I shot him a glare. "I can answer for myself," I said.
"Yeah, she can," Elle said.
"Yeah," Hudson echoed then laughed when Tolliver smacked him in the stomach.
As Tolliver's eyes caught mine in the rearview mirror, he asked, "Do you really want to go?"
"Will you be playing?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Then I'll be there."
Tolliver's brows furrowed. "Okay then."
"Let's hope you're better at hockey than at basketball," I said which made everyone laugh.
And that was how I got roped into my first hockey game. Scrimmage. Whatever.
Tolliver's eyes were crinkling at the corners, his lips tipped up, so I couldn't regret it.
CHAPTER EIGHT
My plan to sit alone in the back, remain in the shadows, and possibly even slip out early, went up in flames as soon as I walked inside.
Eli spotted me right away and started waving.
"Freya! Hey, Freya, I saved you a seat," he yelled.
Eli was, of course, directly behind one of the team benches. Several players turned around, no doubt to see what caused all the commotion. They were closer to my age. Elle wore her hockey gear, minus her helmet and gloves, and sat in the other seat next to Eli. Her head was buried in the book in front of her, looking up only to take notes. Shoulders back, I walked to their row, very aware of the eyes on me, and sat.
"These are the best seats," Eli told me.
I nodded. "Seems like it."
"Hudson and Tolliver are out there warming up. You got here just in time. It'll start soon."
I jerked my chin again, and Elle glanced up at me.
"On a scale of one to 10," she said, "how embarrassed are you right now?"
"Why would I be embarrassed?" I asked.
"Uh, because thanks to my brother's super enthusiastic welcome, half the camp is staring at you."
I didn't glance around to see if she was right.
I could feel all those eyes.
Eli frowned. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I just didn't want you to have to sit by yourself."
I didn't tell him that was exactly what I'd been hoping for.
"No worries," I said. "I don't care what people think, and I can be loud too."
The latter had been a point of contention with my former boyfriend. But Eli gave me a grin so big it nearly melted my heart.
"Really?" he said.
