Page 25 of Cheap Shot

Haley: Is Ethan there?

Reid: Yeah, and a few guys from the team.

Haley: I’m not that desperate

I hesitated. I didn’t want him to think I meant that about him.

Haley: Yet

Reid: Good call. I’m not positive they all showered after practice. Our room smells like moldy cups.

I cringed and started telling him that they need to clean more often before his true meaning clicked. Ew. Jockstrap cups.

Haley: That’s disgusting. Now I’m never coming over.

Reid: It’s not normally like this. You’ve seen our room. We’re clean.

I only saw it for a split second. That was a strange, overwhelming interaction. I hadn’t expected any of what happened. It was a weird realization. He wasn’t Reid when I went to their room. He was Ethan’s best friend. Then I recognized him as the guy I kissed and wanted to run away. I’d been too stunned to really pay attention to their room.

A bubble with three dots appeared as he wrote another response.

Reid: If you want to get out, I can leave

Did I want that? My heart screamed yes, but my brain reminded me it was a bad idea. It went against everything I said about coming here. I didn’t want to get involved with Ethan’s group. I wanted to stand on my own. Even though I technically met Reid outside of their hockey world, I couldn’t ignore the fact that he was very much involved.

But after yesterday afternoon, things felt different. Reid saw me as more than just his friend’s little sister. Didn’t he?

Our conversation felt genuine. He opened up to me about personal things. It wasn’t just safe topics like Ethan or the team. Was there a chance of us having a friendship without my brother knowing or including himself?

No. As much as I wanted to lie to myself, I knew Reid and hockey were too intertwined. Asking him to keep from mentioning it around me wasn’t fair. Plus, friends supported each other, but I wouldn’t go to his games or any other hockey events. If I couldn’t accept all of him, how could I ever ask him to do that for me?

There was another major problem with us being friends. Friends weren’t supposed to know how it felt to kiss each other. And our kiss wasn’t something I could forget. It killed me to accept, but that perfect, liberating, out-of-body experience couldn’t happen again.

It was better to let whatever there was between us die out now. No more hanging out alone or confiding in each other. I had to keep him at a distance. Only be around him with Ethan or their teammates around.

Haley: No, that’s okay.

Voices from the hall filtered in. Excited girls talked louder than necessary. I dropped my phone and leaned forward.

“It’s going to be great. I’ve heard they have the best parties,” one girl said.

“You say that every time,” another pointed out.

“Yeah, but this time I heard it from a junior. He said they only have them once every other month, so when they do happen, they’re huge,” the first girl argued.

A group of four or five people walked by. One of them glanced in and offered me a smile as she passed. I smiled back and slid off my bed.

“Whatever. It’s not like anything else is happening tonight,” a third voice complained.

“Let’s get ready and head over in an hour. That should be late enough,” another replied.

I checked my phone. It was already eight? Where had the afternoon gone? Between homework and staring into space I managed to waste several hours.

“Fine, meet out here when you’re ready.”

I heard a door shut so I hurried out, gathering courage with each step. Three of the girls remained in the hall.

“Hey.” I leaned against the doorframe. “I couldn’t help but overhear—”