Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
The lights in the arena dimmed, and some strobe lights picked up. My knee started bouncing, and when the guys started coming out, and the crowd’s deafening roar invaded the place, my heart felt like it would burst out of my chest. The arena must have been at capacity with its loudness, but I didn’t take my eyes off the ice. When I saw Lachlan skate by, my pulse skyrocketed. I was wearing a replica of his jersey that Marissa got for me at the merch stand outside. He wore the number ten like I wore in soccer, which he said was another reason we should be together. When Marissa handed it to me, I was unsure whether I wanted to wear it. I could’ve borrowed one of his if I thought that was a good idea. It seemed like such a public display, but after looking around the arena and realizing most people rooting for The Blaze were also wearing it, I slid it over the shirt I had on. According to Marissa, Lach had signed to be part of the NIL and made more money off his jersey than any other student-athlete in the sport. I’d done the same and was still getting paid for sales off mine, even though I no longer played, which was pretty incredible. Marissa had most of their jerseys but was wearing Prescott’s tonight, while Banks wore a school hoodie.
Lach skated to the center of the ice and positioned himself in front of a player from the opposite team. I shifted in my seat, my excitement making it hard to sit still. I watched as the referee dropped the puck between them and let them try to get it. Lach passed it back, and Mason got ahold of it before the opposite player could get there. Then, I watched them skate around, vying for the puck as they shoved each other out of the way. I laughed loudly. Hockey was a savage sport.
I leaned into Banks, but my eyes remained glued to the ice. “Don’t you wish you could do that in the field without getting flagged every five seconds?”
He laughed. “I’m in the wrong fucking sport.”
“Can you skate?”
“I grew up in Colorado,” he said, and I knew he had one of his WTF expressions on his face. “Of course, I can skate.”
Marissa’s hand shot out and clutched my knee to stop the bouncing as Prescott gained control of the puck. They were so concentrated on the game that I didn’t even know why I’d been nervous about Lach seeing me. Every time he skated past us, the woman behind me screamed louder than anyone else, which made me laugh. It was cute. She reminded me of my mom standing on the sidelines. I let the memory of her pass through me and waited to feel something. I didn’t. I’d thought for sure after Lachlan seemingly opened up a vault of emotions inside me that I’d suddenly feel all the time, but that hadn’t been the case. I was laughing more, as Marissa and Banks pointed out during our ride.
Only the people at the party knew about Lach and me, and I hoped to keep it that way. Soon, we’d be free to see each other wherever we wanted. Outside of Fairview, that was. He couldn’t possibly threaten to follow me around the country. A cold shiver spread through me as I thought about that possibility. He wouldn’t do that, would he? I shook it off and focused on the game. A player from the other team passed the puck and set himself up to score a goal. I sat at the edge of my seat, holding my breath as the rest of the arena screamed. The player pulled his stick back and hit it. Lach skated right in front of him and blocked it, then pointed at Drew to reprimand him for something.
“He’s a defenseman,” Marissa said in my ear. “Drew, I mean.”
“So, he was supposed to be there?”
“Yep.”
“How the hell did Lach even get there so fast?” I asked quietly, more to myself.
“He’s fast as fuck,” Banks said.
“The fastest in the nation,” the woman behind us said.
The three of us turned around and looked at her. She smiled proudly, and I immediately knew it was his mother, which filled me with more nerves than I could handle. A guy sitting next to her looked exactly how you’d picture Lachlan’s brother to look. He was younger and leaner with shorter hair, but their features were similar. He had much lighter hair than Lach, but that was the only glaring difference. He met my gaze for a moment, smiled, and looked away. He was nicer than Lach, as well. Lach was nice. . .to me. I’d seen him interact with other people enough to know that he was mostly only polite to them. He had four smiles — his sexy smirk and charming smile, both of which brought anyone to their knees; his polite smile that he used with most people; and his real smile, which was a mix of both and lit up his eyes. That was the one he always directed at me. He talked a lot about my smiles and how I didn’t give them away freely, but he wasn’t unlike me in that. He might have smiled more than I did, but they weren’t all real.