will put you through a wall.โ
โWow.โ Dean called over his shoulder, already retreating. โHer boyfriend would never.โ
Garrett took a slow breath through his nose and looked back at her. She was laughing at something Allie said now, one hand pressed to her own chest, head tipping forward so her hair fell around her face.ย
She looked ridiculous. Beautiful and unsteady and way too warm in the cheeks, standing under the hallway light like the world had gone pleasantly fuzzy and she trusted it not to hurt her because she hadnโt yet noticed Garrett had been replaced by some guy bothering her with cups.
His annoyance softened before it could become anything real. Fine. He could work with this.
For the next twenty minutes, Garrett kept orbiting. That was the only word for it. He didnโt hover, because hovering would get him accused of being controlling by Dean, and probably by her if she remembered how to form an argument.ย
He orbited. Close enough to keep an eye on her, far enough that she didnโt look up and accuse him of trying to steal girlfriend privileges from Garrett Graham, who was both beloved and missing.
She danced with Allie in the living room, mostly from the waist up because her coordination had started giving its two weeksโ notice.ย
She complimented Tuckerโs shirt with extreme sincerity even though Tucker was wearing the same plain black t-shirt he wore to every party.ย
She told Logan he looked so tall tonight, which made Logan look down at himself like height might have happened recently and without his permission.
Garrett found her again near the back door, rubbing both hands over her bare arms.
The house was hot, but the door kept swinging open whenever someone stepped out to smoke or yell into the yard, letting in cold spring air that slipped over her skin and made her shoulders inch up toward her ears.ย
Garrett saw the little shiver move through her before she did. He grabbed his letterman jacket off the chair and came up behind her, careful this time, no hands first. Just the jacket, warm from the room and heavy with him, settled over her shoulders.
โThere,โ he said, low near her ear. โYouโre cold.โ
She froze.
Garrett closed his eyes for one second. โPlease donโt.โ
She shrugged the jacket off so fast it nearly hit the floor. Garrett caught it by the collar.
โNope,โ she said.
โBaby.โ
Her head snapped around. โI said no.โ
Garrett looked at the ceiling. The ceiling offered no help. โYouโre shivering.โ
โI only wear my boyfriendโs jacket.โ
โThis is your boyfriendโs jacket.โ
โNo, itโs not.โ
โIt literally has my name on it.โ
She squinted at the embroidered Graham on the chest like letters were a personal challenge. โLots of people are named Graham.โ
โNot on this team.โ
โYou donโt know that.โ
โI do, actually. Iโm the captain.โ
Her face twisted with immediate doubt, like that was exactly the sort of lie a jacket predator would tell at a party. โYouโre the captain?โ
Garrett stared at her. โOh my God.โ
From the couch, Logan made a strangled sound into his beer.
She pointed at Garrettโs chest, very serious now. โMy boyfriend is the captain.โ
โYeah, Iโve heard great things.โ
โHeโs very hot.โ
โIs he?โ
โSo hot,โ she said, and then sighed, soft and dramatic and so genuinely fond that Garrettโs irritation had nowhere to land. โLike, stupid hot. Itโs actually kind of annoying.โ
Garrettโs face moved before he could stop it, warmth pulling at his mouth. โYeah?โ
She nodded. โAnd he has really nice hands.โ
Logan choked.
Garrett didnโt look away from her. โGood hands are important.โ
โThey are,โ she agreed solemnly. โAnd heโs not some random guy trying to give girls jackets.โ
โRight.โ He held up the jacket between them, helpless now. โCan I justโโ
โNo thank you.โ
โYouโre gonna freeze.โ
โIโll wait for Garrett.โ
โYou do that,โ he said, because love was standing in a hockey house holding your own jacket while your drunk girlfriend faithfully rejected you on your own behalf. โSounds like a plan.โ
She smiled at him then, bright and polite. โThank you for understanding.โ
Garrett looked at her for a long moment, then at the jacket, then back at her. โAnytime.โ
He walked away to the sound of Logan losing the fight against laughter so badly he had to bend over his own knees.
โYouโre not helping,โ Garrett said.
Logan wiped under one eye. โIโm sorry, man, but sheโs loyal as hell.โ
โShe thinks Iโm a stranger.โ
โShe thinks youโre a stranger with bad intentions. Thereโs a difference.โ
โGreat. That makes it better.โ
Tucker came up beside them, looking far too amused for somebody usually committed to being the reasonable one. โYou know, technically, this is a very good sign for your relationship.โ
Garrett gave him a look. โDonโt start.โ
โSheโs hammered and still refusing men for you.โ
โShe refused me.โ
โExactly. Nobody is safe.โ
Dean reappeared then, because joy, unfortunately, had a way of finding him. โI just heard she wouldnโt wear your jacket.โ
Garrettโs jaw tightened. โYou heard wrong.โ
Dean grinned. โDid I?โ
โIโm gonna kill you before playoffs.โ
โNo, youโre not. Youโre too busy getting friend-zoned by your girlfriend.โ
Garrett shoved him in the chest. Dean laughed all the way into the kitchen.
By the time Garrett found her again, she had somehow migrated to the old armchair near the stairs, sitting sideways with her knees tucked up and Dean perched on the arm like some kind of terrible emotional support animal.ย
Her bare arms were folded tight over her chest now, because she was still cold and still deeply committed to jacket monogamy. Her face had changed too. Gone softer around the edges, bottom lip pushed out, all the earlier moral outrage curdled into something wounded and grumpy.
Garrett stopped a few feet away. Dean saw him first and his grin turned wicked. โOh, thank God.โ
She frowned up at Dean. โWhat?โ
โNothing.โ Dean patted the top of the chair. โYour nightโs about to improve.โ
She slumped deeper into the cushion, still looking at Dean. โI havenโt seen Garrett all night.โ
Garrett blinked.
Dean pressed his lips together so hard his whole face went strange.
She kept going, mournful now, eyes glossy from alcohol and the kind of drama that only really existed after midnight in a crowded house. โHeโs, like, disappeared.โ
Garrett slowly looked at Dean.
โHe had a game,โ she said, to no one in particular, or maybe to Deanโs knee. โAnd I wanted to tell him he played really good.โ
โHe knows,โ Dean said, voice suspiciously tight.
โNo, but I wanted to tell him.โ She rubbed at one eye with the heel of her hand, then stopped halfway as if remembering makeup existed. โAnd thereโs this guy who keeps talking to me.โ
Garrettโs eyebrows went up.
Dean made direct eye contact with him and looked like he might actually pass away.
โHe keeps calling me baby,โ she muttered. โAnd trying to make me drink water.โ
Garrett bit the inside of his cheek.
โSounds awful,โ Dean managed.
โSo annoying,โ she said. โLike, okay, hydration police. I have a boyfriend.โ
Garrett stepped closer then, because there were only so many times a man could be called the hydration police by the love of his life before he had to intervene. โHey, baby.โ
Her head lifted. The transformation was immediate and almost violent. Her whole face opened, bright and relieved and suddenly so happy to see him that it genuinely knocked the joke sideways in his chest. โGarrett!โ
He froze. โHi?โ
โBaby!โ She reached both arms out toward him from the chair, nearly tipping herself forward in the process. Garrett crossed the last step fast and caught her by the hands before she could slide off the cushion. โHi.โ
โHi,โ he said again, slower this time, looking down at her. โYou recognise me now?โ
She frowned like heโd said something deeply strange. โWhat are you talking about?โ
Dean made a sound that might have been a cough if he had not immediately turned away with his shoulders shaking.
Garrett stared at her. โNothing.โ
She squeezed his face, delighted and fully unaware of the damage sheโd caused him tonight. โI missed you.โ
His mouth softened despite himself. โYeah?โ
โYes.โ She tugged at him, needy and uncoordinated, until he stepped properly between her legs where sheโd moved to sit properly in the chair. Her knees bracketed his thighs, her fingers curling in the front of his shirt like now that she had found him, she intended to physically prevent further abandonment. โYou were gone for so long.โ
Garrett looked at her for one second, then over her head at Dean, who was wiping tears out of the corner of his eye. โI was around.โ
She shook her head, very firm. โNo.โ
โNo?โ
โNo. There was just this guy.โ
Garrett nodded, face serious. โRight. The water guy.โ
She gasped softly, looking up at him with genuine alarm. โYou saw him?โ
Dean slid off the arm of the chair. โI need to go tell Logan something immediately.โ
Garrett didnโt even try to stop him. His hands had settled at her waist now, thumbs pressing lightly over the fabric of her top because she was still swaying in tiny increments even while sitting down. โYeah, baby, I saw him.โ
โYou should talk to him.โ
โOh, I should?โ
โYes.โ Her voice dropped into a whisper that wasnโt remotely quiet. โHe was flirting with me.โ
Garrettโs eyes flicked over her face. โWas he?โ
โHe kept calling me baby.โ
โThatโs crazy.โ
โAnd he tried to give me his jacket.โ
โWhat a dick.โ
She nodded, relieved that he understood the severity. โI know.โ
Garrettโs grin finally broke free, slow and helpless. He stepped closer until her forehead could tip against his stomach, and when it did, she sighed like the entire night had been restored to its proper axis by the smell of his shirt.ย
He looked down at the crown of her head, at the way her hands had found the hem of his t-shirt and held on loosely, and brushed his fingers once over the back of her hair.
She had rejected him all night. She had accused him of being a stranger, declined his water on principle, refused his jacket with the ferocity of a woman defending a sacred oath, and still somehow the inside of him went soft at the way she leaned into him now, trusting and warm and gone enough to be ridiculous but not gone enough to forget where she wanted to end up.
โBaby,โ he murmured.
โMhm?โ
โYou wanna get outta here?โ
Her head lifted at once. โYes, please.โ
โYeah?โ He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, watching the way her eyes followed his face now with no suspicion at all. โYou done?โ
โSo done.โ She nodded, then winced faintly at the motion like her brain had moved one direction and her skull another. โCan we go home?โ
โYeah, we can go home.โ
โAnd maybe get McDonaldโs?โ
Garrett laughed under his breath, and the sound made her smile like sheโd won something. โSure, baby.โ
โReally?โ
โYeah. But you gotta stand up first.โ
She looked down at her own legs with sudden doubt. โOkay.โ
โConfident.โ
โI can do it.โ
โI know you can.โ He took both her hands and backed up half a step, giving her room. โCome on. Up we go.โ
She stood with the intense focus of someone attempting a field sobriety test on a ship. Garrettโs hands went to her waist at once, steadying her as her knees straightened and her body tipped forward into his.ย
He didnโt make a show of it. Didnโt laugh when she grabbed his forearms and blinked hard at the room. He only held her until she found the floor again, fingers spread warm and firm at her sides.
โThere we go,โ he said softly. โYou good?โ
She nodded, then thought about it. โMostly.โ
โMostly works.โ He leaned around her just enough to grab his letterman jacket from the back of the chair โCan I put this on you now, or are we still being loyal to your boyfriend?โ
She looked at the jacket. Then up at him. Then back at the jacket.
โThatโs yours,โ she said, like he was the one struggling to keep up.
Garrett pressed his lips together. โYeah.โ
She smiled, sweet and pleased. โOkay.โ
He slid it over her shoulders. This time she pushed her arms into the sleeves with immediate enthusiasm, even though they swallowed her hands completely.ย
Garrett zipped it halfway because she was too busy smelling the collar with a happy little hum that did absolutely nothing for his ability to remain normal.
โYou smell good,โ she told him.
โThanks.โ
โLike Garrett.โ
โCrazy coincidence.โ
She nodded, accepting that, and slipped her hand into his when he offered it. Her fingers were warm and clumsy between his, squeezing twice like she was checking he was real. He squeezed back once and started guiding her through the house.
The party kept moving around them. Someone called his name from the kitchen and Garrett lifted his free hand without stopping. Logan appeared near the doorway, took one look at them, and grinned.
โShe found you,โ he said.
Garrett pointed at him. โNot a word.โ
She turned toward Logan, solemn and slightly off-balance. โThere was a guy bothering me all night.โ
Loganโs mouth opened. Closed. He looked at Garrett, then back at her. โNo way.โ
She nodded. โWay.โ
Garrett kept walking. โLetโs go.โ
Behind them, Logan said, โHope your boyfriend handles that.โ
She turned around while still moving, which forced Garrett to catch her by the waist and redirect her like a shopping cart with a bad wheel. โHe will!โ
โIโm sure he will,โ Logan called, voice cracking around laughter.
Outside, the cold hit her properly. She shrank into the jacket at once, shoulders rising, Garrettโs hand still wrapped around hers while they moved down the front steps and along the path toward his car.ย
The night was damp and dark around the edges, grass glittering faintly under the porch light, the music dulling behind the shut door until it became a pulse more than a song. She walked close to him, not quite straight, occasionally bumping into his side and then apologising to his arm.
โBaby,โ she said halfway down the walk.
โYeah?โ
โThat guy was so annoying.โ
Garrett glanced down at her. โStill thinkinโ about him?โ
โHe was talking to me all night.โ
โSounds like a loser.โ
โHe was kind of hot, though.โ
Garrett stopped walking.
She stopped too, delayed, then looked back at him with wide innocent eyes. โWhat?โ
He stared at her. โHot?โ
She nodded, very serious. โBut not as hot as you.โ
โUh huh.โ
โAnd he had your jacket.โ
โMy jacket?โ
โYeah.โ Her brows pulled together. โActually, that was weird.โ
Garrett looked up at the sky for patience. โSo weird.โ
โYou should talk to him, baby. Iโm serious.โ
โOh, I will.โ
โGood.โ She nodded once, satisfied, and started walking again. โDonโt fight him though. You had a game.โ
His mouth twitched. โRight. Wouldnโt wanna overdo it.โ
โAnd you already won.โ
โI did.โ
โYou were really good,โ she said, and the words came out softer now, slipping under the joke with no warning at all. Her fingers tightened around his. โI forgot to tell you.โ
Garrettโs steps slowed by a fraction. He looked down at her, at her messy hair and flushed cheeks and his too-big jacket hanging off her shoulders, at the careful way she was watching the pavement. โYeah?โ
โMhm. You did that thing.โ She lifted their joined hands vaguely, as if the thing might be available in the air somewhere. โWhere you went really fast and then the other guy was stupid.โ
Garrett laughed, warm and surprised. โThat was my favourite play.โ
โIt was good. Iโm real proud of you.โ
โThanks, baby.โ
She leaned into his arm, pleased. โYouโre welcome.โ
At the car, he opened the passenger door and turned her gently by the hips before she could attempt entry at a dangerous angle. โAlright. Watch your head.โ
โI always watch my head.โ
โYou donโt.โ
โI have one.โ
โHaving one and watching it are different.โ
She ducked into the car with exaggerated care, one hand on the roof, one hand still gripping his. Garrett waited until she was seated, then crouched slightly and drew the seatbelt across her.ย
She looked down at him while he clicked it into place, her expression suddenly soft and sleepy. โBaby.โ
โYeah?โ
โIโm so glad I found you.โ
His hand paused on the belt for half a second.
