“Oh, hey.” I extend my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
He shakes my hand in a firm grip, and I feel my face heat knowing that an NHL coach—likely here to scout prospects—ended up watching almost two and half hours of amateur WWE.
“Nice to meet you, too. That was some game.”
I let go of his hand, scratching the back of my neck, probably looking every bit as uncomfortable as I feel. “Yeah…” I trail off. “I’d like to say that was highly unusual but something about that team just?—”
He holds his hand up, shaking his head with a smile. “No need to defend yourself. Everyone in the arena, with the exception of the refs, saw what was going on.”
I give the guy a polite laugh and my dad steps in, continuingtheir conversation. Silas waves a hand, letting me know he’s leaving, and Maverick follows behind him with his arm draped around a girl. I nod and do a double-take toward the door when I spot a beautiful head of dark hair blowing in the wind.
Savannah stands outside in an oversized, dark green Linden Creek sweatshirt that she has tucked up somehow, showing off a sliver of her skin. She taps her phone against her open palm with her head on a swivel, and I bite my bottom lip, sure that she’s anxiously waiting to see me.
I can feel the walls slowly starting to come down with her. She keeps herself guarded tighter than Fort Knox, but every time there’s a slight crack, it feels like a tiny beam of sunlight shines through, letting me know I’m close. Slowly, I’m clawing my way through to her, and even more slowly—she’s starting to let me.
“Hey, I’ll meet you at the restaurant. I’m going to go say hi to a friend real quick,” I whisper to my mom.
I push out the front doors, and Savannah whips her head toward me with wide eyes.
“You like those goals I scored for you?”
A ghost of a smile crosses her mouth. “You scored both of those goals before you even knew I was here,” she chides.
“Semantics.” I shrug with a smile. “Plus, I dedicated them to you after.”
Her lips twist in the way they always do when she’s trying to hide the way she secretly enjoys me, but thankfully it doesn’t stop those dimples from forming. My fingers itch to reach out and cup the nape of her neck. Images of last night begin flashing freely now that I’m off the ice, and I wonder if she’s thinking about the same thing.
“Okay, well—” She looks past me, swallowing. “Umm.” She hesitates, and now my mind is spinning for a different reason. “I’ll see you later.” She turns to leave, but I hook my hand through the crook of her elbow.
“Hey.” I feel my brows furrow as she reluctantly turns around. “What’s up? You embarrassed to be seen with me or something?”
I meant it as a joke, but the way her shoulders tense up and how she chews her bottom lip makes me nervous. “No, it’s not?—”
“Savannah!”
Her eyes close, and she drops her head.
I look over my shoulder to find Coach Alvarez hurrying towards us, beaming from ear to ear. Utterly confused as to why my coach is calling out for her, I look back at Savannah for answers, but her only response is to avoid eye contact with me.
“Hey, peanut. I wish you would have told me you were coming. You know I always have a seat saved for you.”
Peanut? Why does everyone on campus have some sort of endearing nickname for this girl?
“Yeah, I know.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “It was a last-minute decision.”
Either I moved back or Coach moved forward, but he’s now standing between us, and I’m more confused than ever.
“Kingston.” I don’t know if he’s just acknowledging my presence or trying to ask me a question. Maybe that hit was harder than I realized, because I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on when Savannah speaks up.
“Dad, Noah and I are working on a project together for Aunt Lo’s class.”
Dad?
Fuck. Me.
I hear her melodic voice, but it sounds further away now.
For weeks, I’ve been openly flirting with the coach’s daughter. I attempt to run back every interaction we’ve had, wondering if I just missed the part where she told me. I’ve hung on to her every word during our mock interviews. I’ve stared into her eyes like they were going to give me the codeto breaking through to her between quiet moments, and last night I kissed her senseless. I’m positive there’s no way in hell this slipped by me.
