"Translation," I said, lowering my arm with the flowers, watching Tolliver's smile fall with them, "you hung out with yourhockey buddies all day and finally remembered to come check on the girl whose dreams you crushed. You felt guilty, so you got these flowers that will probably wither as soon as you’re gone. How sweet of you."
"No, I—" Tolliver stepped forward, running a hand along his neck. "Sorry, bad joke."
"Terrible joke."
"Sometimes I say stupid things when I’m nervous."
Me too, I thought.
But what I said was, "Only sometimes?"
He nodded. "Okay, I deserved that."
"And why would you be nervous?" I muttered.
Looking up at me from beneath his lashes with an earnest expression, Tolliver said, "I always am around you."
I scoffed, but Tolliver didn't laugh.
After a beat, he shrugged.
"The truth is, I really am glad to see you. And I thought you'd like the flowers."
"I do," I admitted.
He beamed.
"Why are you smiling like that?"
"I don't know," he said still shining like a beacon in the night. "Coach tells me I bounce back quick after a hit. It's one of my strengths as a player."
"Good to know."
"Yeah, but I think I'm just happy."
"Why?"
He shrugged again. "Because I'm with you."
Jeez, this guy had heartbreaker written all over him.
Must tread carefully.
"Okay well, you can see that I'm fine despite your best efforts," I said. "Thanks for coming."
"Would've been here sooner, but my younger brother Hudson took the car this afternoon—even though he knew I needed it," he mumbled.
That peaked my interest. "You share a car with your brother?"
"Yeah, he went to see a girl and didn’t get back until right before I had to take him and my other siblings to practice."
"Convenient."
"And annoying," Tolliver added. "He's 16 but thinks he's 21. The kid won't listen. He does whatever he wants—like stealing the car keys while I'm helping my sister with her homework—flirts with anything that moves, thinks he's invincible on the ice."
I smiled a little at that. "Sounds like a cool kid."
"He's okay."
