Page 2 of Grumpy Darling

She laughed softly. “Chocolate cake or cinnamon rolls? I know it’s a hard decision, but you’re looking at me like you’ve forgotten what baking is.”

“I know I might have lost a few brain cells playing hockey, but I haven’t been slammed into the boardsthatmuch.”

“Yes, you are more of a slammer than a slammee.” She grinned. “So, what do you think?”

“Uh, maybe cinnamon rolls?” I might never eat a muffin again; I didn’t need her to ruin chocolate cake for me too.

“Good choice.” Paige nodded, but then her expression started to sour. “Although, I may not get a chance to cook again for a while. I think my mom’s been possessed by the ghost of a college admissions officer. She’s on a total rampage about my applications. And with my dad going away on a business trip tomorrow, I’ll be the only one in the house for her to nag. I swear she’s going to chain me to my desk until I finish them.”

She scrunched her nose up at the thought, and I found my chest tightening with sympathy. It was rare to see Paige without a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eye, but when it happened, it was usually because of her parents. They were both so wrapped up in themselves and their jobs, they frequently acted as though she didn’t exist. And when they did pay attention to her, she often wished they hadn’t. Paige’s lack of future direction was an especially sore spot between her and her mom.

“You’re so lucky you know what you want to do with your life,” she muttered. “I can’t even figure out what my hobbies are, let alone what colleges I want to apply to, or what career aspirations I have.”

I certainly felt lucky to have hockey in my life. Especially since I’d been offered a full scholarship to play at my dream school, Ryker University, next year. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite as straightforward as it sounded. I only had a verbal agreement with them. Nothing would be official until signing day, in a couple of weeks. Until then, I was skating on very thin ice.

“Maybe you could tell your mom you want to be a chef?” I suggested.

“Maybe.” Paige laughed. “Do you think she’ll be convinced after trying one of my muffins?”

“Sure.” My stomach took that moment to groan loudly, reminding me what a terrible liar I was. “Uh, I better get back in there before Coach Ray starts to wonder where I am.”

“You’re probably right,” she agreed, before she reached up to give me a quick hug. It was something she’d done a thousand times over the years, but it never stopped my heart from racing.

“I’ll catch you later, Gray.” Her arms fell and I immediately missed their warmth. The corners of her lips lifted as she started to back away. “Oh, and great game today. You were amazing. That block you made in the second period was incredible. We wouldn’t have won without you.”

I scoffed under my breath. The block she was praising me for wasn’t that impressive, and I knew my performance had been well below my best. I’d played particularly badly in the final period, when my old injury had started to flare up.

My knee had been causing me problems ever since I injured my MCL a few years back. And although it had been doing better recently, I’d landed on it badly in preseason training. I couldn’t afford to give it time to rest though. Not when my whole future relied upon it working.

I just needed to push through the pain until the ink had dried on that scholarship contract. I couldn’t let the coaches at Ryker see my performances drop, or discover I was damaged goods, in case they withdrew their offer entirely. But now the season was in full swing, with constant games and training, I wasn’t confident my knee would hold out.

“I’m sure the guys would have been just fine without me.” Paige knew my knee was bothering me, but I’d never told her quite how precarious my situation was.

“No way. The Devils would be nothing without big bad Grayson Darling.” She flashed me one last smile, before she started for the exit. “See you tomorrow.”

“Sunday dinner at our place?”

“As always,” she called back over her shoulder.

I watched until she disappeared around the corner before returning to the locker room. Despite being far from happy with the way I played today, it was hard not to feel lighter after talking to Paige. Then I opened the locker room door.

“Is Grayson’s girlfriend trying to kill us?” I heard someone groan.

It wasn’t the first time Paige had been referred to as my girlfriend. We spent so much time together, I could understand people making that assumption. However, most of my friends and teammates knew just as well as I did that we’d only ever been friends.

“Girlfriend?” Matt snorted. “He wishes.” Usually, not even Reed’s best friend tried joking about me. Either he was feeling brave, or the guys hadn’t realized I was back.

“It’s lucky she’s hot,” Elliot added. “Watching her ass walk out the door almost made me forget she just violated my mouth with those muffins.”

My knuckles cracked as my hands clenched at my sides. Paige might not be my girlfriend, but I still wouldn’t let anyone talk about her that way. One more word from our team’s goalie, and I was going to do something that would see us both sidelined for the rest of the season.

I loudly cleared my throat, causing everyone in the locker room to snap their heads in my direction. When Elliot saw the look in my eyes, his face went white.

In moments like these, I didn’t really mind the infamous reputation my brothers and I had developed over the years. There were always rumors circulating about the Darling Devils, each one more outrageous than the last. Most of them weren’t true, but it could be useful sometimes. Like when we wanted to intimidate our opponents on the ice, or force our teammates to consume poisonous baked goods in the locker room after the game. In this case, it was useful to stop a jerk like Elliot objectifying my best friend.

“Oh, uh, sorry, Grayson, I—”

“I think what Elliot wastryingto say is that the muffins were memorable. Right, Ford?” Parker prompted, giving Elliot a hard look.

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