𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐣. 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬

𝟖 | 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤

It's been a few days since I slept over at Charlotte's house after my little surprise visit. Yesterday I went in for my usual check-up with the team trainers and they finally cleared me to play after two weeks of not being on the ice. I can't contain my excitement as Luke and I head to practice for a game tonight, at home, against the Ranger. Luke knows how much of a hatred I have for that team and I wanted to make sure I wouldn't miss this game so it's a miracle I'm good to go.

"So, Jack, you never told me how it went with Charlotte keeping you company when I was gone." I take my eyes off the road for a quick second to look over at Luke. Ever since the night I slept over at Charlotte's, I've been avoiding telling Quinn and Luke about it since they'll start teasing me and assume something happened when nothing did.

"It was great honestly. We talked about hanging out again before the injury so this was the perfect time to do that. Most of our time together was spent watching movies and shows. I surprised her at her house one day since I didn't want her to make the drive to me for once." I could feel Luke looking intently at me hearing every word I said.

"So you're telling me all you guys did was talk and watch TV together and that's it. There has to be something that you're not telling me Rowdy, what is it?" There's just no way in hell he knows about me sleeping over at Charlotte's, on her couch, just a few feet away from her. Nothing I've even said suggests that I haven't told him, what he should believe, to be the truth. I attempt to put my best poker face on, but it's all for nothing since I fail miserably.

"Nice try with the failed poker face buddy, but tell me what it is that you're hiding," Luke smirks my way knowing that I'll probably break any second now.

"Fine, I'll tell you. When I surprised Charlotte at her house, I spent the night after she told me to stay as she was falling asleep. After she filmed a video, we were in her living room watching movies and having silly debates when she fell asleep. After I put a blanket on her, she wanted me to sleep over since I was just as tired as she was." There's an excitement that radiates off of Luke and he looks like he is gonna jump out of the car.

"No way! Jack, were you ever even planning on telling me that detail, or were you just gonna keep it to yourself?" The disbelief was enough to make me look over at him again while we were at a red light, watching him take his phone out. "You better bet your ass I'm gonna tell Quinn." His fingers start rapidly typing desperate to fill Quinn in on this new information.

"Oh, you better not. This is why I didn't wanna tell you guys. It'll spiral into teasing me for God knows how long and somehow it'll eventually get to mom and I'll never hear the end of it." Sending Luke a quick pleading look begging him not to tell Quinn, I turn my head to look back at the road right when the light turns green.

"Too bad I just sent the text to Quinn. Good luck with all the spam texts you'll get from Quinn and Mom for the next few hours." He shoots me a mischievous smirk, his eyes going back to look down at his phone.

"I hope you're ready to walk your ass back home later." Luke only laughs knowing I don't mean what I said.

After practice

Once Luke and I make it home I scramble to put together my thank-you gift for Charlotte. The day right after I visited Lotte, I worked hard to look for the perfect present to thank her for keeping me company when she didn't have to. My research led me to the idea of putting together a book bouquet, something that's beyond perfect for Lotte. With the help of Charlotte's best friend, Emilie, I was able to find out Lotte's favorite genre and get a few suggestions of ones she might love.

*Flashback*

At the bookstore, a sweet old lady managed to help me find four books that Emilie had suggested to me. The old lady was more than happy to help when I told her my little gift idea for Charlotte. "She's one lucky girl. Usually, young men your age don't come in here with such sweet ideas for their girlfriends." The simple thought of Charlotte being my girlfriend brought heat to my cheeks.