Page 105 of That Pucking New Girl

“Did you notice how odd Twinkles was acting when she skated?” Draven asks under his breath, pulling off his helmet as he skates beside me toward the back hallway to get to the locker room.

It sure as hell is a lot easier to skate than walk.

“She kept pressing her hand to her stomach,” Alastair adds, coming up beside us. “You saw her, Ci. Is she sick?”

I guess I wasn’t that sneaky.

“She seemed fine,” I admit. “Something weird is going on with her.”

“So now we give a shit?” Draven scoffs.

“Now we’re fucked,” I mutter. “It’s not my fault she’s infuriating.”

“Amen,” he grunts, shaking his head.

“Ciaran!” Coach yells, getting my attention. Sliding on my skate guards, I hustle over to him as everyone else shuffles on to shower and change.

“Yes, Coach?” I ask. Draven told Alastair and I that he accepted a place with a team in Colorado. I’m proud of him. He deserves this. I’m also hungry to get the fuck out of here. Two things can be true, even with my twinge of jealousy wrapping around me.

“The University of Denver’s coach has his eye on you,” Coach says, watching as shock floods my system.

I didn’t even think to apply there. Shit, should I have?

“He’d like to sit down with you tomorrow. I’ll make the call, meet me in my office and we’ll get it done,” he continues.

“Yes. Wow,” I murmur.

“I know how close you are with A and D,” he says, not bothering to use their entire names when we’re this close to the locker rooms. “If we can make sure you’re within spitting distance, we will, son. College hockey sound good to you?”

“Yes, sir,” I say eagerly.

I’d like to get in a couple of years in college before even thinking about going pro. I’m happy just to find freedom and a backup plan in case hockey doesn’t work out. There’s a lot of money to be found in ethical hacking. It’s why I’ve continued to hone my skills.

If there’s anything I’ve learned while at Chesterfield, it’s that there’s freedom in having money. It’s not perfect, but it’ll get me the fuck out of Santa Barbara.

Damn, I think I’m speechless.

“It’s finally happening.”

“I knew it would,” Coach says smugly. “Tomorrow, Ci. Nine in the morning before practice.”

“Yes, sir,” I say again. “Thank you so much. I think I’m in shock.”

“I’m not. When you’re stirring shit up with intention, watching the rewards fall from the sky is a thing of beauty,” he says. “Go wash up.”

Dazed with the news, I walk into the locker room to find my teammates staring curiously at me. My eyes are on Draven as I pull off my helmet and break into a grin.

“Where?” he hisses, stripping out of his gear.

“The University of Denver wants to talk tomorrow,” I say.

Alastair slaps me on the back beside me and the three of us can’t stop laughing. He has two universities looking at him, but none of them have offered him enough to help him choose.

“So fucking proud of you,” he says. “We should celebrate with burgers.”

“Damn, that sounds good,” I groan, beginning to pull off my clothes to shower.

“It does. This deserves it,” Draven says, walking naked into the showers. Fuck, he’s got a great ass. I’m so glad we won’t be far from each other once we graduate.