Tripping (Iced #2) - Kristine Allen Page 0,14

her participating in something like that set my teeth on edge.

“Not funny,” I muttered. Though it was a joke and far-fetched, I wondered what I’d do if she suddenly told me she was dating someone. It made my jaw clench and my teeth grind.

“Sorry,” she replied with a chuckle that instantly eased my mood. “I thought it might make you laugh. Also sorry the game sucked.”

“Thanks. We were all just… I don’t know… off tonight. Hopefully we can all get our minds straight before we go up against Boston.” I hesitated, and there was silence on the line.

“Is Boston your last away game?” she asked.

“No. We play Carolina on Friday, then we’re home. We play Colorado on Saturday—home ice. Maybe you could come to the game?” I asked, trying to sound like it was no big deal if she did or didn’t. The problem was, to my own ears I sounded hopeful. It wasn’t the first game I’d asked her to go to, and it likely wouldn’t be the last.

“Uhhh, I’m not sure about that.”

“Oh. Okay.” My eyes rolled to the ceiling at how juvenile I sounded. It was like being in high school all over again.

“It’s not that I wouldn’t go. Not because I like hockey, you know. I’d only go for moral support and all, but Sergio’s parents were talking about going this weekend,” she said with an apologetic tone that sent my hope back up to embarrassingly girlish levels.

“What if I arranged for you and Sergio to have tickets?” I asked, crossing my fingers.

“Uh, well, I, um, I guess I could ask him,” she hedged.

“Or maybe you could bring your brother or your sister?” I offered—anything to convince her to show up.

She sighed. “You really aren’t going to give up, are you?” she finally asked.

“Not unless you tell me to fuck off and never contact you again,” I replied, praying she didn’t tell me that.

Soft laughter carried through the phone. “Not sure I could be that big of a bitch. You’ve kind of grown on me.”

“Damn, am I relieved to hear that,” I said in a tone full of relief.

Though I wanted to ask her how much I’d grown on her, I kept it in the safe zone. We talked for about an hour about nothing too deep, simply bantering, and I asked how her job had been lately. The passion with which she spoke of music reminded me of how I was about hockey. Teaching kids to love it as much as she did was her greatest joy.

Truthfully, I didn’t care what we talked about if I could keep the connection and listen to her voice. Disappointment surfaced when she took a deep breath that ended in a heavy sigh.

“Well, I better head to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow for work. I have individual lessons before school.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry if I kept you up too late,” I said, hating to end the call but knowing I should try to sleep too.

“Good luck in your next game,” she said softly.

“Thanks,” I said through a stupidly wide grin.

“Goodnight.”

“‘Night,” I said but didn’t end the call.

“Bye,” she added.

“Bye,” I replied.

She chuckled. “Are you gonna hang up?”

“After you,” I said, feeling like a complete sap. I’d been leaning on the glass with my forehead, and I took a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure no one could hear me.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll talk to you later.”

The fact that she said that made my damn night, and the loss didn’t seem so bad.

“Sounds good,” I said.

I heard her light laughter before the call ended. My chest was both tight and fluttery at the same time. It was the weirdest shit.

My steps were lighter going back to the room than they had been walking to the end of the hall. For the first time since Bleu had shot me down, I experienced an excited hope.

If it was the last thing I did, I was going to convince her not all hockey players were douches.

“Natural”—Imagine Dragons

“Yessssss!” Sergio jumped up off the couch, arms in the air. Crimson and I laughed at his excitement. The players on the TV were in a group and patting each other on the helmets and backs. Smiles abounded all the way around.

He had had invited me and Crimson over for dinner and to watch the game. I had intended to leave after we ate, but I caught a glimpse of Cameron’s face as they talked about his stats pre-game. After that, I couldn’t