considered starting something up with a girl at BMA, she’d better be worth the risk. And I had a sneaking suspicion Emmeline was more than deserving of me putting myself on the line. From what I’d seen and heard about her so far, she didn’t seem to have a mean bone in her curvy little body. Yesterday, I’d spotted her dropping off a plate of cookies to the teacher’s lounge. On Tuesday, I was five people behind her in the cafeteria line and overheard her offering to bring in some paperbacks from home to give to the lunch lady for her daughter.
The idea that she was taking shit from anyone pissed me the fuck off. “What kind of stuff have they done to her?”
“Nothing too bad.” I had to wait for Chuck to swallow another bite of pizza before he noticed my pointed look and explained, “It’s mostly just catty comments and not inviting her to shit. Not that Emmeline cares since she isn’t into partying and shopping like they are. She’s not missing out on a lot by not hanging out with them.”
I shifted my gaze to the cheerleaders’ table. The girls didn’t seem fazed by my glare. The two worst of them shifted in their seats, hiking their skirts higher up their thighs. I didn’t see good things from them in the future if they caught wind of my interest in Emmeline. “If you ever hear anything about them taking it beyond being bitchy to her, let me know.”
He cocked his head to the side and quirked a brow. “So it’s like that with her?”
I shrugged and glanced in Emmeline’s direction again, disappointed to find she had left. “I’m not sure what it’s like yet. The last thing I was looking for when I came here was a girl. My focus needs to be on the ice and my grades so I don’t mess up my chances for the draft or getting a full ride to college.”
“Like you need to worry about that.” He snorted and slapped his hand against the top of the table, drawing the attention of a couple of the other guys sitting with us. We sat at the end of the table, and they’d been wrapped up in a conversation about taking a trip for the opening night games of the NHL next month. They were deep into planning how to talk Coach into the idea since it would mean missing a practice, and they hadn’t noticed until now that Chuck and I were discussing something else. “This guy is all worried that getting involved with a girl is going to fuck with him getting picked up to play after high school.”
“Nah, man. No way that’ll happen.” Dean, one of the team’s best forwards, shook his head. “You’re too damn good on the ice. Nothing is gonna stop you now that you have Coach going to bat for you with the recruiters.”
“Which girl?” our goalie asked. He eyed the table of cheerleaders and leaned forward, dropping his voice as he added, “I wouldn’t recommend going there with Staci or Traci, no matter how much they flirt with you. Even if you’re looking to blow off some steam, those girls would eat a guy like you alive—and not in a good way.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be flattered Scott was looking out for me or pissed he was insulting me. His comment could kind of go either way. “What kind of guy am I?”
“Way fucking nicer than I thought you’d be, that’s for damn sure.” He elbowed Dean’s arm. “Remember how he took you out in the championship game last season? You hit the boards so hard, I wasn’t sure you’d be able to get back up on your own.”
“Yeah, man. You were knocked the fuck out. I thought for sure they’d have to carry your ass out on a stretcher,” Chuck agreed with a nod after he finished his pizza.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Dean grumbled.
“Deny it all you want, that hit was fucking brutal,” Scott retorted, grinning as he turned to me. “You’re a badass during games. When Coach told us that you were joining the team, I was thrilled to have your stick on our side of the ice but also worried that you’d be a raging asshole because of your aggressive style of play.”
“It was a huge surprise to find out that you’re actually a nice guy,” Chuck agreed.
I was glad for the confirmation that I shouldn't be offended by Scott