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Everything she just admitted churns inside my brain. Even though I’d been so sure I was making the best decision for both of us, now I’m not so sure.
“Do you think I made a mistake?” I ask softly, almost afraid of the answer.
Her hand flutters over mine. “I don’t know. That’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself.”
I release a steady breath until my lungs are completely empty. For the first time since I broke off my relationship with Ryder, I feel like I have clarity. “Thanks, Mom.”
As she pulls me in for another hug, the door in the mudroom bursts open before slamming shut as Dad’s loud voice booms throughout the kitchen.
“I smell stroganoff! My guess is that someone’s looking to get lucky tonight!”
Mom presses her lips together as her shoulders shake with silent mirth.
Just as Dad rounds the corner, he grinds to an abrupt halt when he catches sight of me in Mom’s arms.
“Oh.” He glances from me to Mom and then back again as a dull flush crawls up his cheeks. “Well…this is certainly awkward.”
Unable to contain ourselves any longer, we burst out laughing.
CHAPTER35
RYDER
Itoss my stick into the holder before unsnapping the strap on my helmet and yanking it off my head. My practice jersey is the next to go before I rip off the pads and toss them inside my locker. Even though the past couple of days have sucked major ass, practice has gone better than expected. The talks I had with both Coach and Brody have helped me to find my footing once again. Instead of second guessing every move I make, I try to follow my instincts and play with the confidence I’ve always had on the ice. Once I started doing that, everything else seemed to fall back into place.
Am I still making mistakes?
Yeah.
But not like before. I’m not freezing up and dumping the puck. I’m able to slow the game down in my head, evaluate my choices and make the best decision I can.
It’s a relief.
More surprising than that, Coach actually complimented me. The first time it happened, I nearly stumbled and ate the ice.
And school’s fine. I’m passing all of my classes. I’ve never been an A student. But I have a solid B GPA and I’m good with it.
So, yeah…
I should be flying high.
The problem is that I’m not.
In fact, I’ve never felt lower.
I drop onto the bench to unlace my skates. As I do, someone grinds to a halt in front of me. I don’t have to glance up to know who it is. I’d recognize Maverick’s scuffed-up Bauers anywhere. The guy could afford the best ones money could buy every six months if he wanted.
He doesn’t.
Mav is superstitious. It’s not all that uncommon for a hockey player. He’s been using the same practice jersey since last year, even though we have new ones. If he wears a pair of socks and wins a game, then he’ll keep wearing them until we lose.
And no, they don’t get washed.
It’s gotten to the point where they can sometimes stand up on their own.
Fucking disgusting.
He’s had these particular Bauers since freshman year of college. Thankfully for him, his feet stopped growing senior year of high school or he’d have a real problem on his hands. Brody’s tried telling him that he’s a talented player and it has nothing to do with luck.
