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Mentally, I kick myself. That sounded a lot worse than I intended.
“The hell you don’t.” Her steps pound on the sidewalk faster and faster until she catches up to me. “You need someone in your corner right now. And also to wipe the blood from your face. Jeez, that meathead got you good.”
I stop with a sigh. That’s when I notice she’s on the side closer to traffic, and in the early night, it’s still fairly heavy. Holding her by the shoulders, I push her gently until our positions are switched.
“Look, I appreciate it. It was badass when you stepped on him.” And pretty hot too. I shake my head hard. “But it’s probably best I’m not around anyone for a while so… just go back. We’ll talk later.”
I can see her brow crease deeper the more I talk. Before she begins her retort, I resume the walk over to where I parked the pickup.
But this is Tinker Bell. She doesn’t obey anything but her own freewill. So even though I glare, trying to freeze her on the spot, she keeps following me.
At least she says nothing while we walk down the blocks. Which is both good and bad. Good, because I’m not ready to hear anything anyone has to say about that little spectacle. Bad, because my head is coming up with its own theories on what she might be thinking about.
I’m a brute. The kind who scares my roommate. With just a few words, I snapped and reacted violently. No doubt this will get to Coach Green’s ears, if not higher up. I may be suspended from the team. Or kicked out altogether.
“Shit,” I mutter. And again for good measure. “Shit. Shit.”
I jam the key in the keyhole and swing the door open with more strength than necessary. The pickup creaks and groans as I climb into the driver’s seat and slam the door closed. For one second, I rest my forehead on the steering wheel.
Then the passenger door opens.
CHAPTER 24
LUZ
His truck smells like Max. Sandalwood and soap, plus an essence that is only his. It envelops me as I climb into the passenger seat and close the door. The silence hurts my ears, but it only lasts a moment. Max breaks it with a jagged breath.
I want to comfort him, to make him forget what happened in there, if only for a minute. When I was a kid, before The Big Hurt, my mom would caress my back in circles when I scraped my knee. Maybe that would help him?
My hand wavers for a second, but I go for it and place my palm on his back. Even through the bomber jacket he wears, I can feel the ridges of muscles as I rub one circle, then another. His shoulders start to sag just a bit.
“Families are hard.” I speak softly, as someone would to a frightened animal. “Wanna hear about mine?”
He mumbles. “Can’t be worse than what you just saw.”
“Hmm, you’d be surprised.” I pause but don’t stop rubbing his back. “I haven’t talked to my parents in like four months. Because they really don’t want me to play hockey.”
“What? Why?”
Max turns his face slightly to see me, and I take advantage of it. Reaching over with both hands, I slowly push him back against the seat. I want to get closer to him, so I twist until one of my legs is bent under me, and I face him.
It’s too bad his lip is hurt. I really wanted to kiss him again tonight. I should focus on the topic, though.
“Well, it’s been an ongoing issue since I almost broke my back when I was twelve. They were at the game, saw me take the bad hit, slam against the boards at a weird angle, and then not be able to move. It was scary.”
His eyes go wide as saucers in the dark. “Uh, scary’s not how I’d put it.”
“Terrifying?” I smile a bit. “Heart-stopping? A nightmare? Yeah, it was all those things.”
It’s annoying how my voice chokes up, even though I’m trying to be cool about all of this.
Suddenly, Max’s hand reaches out and touches my cheek. Just soft enough that I barely feel it. Almost as if he needed to check that I really am here. Alive.
I grab his hand and hold it on my lap, eyes focused on it. “I know, I know. You think I’m off my rocker too.”
“I don’t,” Max whispers. “I think you’re strong. And amazing. And way, way out of my league.”
The snort that comes out of me makes him startle. I push my hair away from my face and look back up at him. I wonder if he lost his screws when his nephew hit him earlier.
