Page 10 of Glory Troll

It’s like staring into the sun.

“Like youlikeme.” Bo’s charming, boyish grin made his green eyes sparkle.

Before I could tell him that was because I did like him, he gave my back a little nudge and inched his chin down to the shore. “Want to go for a walk on the beach with me?”

Six

Bo

Iwas way too excited to be by the seaside again, so I ran and had trouble keeping my whooping laughter in.

Ollie followed me slowly down to the shore, a reluctant grin tugging at the corners of his sinful mouth. He watched me roll up my trousers, and chuckled under his breath when I ran through the waves, splashing water and turning on the spot, brimful of joy and feeling freer than I had done in months, maybe years.

Hockey had been my whole life for the past two decades. I started playing when I was six, got discovered at eight, and busted my ass every day since. I ate only what fuelled my body to perform at its best and stayed away from anything that even hada slight chance of hurting me. Anything that might lead to me being unable to fulfil the contract I made with the Pumas.

Today, and with Ollie nearby, I had the overwhelming urge to truly feel alive in my body.

“It’s lovely to see you smile,” I told him when, at last, I was back before him, windswept and out of breath.

“I was just thinking the same thing about you. You smile often, but I’ve never seen you so relaxed. It’s nice.” He blushed a little, and everything in me screamed to hug him and kiss him into oblivion. Perhaps Ollie saw it, too, because he spun away from me to hide his face, but I could have sworn he bit his lip as if to stop himself from jumping my bones.

You can jump them whenever you like, älskling.

“Shall we go exploring a bit? I want to show you the town.”

“Yeah, let’s go.” I brushed his forearm with my fingertips, and we trudged back up the stairs.

Seven

Ollie

Bo had been moments away from kissing me on the beach, and I had no idea why I hadn’t just gone along with it, but turned away.

Perhaps because he’s your guest, and you said you wouldn’t shag on the job?

That I was desperate for him to kiss me and finally taste his lips on mine did absolutely nothing for my morale. I linked my hands behind my back to keep myself from reaching out and grabbing his hand. Yet his presence drew me like a powerful magnet attracting a shoddy piece of metal.

When we passed an ice cream parlour, Bo stopped in his tracks.

“Ollie, look! Do you think we can have ice cream?” he asked me, a hopeful gleam in his mossy green eyes.

“Of course, yeah.” For a moment, I wanted to ask him why he was asking me for permission.You’re an adult, Bo. You can have anything you want. Me too, if you ask nicely.

We approached the counter, Bo ducking down a little to inspect the little signs with the flavours. “Hi, what can I get you?” the server asked him in a chipper voice.

“Uh, hi, can I have two scoops of mint chocolate chip, please?”

She nodded, shovelling two massive scoops of the green ice cream with dark chocolate chips into his cone and popping it in the little holder. Then she turned to me.

“And for you?”

“Raspberry, just one scoop, and can I get some sprinkles, please?”

“You’re gonna have whipped cream, too?” Bo gave me a cheeky side-eye glance.

“I don’t likethatkind of whipped cream,” I shot back.

Oh my God, where did that come from?

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