Thorne inserts himself between Konstantin and me. His chest heaves from running back to us.
My mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. “Thorne!”
“Hold on.” Konstantin holds up both hands and steps back, looking between us. “I didn’t mean to step on any toes. If she’s your sister–”
Thorne looks disgusted. “Notmysister.”
“What?” Konstantin looks like he needs a map. “Wait–”
“Alex Thorne. Center.Co-captain.” He folds his arms across his chest.
“Ah.” Konstantin rubs his neck. “I see.”
“Can I get a word in?” I ask, annoyed. “I’m more than just somebody’s sister. And I don’t appreciate you two talking like I’m not here.”
Konstantin chuckles. “Sorry. There’s a lot of alpha male energy flowing around here today.”
As if I hadn’t said anything, Thorne grabs my arm and moves backward. “You should go find your agent, and talk to him about the right and wrong way to introduce yourself to your teammates.”
“Thorne!” I protest. This is really getting off to a bad start.
But Thorne drags me away. “Come on.”
“I don’t want to!”
“Stop being a brat!”
I yank my arm out of his hand. “Thorne, I swear to god. If you don’t calm down and quit being a caveman for a second, I’ll scream.”
“Mollie, I–” Thorne’s lips twist. “I need you to wait for me by the exit while I get my skates off.” He pauses and licks his lips, then pins me with his gaze. “Please, Freckles?”
Freckles?The pet name ricochets through me. “O–okay.”
His shoulders soften. “You follow sports news. Surely you’ve heard that he practically got canned in LA for being an asshole. Wait for me. Don’t… don’t hang around and talk to that guy.”
Is he jealous? The idea tickles me. I head to the back door, mulling everything that just happened over. Thorne’s aggression, Konstantin’s… merely existing.
Alex Thorne, in all of his asshole glory, may have just tipped his hand. He puts up these walls and pretends that he doesn’t want me. But that’s not what I saw when he pushed his way in between Konstantin and me.
But if Thorne harbors a secret lust for me, why turn me down when I asked him to take my virginity? It doesn’t make any sense.
Unless…
Unless Thorne actuallylikesme. More than what he told me at the Fourth of July party. He said he would keep kissing me if I weren’t Beck’s sister. But he didn’t go so far as to say that he had feelings for me.
What if… what if he has a crush on me,like LIKESme. Was he offended that I said I picked him because he’s slept with a ton of girls? I didn’t tell him the full truth, which is that I also chose him because he makes me swoon.
This might change everything.
Or… I might be misreading the situation. It’s impossible to know.
When Thorne returns, hair shoved out of his face and bag slung over his shoulder, his expression is carefully blank. The guy that gripped my hand and called me Freckles is carefully tucked away.
“Ready?”
“Yup.” I follow him out to the parking lot. He makes a point of opening my door first and holding it for me. What is he up to?
Trying to figure out whether he likes me or is just being extra is tiring. Blowing out a breath, I realize that I have to make the first move.
