I blinked, my eyes fluttering away the memory and I forced myself to move forward.
This wasn’t the same thing.
You’re not chasing him. It’s not him you want. Just the keys.
Once I had them, I would go find my car. How big could that parking lot be anyway?
I stopped at a corner and wondered if I’d gone too far. I definitely passed this way before, didn’t I?
I flipped around at the distinct sound of the locker room door swinging open. Chatter and cheers now fading in the distance.
Simon Mathers was the one who walked through it. The tall Captain of the Blades had on sweatpants, a t-shirt and hoodie. He spotted me immediately. “I think I know who you’re looking for,” he hesitated, “Troy?” His eyes narrowed and held up his hands to make quotation marks when saying his name. Which I found odd.
“He has my keys, I think. I’m not sure, but I’d like to have them back.”
“Ah, right, the ninjas. Hey thanks for getting him here. The guys dropped them with Hartman, I’ll let him know you’re here.” He turned and I called after him.
“Actually, if you could just grab them and bring them back to me, I could just—”
“You could what?” Troy emerged from behind the double doors, his expression as hard as it was when he’d won. Only less of the redness and coming down from the exhilaration.
He was barely wearing the suit he’d been in earlier, his crisp white shirt now wrinkled and there were buttons either missing or on wrong.
When I only stared at the man, trying to urge back the feelings of pure hatred I’d felt only moments ago, they wouldn’t come. Betraying me, dissipating into thin air as his solid green eyes turned from me to Simon.
He shook his head slightly to the captain, sending a message that I clearly wasn’t to hear.
Simon nodded in understanding and held up his hands. “Not gonna ask.” He waved at me and thanked me again before taking off to get changed.
When Troy’s gaze fell back on me, it was as if I’d lost the ability to speak. His eyes were steel, like I’d done something to betrayhim. Ignoring it, I took a deep breath and stepped forward, holding out my palm.
He let it hang in the air as he tossed the keys up and let them drop back into his hand. “Let’s go.” He started toward the exit, walking faster than my five-foot self could follow and I sprang forward to catch up. Frustration bubbling in me.
He was quiet and didn’t look at me. His jaw was tight, eyes level. He seemed as though...someone had stolen his victory tonight. Which didn’t make any sense.
The crowd was screaminghisname. His teammates jumping every inch of him after the thunderous buzzer went off and he…didn’t want any of it.
We finally stepped outside, through the same side door and he barely held it open for me. When he started walking along the side of the building with purpose, I knew he had an idea where they parked my car.
“Hey slow down,” I urged.
“Try to keep up, Harper,” he snapped.
I stopped and rested my hands on my knees, catching my breath. “Just… give me the keys…I can take it from here.”
He turned sharply and his tone was condescending. “It’s eleven o’clock at night.”
I straightened with a deep breath. “What’s your deal? You won tonight.”
“I didn’t win anything. Nothing was ever mine to win,” he added under his breath and turned, striding forward. “Come on.”
I shivered, feeling the cool October wind against my face.
“No,” I shouted, before lowering my voice. “I don’t feel safe with you.”
He stopped, turning to me. “What?”
I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. “Please just hand me my keys and go away.”
