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Then a cruel, faintly devious grin drifted over his full mouth. He leaned in and spoke in my ear. “Nothing that you don’t secretly want. Stop running away. It only makes me want to chase you.”
His face pressed against my cheek for a second, his skin hot. He smelled so good, a scent that was uniquely Cayden.
“Lily?” Eve’s voice doused us with a cold splash of reality.
The noise from the cafeteria filtered back in, and I stumbled back to find that we were, once again, the center of attention.
“Let’s go,” I repeated my earlier words to Eve and grabbed her hand, shouldering my bag and hurrying away.
Eve mumbled some apology to Cayden and snatched the gift he’d given me off the table as we went.
I didn’t stop or let go of her hand until we were several halls away from the cafeteria.
“What the hell was going on in there? If something happened with him, you’d tell me, right?”
“Of course.” I felt guilty as soon as I said it. How could I tell Eve what’d happened between us without confessing the depraved little dreams I’d journaled about? What would my best friend think of me if she knew that I had such dark and shameful fantasies?
“Here, you left this on the table,” she said and passed me the gift. “I wonder what it is.”
“I know what it is,” I muttered as I ripped open the paper. The new journal was beautifully illustrated and had a smooth, embossed cover. Botanical sketches covered it, greens and golds, and on a few of the leaves, little red ladybugs sat. I cracked it open and noticed a scrawl of dark ink on the front page.
You show me yours, and I’ll show you mine – C
“What a random present. Is it a journal?” Eve wondered.
I shook my head before I spoke. “No.” I clutched the book tightly, my fingernails sinking into the leather. “It’s a threat.”
Cayden
Coach prowled the locker room.I could feel his intensity radiating across the space. This was it. First game of the season. I meant to start like we would go on. I caught the other Ice Gods’ eyes. This was our team, our night, and our victory. This year, we’d go all the way. I wouldn’t settle for anything less. The team we were playing shouldn’t be a problem, but we had yet to test our teamwork against others.
He gave us a pep talk that I barely heard. Inside my head, I could already hear the roar of the crowd, the swish of my skates on the ice, and the sound that the biscuit made as it hit the net. It was chaotic. I followed the team out of the locker room, toward the rink. The colors of the Hellions were black and purple. The opposing team was green and blue. The rink was split evenly in half. We hit the ice and started to warm up.
My eyes searched the crowd for Lily. She was sitting with her mom, just behind where Coach was standing. Perfect seating. When her eyes collided with mine, she jerked as if I’d physically touched her. Good. I wanted her to feel my presence. I wanted to crawl inside her head, like she’d crawled inside mine.
I watched her as I skated, stretching my legs and warming the muscles. If her eyes left mine, they quickly returned. I held her gaze. I wanted her eyes on me this entire game. I’d play even better if I knew she was watching.
We took our positions for the start. I looked away and at the opposing team for the first time. Tonight, we were going to win, and we weren’t going to stop winning until this season was over. Tonight, I was going to get everything I wanted, and if I didn’t get it, I was going to take it.
The buzzer sounded, and I smiled.
* * *
“Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!” Coach’s shout rattled the windows of the locker room after the game.
It had been a swift victory in the end. The Pucks hadn’t been able to keep up with the Hellions by the first intermission. We’d destroyed them, and this was only the beginning. The team was in high spirits as they stripped off their jerseys and padding. I hung back, like always, waiting to get the showers to myself.
“If you guys keep this up, Nationals are ours. I’m damn proud of you, and hell, I’m damn proud of myself!”
The players clapped as Coach laughed.
“Now, I know you’re all going to party. I don’t care. Just don’t get so messed up that practice on Monday is a bust. Happy birthday to Cayden—what a great way to celebrate turning eighteen!”
The cheering was thunderous at that. I felt oddly humbled by it. My birthdays usually consisted of getting shitfaced with Uncle Jack and avoiding the hookers he tried to press on me to “celebrate” with. Having friends, ones who actually wished you well, was a foreign concept to me.
Marcus caught my eye and headed toward Coach. I‘d asked him for a favor, and he seemed certain he could deliver. Initially, I’d been fine with letting Freckles hide at home during parties, but not anymore. If I had to be there, so did she. She was the only interesting person in Hade Harbor. She was the only interesting person anywhere, and I wanted her close. Tangling with Lily was the highlight of my life, and I was already addicted. It was too late for me.
“Coach, you know that Selena and Beckett are throwing a little party for Cayden and Lily tonight, right?”
