Page 88 of Our Secret to Keep

They are too damn big for that thing.

I told Parker to remove it before someone lands in the hospital. His solution was to reinforce the bolts on the porch roof, which, by the looks of it, did not work.

Samantha eyes me up, a plea on her lips and desperation in her eyes. “Tell him, River.” She puts her hand on my chest, and I step out of her grasp. Her gaze drops along with her shoulders, deflated by my response. “You still want me, don’t you?”

“No,” I admit. “I moved on, Sam. You should, too.”

“But…” She presses her lips together, tears welling in her bottom lids. “What did I do wrong?”

You don’t have a dick.

I wish I could tell her the truth. Someday, she will read about me online and realize nothing she did could have prevented the pain she’s feeling. And I hope then, it will bring her some comfort.

“It’s not personal.”

“Oh, it’s not you, it’s me?” Samantha rolls her eyes. “Wow! You two have some sick kinks. Things I have kept a secret because I like you.” She studies us, then settles on me. “I could tell everyone aboutyou.”

I nervously laugh at her comment. “What about me?”

She tips her head back and cackles like a witch, loud and terrifying. “They don’t know, do they?”

My blood runs cold at her words.

“Know what?” Waters asks, leaning forward, tipping the swing.

Samantha’s plump lips curve into a wicked grin. “You are going to regret this.”

She storms down the steps, blonde hair flapping behind her.

Waters hops up from the swing. It rocks to the side, knocking Monroe to the ground. The defenseman curses. The giant laughs.

Waters stops in front of me and smirks. “This house has thin walls. We know what she was going to say.”

Monroe nods.

CHAPTER29

RIVER

I wakeup to my cell phone ringing. When I don’t bother to answer it, the person calls again, fucking with my gameday ritual. I like to sleep late if possible, hydrate, and pamper myself. My body is more than a temple. It’s my ticket to the NHL.

But the asshole won’t stop calling me. I fling an arm over the side of the bed to grab my cell phone from the nightstand. My fingers touch the phone, but I miss and knock it onto the floor.

“Fuck,” I groan and hang off the mattress to retrieve it. “What?” I yell into the receiver without looking at the Caller ID.

“Is that how you speak to your father?”

Oh, dear lord.

Make it fucking stop.

“What, Dad? I’m trying to sleep. I have a big game tonight against Penn State.”

“Yeah, I know. And I want you focused, but… I just talked to Alanna. Someone leaked a video of you, and it’s gone viral.”

At that, I sit up straight, eyes wide, heart pounding. “What kind of video?”

“You and Nate hugging by his car.” He lets out a deep sigh. “I thought we talked about this River. No more gay shit with Nate.”

---