Chapter 104: Good With Your Hands

NORA’S POV

"Did you guys... you know? Boink?"

"No," I said honestly. "We didn’t have sex."

Priya blinked, her brows knitting together in confusion. "You didn’t? Then why do you look like a woman who just saw God and got a personal autograph?"

I swallowed, looking down at my hands wrapped around the cold plastic cup.

The secret of the blush-pink rose and the breathless silence while Bear stomped around downstairs belonged solely to Knox and me. I would never share that with anyone, not even my best friend.

But I couldn’t hide the truth of what had happened either.

"He... helped me," I whispered softly.

Priya tilted her head, watching me carefully. "Helped you what?"

"He gave me an orgasm, Priya."

The words hung in the air between us.

Priya’s jaw dropped. The playful teasing vanished from her face, replaced by pure, wide-eyed shock.

"Wait," Priya breathed, clutching my wrist across the table. "You mean... your first? Ever?"

I nodded, feeling a warm, helpless blush stain my neck. "My first. Ever."

"Holy shit," Priya whispered reverently. "Holy shit, Nora. Knox did that?"

"Yes," I said with a soft laugh, remembering the entire moment in details. "He was incredible. He didn’t rush me or make me feel awkward. He just stayed right there with me until I came."

Priya stared at me for a long moment, a slow, genuine smile softening her features.

"I take back every single bad thing I ever said about hockey jocks," Priya declared, shaking her head in awe. "Knox Sheridan is officially inducted into the Boyfriend Hall of Fame."

"He’s not my boyfriend," I pointed out automatically, though the word felt far less absurd than it used to. "We’re dating. Real dating. But we haven’t put a label on it."

"Honey, you’re wearing his jersey number on your chest and he just detonated your sexual awakening on a Monday morning," Priya laughed, taking a bite of her panini. "Labels are just formalities at this point."

I picked up half of my grilled chicken sandwich, smiling softly into the bread.

"So," Priya said, leaning back against the booth and wiping her mouth with a napkin. "What’s the game plan now? When do you see him again?"

"Well, we have tutoring tomorrow afternoon," I said, feeling that familiar flutter return to my chest. "And Thursday before his team dinner. But... Friday night after the Boston game is when we finish what we started."

Priya’s eyebrows shot straight into her hairline. "Finish what you started? As in... the whole shebang?"

I felt heat bloom across my cheeks. "Maybeee."

Priya whistled through her teeth, her expression shifting to something more serious. "Friday is going to be a war zone, Nora."

"Because of Boston?"

"Because Boston is filthy," Priya said, leaning in. "You know Mark from my communications seminar? He’s on the Briar club team. He said the Boston roster is packed with goons who lead the ECAC in boarding penalties and game misconducts. They play dirty, they headhunt, and they know Knox is the undisputed star of Briar hockey."

I felt a cold pit settle in my stomach. "They’re going to target him?"

"Of course they are," Priya said. "Especially with the scouts coming."

My head snapped up. "What scouts?"

"You didn’t hear?" Priya raised her eyebrows. "The athletics department posted the media advisory this morning. Senior representatives from Chicago and Montreal are attending Friday’s game in person. They’re coming specifically to watch Knox play top-tier conference defense."

My pulse kicked up a notch.

I knew Knox was projected to go early in the first round of the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. I knew his father, Garrison Sheridan, had been pulling strings and breathing down his neck to steer him toward specific franchise deals.

But hearing that NHL scouts were physically sitting in the stands at Briar Ice Arena made Knox’s dream feel terrifyingly real.

If Boston played dirty... if they tried to hurt him to rattle his composure...

"He can handle himself, Nora," Priya said gently, noticing the worry tightening my features. "Knox is six-foot-three and made of solid muscle. He’s not some fragile prince. He’s their captain for a reason."

"I know," I murmured. "I just... I don’t want to see him get hurt."

Before Priya could reply, my phone buzzed against the table.

I looked down to see a text notification lit up the screen:

Knox: Coach Brennan threatened fifty bag skates for missing morning film.

My breath caught. I quickly unlocked my phone and tapped open the message thread.

Knox: Told him my tutor was extremely thorough and demanded extra credit. He let me off with twenty.

A burst of laughter escaped my lips, burying my face in one hand.

Nora: You did not tell Coach Brennan that!

Three dots bounced instantly on the screen.

Knox: Word for word, Bookworm. He respects academic excellence.

Knox: Are you still wearing my hoodie?

I bit my bottom lip, my thumbs flying across the keyboard.

Nora: Maybe.

Knox: Good. Keep it on. Smells better on you anyway.

Nora: Don’t get cocky, Sheridan. You still have a macroeconomics quiz on Thursday. Study Room 4C tomorrow at four. Don’t think you’re getting out of tutoring just because you’re good with your hands.

Three dots appeared, disappeared, and reappeared almost instantly.

Knox: Good with my hands? Glad you noticed, Bennett.

Knox: Tomorrow at four. Just try to focus on supply and demand curves instead of staring at my mouth. Because we both know what happens Friday night after the Boston game.

My breath hitched, a hot bloom of red rushing up my neck.

Knox: Wear my hoodie to the library tomorrow. See you at four, Bookworm.

I stared down at the glowing screen, my heart beating frantically.

Tomorrow at four. Being alone with him in that small study room with the frosted glass door, knowing exactly what his hands could do to me, was going to be sweet torture.

"What is he saying?" Priya asked with a sly grin, leaning over the table to peek at my screen.

I quickly locked the phone and slid it into my pocket, though the smile on my lips was impossible to hide.

"Nothing," I said softly, picking up my iced latte. "Just reminding me who’s tutoring who tomorrow."