Page 83 of Wicked Dreams

He has a girlfriend who he’s ignoring.

He drove me here.

“If he didn’t want you to go, he would’ve left it alone,” Riley assures me. “We would’ve ended up here, but he literally brought you.”

I guess so.

There’s a fight in the third period—Theo and some Lion’s Head player. They lock on to each other, ripping away their helmets and trading punches. The refs break it up fast… Riley mutters that fighting isn’t really a thing in high school hockey. But the crowd is on its feet, everyone cheering and screaming.

Because the enjoyment of violence is universal.

Five minutes later—with only two minutes to go—Caleb gets the puck. He’s all alone when he pours on a burst of speed toward the other goalie. I jump to my feet, clutching at Riley’s arm, just in time for him to send the puck sailing past the goalie and into the net.

He scored.

2-1, with two minutes to go.

“Holy shit!” I throw my arms in the air. “That was awesome.”

The next two minutes are stressful—but the Emery-Rose goalie holds firm.

And our team wins it.

Caleb

Meet me at my car.

I show Riley the text on my lock screen, and she nods. We follow the line of people out into the hall, then toward the stairwells that will put us on the street. Once on the sidewalk, in the cool night air, Riley loops her arm in mine and steers me toward the side parking lot. Not the main one where most of the driving crowd has parked.

We round the corner and come face-to-face with Amelie and Savannah.

My grip on Riley tightens.

“We were just talking about you,” Savannah says to me.

“Shocker.”

Riley steers me around them, half dragging to get me moving faster.

“He’smyboyfriend,” Amelie calls after me. “You need to leave him alone.”

I dig my heels in, stopping my friend, and face her. “He treats you like garbage. Maybe you should dump him.”

“Maybe it’s more complicated than that.” Her eyes flash.

I shrug. “I’m not in charge of him, Amelie. And you’re not in charge of me.”

The laugh that bursts out of her is cold. “No? Try me, Wolfe. We’ll see how far you get.”

The threat rolls right off my shoulders. WhoamI? A month ago, I would’ve absolutely backed off… but if Caleb isn’t, then I’m not.

If my head was screwed on straight, I’d be shoving Caleb back into her arms.

But he’s mine. A girlfriend isn’t going to change that. His antics toward me aren’t either.

He’s always fucking been mine.

Chapter 19

---