Page 41 of Pinkie Promise

It’s safe to say that Tanner is not the jealous type, but given his recent dry-spell he hasn’t been on his friendliest behaviour.

“What shit do I have to get ready?” Caden asks with a grimace. “I’m not twenty-one. I can’t get the alcohol.”

“I’ll grab it,” I grunt, stepping subtly between them. Tanner is spoiling for a fight and, with his girlfriend in the stands, Caden wouldn’t say no to one either.

Tanner drags a hand down his face and lets out a pissed off grumble. “I need something way stronger than alcohol.”

Caden decides to risk his life. “We all know what you need. It’s five-foot-four and comes with pom-poms.”

Tanner’s eyes burn straight into Caden’s, which only makes him smirk harder. “It’s not that simple, asshole. She’s got a fucking boyfriend.”

Caden’s smile drops instantly. “Then stop chasing her,asshole. If she’s not available, she’s not available.”

“What if her boyfriend’s a piece of shit, Caden?” Tanner bites back.

“Going after someone who’s spoken for ain’t exactly saintly either,Mason.”

The first-name name-check has Tanner’s body turning to stone.

“That’s it,” I decide, jerking the blunt tip of my thumb towards the other side of the rink. “Five laps each, both of you.”

“Training’s over,Benson,” Tanner growls at me.

“We finished early, and you’re still pent up. If y’all get blood on this rink I sure as shit ain’t cleaning it. Do the damn laps.”

Caden drops his helmet with a loud thud and doesn’t say a word as he starts skating to the goal at the other side of the ice.

“He’s such an asshole,” Tanner mutters, a flash of real hurt in his eyes.

I don’t have a clue what’s going on between Tanner, Aisling O’Malley, and the boyfriend who I know nothing about, but it’s obviously driving Tanner up the wall. I haven’t seen him this stressed since we came second at last year’s championship final.

“Five laps,” I repeat, hoping that the distraction will calm him down.

“You have to get me a shit-tonne of alcohol, though,” Tanner counters.

“Where do you think I’m heading after practice?” I ask.

He makes prayer hands and then turns to do his laps.

I head to the sin bin and heave myself down.

We’ve smashed two away games in the past two weeks but I would feel a hell of a lot better about the wins if I’d had someone to celebrate with.

I texted Fallon to ask to see her again but she told me that her grant application deadline had been moved forward, so she’s going hell-for-leather with the essay that she has to submit for it, not to mention the fact that we’re smack-dab in the middleof essay seasonandher Sundays are unavailable because I got her a damn job. Basically, her schedule is so full that she barely has a second to text me back, let alone date me, and on the one occasion that she actually picked up one of my phone calls we were only talking for three minutes before her roommate grabbed her for cheer practice.

I’m itching to get back to the locker room so that I can text her about the party that we’re doing at the hockey house this Friday. Knowing that Caden has his girlfriend staying over for the whole weekend he won’t be leaving his bedroom for one single minute.

Tanner finally slumps down next to me and glowers up at Caden as he makes his way past us. Caden returns the stare, equally frosty.

“We might actually kill each other on Friday,” Tanner tells me, head twisted over his shoulder so that he can hurt himself further by watching Caden slide to the edge of the rink where his girlfriend has gone to meet him. Caden dips down to press his face into her neck and then he tangles his hand in her hair, crushing his mouth over hers.

“What’s the deal with you and Aisling O’Malley?” I ask.

Tanner shakes his head and then drops it between his shoulders. “Fuck if I know. I just have this feeling that something isn’t right with the guy she’s seeing.”

“Know who he is?”

Tanner shrugs. “I know he’s at college but he doesn’t go here, thank fuck. I don’t know his name and I don’t know what he looks like. Ash has no social media.”

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