She sighed, sinking back into the seat, eyes half-lidded now that the carโs quiet had started wrapping around her. โI missed you tonight.โ
Garrett looked at her in the blue dashboard glow, and something in his chest pulled tight and fond and a little ridiculous. โMissed you too.โ
โThere was this guyโโ
โI heard.โ
โโand he kept trying to give me water.โ
โSo rude.โ
โExactly.โ Her head tipped against the seat, eyes closing for one beat before opening again. โCan you get me nuggets?โ
Garrett smiled and brushed his thumb over her knee before standing. โYeah, babe. Iโll get you nuggets.โ
โAnd fries.โ
โObviously.โ
โAnd a Sprite.โ
โYou need water.โ
She made a face. โThe guy said that too.โ
Garrett leaned one arm on the open door and looked down at her, trying very hard not to smile too much because she would see it and accuse him of something. โThe guy sounds smart.โ
She frowned. โDonโt compliment him.โ
โMy bad.โ
โYouโre my boyfriend.โ
โI am.โ
โAnd I love you.โ
The words came out simple and softened by vodka and sleepiness and the warm cocoon of his jacket around her, but real enough that Garrett felt them land under his ribs.
He bent and kissed her forehead. โI love you too.โ
She smiled, eyes closed now. โGood.โ
โGood,โ he murmured, brushing her hair back from her face before shutting the door.ย
He walked around the front of the car with a grin he couldnโt quite get rid of, hearing the muffled thump of the party behind him and the faint sound of her shifting around in the passenger seat like she was trying to get comfortable in sleeves three sizes too big.ย
When he got in, she was already curled toward his side, cheek against the seat, looking at him with heavy eyes and total, trusting recognition.
Garrett started the car. She reached blindly for his hand. He gave it to her.
For a minute they sat there in the dim quiet before he pulled away from the curb, her fingers woven through his, his thumb moving once over her knuckles. Then she inhaled like she had remembered something important.
โBabe?โ
โYeah?โ
โYouโre gonna talk to that guy, right?โ
Garrett smiled at the road, the house falling behind them, McDonaldโs glowing somewhere ahead like a drunken little lighthouse.
โYeah,โ he said. โIโll give him a stern talking-to.โ
โGood,โ she mumbled, already drifting. โTell him I have a boyfriend.โ
His grin widened.
โTrust me, baby,โ Garrett said, squeezing her hand once as he turned out onto the street. โHe knows.โ
pairing โ garrett graham x reader
summary โ deanโs ex was meant to be off-limits. garrett has several problems with that.
warnings โ suggestive content, heated kissing, sexual references, situationship tension, arguing, strong language, dean being possessive-ish, party/alcohol setting
notes from me โ loosely based on this ask!! thank u for sending it through babe! xx
word count โ 8.9k
navigation โ masterlist | taglist
The first time she realises Garrett Graham might actually be a problem, heโs sitting on the playersโ bench after practice with damp curls, flushed cheeks, and a towel slung around the back of his neck, talking about leadership like he hasnโt spent the last forty minutes making half the men on the ice look mildly unemployable.
The rink has that post-practice emptiness to it now, all scraped-up ice and cold metal and fluorescent light, the air still carrying the sharp wet smell of snow, rubber, and boy sweat no amount of ventilation has ever fully defeated.ย
The rest of the team has already filtered out in waves of noise, sticks clattering, showers starting somewhere down the hall, somebody yelling something obscene about Loganโs tape job from the locker room. Garrett had stayed behind because sheโd asked for a few more minutes, and because being captain also meant being professionally accommodating to journalism majors with deadlines and a possibly self-destructive interest in his forearms.
Sports journalism was, allegedly, her actual academic focus. This was supposed to be clean. Useful. A feature piece on Briar hockey culture through the lens of the captain everyone on campus already had some opinion about.ย
Garrett Graham, projected pro prospect, Bruins interest, team leader, annoyingly handsome campus fixture with a smile that had almost certainly caused several GPA drops across the student body.ย
She had come prepared with questions. She had her recorder running on the bench between them, her notebook open across one thigh, her pen uncapped and ready in her hand like a woman with purpose and professional integrity.
Then Garrett started answering properly, and that had become its own issue. He was good at being smug, obviously. That part was easy. Garrett carried arrogance like some men carried cologne, lightly applied but immediately noticeable.ย
But when she asked him about being captain, about what it felt like to have younger guys looking to him, about whether the Bruins pressure changed the way he saw the rest of the season, he leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, one hand turning a roll of tape between his fingers.ย
He spoke with this unexpected care that made it annoyingly difficult to remember she was meant to be extracting quotes and not just sitting there watching his mouth form words.
โI donโt know,โ he says, eyes moving briefly to the rink like the ice might have an answer written somewhere under all the skate marks. โPeople act like captain means youโre the guy with the loudest voice in the room. Sometimes it is, sure. Sometimes you gotta call shit out. But most of itโs justโฆ paying attention. Knowing which freshman needs to get his ass kicked in practice and which one needs you to pretend not to notice heโs about to puke from nerves before a game.โ
Her pen hovers.
Garrett huffs a little laugh, looking down at the tape. โThat makes me sound nicer than I am.โ
โIt really does,โ she says, without thinking.
His eyes flick back to her, amused. โWow.โ
โNo, I meanโโ She laughs, because his grin has gone sharp now, pleased and teasing and very aware heโs caught her somewhere. โI mean, itโs a good answer. Annoyingly good. Like, Iโm going to have to cut some of it down or people will start thinking youโre emotionally intelligent.โ
He presses a hand dramatically to the centre of his chest. โThat would ruin me.โ
โCompletely. Your whole brand gone overnight.โ
โMy brand is very layered, actually.โ
She raises an eyebrow. โIs it?โ
โYeah. Hot, talented, emotionally unavailable but, like, in a charming way.โ
She snorts before she can stop herself, and Garrettโs grin widens like her laugh is something heโs earned and plans to be unbearable about.
The thing is, he keeps doing this. Slipping between real and ridiculous so smoothly she never has time to brace for either version. One second heโs making some dumb comment about Logan being held together by athletic tape and poor decision-making, the next heโs talking about pressure in a voice low enough that the empty rink seems to lean in around them.ย
He talks about the Bruins carefully, not like a boy pretending not to care, but like someone who cares so much heโs had to teach himself not to flinch every time someone says the word future near him.
โItโs there,โ he says, after she asks whether the scouting attention ever messes with his head. His hand stills around the tape. โEven when Iโm trying not to think about it. Itโs there. People talk like going pro is this finish line, right? Like once somebody wants you, youโre supposed to just be grateful and shut up. But itโs weird. Itโs a lot of people having plans for your body before youโve even finished using it where you are.โ
She forgets, for a second, to breathe normally. Thereโs no tragic little performance, no athlete pretending vulnerability because it looks good in a profile. Simply Garrett, sweat drying at his temples, towel loose around his neck, saying something true because she asked the right question and he trusted her enough to answer it.
Her pen hasnโt moved in at least thirty seconds. Garrett notices. His eyes drop to her notebook, then lift again slowly to her face, one brow rising. โAre you supposed to be writing this down?โ
For one horrible second, she just blinks at him. Then she looks down at the blank stretch of page beneath her last half-written sentence and makes a sound so undignified it bounces off the empty seats. โOh, fuck. Yes. Shit. Sorry.โ
Garrett bursts out laughing.
โDonโt laugh,โ she says, already scribbling so fast the words are barely forming. โYou said something good and I got distracted.โ
โYou got distracted?โ
She gives him a look without lifting her head, though the effect is slightly ruined by the fact that she is smiling like an idiot. โBy the quote. The quote was good.โ
โSure.โ
โIt was.โ
He shrugs. โI believe you.โ
โYouโre being smug.โ
He laughs again, softer this time, and when she glances up, heโs already watching her. His elbows are still on his knees, shoulders rounded forward, the tape forgotten between his hands. His smileโs faded into something smaller, warmer, almost private, and the look of it moves through her body in a way that makes the cold rink air feel suddenly useless.
Her fingers tighten around the pen. Garrettโs gaze drops, briefly, to her mouth.
The silence shifts. Loud in all the places neither of them is touching. She can hear someone in the locker room bark out a laugh, distant and echoing, but it might as well be happening in another building.
Then Garrett clears his throat and looks away first, jaw flexing once like heโs physically pulled himself back from the edge of something. โSo,โ he says, voice just rough enough to betray him. โYou need more captain wisdom or can I go shower before I become part of the rink?โ
She looks down at her notebook because it is safer than his face. โI think Iโve got enough wisdom for one day.โ
โSmart. Too much and youโll fall in love with me.โ
Her laugh comes out too quick. Too exposed. โYeah, God forbid.โ
He stands, and even thatโs irritating: the size of him unfolding beside the bench, broad shoulders, hockey thighs, damp curls, all that casual physical confidence men get when theyโve never once had to question whether their body works in their favour. He grabs his gloves and stick, then pauses at the gate.
โSame time Thursday?โ
She nods. โFor the follow-up.โ
โRight,โ he says, and his mouth does that slow, dangerous little curve. โThe follow-up.โ
Then he walks away before she can decide whether to throw her pen at him or herself.
By the time Garrett drops into the chair beside her in the cafeteria two days later, she has one hand buried in a bag of chips, half a sandwich abandoned on a napkin, and fourteen open tabs on her laptop because higher education is mostly just creating new and inventive ways to make Google Docs feel judgmental.
โJesus,โ Garrett says, leaning sideways to peer at her screen. โYou writing an article or hacking the Pentagon?โ
She doesnโt look up immediately. โBoth. Donโt tell anyone.โ
โHot.โ
That gets her eyes off the screen. Garrettโs already grinning, backwards cap low over his curls, hoodie sleeves shoved up to his forearms. He has a tray in front of him loaded with the deeply alarming quantity of food hockey players treat as a casual lunch, and he looks far too pleased with himself for a man who has interrupted her academic suffering with one word and too much eye contact.
She fights the smile. Loses. โDo you just sit wherever you want?โ
โYeah.โ
โThat tracks.โ
โThis seat taken?โ
โYouโre already sitting in it.โ
โGreat. Love when stuff works out.โ
She rolls her eyes and reaches for her iced coffee, mostly so her hands have something to do that isnโt immediately stupid, like touching the bit of hair curling out from under his cap. โDonโt you have captain things to do?โ
โI am doing captain things.โ
โYouโre eating fries next to me.โ
โTeam morale starts with carbs.โ
โYouโre such an inspiration.โ
โI get that a lot.โ
He steals one of her chips without asking, which should be annoying but is somehow just familiar now, another one of those tiny domestic trespasses theyโve started building between them without ever discussing it.ย
He asks about her other assignment, some feature for a media ethics class that has made her want to walk calmly into a pond, and then actually listens while she talks. He leans back in his chair, chewing thoughtfully, asking questions that are annoying only because theyโre good.
โSo basically,โ he says after she explains the whole thing, โyour professor wants you to prove journalists shouldnโt be assholes.โ
โMy tuition dollars at work.โ
โCouldโve saved you a semester. Donโt be an asshole. Boom. Done.โ
She points a fry at him. โThatโs a devastatingly Briar hockey interpretation of media ethics.โ
โYouโre welcome.โ
โIโm not thanking you.โ
โYouโre thinking about it.โ
She laughs, and it happens too easily now. Garrett makes laughing feel like slipping. Like she can brace all she wants and still end up somewhere warmer than where she started. He keeps looking at her like heโs delighted by the exact shape of her thoughts, like he wants to be around for whatever she says next, even when what she says next is technically an insult.
Across the cafeteria, someone calls his name. Garrett doesnโt look away from her. That does something embarrassing to the back of her neck.
โSo,โ he says, picking up his drink. โYou gonna quote me in this ethics thing too?โ
โOnly if I need a source on moral decline.โ
He grins, biting softly at the inside of his lip. โMean.โ
โAccurate.โ
He opens his mouth, probably to say something unbearable, when Deanโs voice cuts across the cafeteria with the clean sharpness of a puck hitting glass.
โG.โ
Garrettโs expression changes so quickly she almost misses it. The humour doesnโt disappear, but it gets filed away. His shoulders tense by half an inch. He turns, and she follows his gaze to where Dean and Logan have just come through the cafeteria entrance, Logan with a smoothie in one hand and the relaxed posture of a man whoโs wandered accidentally into tension he fully intends to enjoy.
Dean, on the other hand, looks pissed. He stands there in a jacket that probably costs more than her laptop, blond hair messy, jaw tight, eyes moving from Garrett to her and back again with something sharp underneath.
Garrett exhales through his nose. โIโll talk to you later,โ he says, already pushing his chair back.
She looks between them, trying to keep her face normal. โYeah. Sounds good.โ
He grabs his tray, then hesitates, turning back like heโs remembered something he very much doesnโt want to leave unsaid. โHey,โ he says. โYou going to Beauโs mask thing?โ
โThe masquerade party?โ She feels Deanโs stare from across the room like a physical object, which is absurd and irritating and makes her sit a little straighter. โItโs after the game, right? Yeah, Iโll be there.โ
Garrettโs grin comes back just enough to make her stomach dip. โSweet. See you there.โ
She tilts her head, trying to sound light even though the air has gone weird around them. โYeah. Or not. Because of the masks.โ
He nods solemnly. โNo, totally. Could be anyone. Real mystery.โ
โVery mysterious.โ
โGuess Iโll have to use my detective skills.โ
โYou have those?โ
โNo,โ he says. โBut Iโm hot, so people help me.โ
She laughs, and he smiles like heโs taking that with him.
He walks away from her table and over to them, and for a few seconds she tries very hard to return to her laptop like she hasnโt just become fascinated by the worldโs stupidest male summit happening beside the salad bar. It doesnโt work. Her eyes keep cutting over, catching pieces.
Dean talking low and fast, one hand moving once in a sharp, irritated gesture. Garrett looking away, then back at him, expression shut down into something stubborn. Logan standing just behind them, eyebrows slightly raised, smoothie straw at his mouth, looking like he would pay actual money for popcorn if the cafeteria stocked it.
Deanโs gaze flicks back to her. She looks down too late.
The whole thing sits strangely under her skin after that, a small ugly pebble in the shoe of an otherwise normal afternoon. Dean has no reason to look at her like that. Dean has no reason to chew Garrett out over sitting with her at lunch, unless Garrett has told him something, unless sheโs misread the last few weeks completely, unless the reason Garrett keeps getting close and then stopping is not because he doesnโt want her, but because Dean somehow still thinks he gets a vote.
The thought irritates her enough that she closes three tabs too hard, as if her laptop deserves consequences.
โYouโre kidding.โ
She looks up from where sheโs sitting on the bench near the rink entrance, one skate half-laced, the other sitting on the floor like a weapon designed by sadists. โIโm not kidding.โ
Garrett stares at her. โYouโve never skated?โ
โNo.โ
โEver?โ
โNo.โ
Garrett gestures loosely. โLike, not even badly at a birthday party when you were twelve?โ
โI grew up near tennis courts, not ice rinks, Garrett. We had other hobbies.โ
He makes a wounded sound. โYouโre writing a piece on hockey.โ
โIโve watched hockey.โ
โThatโs not the same.โ
She tilts her head. โIโve also interviewed hockey players.โ
โStill not the same.โ
โI watched you practice for three weeks.โ
โStill,โ he says, pointing at her with his stick, โnot the same.โ
She bends back over the skate, tugging at the lace with the kind of aggression that suggests the boot has personally wronged her. โIf this is about journalistic integrity, Iโll put a disclosure at the bottom. The author has never voluntarily placed herself on a knife shoe.โ
Garrett laughs, then crouches in front of her before she can fully process the movement. One second heโs standing there, being tall and smug and irritatingly warm in a Briar hoodie, and the next heโs on one knee between her feet, taking the laces out of her hands like this is a thing his body has decided is allowed.
