Page 60 of Penalty Shots

He purses his lips. "How about this… let's make a bet."

"A bet? That sounds dangerous."

He chuckles. "If you pass your exam on Friday thanks to the infallible help of yours truly—then you'll come to my game."

"And if I don't pass?"

He cocks his head at me. "That's not going to happen."

"Mmm… history has proven that it's more likely that I won't."

"Yeah, but history never takes into account the present. And at this very moment, you have me all in on making sure youdopass."

We get to his dorm, and even as we approach, I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. Like if I walk through that door, something is going to change and there's no going back from here.

"I don't know," I pause as we wait for some students to leave.

"Can you just trust me, Rina? I won't let you drown, remember?"

His eyes are warm and protective. And it somehow feels very wrong that he's looking at me like that when he was just dating my friend.

But he's not anymore.

What kind of friend would I be if, just days after they split up, I let myself be carried away by my friend's ex-boyfriend's charms? A bad one—that's what kind of friend.

We walk up the stairs to the second floor of the building, where Keelan and Ryker share a room. He high-fives guys who are leaving from various doors, and they all look at me like I must be Keelan's catch of the night.

I roll my eyes. If they only knew. I really am just here to study, even if the optics don't look so great.

He stops in front of a door at the end of the hall and fishes in his pockets for the keys.

"Are you planning on staying on campus next semester?" I ask him as he inserts his key with one hand and holds the strap of his black backpack over one shoulder.

"I'm hoping to rent a house with a few of the guys. Split the rent. I'm not too keen on campus housing."

A door opens behind us, and a few more dudes pour out, all talking excitedly about their plans to hit up a local dance club.

They all look at me and Keelan in the hall as they brush past us.

Keelan is still struggling with the key and is now jostling the doorknob, trying to get it open. "Not to mention, I put a work order in to get this keyhole replaced four months ago and still haven't heard back from student housing."

"Maybe you should sic your lawyer friend on them."

The door finally gives and Keelan almost tumbles inside. "My lawyer friend?"

"Yeah, the guy we hung out with on the Star Wars night."

"Oh, you mean McEvoy?" He swings his backpack off his shoulder and onto his bed and tosses the keys onto his desk before flipping on the light on the bedside table.

The room looks almost identical to mine and Jenny's except in place of Jenny's colorful vision board and pink and sequin decor. The room is plastered with NHL athletes. There are signed posters, jerseys, and even a painted green goalie mask hanging over the bed that I assume belongs to Ryker since it's meticulously made and looks like nobody has slept in it all semester.

Keelan's bed, on the other hand, looks like he always sleeps in it and never bothers to actually make it. "Is your bed always in perpetual disarray?"

He grins. "Are you judging me right now, Your Majesty?"

"No. It was just a question. And are you ever going to stop calling me that?"

"Depends." He pulls out a chair and pats it for me to sit down. "Are you ever going to let me take you out?"

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