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But moving to Lakeshore was a big deal for me. Bigger than Austin would ever know.
It was my fresh start. A chance to leave the past behind. To find myself again.
The rumble of male laughter drifted into the room, and a trickle of unease went through me. But I forced myself to take a deep breath. They were Austin’s friends. His teammates. Even if my track record with hockey players wasn’t good, I could handle the likes of Noah Holden and Connor Morgan.
What other choice did I have?
Slipping into the bathroom, I cleaned up the best I could before changing into a clean t-shirt; this one had get lit printed across my chest with a stack of books underneath. Then I pulled my hair into a messy high ponytail and checked my reflection. My gaze instantly went to my chest, following the exaggerated curves of my body. But I didn’t linger, I couldn’t, or I’d never muster up the courage to go downstairs and meet them.
Blood roared in my ears as I left the guest room, my heart pounding inside my chest like a drum. I could hear them distinctly now. The deep timbre of one of Austin’s friends and the gravelly laughter of another.
Breathe, Aurora. Just. Breathe.
They were Austin’s friends—his best friends. His teammates and housemates. And Austin was my family.
Everything was going to be fine.
Except when I hit the bottom step of the first floor, their conversation stopped, and three pairs of eyes all landed on me.
“Hi.” I lifted my hand in a small, awkward wave. “I’m Aurora.”
“Connor,” the taller of the two said with a genuine smile. “We met when you visited last year. And this asshole is Noah.” He thumbed to the other guy.
“Hey.” Noah gave me a cursory glance that made me bristle.
So much for not having to worry.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I added, trying to lighten the sudden tension.
“Did they give you a date for your apartment yet?”
Wow, okay.
My cheeks flamed. I’d known coming to stay with Austin was pretty last minute, but he’d said the guys were good with it.
“Holden, dude. Not cool.” Austin shot him a scathing look.
“Shit, I didn’t mean… Sorry, Aurora, that sounded worse than it was. I just meant—”
“Seriously, bro, quit while you’re ahead,” Connor chuckled, laughing off the awkwardness of the situation. “Don’t pay Holden here any attention, Aurora. He’s a sure thing on the ice but seriously lacking in the brains department.”
“Fuck you, man. I aced freshman year.”
“You barely scraped by.”
Noah flipped him off, and Connor grabbed him in a headlock, the two of them falling onto the couch as they fought.
“Are they always like this?” I asked, chewing the end of my thumb.
“Don’t mind them,” Austin said. “Hey, you hungry? We could head to The Penalty Box. They do the best chili dogs in town.”
“Did somebody say chili dogs?” Connor released Noah, giving him a playful shove.
“Figured we could introduce Aurora to the rest of the team, and it beats ordering in.”
“I could cook,” I offered.
“You’d actually have to have food in the house to do that. We tend to live on more of a liquid and takeout diet.”
