Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Since I can’t, I rip my gaze from her and find that everyone is watching her. Some even take pictures, and that really gets my heart pumping. What the hell do they need a picture of her for? I get it—she’s on social media, people feel entitled to her—but she’s here for me, not them.
Man, seeing that shit chaps my ass. This is probably what she meant when she said she doesn’t go to class. These are the creepers. My heart wants me to get off the ice and protect her. Guard her from them and use their phones as pucks, but I know I can’t do that.
Coach will probably kill me since he did not appreciate the Cheerios I brought in. He actually tossed them in the trash and told me to kiss his ass, claiming it’s his blood pressure not his cholesterol that I was causing a problem with. I feel I add flavor to his life, but I don’t think he sees it that way.
Unfortunate, really.
A puck gets passed to me, and I shoot toward Odder. He bats it away, his eyes challenging, and soon, I’m peppering him with pucks from every angle. He watches me as I go to each open puck I find on the ice and shoot them in different ways. It’s our thing, and I enjoy it, but it makes it even better when I get a few past him. Each time I glance back at Cameron, she’s watching me with those twinkling brown eyes. It’s hard to pull my gaze from hers, but I’m in the middle of a huge battle with Odder. Phillipe was supposed to be drafted last year, but he chose to finish school first. His parents are dead set on him having an education to fall back on, which makes sense after his dad got hurt and couldn’t do anything outside of the sport. I remember Shea telling me it took a long time for him to enjoy working in the sport instead of playing. So, I get how they wouldn’t want that for their son.
Odder is talented beyond belief, so he’ll get drafted with no issue.
When the horn sounds for warm-ups to be over, I shoot one more time, and Odder catches it in his glove with ease before dumping it out and skating toward me. “I don’t know if you’ll get a hat trick tonight, buddy. Your shot is soft.”
I feign hurt. “Wow, went for the jugular, eh?”
Odder snorts. “You weren’t even trying. Too busy watching Ms. White.”
I look back, finding Cam’s eyes on me. I turn, skating backward as I grin. “She sure is gorgeous to look at.”
“She’s out of your league. You know that, right?” he taunts, and now I snort.
“Please, no one is out of my league,” I announce, and then I wink at her, enjoying the blush that moves across her cheeks. Fuck, she’s gorgeous. “Eh, you may be right. She might be, but she is in my jersey and not yours.”
He smacks me with his glove. “I’m not the one having to get a date by going on the BullieBoards.”
He’s got me there. I laugh to ease my ego since that isn’t how I usually do things. I don’t have to. Girls flock to me. But for Cameron, I’ll post anywhere to get her in that teal-and-black sweater with my number on the back. “Do you see how good she looks? I can swallow my pride for that.”
He tucks his helmet under his arm, shaking out his blond locks as his ice-blue gaze drops to mine. He’s a giant off the ice, but on the ice, he’s a giant’s giant. “True, but didn’t y’all already date? I thought Penny told me that.”
I nod. “We fooled around our freshman year but never committed.”
Odder nods. “But I thought you don’t date someone more than once.”
I don’t. “She’s different.”
“Is she?”
“Yeah, she dumped me.”
He laughs at that. “But you put yourself out there again?”
I suck in a breath. I did. And once more, she has the opportunity to dump me again. But we’re older now. Some may say wiser. Just don’t ask Coach; I’m sure he wouldn’t agree. While this is all for show, according to her, she also knows I’m unscriptable. Though, I know for a fact she isn’t ready to admit that.
So, game on, Cameron White.
“She’s different, my gentle giant, and I can’t go into the draft without having a second chance with her.”
“Man, fuck that. Girls are stressful,” Odder laughs.
“You just haven’t met the right one to stress for,” I tell him, and he scoffs at that.
“Sure, but now that she’s here, are you going to her home opener?”
“Hell yeah, I am.”
“And since you got her in your shirt, what will you wear for her?”
I grin widely. “Anything she wants.”
“A leotard?”
“If that’s what she wants.”