Page 36 of Crossing Lines

Striding by him, I fist-bumped him. “Yeah, that fucker Owen made Coach twist his bad knee and so I helped him home,” I said. “He only lives a few blocks from the bar.” I glanced around the room at them all watching me intently. “I’d had a lot to drink, so he let me stay on the couch.” There, I’d done it.

“Is his knee okay now?” Tyler tensed his brows.

“Yeah, it seemed better this morning. We iced it last night.” I flinched. Shit, was that the right thing to say?

Tyler nodded. “Good thing you saw what happened.” He clenched his jaw. “There’s a guy named Owen in one of my classes. Wonder if it’s the same guy?” He set his controller on the cushion next to him, then hit his fist into his palm. “Maybe I’ll let him know to stay away from Coach or he’ll have the whole team after him.”

“Yeah.” Mason jiggled his leg.

“I-I don’t know if your Owen is the same guy.” I held out my palms to Tyler. Jesus, these guys were getting all worked up. “I think I made it pretty clear he’d better stay away.” I wasn’t even sure if Ryan wanted them to know about all that. My gaze cut to Archer.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Archer hooked a brow and studied me. “Well, I’m glad you were there to help him.” He turned, then his breath caught, and he faced me, holding up his index finger. “But nothing happened between you two, right?”

“No, nothing happened.” I shook my head as my chest pinched. Fuck, lying to Archer actuallyhurt. “I’m going to go and change.” I ambled to the hallway, then into my bedroom. I was going to have to come clean with Archer. He was going to chew me out, but there was no way he was going to talk me out of seeing Ryan. I shucked off my clothes, then pulled a pair of team joggers up my legs.

A knock rapped on my door.

“Shit,” I muttered. After stepping to the door, I flung it open.

Archer stood there. “Can I come in?” He stepped inside my room, shut the door behind him, then leaned against it.

“Looks like you’re coming in no matter what.” I walked to the edge of my bed and dropped down. He was here to talk about Ryan. I could feel it.

“What’s going on, for real?” He bumped off the door and ambled into the room to sit beside me. “You can talk to me, Jonah.”

“You’re not going to like what I have to say.” With a scoff, Ihung my head, my pulse thumping in my chest. I’d told Ryan I was going to confide in Archer.

“Try me.” He draped an arm over my shoulders.

I clenched my jaw for a beat. “I lied. Ryan and I, we?—”

“Hooked up?” He wrinkled his brows.

“Well, it wasn’t really a hookup. We spent the night together, and we’re going to keep seeing each other.” I freed a rough exhale. “I more than like him, Archer. You know that.”

“He agreed to this?” He dipped his head to look into my face.

Nodding, I said, “Yeah, he did. We need to keep it a secret, though. We’re not sure how much trouble he’d be in if Coach Patterson found out.” I had to make Archer see it wasn’t that big of a deal. “It’s only for a few months, then I’ll be moving on. Either to medical school or…” My heart jolted. What if, in some bizarre turn of events, I started getting scouted?

“Or? Or maybe you’ll sign with a team somewhere and move?” He hugged me to his side. “Jonah, you’re not thinking of messing up your chances for the NHL to stay here with Coach Gibson, are you?”

“Shit, I don’t know.” Would it be so bad to end up as a doctor? “It’s too soon for me to make a decision like that.” I turned my head to meet his gaze. “But being a physician isn’t exactly a bad thing.”

“But you love hockey. You’re the reason I’m still here after my mom died. If it weren’t for you…shit, I’d have quit.” He chewed his lower lip. “I’ve been hearing rumors of scouts coming around. Your stats are great this year.” He chuckled. “Well, until Coach Gibson showed up and distracted you for a few games.”

“Yeah, but now I think I’m playing better. I’ve been playing for him, to be noticed by him.” I relaxed my shoulders, my pulse slowing. Archer wasn’t going to chew me out. He was going to stand by me. I should have known.

“Well, I’ll keep your secret.” He pursed his lips. “I don’tknow how long you’re going to be able to keep it from the other guys, though. You know how nosy they can be.”

“Yeah, especially Ace. He figures everything out,” I said with a chuckle. Ace was too smart for his own good.

“It’s why he’s such a great goalie. He’s always working out what’s going to happen next based on what he sees now.” With a sigh, he lifted his head. “I wonder if I can get my dad, you know, Coach Dupont, not my dad in Minnesota, to talk to some of the scouts on the Coyotes and see if they’ll give you a look for camp.”

“Archer…” I pressed my lips together. “I don’t want to get on a team because of a favor. I want to get on a team because I earned it.” Though, it would be cool to be in the Coyotes development camp with Archer and Mason.

“I’m still going to talk to him about it. He knows you’re my best friend.” He tugged on me, bumping my shoulder into his chest. “We’ve been playing together all these years. It would be weird not having you with me at camp.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want any favors.” I focused on him. He needed to take me seriously on this. But what if I got picked up by a team across the country and my relationship with Ryan worked out? An ache rolled across my heart. We’d figure it out when the time came. “Anyway, I’ve got studying to do.”

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