โHere,โ he says. โYouโre doing it wrong.โ
Her mouth goes dry in a way that feels deeply inconvenient. โIโm tying shoes wrong?โ
โYouโre tying skates wrong.โ
โDifferent sacred art?โ
โVery different.โ His headโs bent, curls falling forward as he works the laces with quick, practiced hands. โYou want them tight through the ankle or youโre gonna fold like a lawn chair.โ
โComforting.โ
โIโm a great teacher.โ
โYou just compared me to outdoor furniture.โ
โA beloved piece of outdoor furniture.โ
She bites her lip around a smile and watches his hands instead of his face because his face is worse. His fingers are broad and nicked in little places, tape residue near one knuckle, nails cut short.ย
He tightens the skate with firm, efficient pulls, one hand briefly wrapping around the back of her ankle to hold her steady, and the touch is so normal, so practical, that her body has absolutely no business reacting to it like heโs slid his palm under her shirt.
Garrett glances up. She looks away immediately, which is subtle in the way a car alarm is subtle. He says nothing, because heโs learned mercy in one or two isolated categories, and finishes tying the second skate.
Getting onto the ice is an act of public humiliation, except thereโs no public, thank God, just Garrett, which might actually be worse. He steps on first with the careless ease of a person whose body understands frozen water as a workplace, then turns and offers both hands.
She grips them immediately. โIf I die, Iโm haunting you.โ
โYouโre not gonna die.โ
โYou donโt know that.โ
โI kinda do.โ
โYouโre too confident.โ
He laughs, pulling her gently forward. โOkay. One foot.โ
The first skate touches the ice and immediately slides an inch in a direction she did not approve. โNope.โ
โYes.โ
She frowns. โNo, Garrett.โ
โYouโre fine. Both feet, come on.โ
She gets both feet onto the ice and grabs his hands so tightly he huffs a laugh, but he doesnโt tease her as much as he could. Thatโs another thing about Garrett, one she hates more than the smugness because itโs harder to protect against. He knows exactly when to push and when not to.ย
He grins, sure, but his hands stay steady around hers, thumbs warm over the backs of her fingers, his skates braced wide enough that she knows without question he could hold her up if she fully lost it.
โThere you go,โ he says, softer. โSee? Youโre doing it.โ
โIโm standing.โ
โStanding is part of skating.โ
She grips his hands tighter. โIโm incredible.โ
โGenerational talent.โ
She laughs, then immediately squeals because the laugh disrupts whatever fragile treaty her ankles had formed with physics. Her legs straighten wrong, the skates slip, and she pitches forward straight into him.
Garrett catches her like itโs nothing. She hits his chest with a breathless little sound, hands landing on his biceps, his hands coming to her waist fast and firm. The impact knocks a laugh out of both of them, and for a second theyโre just there, tangled and stupid, her skates sliding uselessly while Garrett holds her upright with the kind of casual strength that makes several parts of her brain quietly resign.
โHi,โ he says.
She looks up at him. His face is close. Too close for any version of this thatโs still pretending to be about skating. His cheeks are pink from the cold, curls messy under the rink lights, grin fading as his eyes move over her face.ย
His hands are still at her waist. Hers are still wrapped around his arms, and holy fuck, his arms. Solid under her fingers, warm through his hoodie, steady in a way that makes leaning into him feel less like a choice and more like gravity having a point for once.
โHi,โ she says back, and it comes out smaller than she intended.
His throat moves. The rink is quiet around them. Huge and cold and empty, boards rising white around the ice, old skate cuts beneath their feet, one distant machine hum somewhere behind the walls.ย
She can feel his breath against her cheek now. She can feel the tiny adjustment of his fingers at her waist, like heโs reminding himself not to pull her closer and doing a bad job of it.
She tilts her face up. A question more than a move, her mouth parted slightly, her eyes dropping to his lips because sheโs tired of pretending not to want the thing theyโve both been standing too close to for weeks. Garrett goes still. Completely still, except for the rise of his chest under her hands.
Her eyes flutter shut. His hands tighten once at her waist. Then he pulls back.
Itโs not far, barely an inch. But itโs enough to let cold air rush between them, enough to make her eyes open and her stomach drop with the ugly, immediate heat of embarrassment.
โI canโt,โ Garrett says, voice low.
She blinks at him. โWhat?โ
His jaw works. He looks genuinely pained, which would be more flattering if she didnโt currently want to throw him into the boards. โI canโt.โ
โWhy?โ
โBecauseโโ He glances away, breath coming out through his nose in a hard little huff. โBecause of Dean.โ
The name lands wrong. Wrong in her body, sour and metallic. She loosens her grip on his arms. โWhat about Dean?โ
Garrettโs eyes cut back to hers. โCome on.โ
โNo, donโt come on me.โ She shifts back on the skates, immediately wobbles, and grabs the boards beside them with one hand because anger, while energising, isnโt an adequate substitute for balance. โWhat about Dean?โ
โYou guys dated.โ
โWe barely dated.โ
โYou were together for, what, three months?โ
โWe hooked up for three months,โ she says, sharper now. โSometimes. When we were both free. It wasnโt a great tragic love story. We hung out at parties and occasionally made out in laundry rooms.โ
Garrett winces. โI really donโt need the visual.โ
โThen donโt bring him up while Iโm trying to kiss you.โ
His eyes flash at that, heat cutting through the restraint for half a second before he shuts it down again. โYou think I want to be bringing him up?โ
โI donโt know what you want, Garrett, because every time I think youโre finally about to do something about the fact that you keep looking at me like that, you suddenly remember friendship law.โ
โFriendship law?โ
โBro code, house code, whatever the fuck you guys call the sacred little pact where nobody is allowed to touch anyone someone else once had mediocre sex with.โ
His mouth twitches despite himself, then immediately flattens. โIโm trying not to be a dick to my friend.โ
Her eyes flash. โYouโre doing a great job being a dick to me instead.โ
โIโm not trying to be a dick to you,โ he says.
โNo? Because it feels pretty dick-ish from here.โ
He drags a hand through his hair, turning away for half a second like he needs the rink to help him survive the conversation. His skates shift on the ice with a clean scrape. โJesus Christ.โ
โWhat?โ
โDean put a rule down, okay?โ
The whole world narrows. Her fingers tighten around the top of the boards. โWhat rule?โ
Garrett looks back at her and immediately seems to realise, too late, that heโs opened the wrong door.
She steps toward him, or tries to. The skates slide. She catches herself, furious enough that fear of the ice has temporarily become background noise. โGarrett. What rule?โ
His shoulders sink. โHe said you were hands off.โ
For a second, she just stares at him. The rink noise fades into a thin ringing at the edge of her ears. Her face goes hot first, then her chest, then the backs of her hands, a spreading flush of disbelief so sharp it feels almost cold underneath. โHe said I was what?โ
Garrett rubs a hand over his mouth. โHockey house is hands off. Thatโs what he said.โ
โHockey house is hands off,โ she repeats, slowly, because maybe if she says it back, the words might become less insane. They do not. They get worse. They sit there between them, stupid and male and possessive in a way that makes her want to start swinging one of his sticks around until something expensive breaks.
โItโs notโโ Garrett starts.
โNo.โ
He stops.
โNo, donโt do that. Donโt soften it. Donโt try to translate asshole into something prettier.โ Her laugh comes out once, bright and humourless. โDean put a no touching rule on me?โ
Garrettโs face has gone sheepish now, which, unfortunately for him, only makes him look guilty by association. โI didnโt make the rule.โ
โBut you followed it.โ
His jaw tightens. โHeโs my teammate. Heโs my friend.โ
โAnd Iโm a couch he called dibs on?โ
Garrett flinches. โThatโs not how I see you.โ
โBut itโs how he talked about me, and you all just what? Nodded? Took minutes? Filed it under house law?โ
โNo.โ He skates closer, hands half-lifted like he wants to steady her and knows better than to touch. โNo, it wasnโt like that.โ
โThen what was it like?โ
He opens his mouth. Closes it.
She gives a short, furious nod. โRight.โ
Then she turns toward the exit. Badly. The skates immediately betray her.
Garrett moves on instinct, catching her elbow before she can eat shit in the middle of the ice. โHeyโโ
โDo not hey me!โ
โIโm just trying to stop you from breaking your ass.โ
โMy ass and I are leaving.โ
โYou canโt storm off in skates.โ
She huffs. โWatch me.โ
โYou physically cannot.โ
โI will crawl.โ
โJesus,โ he mutters, skating backward as she clings angrily to the boards and inches toward the gate with all the dignity of a newborn deer seeking vengeance. โCan I at least help you?โ
โNo.โ
โYouโre going the wrong way.โ
She shoots him a look. โI know where Iโm going.โ
โYouโre heading toward the penalty box.โ
โMaybe I belong there.โ
He lets out a breath that almost sounds like a laugh and immediately thinks better of it when she looks at him.
By the time they get her off the ice and out of the skates, her anger has focused into something clean and bright. Garrett follows her out of the rink with her bag over one shoulder and the expression of a man walking behind an active bomb heโs personally helped assemble.
โYou donโt have to do this right now,โ he says as she shoves her feet into her boots.
โYes, I do.โ
โMaybe cool off first.โ
She looks at him. โYou think Iโm going to cool off about being declared untouchable by a guy who once texted me you up? at one in the morning with a typo?โ
Garrettโs mouth presses together.
โDonโt laugh.โ
He shakes his head. โIโm not.โ
โYou want to.โ
โI really donโt.โ
โYou do. Youโre just scared of me right now.โ
โA little,โ he admits.
โGood.โ
The hockey house door swings open before Garrettโs even finished taking his keys out of the door, because God wants Logan to have front-row seats. Logan looks from her face to Garrettโs face to the fact that Garrett is holding her skate bag like a guilty chauffeur, and his eyebrows go up with immediate, delighted dread. โOh, this feels like something I should not be in the doorway for.โ
โWhereโs Dean?โ she asks.
Loganโs eyes widen slightly. โKitchen.โ
โGreat.โ
She steps past him.
Garrett follows. โMaybe we donโtโโ
โNo, youโre coming too.โ
โYeah,โ Logan says, shutting the door behind them with the dazed cheerfulness of a man blessed by entertainment. โYouโre definitely coming too.โ
The house smells like takeout, laundry detergent, and whatever tragic candle Tucker keeps lighting in a hopeless attempt to make four athletes living together seem less like a public health concern.ย
Somewhere upstairs, music thumps faintly. The living room is half-clean in the deeply male way, meaning thereโs no visible trash on the floor but several cups have been abandoned on flat surfaces with the confidence of people who believe dishes migrate naturally.
Deanโs in the kitchen with Tucker, leaning against the counter with a bowl of cereal at nearly six in the evening because money, talent, and good bone structure havenโt made him any less fundamentally ridiculous.ย
He looks up when she walks in. Then he sees Garrett behind her. Then he sees her face.
โOh,โ Tucker says quietly from beside the fridge. โShit.โ
Dean straightens. โWhat?โ
She stops on the other side of the island, hands flat on the counter because otherwise she might start pointing and never stop. โDid you tell the entire hockey house I was hands off?โ
Deanโs eyes cut to Garrett. โSeriously, man?โ
Garrett lifts one hand. โDonโt look at me like that. I didnโt issue a royal decree over her body.โ
โThank you,โ she snaps, then points at Dean. โYou. Answer.โ
Dean sets the cereal bowl down slowly. โIt wasnโt the entire hockey house.โ
Logan, arriving behind Garrett with exactly the expression of someone entering a theatre late but thrilled, says, โIt was kind of the entire hockey house.โ
โLogan,โ Dean warns.
โWhat? Iโm pro-transparency.โ
She stares at Dean. โYou put a rule on me.โ
Deanโs jaw tightens. โIt wasnโt like that.โ
โOh my God, does every man in this house get issued that sentence at orientation?โ
Tucker coughs into his fist. Garrett looks at the floor.
Deanโs face flushes, irritation rising fast now that he has an audience and no graceful exit. โI told them not to mess with you.โ
โWhy?โ
โBecause.โ
โBecause what?โ
โBecause I didnโt want them to.โ
She laughs once, so sharp Tucker actually looks toward the sink like he might find somewhere safer to stand. โThatโs not an answer. That is something a toddler says about a toy truck.โ
Deanโs mouth opens, then closes. He drags a hand through his hair, annoyed and cornered and visibly trying to decide how much honesty he can survive in front of Logan, Tucker, and Garrett. Not much, judging by the colour in his face.
โYou and I had a thing,โ he says.
โWe hooked up.โ
โWe hung out.โ
โYes, Dean, thatโs generally how hooking up more than once works. Sometimes thereโs a couch involved. Maybe a movie nobody watches.โ
Logan murmurs, โEducational.โ
Dean points at him without looking. โShut up.โ
She leans forward over the counter. โWe were casual.โ
โMaybe to you.โ
Deanโs face changes as soon as he says it, like the words have come out uglier and more vulnerable than he planned. Garrett stills behind her. Tuckerโs expression softens by a fraction. Logan stops smiling quite so much.
Dean swallows hard, then doubles down because vulnerability has made him defensive. โI liked you.โ
Her grip on the counter loosens, then tightens again. โDean.โ
โNo, donโt Dean me. I did. I liked you, and you didnโt like me back.โ
โI liked you fine.โ
โYou liked me fine,โ he repeats, voice going high with disbelief. โGreat. Awesome. Thatโs exactly what every guy wants to hear.โ
โWe werenโt in love.โ
โI didnโt say we were in love.โ
โYouโre acting like I left you at the altar.โ
โIโm acting like maybe it sucked watching you giggle with my best friend for three weeks after you decided you were too busy to text me back.โ
Garrett winces. โOkay, letโs notโโ
She turns her head. โYou stay quiet.โ
Garrett shuts his mouth.
Dean lets out a humourless laugh. โYeah, good luck with that, G.โ
She points back at Dean immediately. โDonโt redirect because youโre embarrassed.โ
Dean shrugs. โIโm not embarrassed.โ
โYou should be. You made a house rule about me like Iโm a disputed parking space.โ
Deanโs face twists. โI didnโt want to watch my friends go after you.โ
โThen say that to me like an adult.โ
โI didnโt think I owed you a fucking press release.โ
She smacks her hand down on the counter. โYou owed me basic dignity.โ
Deanโs mouth shuts, and for one tiny second he looks less like Briarโs rich blond menace and more like a twenty-one-year-old guy who handled hurt feelings with the political structure of a frat basement.
