Page 38 of Chase Lovett Wants Me

She exhales what seems like a slightly stressed breath. Mostly when we hang out we talk about assignments and what it’s like to live on campus.

My spine straightens. “Okay.” I hope it’s not something bad about Chase.

“My dad is the head coach for the Terror.” She whispers it like she’s expecting a death knell to follow.

“Like for the pro hockey team?” I whisper back.

“Yeah.” She swallows thickly. This revelation seems to make her super uncomfortable.

“My sister’s best friend is engaged to Tristan Stiles?” I don’t know why that comes out like a question.

Tally’s eyebrows shoot up. “Do you mean Rix Madden?”

“Yeah.” This is so fucking weird.

“Wait, Essie is your sister?” Tally asks.

“You know Essie?” What the fuck is happening?

“Yeah. She’s like an honorary member of the Badass Babe Brigade,” Tally replies.

“Of course she is,” I mutter. “I don’t even know what the Badass Babe Brigade is but that tracks with Essie.” And it sounds cool. Like something I wish I was part of.

“It’s our girl group. This is so wild. Like what are the actual chances? Rix goes to school here, too.” She’s all excited now.

“Ess mentioned that she was taking classes again, but I figured she’s off campus, right?” Me not wanting Essie to connect me with her friends ends up with me being friends with her friends anyway. Not to mention Brody living on my floor makes me feel like I should just accept being forever known as Essie’s little sister.

“For the most part, but we have lunch once a week.” Her eyes light up and she bounces on the balls of her feet. “You should come next time!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude.” I haven’t seen Rix in a long time—like since I was fourteen. She was always nice to me, but I was a hard-core hobbiter even back then.

“You wouldn’t be! She’d be so happy to see you!” Tally seems very big on being inclusive. “Anyway, back to Chase inviting you to his game and you saying you have an assignment. Why don’t you want to go?”

“We always seem to run into one of his former hookups. I end up just standing there awkwardly like I don’t belong. Then to make it less fun, there are these girls who are always hanging around them who are sort of…” I try to find a word to describe them that isn’t steeped in negativity. It’s not easy.

“Bitches?” Tally supplies.

“They’re not super warm.”

Tally rolls her eyes. “They’re puck bunnies. They chase after the players. Some puck bunnies are legit super nice, but other ones—it’s like a game to them to bag a player. Ignore them.”

“I’d like to, but two of them live on my floor.” And I’m athousand percent sure they go to all the games. “And I don’t know a ton about hockey.” Other than the little I’ve caught in the common room while making ramen.

“I can give you a crash course. I can’t go to tonight’s game, but I can probably go to the next one with you,” Tally offers.

“Do you actually want to go to a university hockey game? Does it pale in comparison to the pro games?” I have no idea. “Wouldn’t it be annoying for you? Like won’t people know who you are and be all like super friendly with you like they are with Brody?”

“He’s a nice kid.”

I want to mention that we’re all the same age, but I feel like her life experiences and mine probably differ significantly. She’s grown up around professional hockey players. What a weird life.

“Can’t be easy with his brother being way more visible than my dad.” Tally twirls a lock of hair around her finger, expression pensive. “And yeah, it’s sort of the same. It’s more like when the players find out who my dad is, suddenly they want to take me on dates.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Ew.”

“Having a boyfriend has helped with that, though.” She shrugs. “Anyway, the offer stands. If you want company at a game, I’d be your wingwoman.”

“Cool. Okay. I appreciate that.”

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