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“That’s Leilani. Ignore her. She’s pissed at me because I made her come to the game. But who wants to come on their own, right?” Her cheery voice falters, her lips opening for a second as she stutters, “I-I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with coming on your own, of course. Like, you’re not a loser or anything.”
“I know.” I grin at her, trying not to laugh at how flustered she’s getting or how pink her cheeks are turning right now.
“Maybe you should just stop talking, Caroline,” her friend mutters dryly. “You know, it’s this thing you do where you close your mouth and don’t let the words come out.”
Caroline nudges her friend with an abashed grin before focusing on the players.
The Cougars have just skated onto the ice. The crowd was deafening, and I’m very aware that I am currently surrounded by passionate hockey fiends.
“That’s Liam Carlisle.” Caroline points, leaning into me like I’m her friend and I want to know all this stuff. “He’s one of the strongest defensemen on this team. And that’s Asher Bensen. He’s on the wing along with… Casey Pierce!” Her voice hitches and she practically swoons against me, rattling off stats about the guy I saw shirtless on Sunday.
Oh man, what if I told her? She’d probably have a conniption.
I decide not to say anything, keeping my eyes on Ethan as soon as she points him out to me. He glides around the ice, looking in control and totally focused. It’s kind of—100 percent—sexy and impressive how good he is. Damn, he’s fast.
According to Caroline, who seems to be a walking Wikipedia page when it comes to this game, Ethan Galloway plays center and is one of the most dynamic players Nolan U has ever seen.
Pride punches through me, and I start watching the game with interest. Caroline must have some kind of sixth sense that I don’t know much about hockey because she’s firing out rules and teaching me as we go.
I nearly tell her she should be a hockey commentator, but I don’t get a chance because the Cougars slap the puck into the goal, and the crowd is on their feet and jumping with wild shouts.
I join them, bolstered by the energy in this place. It’s hard not to get into it.
We sit back down, and Caroline continues her jabbering while I get fully absorbed in the game. My eyes start to home in on that puck, and I follow it across the ice, my body jerking along with the players when they capture it or slap it toward the goal or pass it off with a little flick.
This is awesome!
It’s a much-needed relief after the week I’ve had in the sorority house. The grief Aimee and Fiona gave me over the Damien debacle has been a nightmare. Apparently, he stopped by the house on Sunday and had this massive rant. Thank God I wasn’t there.
But I still paid a price when I eventually got home. Talk about being chewed out. It was worse than a lecture from my mother. I then got put on cleaning detail. I mean, seriously, what is up with that? It’s like everyone in my life knows the worst way to punish me is to make me clean shit. And not just clean; I had to make the house sparkle. One little screwup and I’m freaking Cinderella.
I have assured them that, yes, I may have gotten too drunk to follow through on Saturday, but I wasn’t done yet. What I really wanted to say was “Everyone can just fuck off because I amnotdoing this anymore.” But I chickened out when I thought about Aimee calling to complain to her dad about me and my funding getting instantly cut.
Instead, I managed to squeeze in the fact that Damien was way too handsy for his own good, which scored me sympathy and concern from a few sisters, but coldhearted Fiona didn’t seem to give a shit. I lost them money, and she’s not gonna let me forget it.
Thankfully, I managed to argue my way out of it by pointing out that Ethan protected me and nursed me through my hangover, which means he obviously likes me. It was like pulling burning knives out of my throat to admit that, because the idea of hurting him is killing me.
I seriously can’t go through with this, but I’m still not sure how to get out of it.
“You had your perfect moment, and you screwed it up,” Aimee spat at me. “We’re not giving you any more chances. You finish this, Mikayla… or you’re out.”
And so I dragged my butt to this game, telling myself it was under duress. But now that I’m here, I can stop lying to myself. Without the watchful gaze of the Sig Be sisters, I can pretend that I’m just some girl who wants to learn about hockey and watch the guy she’s crushing on play a decent game.
I hiss when he’s smashed against the dasher boards, then cheer when he gets his own back a few minutes later. I roar when he sets up a beautiful pass that results in a sweet goal, and I jump to my feet and start screaming when he ends the second period with a sweet flick into the net.
“Yes!”
Caroline and I jump beside each other like we’re pals with years’ worth of history.
“I love this game!” I shout at her.
She laughs, throwing her head back. “It’s the best!”
CHAPTER30
ETHAN
I raise my arms, skating in a circle and crashing into Casey, who’s coming over to congratulate me. It’s a pretty sweet moment and only made better when I spot Mikayla in the stands.
