Page 108 of The Trophy

LAKYN

“Omg, yes! Yes!” I scream, jumping up and down and throwing my arms around a stiff Bay.

“Fuck Lake,” my twin sister complains. “You almost made me drop my phone.”

I stop celebrating, pinning her with a probing look as the cheering crowd around us provides us with more privacy than if we were truly alone.

“Bay, what’s going on?” I ask her for the umpteenth time. “Our team has just won our conference tournament and we have a shot at the Frozen Four. You look like someone just killed your gold fish.”

Bay dismisses me like she has been doing since we came back to Star Cove after winter break. “I’m fine, Lake. I’m just very busy with finals and my brand new sponsors, Diva Heels.”

Yeah, no.

She can probably fool her Zeta sisters with the busy act, maybe even Mom and Dad, but not me.

I know Bay better than anyone and I know something is definitely wrong. My twin sister should know that we’re like two sides of the same coin, I can feel that something is very wrong with her.

Fuck.

If I wasn’t too worried about the dull look in her eyes, I would be laughing at the fact that I’m starting to sound exactly like Bay.

Is it possible that she might have been onto something with her crazy theories about a special twin connection?

All I know is that it’s obvious that something big is bothering her, I can feel it in my bones.

She starts jumping up and down, chanting KNIGHTS, KNIGHTS, KNIGHTS, like the rest of the people in the arena; well at least most of them. The small group of supporters of San Francisco Bay University, are understandably way less cheery.

My eyes follow Bay’s gaze to the ice, where our team is skating around the rink to celebrate their victory against San Francisco by two goals, scored by Luca and Blaze. A shutout too, since Cash has defended our crease with everything he had tonight.

I’m extremely proud of my men and of the entire team; or I should say almost the entire team, since I can’t say that Topher has been much help lately. Even tonight he has been out of synch with the rest of the offensive line, so much so that his second string, Corey Collins—a freshman—has seen more ice time than ever before in the new year.

I keep my eyes on Bay as she chants and celebrates. I can’t help but notice that her smile doesn’t reach her eyes though.

My worry skyrockets when Topher skates over to our section, opening the partition in the board to share a celebratory kiss with her. She remains stiff as a board, her smile there just as a decoy for whatever is troubling her.

“We’re in the playoffs, bella!” Luca glides right in front of me—he insisted on sitting us just behind the Cove Knights’ bench—his sweaty blond hair sticking to his face. He follows in Topher’s footsteps, taking me into his arms and slanting his mouth to mine.

Unlike my sister and her boyfriend’s lukewarm kiss, I don’t shy back from my man’s soft mouth. Is it even possible finding someone’s sweat sexy? It’s strange but I’m not even close to being put off by the scent of his sweat, I swear to me it smells like cinnamon and soap.

Since our encounter with the paparazzi outside the library a couple of months ago, Luca and I have been under a literal microscope. The press has been rabid about getting every detail about our love story. That has made keeping the fact that Cash and Blaze share the title of boyfriend with Luca even harder.

“Smile Lakey-Lake,” Bay finally beams. “Look, you’re on the Jumbotron.”

I stifle a groan, because there’s no way I’d ever refuse to kiss Luca, but I must admit I’m already over being in the public eye so much.

Luca hopes that if we give the press a little bit of our time, eventually our relationship will become old news and they’ll move on to the next celebrity couple.

“Meet you outside?” Luca asks, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. “We’ll show our faces to the Gamma house for a small taste of Bay’s chili, as we can’t mess with our winning streak, but then we’ll go out to dinner. I booked a table at the Country Club, Blaze and Cash are joining too.”

I can’t wait to celebrate tonight’s victory with all three of my guys. Between hockey, classes and the need to keep our relationship on the down low, we haven’t had a chance to be all together. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending one on one time with them—and I’m not mad at all the nights in I’ve been having with Cash and Blaze, since we have to be discreet until their pro contracts are signed—but I haven’t been able to forget our night in LA and I’ve been dreaming about a repeat of that.

CASH

With tonight’s victory, I feel one step closer to my dream of playing in the NHL.

I think after the performance I gave this season, there’s no way I wouldn’t be picked in the draft if it came to that.

But if we can keep it up and make it to victory in Frozen Four, I know Bridgeport won’t be able to pass up on all three of us.

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