Then, because heโs still Dean, he recovers poorly. โWell, sorry I didnโt want Garrettโs tongue down your throat two months after mine.โ
Garrettโs head snaps up. โHey.โ
โOh, fuck off,โ she says, loud enough that even Loganโs eyebrows jump. โYou donโt get to act wounded and crude in the same breath like that makes you honest.โ
Deanโs eyes flash. โYou think Iโm making it up? You two have been doing this little interview foreplay thing all over campus like everybody doesnโt see it.โ
Garrett mutters, โJesus Christ.โ
She feels heat hit her face but refuses to look away. โMaybe if you had an issue, you couldโve talked to me instead of telling half the hockey team they needed permission to touch me.โ
Dean scoffs. โI knew you liked him.โ
โYes, Dean. Congratulations. Your powers of observation survived your personality.โ
Logan makes a strangled sound behind his smoothie. Dean points at her, the hurt cracking fully into the argument now, messy and oddly sincere under all the stupidity. โYou didnโt look at me like that.โ
โNo, because you hooked up with someone else the same night you hooked up with me.โ
Dean throws both hands out. โBut I liked you more!โ
The entire kitchen goes silent. Tucker closes his eyes. Garrettโs lips part in actual disbelief. Logan whispers, โThat is an insane defence.โ
She stares at Dean for one long second, then says, โAre you medically okay?โ
Dean groans, dragging both hands down his face. โThat came out wrong.โ
โDid it?โ
โYes.โ
โBecause from here, it sounded like you were asking for emotional credit for ranking me first in a rotation.โ
Garrett mutters, โHoly shit,โ under his breath, and she cannot tell whether itโs horror or admiration.
Dean drops his hands. His face is red now, properly red. โI know I was shitty. I didnโt handle it right. You wereโฆ I donโt know. You were cool, and fun, and you didnโt need anything from me, and then you were gone. And I was a dick about it.โ
She watches him for a second, her pulse still hot in her wrists. Dean looks back at her with more honesty than he probably meant to bring into the kitchen, and that makes it harder to stay perfectly furious.ย
โYou donโt get to be a dick by making rules about me,โ she says.
His jaw tightens, but he nods once. โYeah.โ
โIโm serious.โ
โI know.โ
โNo, I donโt think you do.โ She steps around the island, close enough now that Deanโs eyes drop briefly like heโs checking whether she plans to slap him. She doesnโt. She wants to, a little, but personal growth and witness presence both intervene. โYou can feel weird. You can be hurt. You can tell Garrett you donโt love it. You can even privately sulk like a blond little prince in your room if thatโs what your healing journey requires.โ
Logan whispers, โBlond little prince.โ
Dean says, โShut the fuck up.โ
โBut you do not get to decide what Iโm allowed to do because your feelings arrived late and badly dressed.โ
Tucker nods once, like this is fair. Dean looks at her, then at Garrett, then back at her. His mouth twists. โFine.โ
โTake the rule off.โ
He stiffens. โNo.โ
Her eyebrows lift. โExcuse me?โ
โNo.โ
She glares at him. โDean.โ
โI said I know it was shitty. I didnโt say I wanted to watch it happen.โ
Garrett rubs the back of his neck. โManโโ
Dean points at him. โDo not man me. Youโve been waiting for this vote.โ
He scoffs. โI have not.โ She turns slowly to Garrett. He pauses. โNotโฆ exactly.โ
โOh my God.โ
Garrett winces. โBad timing?โ
โTerrible timing.โ
Dean crosses his arms. โSee? This is why the rule exists.โ
She whips back around. โDean Di Laurentis, take the fucking rule off.โ
โNo.โ
โTake it off.โ
โNo.โ
โDean.โ
He looks at her stubbornly. โWhat?โ
โTake. It. Off.โ
The kitchen holds its breath. Deanโs jaw works. For a second she thinks he might keep arguing, might dig himself even deeper because male pride is a tragic renewable resource. Then his gaze flicks past her to Garrett, and whatever he sees there makes his shoulders drop slightly.
Garrettโs not smiling now. He looks uncomfortable, yes, and guilty, and still maybe like part of him wants to put his head through a wall. But thereโs also something earnest in his face, something quiet and clear and not even aimed at Dean, not really. Itโs aimed at her. Like heโs waiting for permission he doesnโt want to need, and hating that heโs needed it anyway.
Dean sees it. She knows he does, because his mouth tightens with the final little pinch of someone losing a fight he probably should have surrendered ten minutes ago.ย
โFine,โ Dean says.
She points at him. โSay it.โ
He stares. โSeriously?โ
โYes. Make it official.โ
Logan perks up. โI can witness.โ
โNobody asked you,โ Dean says.
โIโm witnessing anyway.โ
Dean exhales hard, looking at the ceiling like he has been personally victimised by consequences. Then he drops his gaze back to her. โThe rule is off.โ
She waits.
Deanโs eyes narrow. โWhat else?โ
โItโs decreed or whatever.โ
Tucker presses his lips together.
Deanโs face goes flat. โYou want me to say decreed?โ
โYes.โ
โNo.โ
โDean.โ
He stares at her. She stares back. Finally, with the exhausted dignity of a man being executed in his own kitchen, Dean says, โItโs decreed.โ
Logan lifts his smoothie. โHouse law.โ
Tucker nods solemnly. โHouse law.โ
Garrett looks like he wants to laugh and die at the same time.
She smiles without warmth. โGood.โ
Then she turns and walks out of the kitchen, past Garrett, past Logan, through the living room, and out the front door without looking back.ย
She hears Garrett say her name once behind her, but she keeps going, because if she turns around too soon, she might either kiss him in the driveway or scream again, and neither feels like a strategic exit.
Beauโs holiday house is the kind of place that makes absolutely no sense as a college party venue unless someoneโs parents have too much money and not enough concern about upholstery.
It sits just outside town, all big windows and pale stone and a deck wrapped around the back like the architect had been asked to design somewhere specifically for rich kids to make terrible decisions under flattering lighting.ย
By the time she arrives after the game, the whole place is glowing gold from inside, music spilling out every time someone opens the front door, the lawn packed with cars, the porch crawling with people in masks and party dresses and button-downs worn by men who think rolling their sleeves up counts as formalwear.
The masquerade part has been loosely interpreted, obviously. Half the masks look expensive and intentional, feathered or black satin or glittering at the edges; the other half look like they were purchased from a party store by someone already drunk.ย
Someone near the stairs has a full plastic wolf mask pushed onto the top of his head. Someone else is wearing sunglasses and insisting it counts. Briar, as an institution, remains deeply unserious.
She finds Garrett in less than five minutes. Which is ridiculous, given the whole point of masks, but Garrett Graham is impossible to misplace. Heโs standing near the back doors with Logan and Tucker, broad shoulders under a black button-down, sleeves rolled to his forearms, dark mask cutting across the upper half of his face in a way that should look stupid and instead makes him look like someoneโs bad decision dressed up as a theme.ย
His curls are still a little damp from the post-game shower. Thereโs a tiny mark near his jaw from the game, a scrape or bruise starting to come up, and he looks unfairly alive, flushed from the win and the noise and whatever arrogant chemical floods the bloodstream of men who score in the third period.
He sees her at almost the exact same time. She knows because his body goes still. A pause in the middle of whatever Tucker is saying, drink half-lifted, head turning. His gaze moves over her once, fast and then slower, from the tiny silk halter dress skimming high on her thighs to the ribbon of her mask tied at the back of her head, to the heels she had worn with the full awareness that they werenโt practical and the private satisfaction that she would not need them to be for long.
The look hits her low in the stomach. There are no rules now. The thought should feel silly. Theyโre adults, technically. No one should need Dean Di Laurentis to revoke a house decree before two people can act like theyโve been wanting to act for weeks. But her body doesnโt care about the politics of it. Her body only knows that Garrett is looking at her like heโs run out of reasons not to.
She walks toward him, weaving through a cluster of girls by the kitchen island and one guy arguing loudly with someone about whether masks are classist, actually. Garrett says something to Logan without looking away from her, and Logan turns, notices her, then immediately smiles like an asshole.
โTucker,โ Logan says, patting him once on the chest. โWeโre needed elsewhere.โ
Tucker glances over, sees her, then gives Garrett a look that is equal parts warning and amusement. โTry not to start another legal dispute.โ
Garrett doesnโt even look at him. โGo away.โ
โRomantic,โ she says when she reaches him.
His mouth curves. โYou like it.โ
โI like a man with manners.โ
โBullshit.โ
She laughs, and his gaze drops to her mouth. It lingers there, and the noise of the party seems to press in behind her, warm and muffled and irrelevant.
โGood game,โ she says, because some part of her brainโs still committed to sports journalism even while the rest of her is busy mentally dragging him upstairs.
Garrettโs smile deepens. โYeah?โ
โMhm. That assist in the second was disgusting.โ
His brows lift behind the mask. โDisgusting?โ
โComplimentary.โ
โGood.โ He leans a fraction closer, voice lowering just enough that she feels it under the music. โBecause I was trying to impress you.โ
Her breath catches. Just a little.ย โYou were?โ
โYeah.โ He takes a sip of his drink, casual in the way men only are when theyโre doing it on purpose. โHad to. Big sports journalist in the stands.โ
She tilts her head. โIs that what you were thinking about during the game?โ
โAmong other things.โ
โLike what?โ
His eyes move over her again, slower this time, and his jaw shifts like heโs physically stopping himself from saying the first answer. โYou sure you want that list?โ
Her skin warms under the dress. The party keeps happening around them. Someone screams laughing near the stairs. A bottle drops in the kitchen and shatters, followed by a chorus of deeply unhelpful cheering. The music changes to something louder, bass shaking faintly through the floorboards. Garrett doesnโt look away from her once.
She steps closer, because she can. Because Dean said decreed. Because Garrettโs hand is flexing at his side like he wants to touch her and is still, idiotically, waiting to be invited.
โSo,โ she says, looking up at him through the mask, โdoes house law have anything else to say tonight?โ
Garrettโs grin comes slowly. โHouse law can go fuck itself.โ
She pouts. โThatโs very disrespectful to the institution.โ
โThe institution caused me a lot of personal suffering.โ
โPoor thing.โ
โYeah,โ he says, and his voice drops again, rougher now. โYou have no idea.โ
For a second neither of them moves. She can feel her pulse under the thin straps of her dress, in her throat, behind her knees, all of her suddenly aware of the distance between his hand and her waist like itโs a measurable failure of the room.ย
Garrettโs eyes hold hers, dark behind the mask, the smile fading into something hungrier. Want, clean and badly restrained, finally allowed to exist in the open.
He sets his drink down on the nearest table without looking. โUpstairs,โ he says.
She nods once. Garrettโs hand comes to the small of her back immediately, warm and broad and sure, guiding her through the crowd with a kind of focus that makes people move before they consciously decide to. They pass Dean near the bottom of the stairs, because the universe has comedic timing and a cruel streak.
Dean sees them. Sees Garrettโs hand. Sees her dress. Sees the direction. His mouth tightens for half a second. She lifts her eyebrows at him.
Dean looks at Garrett, then at her, then rolls his eyes toward the ceiling with the suffering grandeur of a man whoโs made peace with a lawless society. โUse a room with a lock,โ he says.
Garrett points at him without stopping. โThat was almost mature.โ
โDonโt make me regret personal growth.โ
โToo late,โ she says sweetly, passing him.
Dean mutters something that sounds like unbelievable, but thereโs no real heat in it now. Not enough to stop anything. Not enough to matter.
The upstairs hallway is darker, warmer, the party noise blurring as Garrett leads her past a bathroom with a line outside it and a half-open door where two people are already making a terrible attempt at discretion. He finds an empty bedroom near the end of the hall, pushes the door open, checks once, then pulls her inside.
The door shuts. For half a second, they just stare at each other.
It should be funny, maybe. All that build-up and now a quiet guest room with somebodyโs auntโs decorative pillows on the bed and a framed beach print on the wall. It should break the tension, but it does the opposite.ย
The sudden privacy makes the weeks behind them arrive all at once: the rink bench, the cafeteria, his hands tying her skates, the almost-kiss, the kitchen argument, every look he swallowed because someone else had written a rule neither of them agreed to.
Garrett steps toward her. She steps toward him at the same time, and they meet in the middle with no grace at all.
His mouth is on hers hard and immediate, one hand at her jaw, the other at her waist, walking her back against the door with enough force to make the wood thud behind her shoulders.ย
She gasps into him, and he takes it like heโs been waiting weeks for the sound, kissing her deeper, hotter, his body crowding hers until thereโs no space left to manage. Her hands go straight into his hair, knocking the mask slightly crooked, and Garrett groans low in his throat when her nails scrape over his scalp.
โFinally,โ she breathes against his mouth.
He laughs, but it sounds wrecked. โYeah, no shit.โ
He kisses her again, and it goes messy fast. Garrett kisses like he knows exactly what heโs doing and is still a little pissed he had to wait to do it, mouth confident, tongue sliding against hers, teeth catching lightly at her bottom lip until her fingers tighten in his hair. His hand slides from her waist to her thigh, finding bare skin under the hem of the dress, and she makes a small sound that seems to go straight through him.
โFuck,โ he mutters, pulling back just enough to look at her. His thumb moves once along her jaw, like he needs to see her face properly and cannot tolerate the mask hiding any of it. โTake this off.โ
โYou take yours off.โ
โGladly.โ
He reaches behind her head for the ribbon, but she gets impatient and pushes his hand away, tugging at his mask first. It catches briefly in his curls, and he hisses.
โJesus, easy.โ
โSorry,โ she says, not sounding sorry at all.
โYouโre violent.โ
โYou like it.โ
โI really do,โ he says, and then her mask is gone too, Garrett pulling it free and dropping both onto the floor like they have personally offended him.
The next kiss feels different with their faces bare. Hotter somehow, more exposed. His hand cups her cheek for one strangely tender second, thumb brushing near the corner of her mouth, and that small softness nearly undoes her more than the door had.ย
His eyes flick over her face, the cocky edge shifting into something warmer, more careful, before she drags him down by the front of his shirt because tenderness is lovely but she has limits.
He laughs into her mouth and lifts her. Hands under her thighs, her legs wrapping around his waist automatically, the movement so easy for him it makes her stomach flip. He carries her toward the bed while still kissing her, which is both impressive and deeply obnoxious, and when her back hits the mattress she pulls him down with her by the collar.
The bed bounces. Somewhere downstairs, the party roars at something completely unrelated. Garrett settles over her, one knee between her thighs, forearm braced beside her head, his other hand sliding up her side over the silk of her dress. His eyes are dark, mouth swollen, curls a mess from her hands.
โYou good?โ he asks.
Itโs low, almost rough, but thereโs no performance in it. The little practical care tucked inside all that heat. It makes something in her chest go soft and aching before the rest of her body can vote against it.
She nods. โVery good.โ
His grin returns, slow and devastating. โVery?โ
โDonโt get smug.โ
โToo late.โ
She pulls him down again, and his laugh disappears into the kiss. His weight settles more fully over her, warm and heavy in a way that makes her whole body go bright beneath him. The silk of her dress rides higher under his hand.ย
Her fingers work at the buttons of his shirt with increasingly poor coordination, and Garrett lifts enough to help, grinning against her lips when she huffs in frustration. โJournalism major canโt handle buttons?โ
โShut up. Iโm under pressure.โ
โPerformance issue?โ
She bites his bottom lip. Garrettโs sound is immediate, low and pleased and a little startled. โOkay.โ
โStill want to be annoying?โ
โIf you do that again? Kind of.โ
She laughs, breathless, and he kisses the laugh right out of her, mouth moving down to her jaw, then the side of her neck, slow enough to make her squirm and deliberate enough to make her understand he notices.ย
His hand slides down her thigh, thumb pressing into the soft skin there, and she arches into him before she can pretend to be composed.
