Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Sky looked up as he reached into his cup and grabbed a handful of ice. He pretended he was going to eat it, then leaned and dropped it down the inside of my shirt. “Here’s something to cool you off.”
He darted toward his front door and I was right behind him. The ensuing wrestling match was part sexy, part fierce. I managed to get one cube in his pants just as he pulled me to the floor and rolled on top of me. After that it got a little hazy. But I did know this…under the teasing bites and good-natured fight for dominance, we’d reached a common ground based on want and need, and something more elusive that felt vaguely like finding a missing puzzle piece. The one that pulled everything together.
7
October was when life always got a little manic. If I wasn’t in class, I was on the ice. We played scrimmages with local leagues during the week and real games on the weekends. And in between, we practiced nonstop. I woke up, went to the gym, went to class, then played hockey, and crashed at night only to start it all over again in the morning. It was intense, but I freaking lived for this time of year. Except now I had Sky.
We texted during the day and talked every night. I invited him over the weekend after our sleepover at his place. I introduced Sky to Elliot as my “buddy from work.” Elliot was friendly, but in a more reserved way. He greeted Sky with a fist bump and made an excuse to hang out with Drew…who I still hadn’t met. When I mentioned it one day, he gave me a look I couldn’t quite read and said something annoying like, “I’ll introduce you to Drew when you introduce me to your girlfriend.”
And yeah, I still hadn’t done anything about Miss Smartypants. But she didn’t make it easy. In her quest to get Schultz to notice her, Kendra showed up to almost all our games and even crashed a few practices. She usually came alone and brought a stack of books and her computer with her, so she could get some homework done while she hung out. It was actually kind of cute in a geeky way. In spite of her grand gesture to show up and make herself known, she never talked to anyone but me. So even though I insisted to my team that we were just friends, her presence suggested otherwise.
“Have you even said hi to him?” I asked her when she followed me to my car one night after a scrimmage.
“Well, yes.” Kendra chewed on her nail and shot a flustered glance over her shoulder as a group of my teammates passed by.
I rolled my eyes at the lascivious looks Troy and Logan gave me and discreetly flipped them off. I repositioned my hockey stick and shut my trunk before turning to Kendra.
“What’s the problem? Is he seeing someone?”
“I was hoping you’d know that. He’s your teammate. You see him every day.”
“Yeah, well, we don’t exactly get along.” I tossed my keys in the air and pulled out my cell. “Where’s your car? You shouldn’t be hanging out at the rink in the dark on your own.”
“I’m with you.”
“Not really. You’re using me to get to another guy,” I huffed without heat.
To her credit, she didn’t deny it. She adjusted her glasses and dragged her teeth over her bottom lip like she was working up the courage to ask me something I might not like.
“What if we pretend to be together?”
I frowned and shook my head emphatically. “I’ve been telling them for weeks that we aren’t together. That was our deal. You’re on your own with Jason. And what good would that do anyway?”
“Maybe he’ll get jealous and try to take me away from you,” she suggested. “You said he doesn’t like you, and I’ve heard him say a few disparaging things myself.”
“Disparaging, eh?”
“Yes. He called you a fuckhead when you didn’t pass the disc to him.”
“It’s called a puck, and that’s probably the least offensive thing he’s called me in a while. I don’t care about Schultz.”
“I overheard your coach say that your chemistry sucks. He thinks Jason is spending too much time worrying about you and the scouts and it’s affecting his game. And he said you seem distracted too. He thinks it’s a girl. Maybe he thinks it’s me anyway, so let’s just make out after a game or something. What do you say?”
“You’re nuts. That’s what I say. Look, I like you, Kendra. You’re sweet, but it’s a no for me. And quit eavesdropping. It’s creepy. Where’s your car?”
“Over there.” She gestured toward a red VW two parking spaces away.
“Get going. I’ll watch you get behind the wheel. Hurry it up, though. I gotta run.”