Page 18 of College Hockey Bully

“Your methods of ‘handling it’ are too fucking juvenile. She’s messing with my future and locking her in a room wasn’t enough to scare her. Let me show her not to fuck with us—”

“No.” The room goes silent at my raised voice. I step up to Noah, glaring down at him. “You lay a finger on her again, you answer to me, understood?”

Noah scoffs, but his shoulders shrink a little. “Don’t tell me you’re going soft for that traitor.”

“No one’s going soft, but I’m not in the business of physically harming anyone. Or sexually assaulting them,” I add, narrowing my eyes at him. He shrinks even more, casting an accusing eye at Cameron.

“You’re crazy to think I’d fuck that trailer park trash,” he grumbles. “I was only doing as you asked; getting her the hell out of here.”

“No one asked you to be disgusting, Noah. Fuck you for making it seem like I put you up to this.”

“You wouldn’t have minded if it had worked, so fuck you, too.” Disgruntled, he throws the towel aside.

Cameron edges in. “Boys, we literally have forty-five minutes before a game we can’t afford to lose. Get it together.”

I slide him a dark look.

“Yes, as vice-captain, I’m pulling rank,” he snaps at me. “Guilty or not, you can’t let Scarlett affect our game. Let that shit go, at least until tomorrow.”

Knowing he’s right, I back down. Our spare skates arrive just as I’m done getting my uniform on, the sight of them somewhat calming me down. By the time we get to the arena, with the cheering crowd welcoming our arrival, the incident is tucked safely in the back of my mind.

For now.

TheGreenfield Foxesare lounging at the bottom of the leaderboard, but the next two and a half hours prove that they’re hellbent on not keeping things that way. From the initial faceoff when the center beats me to the punch, swiping the puck before I do, I can already tell they’re going to make us work hard for the win.

Unluckily for them, I’m not opposed to working hard for anything. With a focused determination, I push forward, cutting the center on the underside and making a steal, then sliding it to Odean on the left wing. No way in hell will I make this easy for them, either.

It’s a vicious battle, with the puck sliding between the offensive and defensive goals, neither of us hitting our mark. Not until two minutes before the end of the game, when Cameron’s excellent stickhandling gets the puck past his opponent and right to me. The crowd goes wild when I slam it past the goal line, and it hits the back of the net.

There’s no coming back for the Foxes after this.

“That’s how you play a fucking game, bro!” Cameron screams at me, his eyes sparkling with glee behind the helmet. I grin back, slapping my gloved palm against his.

As I zoom toward the exit, my grin vanishes at the sight of the figure sitting in the stands. Scarlett.The fucking nerve of her. With my eyes fastened on her shifting restlessly in her seat, I quickly remove the protective gear from my body.

Just as I’m done, she spots me, then rushes to her feet, grabbing a bag from the seat beside her. I hurry to get my skates off and dash through the stands on sock-clad feet, almost knocking over a few people as I go.

She’s fast.Fuck. She also had the advantage of sitting in one place for an entire game while I’d been working my ass off. I pump my arms, stretching my long legs to gain momentum. Even so, I don’t catch her until we get to the tunnel that leads to the sports department.

Scarlett squeals as I grab her arm, pulling her to a stop. “Fucking hell,” I huff, grabbing my side with my free hand. “Don’t move.”

Despite my gruff command, she attempts to pull out of my grasp. I back her against the wall and cage her in with both arms, still catching my breath. Each deep inhale floods my senses with her sweet, vanilla scent.

“What are you doing?” she pants, pushing at my chest.

“Talk, Scarlett,” I order gruffly, getting a thrill either from the fear in her eyes or her hands on my body. “Where the fuck did you dump our skates?”

“What skates?”

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me,sweetheart. The ones you cleaned this morning,” I snap.

“I left them on the stands when I was done. Melissa came and inspected them, so you can ask her. Why would I take them, anyway?”

“We both know the answer to that,” I reply. “Now, quit testing my patience. Tell me where you took them.”

A flash of annoyance replaces the fear in her eyes for an instant. “Are you even listening to me?I didn’t take them. There are simpler ways to get back at you—”

Her words halt on a sharp breath as I tilt her chin, leveling her fiery eyes with mine. “You’re a smart girl, Scarlett. Keep crossing me and it won’t end well for you.”

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