โGarrett,โ she says, half warning, half something else.
He lifts his head, eyes on hers. โYeah?โ
For a second, all the stupid jokes fall away. The room narrows to his face above hers and the warmth of his hand on her thigh and the fact that thereโs no rule anymore, no Dean in the doorway, no rink air between them, no cafeteria table, no almost.ย
Only Garrett looking at her like heโs still checking that sheโs here with him, not because someone decreed it, not because heโs finally been allowed, but because she wants this too.
She reaches up and smooths her thumb over the little mark near his jaw from the game. โYou really were trying to impress me?โ
His smile softens around one edge. โBaby, Iโve been trying to impress you for weeks.โ
Her stomach turns over. โYeah?โ she says, quieter.
โYeah.โ His thumb moves once on her thigh. โItโs been brutal. I had to talk about my feelings and everything.โ
A laugh breaks out of her, warm and helpless, and Garrettโs face does something unbearably pleased at the sound. โThat mustโve been so hard for you.โ
โYou have no idea.โ He dips down, brushing his mouth over hers once, twice, not quite kissing properly yet. โI almost quoted a book.โ
โYou read?โ
โOccasionally. Under supervision.โ
She smiles against his mouth. โHot.โ
โYeah?โ
โMhm.โ
He kisses her again, slower this time, and it turns heated almost immediately because slow with Garrett isnโt gentle so much as dangerous in a different direction. His mouth drags over hers like he has all night and not nearly enough patience for it.ย
Her hands slide beneath his open shirt, over warm skin and hard muscle, and Garrett exhales sharply against her cheek when her nails trail down his ribs. โFuck,โ he says softly. โYouโre killing me.โ
โGood.โ
โMean.โ
โYou like mean too.โ
He lifts his head and looks down at her, grin gone lazy and bright and so Garrett it makes her want to laugh and bite him at the same time. โIโm learning a lot about myself tonight.โ
She hooks one leg higher around his hip. โGlad I could contribute to your education.โ
His eyes drop, tracking the movement, and the humour in his face goes darker. โYeah,โ he says, voice rough. โIโm feeling very academically supported.โ
She laughs again, but it thins into a breath when his mouth returns to her neck and his hand slides higher under the edge of her dress, all warm palm and careful pressure and that infuriating confidence heโs earned.ย
Outside the room, the party keeps going, loud and bright and masked and stupid, but inside the guest room everything has shrunk to the bed, the silk twisted at her hips, Garrettโs open shirt under her hands, his mouth at her throat, the low sounds he keeps making like every inch of her is something he has been denied on principle and now plans to appreciate with interest. Someone starts chanting for reasons that almost certainly involve alcohol.
Garrett pauses with his mouth against her jaw. โYou think thatโs about us?โ
She snorts. โIf it is, Iโm transferring.โ
โCanโt,โ he says, kissing the corner of her mouth. โArticleโs not done.โ
โOh, right. My journalistic duty.โ
โMhm. Very important piece.โ
โOn Briar hockey.โ
โAnd its captain.โ
She looks up at him, pretending to consider this while his thumb moves distractingly over the bare skin above her hip. โI might need another interview.โ
Garrettโs grin spreads, slow and wicked and warm enough to make her toes curl against the sheets.
โYeah?โ he says.
โExtensive follow-up.โ
His mouth brushes hers. โBaby, Iโm available whenever you need me.โ
pairing โ garrett graham x petal!reader
summary โ after running into garrett at the coffee shop, dinner feels like either a terrible idea or the first careful step toward something they both still want.
warnings โ exes to lovers, second chance, emotional tension, soft/flirty banter, alcohol mention
notes from me โ finally gave these cuties their dinner date!! hope u enjoy babes xx
word count โ 5.2k
navigation โ masterlist |
The restaurant wasnโt fancy enough to make the whole thing feel terrifying, which she appreciated, but it was nice enough that she had spent twenty minutes standing in front of her closet like she was preparing for a court appearance.ย
Small tables, warm lighting, a chalkboard wine list behind the bar, and that low evening hum of cutlery and conversation and people pretending not to listen to the table beside them.
The windows were fogged faintly at the edges from the cold outside, little beads of condensation collecting near the wooden frames, and the second she stepped through the door, the heat hit her cheeks hard enough to make her feel like she had already been caught doing something.
Which was ridiculous, because she was simply getting dinner. With Garrett. After a coffee shop conversation that had made her chest feel like someone had taken a key to a locked room sheโd been avoiding and turned it very gently.
So, normal. Completely normal.
She paused near the host stand, fingers tightening around the strap of her bag as she glanced across the restaurant.ย
She had expected to beat him there. Garrett was many things โ charming, annoying, unfairly good-looking in hoodies, apparently susceptible to hostile furniture โ but punctual for emotionally loaded dinner plans hadnโt been a category sheโd ever had to evaluate before.ย
Sheโd imagined having at least a minute to sit down, smooth her skirt, order water, arrange her face into something casual and mostly sane before he walked in.
Instead, he was already there. At a small table near the back, one shoulder angled toward the door like heโd been watching for her without wanting to look like he was watching for her.ย
Navy sweater this time, hair still a little damp at the ends like heโd showered after practice and then run his hands through it six different times while deciding whether that counted as styling.ย
There was a faint bruise blooming low near his jaw, just enough yellow-green at the edge to make her eyes catch on it before she could stop them. His phone sat facedown beside his water glass.
Garrett looked up just as the host asked if she had a booking. His face changed immediately. His eyes finding hers and warming, the corner of his mouth lifting into a grin that started careful and failed within half a second.
โHey,โ she said when she reached him, her voice coming out softer than intended.
โHey.โ Garrett stood, and because heโd decided to become the sort of man who arrived early and remembered social manners, he reached for the back of her chair and pulled it out for her.
She blinked at him, then laughed under her breath because there was no universe where she could let that pass untouched. โOh. Wow. Chivalry isnโt dead.โ
Garrettโs mouth tipped. โNope.โ
She slid into the chair, setting her bag carefully against the leg of the table. โShould I be worried? Are you about to reveal you joined a secret society?โ
โCanโt talk about it.โ
โMhm. First rule?โ
โCompliment the ladyโs coat and pull her chair out.โ
โDisturbing.โ
โYeah, hazingโs gotten really refined.โ
She smiled down at her menu before she meant to, and Garrett sat opposite her, looking pleased with himself in a way that would have annoyed her more if the sight of it didnโt settle something in her stomach.ย
The table was small enough that his knee nearly brushed hers beneath it, and both of them seemed to notice at the same time. He shifted back a fraction. She shifted too. Then, because the mutual restraint was so visible it had become its own problem, she tucked one ankle behind the other and pretended to be very interested in the appetisers.
For the first few minutes, they were almost too polite. It was awful, honestly. Painful in the way only two people who had once known how to share a bed without negotiating space could be painful while discussing bread.ย
Garrett asked how rehearsal scheduling had ended up after Allieโs missed calls, and she told him Dexter had decided to move a blocking session because one of the cast members had apparently lost emotional access to the dining table, which Garrett listened to with the grave expression of a man trying to understand theatre people as a species.ย
She asked how practice had been, and he said, โLoud,โ then clarified that Coach had used the phrase โdiscipline starts in the neutral zoneโ so many times that Logan had started whispering it like a prayer every time someone dropped a puck.
โThat feels like something Logan would turn into a cult,โ she said, fingers resting around her water glass.
โHe already tried,โ Garrett said. โTucker told him cult leaders need better posture.โ
โHeโs not wrong.โ
โNo, heโs usually not. Thatโs what makes him insufferable.โ
โYou live with Dean.โ
โDeanโs insufferable but, like, in a different genre.โ
She laughed at that, small but real, and Garrettโs eyes flicked to her mouth like he had heard the sound and wanted to keep it somewhere safe.ย
The look was quick. He didnโt linger. That somehow made it worse.
A server came over then, cheerful and slightly rushed, and Garrett looked at her before ordering like he wasnโt sure if he was allowed to know what she wanted anymore. The hesitation was tiny, but she caught it anyway.ย
He used to order for her when she was indecisive, used to nudge the menu down with two fingers and say, baby, youโve read the same pasta description four times, you want the pasta.
Now his gaze moved from her face to the menu and back again, careful around the old familiarity like it might bruise if handled wrong.
She saved him from it by ordering first. A glass of wine, the pasta, the salad she didnโt really want but felt compelled to add because adulthood occasionally demanded leaves. Garrett ordered the steak and a beer, then added the bread for the table after glancing at her for half a second too long.
She narrowed her eyes as the server left. โWas that bread for me?โ
Garrett leaned back, one hand around his water glass. โI like bread.โ
โGarrett.โ
โWhat? Wheatโsโฆ good.โ
She pressed her lips together, refusing to give him the laugh too easily. He saw it anyway. His grin deepened just enough to make the candle on the table catch in the little crease near his cheek.
โFine,โ he said. โMaybe it was for you.โ
โI can order my own bread.โ
โYeah, but you wouldnโt.โ
She looked at him across the table. โHow would you know?โ
His grin softened at the edges. His thumb moved once over the condensation on his glass. โBecause youโd stare at the menu and say you didnโt need it, then steal half of mine and act like it was my fault for placing it within range.โ
The accuracy of it slipped under her guard so neatly that for a second she had no response. The room kept going around them, forks against plates, someone laughing too loudly near the bar, the front door opening to let in a brief slice of cold air before it closed again.ย
She looked down, pretending to adjust the napkin on her lap. โThat sounds like slander,โ she said.
โItโs documented behaviour.โ
โBy who?โ
โMe. I lived it.โ
โYou survived.โ
โBarely.โ
She glanced up then, and the smile was waiting for her before she could stop it. Garrett caught it and smiled back, quieter this time, the two of them sitting with the little ache of it between them. The old ease had not come rushing back cleanly; it arrived in pieces, knocking politely first, checking whether the room was safe to enter.
The wine helped. One glass smoothing the edges of the table between them, warming the space under her sternum, making her hands less concerned with what they were doing.ย
The bread arrived first, warm enough that steam rose when Garrett tore a piece open, and he pushed the plate toward her without comment. She took one piece, then another three minutes later, and he had the decency not to look smug until she pointed a butter knife at him. โDonโt.โ
Garrett lifted both hands. โIโm not doing anything.โ
โYouโre doingโฆ your face.โ
โI only have the one.โ
โUnfortunately.โ
โWow.โ He pressed a hand to his chest. โAt dinner? After I bought emotional support bread?โ
โYou havenโt bought it yet.โ
He shot her a look. โIโm paying.โ
โWow. Very generous.โ
โI know. People say that.โ
โDo they?โ
โConstantly. Mostly elderly women and bartenders.โ
She laughed, and this time she didnโt bother hiding it. Garrettโs eyes lit in response, bright enough that she had to look at the bread for a second because his face when he made her laugh had always been one of her less survivable experiences.
By the time the food came, the tentative layer had thinned into something easier. It still lived underneath everything, that awareness of the months between them, the things said badly, the things not said at all. But the conversation had found its old rhythm around it.ย
Garrett told her Dean had decided to start a pre-playoffs wellness protocol that involved buying a juicer off a guy from one of his classes and immediately using it to make something green enough that Tucker had asked whether it was meant to be consumed or poured into a lawn mower.ย
She told him Allie had threatened to stage an intervention because one of their castmates kept saying he was discovering the character through breath while consistently forgetting every entrance.
Garrett paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. โThrough breath?โ
โApparently.โ
โWhat does that mean?โ
โIt means he doesnโt know his lines.โ
โRight.โ Garrett nodded. โWe have that in hockey too.โ
โYou discover the puck through breath?โ
โNo, Logan discovers backchecking through vibes and then Coach discovers yelling through rage.โ
She covered her mouth with her napkin because the laugh came too fast and too sharp, and the table beside them looked over. A middle-aged woman in a red scarf glanced between them with mild, deeply judgemental curiosity.ย
Garrett noticed immediately, because Garrett could feel an audience the way other people felt weather. He leaned slightly toward the other table, smile warm and obnoxiously innocent.
โSorry,โ he said. โSheโs very disruptive.โ
Her mouth fell open. โMe?โ
The womanโs expression cracked despite herself.ย
Garrett looked back at her, eyes dancing. โYouโre causing a scene.โ
โIโm eating pasta.โ
โLoudly.โ
โI hope you choke on your steak.โ
โThere she is,โ he said, too fondly.
The words landed, and for one second the joking air between them thinned. There she is. Like heโd been looking. Like heโd missed her in all her sharp little turns and dramatic threats and refusal to laugh when he deserved it, and had found her again somewhere between the bread plate and the second glass of wine.ย
Her fork paused against the edge of her bowl. Garrettโs smile faded by a fraction when he realised what heโd said, or maybe how it had sounded.
She saved them both by rolling her eyes. โYouโre lucky Iโm too classy to cause an actual scene.โ
โYeah, thatโs always been your defining trait.โ
โMy elegance?โ
โYour restraint.โ
She gave him a look over her wine glass. โI once watched you try to open a bottle of champagne with a house key.โ
Garrett pointed his fork at her. โThat was Deanโs idea.โ
โYou were the one holding the key.โ
โI was supporting a friend.โ
โYou dented the wall.โ
โThe wall was weak.โ
She laughed again, helpless this time, and Garrett followed her into it, his shoulders loosening as he ducked his head. The woman at the other table looked over again. The man with her looked vaguely amused now, like he had started unwillingly following the plot.ย
Garrett bit the inside of his cheek, trying to recover some dignity and failing when she whispered, โThe wall was weak,โ under her breath and set him off again.
โStop,โ he said, laughing into his hand. โJesus.โ
โYou said it!โ
โYouโre making it worse.โ
โIโm discovering the joke through breath.โ
He groaned, head tipping back for half a second, and she laughed so hard her eyes watered. It felt embarrassingly good. Too good, maybe. The kind of good that came with a little warning label attached, because the body could forget what the brain had carefully filed away.ย
Her ribs hurt from laughing. Her cheeks felt warm from wine and candlelight and Garrett looking at her like this, like every stupid thing out of her mouth was something he wanted to catch.
That was the part she had to be careful with. Garrettโs attention could make her feel chosen so quickly it almost frightened her, because she knew what it felt like when that attention shifted elsewhere.ย
She knew the sudden cold where his hand used to be. She knew the humiliation of wanting proof and hating herself for needing it.
But tonight, when the server came over and asked if they wanted another drink, Garrett didnโt glance around the room, didnโt let his charm spray out carelessly in every direction.ย
He was polite, because he was Garrett and would probably still be charming at a tax audit, but his body stayed angled toward her.ย
His eyes came back to her before the server had even finished speaking. โYou want another wine?โ
She looked at her glass, then at him. โDo you?โ
โIโve got morning practice,โ he said with a grimace.
She groaned. โSo boring.โ
โHey,โ he protested. โI danced shirtless in a Shakespeare production.โ
His eyes held hers across the table, the teasing still there but softer beneath it. โYeah?โ
She swallowed a little around the sudden warmth at the back of her throat. The easy answer would have been yes, obviously, because Garrett Graham and crowd approval had been married long before she came along.ย
But the wine had loosened too much, maybe. Or the night had. Or the way he had remembered the bread and turned his attention back to her every time the world gave him an opening not to.
