Page 36 of Rush the Edge
Kane’s neck bobs with a gruff swallow when I don’t answer. “I haven’t been home since I left for the junior league.”
Confusion pulls on my head like a puppet. I keep my mouth closed instead of letting my lips part with shock.
“Your mom is still icing you out?” I whisper.No way.
Without answering, Kane hops to his feet quickly and swipes his shirt off the floor. “I’m going to shower,” he says over his shoulder. “You better be gone by the time I get out, or I may have to prove to you that I was right when I said you’d let me fuck you.”
I scowl at his bare back as he jogs up the stairs with ease to his second floor.
Instead of sending a biting remark his way, I slowly climb to my feet and make my way over to the door. It doesn’t take much for Kane to get under my skin, but I’m not one to kick a dog when it’s down.
Fourteen
KANE
I’m on edge.
My leg shakes up and down as I sit on the bench in the locker room. I glance at my stick, checking out my handiwork. I count the fifteen loops and make sure the black tape is smoothed as best as it can be. I’ve done all my crazy lucky rituals, and yet, I still have a knot in my stomach.
We get the go-ahead from Coach and stand up to take the ice. The closer I get to the arena, the more my muscles tense.What the fuck is wrong with me?I’m never like this when it comes to a game. Hockey is a salve to me. It’s my calm, even with how chaotic and aggressive it can become.
Daisy pops into my head, and I grit my teeth. I shove the thought of her bouncing breasts from her pitiful jumping jacks clear out of my mind and continue down the line. There’s a stack of pucks on the ledge right beside the bench, and as soon as I take the ice—left skate first,obviously—I swipe at them. The tower crumbles to the icy floor, and the crowd roars.
Cool air brushes against my face as I zip around. The calm finally begins to settle over me, and I come back down to earth.
Until I seeher.
It takes everything in me not to come to a complete halt.
I can tell that it’s Daisy in the mascot costume, because she’s way smaller than the previous person. Her skates peeking out from beneath the Blue Devil legs are tiny, and she barely comes to Lar’s shoulder.
If he doesn’t get the hell away from her…
I shouldn’t be jealous, but I am.
If anyone asks, I’ll blame it on being protective.
If she asks, I’ll deny the fuck out of it.
My stick is light in my grip, and I play around with a puck at my feet. I wind backward and send it flying at Lars, purposefully coming close to our little mascot too.
They both look at me, and honestly, it’s hard not to laugh knowing that Daisy is inside that thing, even if I am irritated.
Lars rolls his eyes, but I catch the half-smirk on his face as he skates toward me.
“Will you relax?” He does a half-turn while a puck bounces against his stick. “We’re on the same team, ya know.”
“Stop pissing me off, and I will relax,” I say matter-of-factly.
He dips down to the ice and begins to stretch. I flick my gaze to our mascot and send her a scathing glare when I see that she’s staring at both of us. As if she’s caught, she spins and skates off to center ice and raises her hands, which makes the crowd yell even louder.
“I’m not trying to piss you off,” Lars adds mid-stretch. “I was making sure she was okay, because you sent those pucks flying, and she nearly fell.”
It’s not his responsibility to make sure she’s okay. It’s mine.
My nostrils flare with the thought.
It’snotmy responsibility.
