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“You should go.”
He shook his head. “I really don’t want to leave you alone right now. Not after all the shit that’s gone down tonight.”
“Paxton, he’s an NHL coach who wants to discuss your future career. You should really go. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll stay with her. I promise,” Tate added. “Seriously, man, you should go. It sounds important.”
Paxton’s lips twisted as he considered it. “How about this?” he finally said. “I’ll go and meet the guy for a few minutes, and while I’m doing that, you can go back to your dorm and pack up some of your stuff. Then you can go to my apartment and wait for me. You’ll be safe there.”
“Sounds good to me.”
He fished around in his pocket. “Here. This is my spare,” he said, handing me a key. His eyes flicked over to Tate, and he steeled his jaw. “Look, man. You have to promise me you’ll watch out for Sienna while I’m gone. Michaela lives in the same residence hall, so there’s a chance you guys might bump into her tonight.”
Tate nodded. “If we do, I’ll make sure nothing happens.”
Paxton turned his attention back to me and leaned down to pull me into a tight hug. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he murmured. “I can still say no to this thing with the coach.”
“No, you can’t. It’s your future we’re talking about here,” I said, drawing back to look into his eyes. “You should really go.”
“You’re my future.” His gaze was filled with an intense longing. “You’re absolutely sure you want me to go?”
“Yes. Tate and I will be fine.”
He kissed me goodbye, long and deep. Then he stood and watched as Tate and I headed back to his car. Even when my back was turned, I could still feel his adoring gaze on me. It warmed me from the inside out, leaving my skin flushed despite the cold night air.
Fifteen minutes later, Tate and I arrived at the Whittaker parking lot. His phone vibrated on the center console as he pulled into a bay, and he let out a groan as he glanced at it. “Fuck. It’s Michaela.”
I leaned over and looked at the text.
Ugh. Stuck in the library working on this dumb assignment. Probably going to have to pull an all-nighter. What are you up to?
“I won’t reply. If she complains later, I’ll just say I was sleeping or something,” Tate said.
I shook my head. “No, you have to act normal, remember? Like you’re still best friends. What would a best friend say in this situation?”
“Hmm.” He sighed and tapped out a quick response. “How’s this? Friendly enough?”
I scanned the draft message. Damn, that sucks. I just got back from a hockey fundraiser thing. Tired as fuck. Need some company in the library?
I nodded. “That’s good. She won’t say yes to your offer, because you mentioned how tired you are.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured. And even if she does say yes, I can just make up an excuse,” Tate said as he hit send.
“Exactly.”
Michaela’s response came through a minute later. Thanks but it’s okay. I probably shouldn’t let myself get distracted. Mostly just wanted to whine about it haha. See you tomorrow for breakfast?
Tate quickly replied. Sure, sounds good.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I leaned down to grab my purse. “This is actually a good thing,” I said. “We know Michaela is at the library right now, so there’s no way we’ll run into her in the dorms.”
“That’s true.” Tate went to open his door, but then he hesitated. “Actually… do you think I should stay out here and keep an eye on the path?”
“To make sure she doesn’t come back while I’m grabbing my stuff, you mean?” I asked, brows puckering.
“Yeah, exactly. I have a direct view from here, so if I see her coming down the path, I can text you and let you know to hurry up in there.”
“Okay, that’s a good idea. I’ll try to be quick anyway.”
