Page 25 of As You Ice It

“Yes,” I say.

“Not as bad as the injury we had last year,” Felix says. “Similar, but not as deep.”

Parker shakes her head. “I wish we could afford to outfit all of them in Kevlar. Or bubble wrap. And for the record, women make mistakes. Maybe not quite so idiotic, but we mess up, too.”

“Logan, it’s a trap,” Van whispers dramatically. “Don’t agree with her.”

“Wasn’t about to,” Logan says. Parker beams and pats him on the shoulder.

“One more important point: everyone farts,” Eli says, then holds up both hands. “Allegedly.”

“So much ground covered in so little time,” Parker says slowly. “Exes, idiots, and farting. Busy few hours for y’all. So, why did Coach send for me?”

“Because Camden’s ex threatened to sue,” Felix says.

Parker angles herself to look through the glass. Seeing Naomi, she waves. Naomi does not wave back. “Ugly breakup, huh, Cambo?”

I only grunt. At both her question and the new nickname, which I hope doesn’t stick. I can’t decide if it’s better or worse than Cammie.

“Don’t bother trying to squeeze info out of him,” Van says. “He won’t tell us anything.”

“We’ll see,” says Parker. “Anyway, potential lawsuits sound more like a Summer problem. I’m not the lawyer.”

“But you’re very good at smoothing things over,” Logan says. “I’d bet that’s why Coach called you down.”

“Thank you.” Parker smiles at him, then swings her gaze to me. “Anything you want to add?”

“Her brother is a lawyer,” I say.

She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t mean like that.”

“Then what would I have to add?” I ask.

Parker gives me a look as if to say,You really are an idiot.

“Context,” Dominik says in his crisp, accented English. “Some idea of why your ex is angry enough to punch you.”

“She punched you?” Parker says, sounding somewhere between shocked and impressed. She wrinkles her nose when she looks at my eye.

I glance at Naomi again. She’s still looking at me. With slightly less venom than before. “I think the punch was more an involuntary reaction to finding out Liam got hurt.”

“Keep telling yourself what you want to tell yourself,” Van says. “Sounds highly unlikely.”

Now it’s Parker who smacks the back of Van’s head. “Sorry,” she says, not sounding sorry at all. “Mostly. Will you let him talk? Camden, go on.”

I stare blankly. “What?”

“You were about to tell us why that woman looks like she’d happily boil your bunnies.”

Logan and Eli burst out laughing, Dominik covers his mouth, and Felix chuckles. Parker glances around, clearly confused.

Van looks horrified. “Is boiling bunnies some kind of … euphemism? It sounds dirty.”

“No!” Parker shouts, her hands going to her suddenly pink cheeks. “Oh my gosh, no. What even would that—never mind. Ugh! It’s a reference toFatal Attraction. Classic movie—Glenn Close as a stalker? No one’s heard of it?”

Felix raises a hand. “I knew what you meant. It was funny, Parker.”

“Thank you.”

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