โNot tonight,โ she said, quieter.
Garrettโs face changed. He didnโt grin. Didnโt make it a victory. He only looked at her for a second, then nodded once. โGood.โ
It shouldnโt have felt as big as it did. It was dinner. It was bread. It was Garrett behaving like a grown-up for longer than ten seconds at a time. It wasnโt the grand repair of everything theyโd ever done badly.ย
Still, the smallness of it was exactly what made it dangerous. Big promises could be distrusted. Small choices had weight.
She got another drink, and by the time their plates had been cleared, the restaurant had thinned into the later-dinner crowd: quieter tables, lower voices, the occasional clink of someone stacking glasses behind the bar.ย
Garrett had pushed his empty beer bottle to the side and was telling her about a team meeting where Coach had tried to use a motivational video and accidentally cast it from his phone with his unread messages still visible at the top of the screen.
โNo,โ she said, delighted. โWhat did they say?โ
Garrett rubbed a hand over his mouth, already laughing. โHis wife texted, where are the lemons.โ
She stared at him, waiting.
โThatโs it.โ
โThatโs it?โ
โThatโs the whole message. But Logan whispers, โCoach has a lemon problem,โ and Dean loses it. Completely. Shoulders shaking, face red, trying to pretend heโs coughing. Then Coach pauses the video and goes, โDi Laurentis, do you need medical attention?โ and Dean, because he has no survival instinct, says, โNo, sir, just thinking about lemons.โโ
She made a sound that was unfortunately louder than planned and had to press her napkin to her mouth again. The red-scarf woman looked over for the third time, and this time she was smiling openly.ย
She lifted a hand in apology. โSorry. Sorry.โ
Garrett leaned back in his chair, looking unbearably smug. โTold you. Disruptive.โ
She pointed at him. โYouโre telling stupid stories in public.โ
โPrivate team business, actually. You should feel honoured.โ
โI do. Deeply.โ
โGood.โ
The bill arrived tucked inside a little black folder, and she reached for her bag automatically.ย
Garrettโs hand landed on the folder first. โDonโt,โ he said.
She paused. โGarrett.โ
โI asked you to dinner.โ
โI can pay for my own food.โ
โI know you can.โ
โThenโโ
โI asked,โ he said again. โLet me.โ
There was a version of her, one with a sharper pride and less wine and a worse memory of how things had ended, that might have argued on principle until the server came back and found them in a quiet financial standoff beside the remains of the bread basket.ย
But his voice didnโt make it feel like a power move. It felt like him wanting to take care of one clean, simple thing after months of every other thing between them being complicated.
So she leaned back and let her hand fall away from her bag. โFine.โ
Garrettโs eyes flicked up. โYeah?โ
โDonโt make it weird.โ
โI would never.โ
โYou always say that right before making it weird.โ
โThatโs part of my process.โ
She smiled down at the table while he paid, tracing one finger through the faint condensation ring left by her glass. The room felt softer now. The kind of late-night restaurant softness that made time seem less strict.ย
She should have been tired. She was tired, a little, but it sat underneath the warmer thing blooming carefully in her chest, the strange, tentative relief of an evening that had not collapsed under the weight of what it meant.
Outside, the cold came for them immediately. She had barely stepped onto the pavement before the air slid under the edges of her coat and found every bit of skin it could punish.ย
The streetlights threw pale circles across the wet road, and the restaurant door shut behind them with a muffled thump, cutting off the heat and the low chatter. She folded her arms across herself on instinct.
Garrett noticed. โCold?โ
โNo,โ she said, because pride survived wine.
He looked at her. She held his gaze for half a second, then her breath fogged in front of her face and ruined the entire performance. โA little.โ
Garrett huffed a laugh and was already shrugging out of his jacket before she could pretend she didnโt need it. โCome here.โ
โGarrett, youโll freeze.โ
He stepped closer and settled the jacket around her shoulders, his hands lingering only long enough to tug the collar into place. The weight of it landed warm over her, heavier than her own coat, still carrying his body heat through the lining.ย
And his smell. Clean soap, cold air, the faintest trace of whatever detergent the hockey house used when the machine wasnโt being abused by four men who thought fabric softener was fake.ย
Under that, just him. Warm skin and something steady sheโd spent weeks pretending not to miss with the full force of her dignity.
It hit so hard she had to look away.
โWarmer?โ he asked.
She nodded, pulling the jacket closer with both hands. โMhm.โ
Garrettโs gaze stayed on her face for a beat, like heโd seen the tiny shift and was deciding, kindly, not to name it. Then he tucked his hands into the pockets of his pants and started walking beside her, angling himself slightly closer to the curb without making a thing of it.
The walk back toward her dorm was quiet at first, though it wasnโt bad. Their shoes moved over damp pavement, the campus streets mostly empty now except for a few students bundled in scarves and the distant sound of someone laughing too loudly near one of the residence halls.ย
Wind moved through the bare trees, rattling the branches softly. Somewhere, a car rolled past with bass thudding low through closed windows.
She glanced at Garrett from inside the collar of his jacket. โYour jacket smells like you.โ
His mouth lifted. โThat a complaint?โ
โNo.โ
โGood.โ
โIt also smells a little like hockey house laundry room.โ
โThat is a complaint.โ
โItโs an observation.โ
โOur laundry room has been through a lot.โ
โI know. Iโve seen it.โ
โThen you understand why we donโt discuss it in public.โ
She smiled, tucking her chin deeper into the warmth. โYour secrets are safe with me.โ
They reached the crosswalk at the edge of campus, the little red hand glowing on the signal. A few cars passed, headlights sliding over them in bright white strips.ย
Garrett stopped beside her, close enough that his sleeve brushed the jacket he had put on her, and for a second they both stood there looking at the empty road like it required deep concentration.
The light changed. Garrett stepped off the curb and reached for her hand out of habit.
It happened so naturally that neither of them seemed to understand it until it was already done. His fingers slid through hers, warm and sure, palm closing around her hand as they started across the street.ย
The contact shot up her arm with ridiculous, familiar precision, waking every small memory stored in her skin. Coffee shop lines. Cold walks after games. His thumb brushing over her knuckles while he talked to someone else, back when she still believed the touch meant she was anchored there.
Halfway across, Garrett realised. She felt it in the slight catch of his hand. Saw it in the way his head turned toward her, careful, asking without words whether he had overstepped.ย
For one heartbeat, the old reflex rose between them โ his hand opening, hers being left empty, the sudden air.
She tightened her grip before he could let go. Her fingers closed around his, firm enough to answer.ย
Garrettโs eyes dropped to their joined hands, then lifted back to her face. The corner of his mouth softened, but he didnโt grin, he only held on.
They crossed the rest of the road like that. The whole walk shifted after. Barely. Completely. Their hands stayed linked between them, swinging lightly once when Garrett adjusted his stride to match hers.ย
His thumb moved over the side of her hand, slow and absent, and the gesture made something behind her ribs ache in the softest, most inconvenient way.ย
She wanted to tell him she had missed this. She wanted to tell him that holding his hand in public had never been about ownership, not really, even if it had come out that way sometimes.ย
It had been about not disappearing. About his body saying, without fuss, sheโs with me, while the rest of the world looked.
She pouted before she could stop herself. โIโm not tiny.โ
โNo?โ
โI am average height and, like, emotionally tall.โ
He laughed, the sound slipping into the cold air between them. โEmotionally tall?โ
โYes.โ
โIs that like discovering character through breath?โ
โExactly.โ
โSo youโre short through breath.โ
She gasped. โTake me home immediately.โ
โThatโs what Iโm doing.โ
โFaster.โ
Garrett shook his head, still smiling, and squeezed her hand once. That little squeeze nearly did more damage than anything else, because it was so ordinary.
Her hand fit in his exactly the same way it used to, and the knowledge sat low and warm in her stomach as they turned onto the path leading toward her dorm.
By the time they reached the steps, neither of them let go immediately. The dorm building rose above them in all its unromantic brick-and-fluorescent-window glory, a few rooms lit yellow, one window on the second floor cracked open despite the cold.ย
Someone had stuck a half-peeled campus event poster crookedly near the entrance. The whole place smelled faintly like wet leaves and the terrible cafeteria coffee that lived permanently in the vents.
Garrett stopped at the bottom of the steps, his jacket still around her shoulders, her hand still in his. He looked up at the door, then back at her. โYou good to get in?โ
She nodded. โMhm.โ
โGood.โ
Neither of them moved.
Their joined hands hung between them. Garrettโs thumb shifted once over her knuckle and then stilled, like heโd just realised he was doing it again. His face was half-shadowed by the light over the entrance, curls messy from the wind, cheeks faintly pink from the cold.ย
He looked a little younger like this. Less golden boy, less rink captain, less campus-wide problem. Just Garrett, standing outside her dorm in a sweater without a jacket because his was around her shoulders, trying to choose the right words and looking almost annoyed at how much he cared about getting them right.
โI had a lot of fun tonight,โ he said finally.
Her chest warmed so quickly she almost hated him for it. โMe too.โ
โYeah?โ
โYeah.โ She tightened the jacket around herself, mostly to have something to do with her hands now that she had gently let his go. โEven with the lemon story.โ
โEspecially with the lemon story.โ
โIt was very vulnerable of you to share.โ
He shrugged. โTeam confidentiality means nothing to me.โ
โI gathered.โ
Garrett smiled, then looked down for a second, one hand rubbing at the back of his neck. The movement was so familiar it made her mouth soften before she could stop it.ย
โWe should, um.โ He cleared his throat, eyes coming back to hers. โAfter the game maybe? Get dinner again, or a drink, or justโฆ hang out. I dunno.โ
She stared at him for half a breath, then let the grin come because he looked so painfully earnest beneath the attempted casualness that not teasing him would have been cruel to both of them.ย
โAre you asking me on a second date, Graham?โ
Garrett huffed, but the tips of his ears went faintly red. โUh, I guess so.โ
โYou guess?โ
โI am asking,โ he corrected, pointing at her lightly. โIโm just trying not to make it sound like I rehearsed it.โ
โDid you rehearse it?โ
โNo.โ
She lifted her brows.
Garrettโs mouth twitched. โNot out loud.โ
A laugh slipped out of her, soft and helpless, and he smiled back with the kind of relief that made her want to step closer. She stayed where she was, just barely.
He shifted his weight. โDoes it count if itโs aโฆโ His face did something uncertain, the humour flickering around the edges of something real. โA second chance second date?โ
She looked at him, at the careful set of his mouth, the way he had clearly meant the joke to hold more of the weight than it could. Something in her chest opened a little, warm and sore.ย
โOh,โ she said, trying to keep her voice light because if she didnโt, it would go soft enough to ruin them both. โWeโre calling it a second chance, are we?โ
Garrett blinked. The confidence dropped from his face so fast it almost made her regret it. โI mean, I thought thatโs what it was.โ
Her heart twisted. Fuck. Garrett Graham, temporarily humbled by sincerity. Somebody should have sold tickets.ย
She stepped closer before the moment could bruise. โIโm teasing you.โ
His shoulders loosened a fraction. โOh.โ
โYeah.โ
โGood.โ He let out a breath, then narrowed his eyes at her slightly, recovering himself piece by piece. โThat was mean.โ
โYou like me mean.โ
โMhm,โ he murmured, and it came out quieter than the joke deserved.
The air between them changed again. The cold pressed around her cheeks. His jacket was warm over her shoulders.ย
He was close enough now that she could see the faint nick near his jaw, the tiny damp shine of his lower lip where heโd bitten it while thinking, the way his eyes kept moving over her face like he was still checking whether he was allowed to stay in this moment.
She rose onto her toes before she could overthink it and kissed his cheek. Warm skin, a faint brush of stubble, the clean familiar smell of him filling her lungs so quickly it made her chest hurt.ย
Garrett went still. When she eased back down, his eyes had softened in a way that made him look entirely unprepared to be left on a sidewalk.
โIโll see you this weekend,โ she said.
He nodded once, slow. โYeah. See you then.โ
She slipped his jacket from her shoulders and held it out. For one tiny second, Garrett looked like he might tell her to keep it. She could see the impulse cross his face, could almost hear the casual line he would have used to make it sound easy.ย
Keep it, baby. Youโre cold.ย
But he seemed to think better of it, or maybe he was learning when not to make a gesture do more than the moment could hold. He took it from her, fingers brushing hers lightly around the fabric.
โText me when youโre inside?โ he asked.
She gave him a look. โIโm going up three stairs.โ
โHumour me.โ
โYouโre very bossy for a man asking for a second chance second date.โ
โConcerned,โ he corrected.
She smiled, shaking her head, then turned and climbed the steps. At the door, she glanced back. Garrett was still there at the bottom, jacket hooked over one arm now, hands tucked into the pockets of his pants against the cold.ย
He looked up at her with that small, almost-private smile, the one that had always been more dangerous than the bright public grin.
โGoodnight, Garrett,โ she said.
โGoodnight,โ he said, then added, because he could not help himself, โTry not to get taken out by any furniture on the way in.โ
She rolled her eyes so hard it nearly counted as cardio. โOne chair humbles you and suddenly youโre projecting.โ
โThat chair had bad intentions.โ
โGoodnight.โ
He grinned then, full and warm and stupidly pleased with himself, and she had to pull the door open before her face gave away too much. The lobby heat wrapped around her as she stepped inside, smelling faintly like carpet cleaner, radiator dust, and someoneโs microwave popcorn.ย
The door clicked shut behind her, muffling the cold, muffling the street, leaving Garrett on the other side of the glass under the dorm light.
Her phone buzzed before she had even reached the first stairwell.
Garrett: You made it inside. Heroic.
She stopped on the landing, biting down on a smile that came anyway. She typed back with cold fingers and a heart doing something soft and stupid beneath her ribs.
barely. the stairs were aggressive.
His reply came almost immediately.
Garrett: Campus furniture problem. Iโve been saying this.
