Page 84 of Ice Bet

Gray glared, and I silently laughed at his fleeting looks to the people listening to our conversation. It was probably more than we both thought. People had a way of pretending they were distracted when they were actually paying close attention. “Ry, baby.”

“Don’t you dare,” I snapped. I burned with anger. “You don’t get to call me that anymore.”

He was shocked.

“Don’t tell me. You heard I was skating again, didn’t you? Do you want me back now?”

Someone whispered from beside Mya, “She’s skating again?”

I heard my name from across the ice, but I didn’t look at who was calling it. I wasn’t shying away from Gray. The last time he saw me, I was messy.

I was well put together this time around, and I was pretty sure he was regretting how he treated me.

“Take it off,” he demanded, apparently thinking he still had a chance.

I crossed my arms and smiled at him. “I don’t think I will.”

28

AASHER

The song“We Will Rock You”by Queen didn’t clear my mind like it usually did before a game. This was our typical warm-up song, but my focus was thrown when I saw Sutton, Taytum, and Claire sitting in the stands with an empty seat to their left.

I did a double take.

Then a triple take.

Then I found myself loitering below them with a startling rapid heartbeat.

“Where is Riley?”

Silence buried their laughter, and I waited for them to answer me. They shared a look, and I instantly beat myself up for avoiding Riley again.

I pussed out, and I knew it.

I was too wrapped up in my thoughts, trying to right a wrong that I couldn’t even convince myself was wrong. The number of times I got up in the middle of the night, walked over to her apartment door, and then back to mine was pathetic.

“What’s going on?” Ford asked, skating up beside me.

I turned toward him. “Where is Riley?”

“Not sure,” he answered. He leaned in close, and I backed away, but not before I caught his snarky remark. “But just to let you know, she didn’t ask where you were last night.”

My brows fell.

He waited to add, “But she wanted to.”

A few other players skated up beside us, Theo being one of them. He only had eyes for Claire, though, oblivious to anything else going on.

I turned at the sound of Sully’s smug tone. “She’s sitting with a few of her old friends.”

My skates dragged over the ice, and I found her immediately.

Ford threw his hands up. “How dare she?!”

What the—

My blinks were slow, and I wanted to reach my hand out and strangle Sully. She had Graham Sullivan written all over her,literally, and it confirmed my suspicion that he had a part in this.

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