“Oh, shit! Fuck! Help!” This was it. I was going to die, and Rory would never forgive me.
A blur of movement streaked past my vision, and then Cody was yanking me upright, into his arms, our noses bumping together with the force.
“Fucking hell,” I mumbled, wrapping my arms around his warm, solid back and dropping my head to his shoulder. “Why is ice so slippery?”
“Maybe we should call it a day,” he rumbled against my chest.
“Mmm. Yeah. I don’t think a career change is in my future. I’m gonna stick to land. You know. Solid, non-slippery land.”
When I raised my head, his mouth was set in a flat line, but there was definite amusement in his eyes. I glared at him, and his mouth twitched. When I kept up the glare, he sighed, anglinghis head forwards, his lips meeting mine. He coaxed my mouth open with soft presses of his lips, his tongue sliding against mine as he deepened the kiss.
My short-lived skating career had been a failure. But right then, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
13
Cody
Staring out of the plane window, I ran my finger over the bridge of my nose. Good as new. There was still yellowish bruising surrounding it, but soon, even that would be a distant memory. Just like our second game.
After the high came the low. We lost, 6-2, and now we were tied in the Western Conference Finals. 1-1.
The words Coach Keller had spoken in the locker room after the game still echoed through my head. Although he’d been clearly frustrated, his voice had remained steady as he’d taken the time to look at each one of us in turn.“Shake it off. We knew this wasn’t going to be easy. We’ve got two games in Dallas to get our heads right and come back strong.”
He was right, and I hoped we’d be able to hold it together and get the win.
“The nose looks better,” Petrov said, eyeing the movement of my finger as he dropped into the seat next to me. I grunted in reply, and he shot me a grin, clipping his seat belt into place as the plane began to move.
“Back to communicating in grunts again, eh? You’ve been suspiciously cheerful lately. I was wondering when you were gonna go back to normal.”
“Suspiciously cheerful? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
His grin widened as he leaned back in his seat, clearly enjoying himself. “Wanna hear my theory? Someone’s getting laid.”
“Fuck off, Petrov.”
“Oh, he’s definitely getting laid,” Davis chimed in from across the aisle, and I felt my stomach drop. “Been wondering when you were going to introduce us to this mysterious girlfriend of yours. Or is it a new one?”
Several other players had tuned in to the conversation now, and I could feel their attention turning towards me. Fuck. They were like a pack of wolves scenting blood, and I was their unfortunate prey.
I gritted my teeth. “There’s no girlfriend.”
“Like hell there isn’t,” Myers called from a few rows back. He held up his hand, ticking off points on his fingers. “One. You disappear with bullshit excuses all the time. Two. The past two or three weeks, you’ve been in a better mood than I’ve seen you…ever. And three—” He paused dramatically. “—yesterday, I heard you humming in the locker room.”
“Fuck. Off. I do not fuckinghum. It was probably Nielson.”
“Wasn’t me,” Brayden confirmed, leaning around Davis to shoot me a wink before inserting his earbuds. He sat back with his eyes closed, tuning the rest of the team out as he mouthed the words of whatever song he was listening to.
Petrov snorted. “Why so secretive? We all know the truth. Just admit it. Say it with me. I…have…a…girlfriend.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered, sliding down in my seat and pulling my cap low over my eyes. “Can we focus on the next game, please?”
“He’s not denying it!” Myers shouted, and the rows around me erupted in laughter. Great. Everyone was listening in to this excruciating conversation.
“Come on, Clements,” Davis said, leaning forwards in his seat. “Give us something. We’re happy for you, man. You’ve been less of a grumpy bastard lately, which benefits all of us.”
Petrov held up his hand for a high five. “Agreed.” Turning back to me, he raised his brows expectantly. “Say it. Admit what we all know.”
An unwilling smile tugged at my lips, despite my efforts to bite it back. The truth was, they weren’t wrong. I had been in a better mood lately, and it had everything to do with a certain British soccer player who’d somehow managed to slip past my defences.