She laughed under her breath, quiet in the empty stairwell, and for the first time in weeks, the sound didnโt feel like it had to fight its way out of her.ย
summary: in which garrett receives an almost unreadable message from you while you're out celebrating one of your close friends birthdays. offering to pick you up, garrett has an interesting car ride home and rest of the night.
pairing: garrett graham x fem!reader
notes: hi! just some established relationship fluff! i hope you enjoy <3
๊ชเง
saying you were slightly intoxicated wouldโve been a drastic understatement. it was the night of allieโs birthday, and while the celebrations had started off relatively tame - just a small night in with close friends, somewhere between the second round of margaritas and the dangerously sweet cocktail allie kept forcing into everyoneโs hands, youโd managed to consume more alcohol in a few hours than you normally drank across an entire semester.
you werenโt big on drinking, and that made your tolerance for it incredibly low.ย
the soft buzz of garrettโs phone vibrating against the kitchen counter interrupts the sound of the hockey highlights playing quietly from the television in the background. it was nearly one in the morning, and despite the fact he had conditioning at eight and an early lift before practice, heโd promised heโd stay awake to pick you up.
you had tried to tell him at least six separate times that you could just uber home.
he hadnโt listened to a single one.
garrett was stubborn in a way that felt gentle rather than frustrating, and once heโd decided something, there was really no changing his mind.
especially when it came to you. heโd told you earlier that evening that there was โabsolutely no universeโ where he was letting you get into a random rideshare drunk and alone at one in the morning.
so eventually youโd given up.
stretching across the couch in the hockey house living room, garrett reaches for his phone, the corner of his mouth immediately twitching upward the second he sees your contact flash across the screen.
y/n <3: garrettttt
a laugh slips from his lips.
y/n <3: garret
y/n <3: garret grahm
y/n <3: i mis u
he shakes his head affectionately before typing back.
garrett: miss you too sweetheart
garrett: you okay over there?
y/n <3: yes
y/n <3: maybe
y/n <3: no
y/n <3: allie keeps pouring me more margarita mix
another quiet chuckle leaves him.
garrett: yeah i figured
garrett: want me to come get you now?
y/n <3: im fineeeeee
y/n <3: very fine actually
y/n <3: grace says i am glowing
garrett: that sounds terrifying
y/n <3: ur mean
garrett: iโm coming to get you
y/n <3: ok
y/n <3: i lob you
his entire expression softens at that.
garrett: love you more, y/n. see you soon
garrett grabs his keys from beside deanโs protein shaker before making his way out the front door.
the winter air is freezing, cold enough that he immediately shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket while making his way towards his jeep.
twenty minutes later heโs pulling into the dorm complex where allie lives.
only one other car remains parked outside.
everyone else had obviously already left.
garrett jogs up the stairs two at a time before knocking lightly against the door. he barely waits ten seconds before allie swings the door open, smiling at him sheepishly before opening the door wider, signalling for him to follow her inside.
"she's in the living room", allie states, a hint of amusement evidently laced in her voice.
garrett follows the sound of your voice before finally spotting you curled up sideways across the couch, your heels abandoned somewhere near the coffee table while you sat clutching allieโs decorative throw pillow against your chest.
the second your eyes land on him, your entire face lights up.
โgarrett!โ you gasp loudly, as though you havenโt seen him in weeks instead of six hours.
his chest physically tightens at the sight of you.
god.
even drunk out of your mind you were still the prettiest girl heโd ever seen.
the apartment itself looked exactly like the aftermath of an allie hayes birthday celebration - empty margarita glasses scattered across the counter, half deflated balloons hanging from the ceiling fan, confetti covering nearly every surface imaginable. somewhere in the corner grace was asleep, wrapped entirely in a blanket burrito while allie attempted to clean up around her.
garrettโs attention shifts briefly toward the line of alcohol bottles littering the kitchen counter before settling back on you.
definitely the reason behind your texts.
โhi baby,โ he says softly, moving toward the couch.
โyouโre so handsome,โ you mumble immediately.
garrett merely shakes his head, although he canโt stop the smile tugging at his mouth
โthanks sweetheart.โ
โlike offensively handsome,โ you continue seriously, staring at him. โitโs actually rude.โ
he crouches down in front of where you sat, reaching his hands out to fix your dress, "how'd this happen silly?" he questions, amusement laced clearly in the tone of his voice.
in an attempt to untangle your dress, he lifts the top half slightly, the movement exposing the black lace bralette beneath. his eyes drag briefly over the newly revealed skin before returning to your face, a quiet grin tugging at his mouth as he smooths the fabric back into place.
you stare at him intently, watching as he carefully repositions your dress.
โhow much did you drink?โ he asks carefully.
you stare at him for a moment.
โโฆyes.โ
allie bursts out laughing from the kitchen.
garrett exhales through his nose, fighting back his own amusement before carefully helping you sit upright. his hand resting gently on your exposed thigh.
โcome on baby,โ he murmurs gently.
โletโs get you home.โ
you slowly nod, wanting nothing more than to be in the comfort of garrett's bed, falling asleep in his arms. you allow him to carefully pick you up bridal style.
before leaving, he says goodbye to allie and hannah, thanking them for taking care of you while simultaneously apologising for your current state.
the cold air hits your face the second garrett steps outside, causing you to bury yourself deeper against his chest while he carries you towards the car.
once he gets you settled safely into the passenger seat and buckles your seatbelt himself, he finally climbs into the driverโs seat.
for a few minutes the drive is quiet.
his hand rests casually on your thigh while soft music hums through the speakers. you find yourself staring shamelessly at his side profile which had been illuminated by passing streetlights.
god.
he really was beautiful.
โgarrett?โ
โyeah baby?โ
โare you real?โ
his lips twitch upward instantly.
โpretty sure.โ
โno but likeโฆโ you narrow your eyes at him thoughtfully. โyouโre too attractive to be real.โ
he laughs quietly, thumb rubbing soothing circles against your thigh.
โyouโre drunk, y/n.โ
โmhm.โ
another few seconds pass before you suddenly turn toward him fully.
โkiss me.โ
garrett glances over briefly before returning his attention to the road.
โcanโt right now sweetheart, iโm driving.โ
your entire face falls.
โbut you love me.โ
โi do love you.โ
โthen kiss me.โ
โbaby-โ
โliar,โ you mumble under your breath, crossing your arms dramatically and turning toward the window.
unfortunately for you, he hears it.
garrett sighs softly before signalling and pulling the car carefully off to the side of the empty road.
the second he parks, he turns fully towards you.
โlook at me.โ
you refuse.
โy/n.โ
still nothing.
then his hand gently hooks beneath your chin, guiding your face back towards his.
โi literally pulled over just to kiss you.โ
guilt immediately floods through you.
โsorry,โ you whisper.
his expression softens instantly.
โcโmere.โ
the moment you lean forward his lips meet yours, warm and familiar and impossibly soft. his hand slips into your hair while the other remains resting against your jaw, kissing you slowly like he has absolutely nowhere else to be.
you melt immediately.
when he finally pulls away, he presses several smaller kisses across your cheeks and forehead while mumbling quiet i love youโs against your skin, each one making your chest ache a little more.
you giggle softly, pushing lightly against his chest. โokay i get it.โ
โdo you?โ
โyes.โ
โgood.โ
-
eventually the two of you make it back to the hockey house.
the second you walk through the front door, you attempt to wander towards the kitchen, but garrett catches your wrist instantly.
โwhere are you going?โ
โwater.โ
his eyes narrow suspiciously.
โโฆvodkaโ
โabsolutely not, y/n.โ
heavy footsteps suddenly sound from the stairs.
โg?โ
deanโs voice carries through the hallway a second before he appears around the corner wearing grey sweats, clearly about to make himself an absurdly late-night snack.
his eyes land on you first.
then the way youโre practically hanging off garrettโs side.
then your smudged makeup.
then the heels dangling loosely from your fingers.
dean grins immediately.
โoh this is bad.โ
โdean,โ garrett warns tiredly.
โno, no,โ dean continues, holding both hands up defensively while very obviously trying not to laugh.
โiโm just impressed sheโs still standing. last time allie got her drunk she fell asleep in the booth at malone's still holding her drink.โ
you immediately point at him. โthat happened one time.โ
dean chuckles, "and i'll never forget it, y/n."
garrett exhales a laugh under his breath while tightening his grip slightly around your waist to steady you.
โyouโre both insufferable,โ he mutters.
dean points lazily at him. โsays the guy who physically cannot go one party without turning it into a hockey strategy meeting.โ
garrett scoffs immediately. โthat is not true.โ
โreally?โ dean asks. โbecause last week at tuckerโs thing you spent forty minutes talking about eastwoodโs defensive structure.โ
โwe had a game next week,โ garrett argues.
โwe always have a game next weekโ dean says smugly. โnormal college students drink tequila. you start analysing power plays.โ
youโre not entirely sure why the conversation is suddenly the funniest thing in the world, but a burst of laughter escapes you anyway, hard enough that your forehead drops against garrettโs shoulder while your fingers curl lazily into the front of his hoodie.
dean watches you fondly before shaking his head.
โsheโs gone.โ
โcompletely,โ garrett agrees.
โhey,โ you mumble defensively, lifting your head slightly. โiโm still aware.โ
dean raises an eyebrow. โreally?โ
you squint at him. โโฆwhy are there two of you?โ
โthere it is,โ dean says proudly.
garrett pinches the bridge of his nose while trying not to laugh and before either of you can react, dean walks over and pulls you into a quick side hug.
โmissed you tonight, troublemaker.โ
the movement nearly knocks you off balance, unsteady from the amount of alcohol still coursing through your system. garrettโs arm tightens instinctively around your waist, grounding you before you stumble.
โdean,โ he says sharply.
โrelax,โ dean laughs. โyou caught her.โ
you grin up at dean lazily. โyou smell like fries.โ
โthank you.โ
โthat wasnโt a compliment.โ
dean places a hand over his chest in mock offence. โwow. i open my home to you, i support your relationship, i let you steal our food every weekend-โ
โyour food?โ garrett interrupts. โshe literally buys half the groceries in this house.โ
โand yet somehow my cereal still disappears every time she stays over.โ
you gasp dramatically. โbecause we both like the same cereal!โ
garrettโs shoulders shake slightly with quiet laughter while dean continues pointing accusingly at you.
โlast week i went to pour myself lucky charms and there were three marshmallows left in the box.โ
you blink innocently. โwell, that sounds like a you problem.โ
โyouโre lucky i love you.โ
you immediately grin. โi know.โ
dean narrows his eyes suspiciously before looking at garrett. โshe gets mean when sheโs drunk.โ
โshe gets mean when sheโs sober too.โ
โtrue.โ
you smack garrett lightly in the chest. โnot true.โ
he catches your hand instantly, pressing a quick kiss against your knuckles while smiling softly. โstill love you though.โ
dean groans loudly.
โyou two are disgusting.โ
youโre still giggling when garrett finally starts guiding you toward the stairs.
โokay,โ he says, voice warm with amusement. โtime for bed before she starts another argument.โ
โnight, y/n,โ dean calls after you.
you turn around mid-step. โgoodnight deanie!โ
dean immediately smirks and points at garrett. โshe never gives you cute nicknames like that.โ
โbaby is literally a nickname.โ
โnot as cute as deanie.โ
garrett flips him off without missing a beat, earning a loud laugh from dean as he disappears back into the kitchen while garrett continues leading you upstairs, quietly muttering about how he desperately needed a better roommate.
เงเญญ synopsis. you and garrett are looking for a perfect couple costume for dean and beau's birthday party.
เงเญญ word count. 2k
เงเญญ warnings. cringe suggestive jokes
the blank notebook page on your bed seems to mock you, its stark white surface completely devoid of any good ideas.
you look up from the mattress, letting your gaze drift to garrett. he is currently leaning against your desk, completely relaxed, effortlessly tossing a bottle of your rather expensive body spray in one hand, catching it without even looking. he looks entirely unfazed by the looming deadline, despite the fact that dean and beau's joint birthday party is in exactly four days and you both still have absolutely nothing to wear for the theme.
"we seriously need to lock this in, graham," you say, tapping the cap of your pen against your knee in a rhythmic, anxious beat that matches the ticking of the clock on your wall. "i refuse to be that couple that shows up in matching eighties clothes or generic cat ears because we procrastinated until the absolute last minute. everyone is going all out for the boys, and we are currently failing."
garrett catches the bottle with a sharp smack of his palm, a lazy grin spreading across his handsome face. he sets it down on the desk and crosses his arms, looking at you with that teasing glint in his eye. "hey, i already offered a solid, foolproof option. i wear my home jersey, you wear my away jersey. itโs a classic. itโs effortless. itโs timeless. plus, everyone knows you look ten times hotter with my name on your back anyway."
"that's not a couples costume, garrett, that's just lazy marketing for the briar hockey team," you roll your eyes, though you can't quite stop the smile from tugging at the corners of your lips. "we are brainstorming. proper, creative ideas only. write something down."
he sighs dramatically, throwing his head back before walking over to the bed. he drops onto the mattress right beside you, the springs groaning slightly under his weight. he leans his broad shoulder heavily against yours, peering down at the completely empty page with a look of exaggerated concentration. "fine, fine. let's hear the master plan. what else do you have in that gorgeous brain of yours, scout?"
"okay, option one," you murmur, carefully writing it down in neat, small script. "shrek and fiona. but specifically the ogre versions."
garrett snorts loudly, shaking his head. "absolutely not. i am not painting my entire body green, babe. do you know how hard it is to get body paint off your skin? i'll be sweating green goo at practice for a week. plus, the only time i want you calling me a monster is in the bedroom, and green paint really kills the vibe."
"eww to that last part, but fair point," you admit, a hot blush creeping up your neck as you reluctantly draw a thick line through the words. "okay, option two..."
before you can write anything else, garrett leans in even closer, his warmth radiating against your side as he pulls the pen right out of your fingers. his messy, bold handwriting takes over the next line.
top gun.
you look from the page up to his dark eyes, immediately shaking your head, snatching the pen back, and drawing a massive 'X' over the words before the ink is even dry. "absolutely not. no top gun."
garrett looks genuinely offended, gesturing to the paper with a pout. "why not? it's an elite choice. whichever version lets me wear aviators inside a dimly lit house all night long and look mysterious. i'd look great in a flight suit."
"because itโs dean and beauโs birthday party, garrett," you remind him with an amused sigh, poking his chest with the capped pen. "and they already claimed it weeks ago. dean and beau are literally going as maverick and goose. do you really want to show up to the birthday boys' party wearing the exact same flight suits as them? it's their night."
garrett pauses, considering this for a second, a small smirk playing on his lips. "well, we'd definitely wear it better, let's be real. but fine, i guess i'll let them have their moment in the spotlight. so looking at a blank page isn't working. let's just go to that massive pop-up costume shop downtown. they always have the weird stuff. we can actually try things on and see what feels right."
the costume store downtown is a chaotic sensory overload. it smells like cheap vinyl, fake fog fluid, and the collective desperation of a few college students trying to find a last-minute costume for the party. rows upon rows of plastic masks, neon wigs, and flimsy polyester jumpsuits stretch out under the harsh, buzzing fluorescent lights. garrett grabs a bright red shopping cart, pushing it easily with one hand while keeping his other arm draped heavily over your shoulders, pulling you securely into his side as you walk the aisles.
"alright," he murmurs down into your hair, his lips brushing your temple with every step, making it hard to focus on the shelves. "where are we starting this?"
"the classics section," you say, steering him past the terrifying animatronics toward a wall packed with heavy, bagged costumes hanging from metal pegs.
ten minutes of browsing turns into almost an hour. you end up with an armful of hangers, the plastic bags crinkling loudly against your arms, while garrett follows close behind, his eyes occasionally drifting down to your waist right to your ass. you finally locate the changing rooms at the very back of the store, pushing open a flimsy, slatted wooden door to a tiny cabin.
"stay right there," you command, turning around and pointing a strict finger at his chest. "i need honest feedback. no just saying 'you look great' to get us out of here faster so you can go watch game tape."
"i'm a hockey captain, babe. i can do honesty ands chest, a patient, amused expression settling over his sharp features. "take your time. i'm not going anywhere."
you close the door and start with the first option: a blue 1920s flapper dress. it is covered in rows of scratchy silver fringe that catch on everything, and the cheap fabric clings awkwardly in all the wrong places. to make matters worse, the matching sequined headband is incredibly tight, squeezing your forehead, and the fake pearl necklace keeps getting tangled in the fringe. you pull at the tight hem, trying to make it sit right, before stepping out of the cabin.
garrett takes one look at you and lets out a low, breathless whistle that quickly dissolves into a loud, chesty chuckle. his eyes trace the shiny, shaking fringe down your body.
