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Then let’s make it a date
I do a double take. Another. I get closer to the screen. The word date is still firmly on it.
Tinker Bell wants to make a date out of this. With me. In three days. I’m getting the birthday gift I wanted.
I jump to my feet and hug Brett.
“What the?—”
“Heck yeah.” I push him away, but I grin like a fool. “It’s a date. I have a date.”
CHAPTER 22
LUZ
Ihave a date with Max Cassiano tonight.
I have a freaking date. With the captain of the men’s hockey team. Who is supposed to be my enemy. Because his team is full of turds on skates. Except for him. He’s…
Like a dream.
“Hey, Cap. Snap out of it.”
I shake my head hard. Somehow, while standing in line to run skating drills, I’ve circled back to the thought that’s been doing a whole routine in my head all day. There’s only one girl in front of me waiting her turn. If not for JT’s voice behind me, I’d have embarrassed myself here. Coach Young blows the whistle, and the girl before me takes off.
“Thanks. You saved my behind,” I say over my shoulder.
“What’s got your panties in a twist?” The question comes from Chelsea, two spots down the line.
“Uhh…”
But I can’t tell them. Their wide eyes, eager for gossip, would turn thunderous the second they found out who I’m crushing on.
Saved by the whistle. Except I still make a late start. Unwilling to be reprimanded by Coach, I push with all the power my legs have. Which is significant. I’m the best skater on the team for good reason. I weave in and out through the cones, using edge work that deserves a medal. My back pinches and pulls. I might need to up my usual medication dose if I don’t want to wince every five seconds during the date.
I almost crash against the boards when I round the ice behind the net. Not because of all the speed I pulled, but because I thought of the D-word again. That’s gonna be the second ding from Coach, so I better get it together for the last drill. I shoot the puck I’ve been carrying throughout the drill and bag it in the net, a perfect wraparound.
“Damn.” JT shakes her head at me as I return to the line, but then the whistle echoes around the arena, and it’s her turn.
I get high fives as I skate to the back of the line. The coach might give us all the minutia of where we suck, but we Strikes like to encourage each other. There’s a little pang in my chest. I wish they could encourage me to date the guy I like, but…
After a few more seconds, JT slides down the line to get her high fives and get behind me.
“What’s your secret?”
My heart stops. “Huh?”
“To skate like that.” She nudges me. “And I hope this isn’t offensive, but, like, someone with a big scar like yours probably went through some shit, and look at you.”
Well, if my chest could swell any larger, I’d turn into a blowfish. This is much better than what I thought she meant by secret.
“It’s because all she does is skate, skate, skate.” Chelsea joins us again, and we smack her glove with ours. “Every time I try to sneak in some late practice, she’s already here tearing up the ice.”
I shrug. “Skating’s my biggest joy, especially after what gave me the big scar, as JT put it.”
“Oh, I wanna hear that story.”
“Me too.” Chelsea pokes her head out from around JT’s shoulder. “I’ve been curious.”
