Page 102 of Breakaway

Evan groans. “That means he’s going to want Penny to partner up with him.”

Remmy laughs. “All my love to Pen, but if she can’t throw a dart, what makes you think she can throw a ping-pong ball?”

I shrug. “Well, yeah. But I don’t care.”

“Because you’re whipped,” Jean says, thick through a mouthful of chips. “She’s got a rope of fucking fire around your throat.”

“You some kind of secret poet?” Remmy says. “Got a touch of country in you?”

“They have cowboys in Canada too,” Jean says, exaggerating his accent so Remmy bursts out laughing.

Evan sighs, looking around the party. “What do you think my chances with Mia are?”

Seb snorts. He claps Evan on the shoulder. “Buddy, respectfully, she’d eat you alive and spit out your jock strap.”

“I could fuck with that,” Mickey says, breaking away from his conversation with a chick I vaguely recognize as a friend of Izzy’s. She gives him an outraged look and stalks off. I wince, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

I get it, Mia’s a fucking formidable force. If I was still a different sort of guy, I’d have tried to get her into bed already. I agree with Sebby, she’d walk all over Evan. Mickey could sweet-talk his way into her bed, but I doubt he’d be able to stay there if he was so inclined.

I follow Evan’s gaze. Mia is grinding up against a guy I vaguely recognize from the baseball team, and he’s got both hands low on her hips. No Penny, though.

“I need to find Penny if we’re going to play,” I tell the guys. “Be back in a second.”

“No quickies!” Remmy says, snapping his fingers at me as I push off from the wall.

“Like you didn’t already make out with Victoria in the bathroom,” Jean says.

“For like five seconds,” Remmy says mournfully. “Then she grabbed my junk and told me to watch her as she walked away.”

“Hot.”

“That’s only hot to you because you’ve never gone further than second base.”

I snort as their voices fade into the background. A Harry Styles song is playing—at least, that’s who I think it is; even if I pretend not to care for it in front of Penny, his stuff is a good vibe—so I figure I’ll find my girl on the dance floor. But I weave through the crowd twice and don’t see her. Izzy’s with some of her friends from the volleyball team, James and Bex are making out against the coat closet, Mia and that baseball player are totally eye-fucking, and a bunch of freshmen from the team have taken over the darts board. No Penny.

“Hey,” I ask Rafael as he passes by. “You see Penny anywhere?”

“I think she went into the kitchen.”

I clap his shoulder. “Thanks, man.”

In the kitchen, though, there’s only one person there—Brandon. Honestly, I’m surprised he showed up. Grateful, because we need as much team unity as we can get, this late in the season and this close to clinching Hockey East, but still. We haven’t spoken outside of necessity since I told him to apologize to Penny, and I don’t think he’s done it.

I lean against the doorway, crossing my arms over my chest. “You see Penny around anywhere?”

“She was just here.”

“You talk to her? I’m still waiting for that apology, you know. Call it a birthday present.”

He walks around the counter, rubbing at his chin. “That’s what I was trying to do.”

“Trying?”

“I don’t know, man. She totally freaked out, she just bolted—”

My stomach clenches. “Which way?”

He holds up his hands placatingly. “I didn’t mean—”

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