"i mean, don't get me wrong, you look incredibly hot because you always do," he says, his eyes glinting with pure mischief as he tilts his head. "but you look like you're about to suffocate. every time you breathe, three silver strings fall off onto the floor. also, how am i supposed to get you out of that thing later without a pair of kitchen scissors? it looks like a structural hazard for what i want to do to you after the party. zero accessibility."
"it's a classic great gatsby look!" you protest, shimmying slightly to prove a point, which only makes the cheap fringe shake awkwardly and scratch your inner arms. "it's supposed to be fun."
"next," he laughs, waving his hand toward the dressing room door. "give me something with a little less fringe and a little more accessibility, please. my hands need to actually be able to reach you."
you huff playfully, rolling your eyes as you retreat back into the small room and let the door click shut. you quickly peel off the scratchy flapper dress, tossing it onto the corner chair with a sigh of relief, and reach for the next optionโthe classic fairy tale costume.
you slide the dark red velvet cape over your shoulders, carefully tying the thick satin ribbons into a neat bow right at your throat. the dress itself fits surprisingly well, featuring a structured, corset-style bodice that laces up the front, cinching your waist and pushing your breast up in a way that makes you take a sharp breath when you look in the mirror. you take a moment to fix your hair, letting the strands fall loosely over your shoulders before pulling the deep, oversized red hood up over your head, letting it cast a dark shadow over your eyes.
you push the door open and step out onto the linoleum.
garrettโs eyes darken instantly. the bored posture disappears completely in a split second. his back straightens against the wall, his crossed arms dropping heavily to his sides as his gaze traces the vibrant red line of the hood, moving slowly down the tight line of the corset, down the length of the velvet cape to the hem of the dress, and then right back up to fixate entirely on your face. the sudden, heavy intensity in his look makes your heart do a familiar, violent flutter.
"okay," he says, his voice dropping an octave, thick and low in a way that sends a sudden shiver straight down your spine. "this is the one. definitely the one."
"yeah?" you smile, a little blush warming your cheeks as you hold the edges of the velvet cape and do a soft, dramatic swirl. "you don't think it's a little too clichรฉ? i mean, everyone knows the story."
"not even a little bit," he says, his voice a gravelly murmur that completely replaces his usual easygoing tone. he steps away from the wall, closing the distance between you in two long strides until he is standing right in your personal space, blocking out the rest of the store. his large, warm fingers reach out, gently catching the soft velvet fabric at the edge of your hood, pulling it back just a fraction so he can look directly into your eyes. "you look absolutely beautiful, babe. seriously. it does... incredible things to your bodyโ especially your tits. that corset is doing things to my sanity."
"well, if i'm little red riding hood, that means you have to be the big bad wolf," you remind him, looking up through your lashes, your hands coming up to rest against his chest, feeling the sudden heat radiating through his shirt. "are you actually okay with that? it requires you to actually wear something other than a hockey jersey to a party."
garrett lets out a soft laugh, an incredibly charming smirk spreading across his lips. his large hands slide down from your hood to settle firmly on your waist, his thumbs pressing into the tight fabric of the corset, pulling you flush against his hard chest until you can feel every line of his body.
"are you kidding me? a costume where my entire job is to chase you around a crowded house, growl at any guy who tries to talk to you, and eventually eat you alive?" his eyes drop to your lips, his grip tightening on your hips just enough to let you know he isn't entirely joking about the last part. "i am entirely, one hundred percent on board. in fact, i might start the roleplay right now. the woods are looking pretty empty right here."
you laugh, your heart hammering against your ribs from his sudden closeness and the promise in his eyes. "not in the middle of a costume store, graham. control yourself. there are families three aisles over looking at pirate hats."
"fine, but only because i want to get this costume home and see how fast i can get that corset untied," garrett murmurs against your ear, a confident, wicked gleam in his eye as he reluctantly lets his hands slide off your waist. "i'll do my half right. a dark flannel shirt, some torn-up jeans, and some ears. iโm not going to wear a mask, though.โ
you look past his broad shoulder to the full-length mirror stretching down the hallway, easily imagining the final picture of the two of you.
"it really is perfect," you agree softly, leaning up on your tiptoes to press a warm, lingering kiss to his jawline, feeling the light stubble there that he forgot to shave this morning. "all right, big guy. go grab the wolf accessories from the shelf so we can finally get out of here and checkout."
"on it, captain," he beams, giving your ass a quick, playful swat before turning on his heel, looking completely satisfied.
Giving Garrett Graham the perfect postโpractice relief โ female reader, explicit language, oral sex (male receiving), handjob.
โโโโโ
โFuck, baby.โ Garrett rasped, his voice low and tired as the big hand he had wrapped around your silky hair in a makeshift ponytail tightened just a little.
The exhaustion from the ice still clung to him, you noticed from how his broad shoulders were slightly slumped, his muscles rigid, his playful smile not quite reaching his eyes.
So earlier, when you suggested doing something to take his mind off of hockey for a while, heโd figured you meant ordering takeout from Maloneโs and watching โThe wedding plannerโ for the hundredth time. Certainly, not this.
Not you, looking so pretty in your knees right in front of him while he sat back in his desk chair, muscular thighs spread wide enough to make space for you.
You pulled back with a wet pop, strings of spit still connecting your lips to his glistening cock. โTold you this would help.โ
โYou did.โ He laughed, low, running a hand through his tousled dark curls, just so he could look at you better.
Strands of hair fell down the sides of your face, lashes damp, swollen lips covered with his arousal, the strings of your lacy bralette sliding off your shoulders.
One of his fingers reached for your cheekbone, tracing small circles on the flushed skin. โSo beautiful, baby.โ He whispered, the words coming out slurred from pure tiredness.
You leaned into his touch before wrapping your hand around his length and trying to hold all of him, which was impossible, youโd tried.
Garrett hissed like a wound animal, the hard ridges of his stomach contracting when you gave him one slow, cruel stroke. Feeling the drag of your fingers against his throbbing cock was everything he needed.
A deep, strangled grunt left out his lips as you slid your thumb over the red, slickโcovered tip. You felt how it pulsed beneath your touch, at the same rhythm of his heartbeat.
โFuck, wait, baby.โ He cleared his throat, voice still coming out rough. โSlow down or Iโll come.โ And for the millionth time, he dragged a hand through his curls, as if that were enough to ground him.
โThatโs the point, Graham.โ You said, too playful, too amused, but your eyes softened at the sight of him.
Small beads of sweat running down his forehead, hair a mess, his eyebrows deeply furrowed, chest moving up and down, the muscles of his jaw twitching each time you touched him just right.
โRight.โ He started, the laugh he attempted to get out replaced by a trembling breath because you kept pumping your hand. โButโ wanna come inside your mouth.โ
You didnโt answered, with words, at least.
For the last time, you leaned forward, your lips leaving obscene openโmouthed kisses over the tip, your tongue tracing the prominent vein along his cock before pushing down, slowly, keeping your own pace, once again trying to fit all of him. But failing miserably.
Garrettโs sure his brain melted. โOh, fuck.โ
You kept the rhythm steady, lips sliding smoothly in an up and down motion all over his length as your hot tongue worked him with unhurried strokes. Meanwhile, your hand pumped in time what you couldnโt quite reach.
โKeep goinโ, baby.โ He rasped out, his voice hoarse. His thick fingers tangled gently through your hair, just holding, not guiding.
You hummed around him, taking him deeper, the vibration sending shivers down his spine, but you kept sucking with enough pressure, hollowing your cheeks.
Quickly, Garrettโs breathing turned ragged, the toned muscles of his thighs tensing, fighting back the pleasure.
โIโm closeโ fuck, Iโm so close.โ
And you didnโt pull away, not until you felt how his body locked up, how he panted your name under his breath along with a curse, and especially not until he pulsed thick and hot across your tongue, savoring the salty ropes of him.
He threw his head back with a low moan, now his hair sticking to his sweaty forehead and his lips parted, trying to catch his breath. You waited until you swallowed every drop to ease off and leave a final kiss to the sensitive tip.
Garrett, with the strength he had left, leaned forward in the chair, big hands sliding under your arms to pull you up onto his lap.
He wrapped you in his arms against his heaving chest, and you found your place in the curve where his shoulder met his neck.
โSee how I was right?โ You smiled against his warm skin. โYou needed to relax.โ
He pressed a lazy kiss to your temple, laughing. โNever doubting you again.โ
โGlad you learned.โ
โDamn right I did, baby.โ
โโโโโ
note โ posted two days in a rowโฆ who is this. i started this today and thanks to some miracle finished it, i reached flow state while listening to omar courtz, so yep, hereโs the result. ๐โโ๏ธ
c/w แฐ.แ fluff/smut, hand kink, phone sex, pet names (baby, pretty+ no y/n), oral (m. receiving + f. receiving), fingering, light restraints, garrett using every excuse imaginable to touch his girl, headcanons + 10/10 boyfriend behavior
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ฏ๐ฝ๐พ๐๐๐พ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ท๐๐๐ Garrett's big hands in your hair, grabbing your cheeks, hooked under your chin so he can have your pretty eyes on his, laced around your neck tight enough to feel your rapid pulse thump under his broad palmโฆ
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ฝ๐ of those hands balled up into fists, that game-day tie cinched tight around his wrists, bound to a chair as you bounce on top, mumbling against your lips about what he's gonna do when he gets his hands on you.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ด๐๐ ๐ธ๐ถ๐โ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐ ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ท๐๐๐ those rare date nights during hockey season where you actually get him to yourself. His fingers find yours across the table, his thumb rubbing absentminded circles against your knuckles while he listens to you talk. Pulling your chair out. Holding doors open. Brushing some sweet cream off your bottom lip before you can catch it yourself, smiling to himself when you roll your eyes. Garrett never seems to know how to keep his hands off you for very long.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ฉ๐๐๐พ๐ธ๐พ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐ Garrettโs hands are always on you one way or anotherโat parties, walking across campus, around the house. His fingers are locked in yours, his heavy hand resting on your back, or his arm draped lazily around your shoulder.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ข๐๐๐๐พ๐๐ ๐ธ๐ถ๐๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ his firm grip on your hips, guiding you and pulling you right where he wants you. He doesn't even ask most of the time, switching positions with a heavy hand, leaving you gasping on the mattress.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐พ๐๐ movie nights that turn into more, his big hands finding their way between your thighs and under your shirt, toying with you until your thighs are wet and your heart is pounding. Or finding yourself half-hidden under a blanket, Garrettโs hand gathering up your hair, guiding your pace with one hand as your lips stretch around his dick, the other reaching to play with your pussy.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐๐๐๐ถ๐๐พ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ท๐๐๐ his hands on you in the shower, gripping your hips, washing your hair, rubbing soap all over your body.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ฏ๐ฝ๐พ๐๐๐พ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ธ๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ท๐๐๐ road games where heโll FaceTime you from the hotel room, with one hand trembling as he clutches the phone, his fist wrapped around his dick as he shows you and you show him, mumbling all the things he wants to do to you alone until heโs cumming all over his hand and abs with his head pressed back into the pillow, his chain glittering in his half-lit hotel room.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ the second your fingers brush his and he realizes youโre freezing, your hand disappears into his. His palm practically swallows yours whole, warm enough that it almost hurts at first. Heโll grumble about gloves while rubbing his big hands over yours. Most of the time he ends up tucking your hand into the pocket of his lettermanโs jacket, keeping it wrapped in his. And if you donโt have a jacket of your own, heโs already shrugging his off and wrapping it around your shoulders before you can argue.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ข๐๐๐๐พ๐๐ ๐น๐พ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ธ๐๐๐น by his fingers pressing through your plush lips, swirling around your tongue, pushing back to check how much his girl can take.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ฟ๐๐๐พ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐พ๐๐น ๐๐๐๐ the rough pads of his fingers circling your nipples, pinching and twisting just right.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ heโd pull you into a study room in the library, teasing you because you only last a few minutes before youโre clenching around his digits. A finger lifted to his mouth as he shushes you with a smile on his lips.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ฝ๐๐๐ ๐ป๐ถ๐พ๐ Garrettโs handprint leaves its mark after spanking and grabbing your ass, kneading your soft flesh while you grind on his lap. Garrettโs hands are so much bigger than yours, his touch stronger, almost euphoric, when he finally presses against your wet panties.
Garrett can never get enough of the delicate material slicked with your wetness, arousal pooling on the fabric, sticking to your hot skin. He hums out a hungry groan as the color of your panties shifts practically transparentโcompletely ruined before he even pulls them aside. His strong hands twist around them, bunching the fabric in his big fist, making his bicep flex, teasing you with a few shallow thrusts as he pictures his long, thick cock gliding in and out.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ซ๐พ๐ธ๐๐๐๐พ๐๐ Garrett's fingers tracing your clit, gliding through your soaked folds, pinching and rubbing your bud until tears well in your eyes. Garrett makes you suck in a sharp breath as he slaps your pussy again and again, thighs pulling in quickly. His hands spread across your thighs, pressing them down on the mattress with a look of warning, making you tuck your bottom lip between your teeth, staring up at him with that needy gaze that he loves.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐๐ถ๐๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐พ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ท๐๐๐ Garrettโs fingers carding through his dark curls as they fall in his face when you settle on your knees in front of him with his heavy cock on your tongue. His palms frame your face, pulling you closer, thumbs sweeping across your skin as tears spill over your lashes, mumbling about how youโre doing so good for him.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ฟ๐พ๐๐ ๐ธ๐๐๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐, Garrett hooks a finger through your belt loop when the two of you are out after a game. Standing at the bar. Walking through crowds. Waiting for an Uber. It doesnโt matter. One finger catches the loop of your jeans and stays there like he needs the reminder that youโre still beside him. Half the time heโll tug you closer without even thinking about it, bending down to steal a quick kiss before letting you go again. The other half heโs using it to guide you through a packed room, keeping you tucked against his side while you weave through the crowd around you. Garrett never really seems worried about losing you. He just likes knowing exactly where you are.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ช๐ท๐๐๐๐๐พ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ how effortlessly Garrett gets you off. His hockey-roughed fingers curl and scissor inside you, the man painfully hard from watching you fall apart on his hands alone. Your climax drools from your pussy, Garrett gliding his fingers up your slit with a smirk before sucking them clean.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ฏ๐ฝ๐๐ there are the quieter moments, his strong hands on your skin as he rubs out knots in your shoulders or works away the aches from a long day. Garrett loves taking care of his girl.
โโด๏ธห๏ฝกโ ๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐พ๐ ๐๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ฝ๐ ๐ถ๐ท๐๐๐ the car rides home after a game, his hand steady on the wheel of his Jeep as the other slips underneath your skirt, teasing you, dipping just enough to have you pressing into his touch, getting you all worked up until you can't take anymore and pull over or you barely make it inside, his perfect digits finally pushing inside fully, making you cry out his name.
And when he finally brings you over the edge with his hand, he never lets up, keeping his pace, palm clapping against your clit ruthlessly with each push, pussy squelchy lewdly until you melt into the mattress beneath him. Garrett watches with lust-laced eyes as you lift his hands to your lips, kissing his fingers one by one.