It’s been one week since Joey’s garage, since the shotgun blast, since I thought I’d watch Luke die in front of me.
The scar on his cheek is still angry pink, visible even from here. How does he make scars look so hot? Oh, that’s right, because he got it while saving my life from a mess I pulled him into. I’ve said sorry a million times, but he brushes it off and says I’ll surely get into more, and that’s why I have to keep him around. Not sure it’s really an option, but I’m good with it. Okay, more than good.
He catches me staring as he skates past, tapping his stick against the glass and giving me a wink. My heart does something complicated in my chest, and I smile like a giant goofball.
“You’re spacing out,” Georgia says from behind me. I turn around and lean up against the small wall between us and the seats. I’d saved her one when I got here early so we were close.She’s got her curls down and is wearing a Kingmakers sweater. Does she have lip gloss on? Is that mascara accentuating her already long lashes?
I inwardly smile, knowing damn well that she and Grant aren’t only friends. They may not see it yet, or want to admit it, but my eyes work perfectly fine.
“Game starts in ten.”
“I know.”
I lean up against the wall to stare back out at the ice. I can’t look away from Luke. I’m sure it’s part love and part the lingering fear that I could have lost him.
Grant is out there too, taking shots on the backup goalie. Then Luke and Grant start passing the puck back and forth as casually as breathing. I smile, kind of loving this bromance growing. It’s good for Luke. We all need a best friend in life. They are no longer just teammates. What happened in that garage stitched them together. Not that I think those two will ever have that chat.
The stands are quickly filling up, the student section already loud. There was supposed to be a memorial planned before the game for Coach Murphy, but that was nixed when they found out she’d been sleeping with students. Emily hadn’t been the first.
Luke skates over to the boards, pulls his helmet off, and leans close enough that I can smell the mint on his breath. “You look good in that skirt.”
“Focus on the game, Locke.” The man is obsessed with my legs, but I don’t have much room to talk. Locke has thighs that make me think all kinds of dirty shit.
“Can’t.” His eyes drop to my mouth, then back up. “You think about my idea.”
“Luke!” I laugh. “No, because I already told you. We finish the year out where we currently are.” His expression turns into apout like I kicked his puppy, but I’m going to kick him here in a second.
He wants us to move into the dean’s house together. That’s just all kinds of complicated. Besides, it’s not like we don’t end up sleeping in the same bed every other night. Plus, as much as I love Luke, Georgia and I had already planned this. Luke is just going to have to wait his turn to live with me.
He even tried to be underhanded and asked, “But what if you’re pregnant?” I could have fallen over. That’s when I filled him in on my birth control I’ve been taking for years to offset cramps. He appeared highly offended by this, which only made me laugh harder. He’s definitely crazy, but it’s part of his charm.
“Just play. We’ll talk after.”
“Oh.” He perks up. “So it’s still open for debate.” I roll my eyes at him.
The game starts fast. The first period is all speed and noise, bodies crashing into boards, the ref’s whistle shrieking every thirty seconds.
Grant scores first, a slapshot from the blue line that rings off the post and in. The arena erupts. Georgia and I are jumping up and down, cheering. I have never seen her cheer in my life.
Between periods, I hit the ice. Luke is on the bench, chugging water while watching me. I spot Bennett in the tunnel watching. I see him and Luke exchange a look. Two men trying to figure out how to be family without the poison their father injected. I have no doubt they will get it sorted out. Especially with a little extra shove here and there by me and my sister.
The second period is starting, and I need to be off the ice, but I take the time to watch Luke hop the boards and glide into position. Why is that always so hot?
The game gets rough in the second. The other team’s enforcer targets Luke with a hit from behind, but Luke doesn’t lose his footing. I’m halfway over the boards before I catchmyself. Kory stops me in time, laughing. She’s taken over the captain spot for now.
Luke shakes it off and skates to center ice and wins the face-off clean. Which I already knew he would.
By the third period, Kingmakers is up by four. The crowd chants Luke’s name every time he touches the puck. The game goes by in a flash; it’s almost coming to an end. I turn to ask Georgia a question but pause when I catch sight of Lana standing by the concession stand.
She’s watching me. After everything that went down, she’s been a little MIA. I can’t even blame her. When they dug into Murphy after Emily told them everything, they quickly found that Lana was one of her victims too.
“Stay here,” I tell Georgia.
“Madeline—”
“I’ll be back.”
After all that has happened, maybe she and I can have a truce of some kind. I always want to see the best in people, and maybe Lana had a fucked-up childhood and the world’s worst mother, and that’s why she’s often a giant cunt.
