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“I’ll stay right here until you get here.”
“Where exactly are you?’” was the last I heard before I lost grip of my cell and it fell somewhere on the kitchen floor.
A loud whistle pulled my focus from it, and I quickly forgot about my search.
“Well, well, if it isn’t my new girlfriend,” a familiar voice quipped.
I blinked up at the newcomer. “It’s you – the blond football player, Isabelle’s cousin,” I slurred.
Warner grinned and wrapped an arm around my back. “It sure is. Come on, let’s get you another drink.”
Beckett
Practice was brutal.Recovering from addiction had put me in a strange place of experiencing things that used to be normal as if they were new. We ran stick handling and shooting drills, then exhausted ourselves with sprints. We clashed until my sides ached. I enjoyed it more than I should. There was something liberating about pain. I embraced it like I did all my other self-destructive tendencies.
I was getting fitter and stronger. I could feel my body coming back to life, my muscles returning to full strength. I’d been putting myself at a disadvantage, I could see it now, and it had nearly cost me everything I’d cared about: Getting out of my father’s shadow and joining the NHL. For the first time since the summer, and the major U-turn my life had made, I didn’t miss being able to take a pill and drown out the world for a few hours.
I had a new addiction to fill that void and she was starting to creep into every space in my head.
I didn’t want to go back to the room after practice. I needed a little more time. Last night had been another first of mine. Sleeping beside someone. After the dream about my mother,and the terrible loneliness and loss I’d felt when I woke, Eve’s reassuring presence had done something inside me. Filled a hole. Plastered over a crack. She had run her hands through my hair and held me tightly, and I’d stopped being the lonely boy, for just a night. I’d just been me. I’d woken up with her sprawled across me, our positions having shifted in the night, her scent all around me, soft skin against mine.
It had been the most peaceful morning I’d ever had.
I didn’t know what the fuck to make of that, so I was avoiding her, like a pussy.
Next, I headed to the gym. I liked to lift weights when I wasn’t at practice. I liked the solitude and the quiet of the gym on a weekend night, when everyone else had better things to do with their free time.
My ribs ached from the beating I’d endured on the ice. I was weak. The summer had left me that way. No, not just the summer. For years, I’d indulged in chemical calm and let weakness creep into my body. I’d been a coward; I saw that now. I’d hidden away, and now that wasted time could cost me when it came to serious games. I needed to build my strength back up, and there was no way to do it but through sheer sweat and effort.
I planned to reward myself for my hard work after by going downtown and seeing if there was a race or two to join. I’d never gone so long without the thrill of racing at Sammy’s little setup.
“We meet again.” Cayden was heading out of the locker room at the same time as me.
“I thought Coach went hard enough on us today to satisfy even you,” I pointed out. No one was as hardcore as Cayden.
“And yet, you’re here, too,” he said. “I was just trying to fit it in before the party.”
We walked outside into the cool night air.
“What party?”
“Some rager for freshmen over at one of the frats.”
“That doesn’t sound like your style at all, man.”
Cayden nodded ruefully. “Where Freckles goes, so do I.”
“I see. Let me guess – Eve convinced Lily to go to some trashy party, and now you’ve got to go, too. Which frat?”
“I think it was the Omega Psi Zeta house. I’m heading over there in a bit. Eve passed the first round of cheerleading tryouts, so they’re celebrating.”
Was that right? Eve thought I was going to let her make the cheerleading squad and risk her getting a jackass boyfriend? It was Asher’s worst nightmare. She had no idea the things the football players said about the cheerleaders. That wasn’t happening for Eve. I wouldn’t allow it.
Silly Cinderella. It still isn’t time to go to the ball.All thoughts of going racing tonight vanished without a trace.
I followed Cayden down the stairs leading from the gym. “Really? I’ll come with you. Might as well check out a frat party once, right?”
I made it a personal rule to never frequent Greek Row. I had zero interest in sorority girls or frat parties. Truthfully, I couldhave easily passed through my entire college experience without having to endure one. What Cayden thought about my sudden enthusiasm to go to the party, I had no idea. He raised an eyebrow at me, saying a lot, without saying anything.
