Page 58 of Chase Lovett Wants Me

Cammie

Sounds good. I’ll text when I’m awake. Sweet dreams. Xx

Chase

They’re sweetest when you’re next to me. See you in the morning. Xx

CHAPTER 22

CAMMIE

Chase wraps his arms around me and picks me up off the ground so my toes bump against his shins. “Hi, I missed you last night.”

“I missed you, too.” I kiss the side of his neck and inhale. Except I don’t get the usual whiff of aftershave. “Do you smell like buffalo sauce?”

“Probably. There were a lot of wings last night and I was in a rush getting out the door to you this morning.” He sets me on my feet, sniffs his sweatshirt, and shudders. “I need something healthy to balance out last night’s bad choices.”

“Did you go somewhere after wings?” I ask. A tiny twinge of unease makes my shoulders tight. I will not be an overbearing girlfriend. I will not let my own insecurities get the best of me.

“Nah, Brody and I came back to the dorms.” He laces our fingers and we head into the cafeteria. “Gage went out, though. I seriously hope he didn’t get super fucked up. We really need him at tonight’s game.”

“What position does he play again?” Tally gave me a crash course in hockey last night. She’s a wealth of knowledge about the sport.

“He’s an enforcer,” Chase explains.

“So defense, right? And you’re a forward?” I ask.

He smiles down at me. “Yeah, left wing.”

“And Brody? What position does he play?”

“He’s right wing, but he’ll probably be a center. He’s strong on the ice and has wicked speed.” Chase loads up a bowl with fresh fruit and yogurt and tops it with granola.

I grab the usual: a blueberry muffin. “How was practice last night?”

We stop at the coffee urns and both fill a cup. “Good. Great, actually. I scored a goal.”

“That’s awesome!” Scoring a goal is hard based on the little hockey I’ve watched.

“Thanks.” He beams.

We use our meal plan cards to pay for breakfast and find a table near the windows.

Chase spears a chunk of pineapple covered in yogurt. “Maybe you want to come to my game tonight?”

I accidentally drop my muffin. Thankfully it lands on my plate.

“Unless you’re busy with that creative writing submission. I know the due date is coming up,” he tacks on, but I don’t miss the disappointment already clouding his eyes.

I should be long finished with my submission, but I’m not, and tonight would be a great time to work on it. It could be another convenient excuse not to go. But Chase is my boyfriend and hockey is his passion. I don’t want to be an unsupportive girlfriend. And I can’t avoid running into his past hookups forever. “I can come to your game tonight.”

His whole face lights up. “Really?”

“Yeah.I’d love to see you play.”

I’m a ball of fucking nervous energy as I enter the arena. Alone. Tally is meeting me here, but she had a group study session that ran late, so she’ll be another twenty minutes. The game starts in ten. The teams are already on the ice, warming up. The arena is filling up with spectators. I don’t want to disappoint Chase by showing up late, but going in there by myself feels a lot like entering the lion’s den while wearing a raw meat suit.

Arwen wouldn’t back down from the catty girls.

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