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MICHAEL

Sixteen years old

“Michael, hey.” Sienna leans against the locker next to mine. “How was Michigan?”

The caramel scent I finally started to get used to while we were working together on a project for English class hits me, and my stomach quivers. Looks like the time away wiped out my tolerance. It’s too sweet, too heavy, and just too much.

Or is it only bothering me because I’m in a shitty mood? Because I’m letting my anger control me?

Sienna and I aren’t dating. She knows it, but she is constantly glued to my side. Ash thinks I should take her out once, break things off after, and be done with it. But that feels wrong. Cheap.

I don’t want to date a girl I feel nothing for.

I grew up surrounded by adults who actually love each other. Like, real love. My parents. Their friends. Everyone in that circle is still obsessed with their spouse, even after decades. Hugs, kisses, all that lovey-dovey stuff, annoying inside jokes—whatever.

Even though I’m not looking for that right now, I know one thing for sure: it can’t be forced. One day, I want to find a girl who really gets me, a girl I can talk to for hours or say nothing to and still feel understood.

With Sienna? None of that exists. Nothing about us feels right.

I already wasted my first kiss on her. I’m not wasting my first relationship too.

“How was your trip? Did you stay with your mom’s parents or with your dad’s?”

I push all thoughts of relationships out of my mind and slam my locker shut. “Erm, the trip was good. We spent time with both sides of our family. We even went to the game, and now I have Ahonen’s jersey, thanks to my dad.”

“Must be nice to have a dad who can open any door like that.” She pushes herself away from the locker. “Let’s walk to class while you tell me more.”

“Um, sure.”

I drag my feet as we move down the hallway. After winter break, almost everyone is in a decent mood. Not that any of us really want to be at school, but it’s nice to see friends, I guess. The energy is contagious, thrumming through my body in a steady rhythm. Within minutes, I’m walking taller, nodding as friends greet me, smiling at the girls who make flirty eyes at me.

But then, I see Turner.

When he closes his locker and notices me, the smile slips from my face.

Jaw clenched, he jerks his head, turns on his heel, and trudges away. Damn. What’s gotten into him? I thought we’d moved past this shit.

That’s another thing I’ll need to think about before practice today. Rather than a cast, I’ve been wearing a black wrist brace. My hand still aches when I flex it, so my grip on the stick feels wrong, almost foreign. But I need to get back on the ice. Thank God the doctor gave me the green light to start skating and practicing light stickhandling.

By science class at the end of the day, I’m buzzing. I can’t wait to leave this place and go home, then to the rink.

“Hey,” I call out to Ash as he enters the classroom. “Do you need a ride home?”

Since my family was out of town, he and I have barely seen each other since before the holidays.

Smirking, he splays his hands across my desk and leans forward. “You really wanna give me a ride home?”

“Yeah, why not?” I shrug. “Figured we can catch up. We didn’t have a chance to talk today.”

“That’s because Sienna has glued herself to your side, and I’m not a fan of third-wheeling.” He glances around. “Where is she, by the way?”

Annoyance flares to life in my veins. “I’m not dating her, and you’re perfectly aware she isn’t in this class.”

The smile he gives me lacks any humor. “Really? It seems like you are. She’s always by your side. And for all I know, she adjusted her schedule so she could be here with you.”

I knock on the desk three times. “Don’t jinx it.”

“You’re weird.” He shakes his head and then slumps into the chair next to mine. “Tell her to get lost.”