Page 12 of Puck You Not

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From:[email protected]

To:[email protected]

Date:March 17, 2025

Subject:One Month Left

Did you just call me out for Nickelback?C’mon, someone has to like them.I’m a big fan ofBurn It to the Ground.It’s great for amping up pregame.

Which reminds me.We’re eleven months into this back and forth game, and you’re still giving me crap?

I think I’m in love.

Also, I’m not losing this bet.

I’ll figure out who you are before April 15.That’s our one year mark.

Idon’tlose.

P

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I grinned.We’d made a bet over him figuring out my name, but I had news for him.This time, jock or not, crush or not, he was definitely going to lose.Because Parish Locksby, captain of the hockey team, and dorky Avalon Warner…yeah, no.That wasn’t happening.

Still, I couldn’t stop smiling at his email.I would definitely keep having fun and pretending he really could love me.While it lasted, anyway.

Two

Avalon

I think I’m in love.

I sighed.Though I’d tried to forget him writing that, putting it off to a glib response, the words lingered in my thoughts.If only they were true.With my crush on him, I could easily return the sentiment.

Honestly, I couldn’t believe we’d been exchanging emails for almost a year while managing to stay anonymous.It was probably a good thing we hadn’t exchanged names, though.I definitely wasn’t in his league, and it would have led to an early end to the messaging.

I knew that.He didn’t.

The disparity of our social statuses hadn’t stop me from emailing him back and forth a few times a week, ever since last April—barring the summer break, of course.And each of his short messages had managed to make me smile.I loved bantering with him.Being anonymous gave me free rein to be completely myself, something I had never been comfortable doing with another guy.

It was ridiculous, really, this addiction to him.Daily, I’d stalked my inbox like a starving lioness after her prey.I waited anxiously for every email from Parrish Locksby.

Because, yes, I knewexactlywhohewas.

After about the third time he’d written me, I’d conducted an investigation, and it had taken me less than fifteen minutes to suss out who was on the other end of the messages.It hadn’t been difficult to determine the identities of the university’s team captains.Only one had the initials PL.

Parrish Locksby.Ice hockey captain.And drop-dead gorgeous with the cocky little grin he’d sported in his official team pic.

And I knew him.I mean…kind of.We’d had class together our sophomore year.

I’d about fallen off my chair when I’d pulled up his profile to verify it was who I remembered.His photo had been updated since we’d been in the same Shakespeare course.But yeah, he was the guy who’d sat beside me for almost every session.

And this was who I’d been corresponding with?

Yeah… One look and I’d known I wouldn’t be revealing my identity.The guy had All-American god written all over him.I wouldn’t have been surprised if girls swooned when he passed them, just like the silly girls in Beauty and the Beast, who’d practically fainted as Gaston had walked by.Some guys would react the same, too.No judgment from me.

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