Page 15 of Scoring Grey

Tongue in cheek, I will myself not to flip the fuck out and lose my shit. That day changed the course of what was left of our senior year. In hindsight, I can’t put that all on him.

“Eloise may as well have been in your lap while you whispered in her ear as I looked up from my lunch table across the room.” I anxiously breathe out my nose, restraining myself. “She left my party with you the night before, and the second I got up to head toward the two of you, I watched you grab her hand beneath the table.” Until I saw her at lunch that day, I thought she skipped school since I hadn’t seen her at her locker or in the hallways between classes.

He swallows his beer. “I was comforting her. She saw you the second you walked into the cafeteria and watched as you didn’t scan the room for her. By the time you looked up, she had dug her nails into her palms so hard they were bloody…” He takes another pull. “We both know what happened after that. Blair was there, and rather than be a man and own your shit, you let her go.”

I’m off my stool and in his face before I can think better of it. “I never let her go, and you know that. If you’re looking to take a hit, let’s go!” My hands fist in his shirt as his nostrils flare.

“I was your best fucking friend.” He doesn’t push me back or struggle against my hold. Instead, he looks the other way and adds, “Thick as thieves since grade school and you thought I’d do that to you.”

I release him and take a step back, hating that I let my anger get the better of me. Eloise wasn’t the only one I hurt that day. I hurt him, too. I try to see through my anger and let go of the sadness that put it there to begin with, so I can get to the root of my pain. “Then tell me, Arlo… Why did you throw away years of friendship for her? If nothing was happening between the two of you, why propagate the lie? The guy I knew would have come to me.”

“She needed me. You didn’t. I’ve never been the best at expressing myself. It’s why I loved hockey. Hockey was an outlet for me. I’d release everything I couldn’t say and leave it on the ice. In my mind, even though you couldn’t see it, I was still your best friend looking after what I knew you cared about the most.”

That feels like a punch to the gut, but everyone knows hard truths are never easy to swallow. If I could go back in time, I’d do many things differently, but I can’t. That’s why I’m looking for a clue that says, start here and get your girl back. Win back that heart that was always meant to be yours.

“You know, don’t you? You know exactly what drove her away. Why do you insist on keeping her secrets?”

“I don’t see it that way. Maybe when we were kids, I did, but not anymore. Something happened. I was there. I helped her get through it, and since that night, she’s helped me get through just as much, if not even more. It’s not a secret to me anymore. It’s friendship and trust.”

Arlo can say it’s not a secret all he wants, but I guarantee there was a “don’t tell Cal” attached to whatever went down. As much as I don’t like it, there’s nothing I can do about it, and besides, he gave me something I didn’t have before… something indeed happened, and he witnessed it. He tosses his empty bottle and heads out of the kitchen.

“So that’s it then? You’re not going to help me?”

He stops and shoves his hands into his pockets. “I think after you’ve given tonight a chance to breathe, you’ll see that I have.”

I’m not dense. I realize I’ve gained two absolutes tonight. Blair Wyndham may have been a catalyst, but she wasn’t the nail.

“I’m shit with words, and maybe this doesn’t help, but I feel like if I were in your shoes, as much as not knowing and waiting would drive me mad, I think the second she laid everything at my feet would be worth it because it’s then I would know without a doubt I was the keeper of her heart.”

I don’t say anything. There isn’t anything to say. He’s right, and I hate it. Arlo telling me would be easy, but it wouldn’t be earned and I’m here to earn every piece of her heart. I want her to trust me with her heart and know I’ll protect it at all costs, just like whatever secrets she’s held close all these years. I watch Arlo disappear down the hall toward the room I showed him earlier, leaving me alone to digest his words and revisit old memories. I finish my beer and stare at my duffle bag holding my playbook. “Time to revisit the night I lost the only girl I ever loved.”

With my playbook in hand, I approach the couch where Eloise is sound asleep. I pull the fluffy throw blanket over her before taking my seat on the floor beside her. If I must revisit this night, at least this time, I’ll have her by my side.

Flipping open my playbook, I turn to the entry:

Penalty Kill

We clinched the playoffs! It’s been a grueling season, but that made tonight’s victory all the sweeter. My dad has been out of town for weeks, away on business, and my stepmother is at her weekly wine night with her girlfriends, which means it’s time to party. Lucas Balfour would kill me if he knew I was throwing a party, but I only have a few months of living under his thumb left, and I give zero fucks about anything he has to say anymore. Any influence he thought he might have over me was lost the second he threatened me with money. That’s why tonight I’m celebrating. My high school ring wrapped around my finger feels like a ton of bricks. It’s not much, but that’s because I’m not rich, my father is, but for now, it will have to be enough. Eloise Grey doesn’t know it, but I plan to make her mine.

I leave my bedroom, ready to find my girl, when a familiar scent assaults my nose. It’s the sweet, smokey scent of a cigar, but not just any cigar, the kind my father likes to smoke. My chest tightens momentarily as I consider that he might have come home early. I look down the hall toward his en suite and see his door closed. If he came home early, I’d know. This would have all been shut down. Someone most likely snuck in and took a cigar out of his box, a crime I’ll no doubt have to answer for. But that’s tomorrow’s problem.

My worry disappears when I round the corner into the living room. The entire senior class showed up. My house is packed. Lucas will lose his mind when he finds out about this. But if I’m a dead man walking, I may as well go out with a bang.

“Cal,” my teammate Bodhi grabs my shoulder hard. “I brought you a drink, my man. Did you know you’re a fucking king? This party is epic.” He shoves a beer into my hand, and I gladly take it.

“Have you seen Eloise?”

“Who?” he asks, leaning in and giving me his ear.

“Elo—”

“Cal.” A hand glides up my chest before two fingers walk up my neck.

I catch her hand. “What are you doing, Blair?”

My father and her father have been friends for years, and her father is also the head coach of the hockey team at Boston College. For some reason, she’s got it in her head that detail gives her some claim over me. It doesn’t help that my father insists I should date her, further inflating her ego. If I cared about pleasing him, maybe I’d consider it, but those days were gone years ago, and I don’t want to go to Boston.

She pushes out her bottom lip. “I just came over here to congratulate you.” My eyes narrow on her big brown ones, but before I can question her motives, her free hand holds up a shot. “See, I brought you a present.” She smiles wickedly.

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