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Or that I can’t get enough of the cute way her nose scrunches when she’s concentrating on something.
Or how my days suddenly don’t feel so shitty whenever she’s near.
Yeah.
Like I said.
I get stupid.
“Do you mind me asking what got you into hockey in the first place?” she asks after I’ve swung my bat, not wanting to pull my focus away from the task ahead.
“Got into some trouble in high school, and the hockey coach there thought I’d benefit from playing on a team.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“I… um… beat up some kid,” I stammer, unable to hide my shame. “I’m not proud of it. But it is what it is. Guess the coach thought that if I was going to bust heads anyway, might as well do it for my teammates.”
“Is that normal for you? I mean… getting into fights?”
Again, I nod.
“Seems to be a recurring theme with me, huh?” I retort and immediately groan for being so goddamn critical of myself, knowing that Lottie doesn’t like it.
“Can I ask why?”
“What do you mean why?”
“Why do you feel the need to resolve your issues by fighting?”
There’s no judgment in her tone, just genuine interest in trying to understand me. But if I were to go into detail about why I am who I am today, we’ll be here all night.
“You sound like my shrink,” I play off, hoping a little humor is enough for her to move away from such a minefield topic.
“And how are your therapy sessions going?”
“You want the truth?” I ask, swinging my bat so it smacks right at the center of the ball.
“Always.” She smiles sweetly.
And how is a guy supposed to say no to that?
“Not too good. I spend most of the time staring at the wall.”
“Oh, Nate.” She frowns in disappointment. “How are you going to work on your anger issues if you continue to do that?”
“Beats the alternative.” I shrug.
“The alternative being—”
“To actually have to pour my guts out to a total stranger,” I admit shyly.
She stares at me in that adoring fashion of hers again, making me almost miss the ball that flings right at my head.
Fuck, that was close.
“Then how about you practice on me?” she suggests after I manage another hit.
“I thought that’s what we were already doing.”
