Page 48 of Ice Bet

“Sully isn’t going to get far with her. If anyone’s touching that girl, it’s you.”

“It’s not funny to make jokes like that.” I elbowed him in the ribs.

He gasped, dropping his bag on the ground. “Fuck, that hurt.”

“About as much as it’ll hurt if her dad finds out anyone touches her. So shut up.”

“You’re right,” he said, pulling himself upright. He made a turn into the stands of the rink instead of heading toward the parking lot. He looked back at me and cracked the grin he used when girls were near so he could catch them in hishoney trap—his words, not mine. “So you better get down there and intervene.”

I skidded to a halt at the sight of Sully leaning against the glass window with his arms lazily crossed against his chest, smiling down at Riley, who was in her usual spot after our practices.

Second row back from the glass, third seat over.

She was a creature of habit.

But so was I, because I waited in the parking lot until she shuffled out of the double doors an hour after every practice with her head hung low and her untouched ice skates draped over her shoulder. I was just thankful she’d stopped walking to the rink alone late at night.

“Look at him trying to weasel himself in there.” I seethed under my breath, prowling down the steps with my eyes pinned to him. “He’s such an idiot that he can’t see that she is playing him too.”

“Persistent little thing, isn't he?”

“Hey, Sully,” I shouted before erasing the distance between us.

Riley caught my eye but quickly looked away like she’d been doing for the last week. I’d passed her too many times in the hallway and even a few times on the way to class, and every single time, she avoided me. Not that it was unusual, but typically it was more of a sneer instead of an escape.

“Coach is lookin’ for you.”

“Yeah.” Ford backed me up. “Said he needed to talk to you. Not gonna lie, he seemed a little pissy. What did you do?”

“What? Nothing?” Sully looked down at Riley, who was nibbling on her bottom lip. I really wished she’d stop. Didn’t she know that was the ultimatefuck-memove? I thought for a second. She definitely knew. That was probably why she was doing it.

“I dunno, man.” Ford began skipping up the stairs. “Maybe he got wind of some of that locker room talk you’re always a part of.”

I pressed my lips together to hide a smirk. Ford loved stirring the pot. Sully was in a full-on sweat but played it off well as he reached down and grabbed his bag. “See you later, Ry, and let me know about what we talked about. Yeah?”

“We’ll see.”

I stayed put, staring at the wisps of dark hair falling from her high bun. Her neck was bundled in a black scarf, but it still showed a sliver of her smooth skin. She purposefully kept her attention elsewhere as she spoke to me for the first time since last weekend. “Locker room talk. You know all about that, don’t you?”

I sat down and stared at the ice with Riley, ignoring her insult. “Make any progress?” I asked, jumping in head first. She wasn’t aware, but we were done skirting around what had happened in my room the other night, and to be honest, it was as innocent as it could possibly be. I hugged her. That was it. She was likely uncomfortable because of what she told me, but we all had a past. She didn’t need to shy away from hers. Mine was just as messy.

She shifted in her seat, ignoring me, but I noticed the way she glanced down at her white skates resting on the floor in between us.

“Are you just gonna pretend like our last conversation didn’t happen?”

“What conversation?”

I couldn’t help it. I barked out a laugh.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re stubborn?”

Those icy eyes flung over to me, and I swore I felt ice prick my skin. “It’s part of my DNA.”

Her lip twitched, and I saw it as an opening that I absolutely knew I shouldn’t have taken, but there was a loophole that I’d be happy to make a home in.

“I have a proposition for you.”

Her eyebrow arched. “No.”

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