Page 38 of Puck'N Enemy
His annoyance vanishes instantly. He stares at me with wide, shocked eyes, holding his burger without taking a bite.
“Has nothing changed?” he asks in a low voice.
“Everything’s changed,” I say, knowing exactly what he means. “I’m no longer in the dark and I’m never letting you sacrifice yourself for me.”
He sips his Coke in silence, glancing at me from time to time.
For a while, we simply eat and do our best to steal fries from each other’s trays. It’s astonishing how we can simply be with each other even though we have years of catching up to do.
Dylan’s gaze drifts toward the window. A thoughtful expression spreads on his beautiful face as he stares at the darkness outside.
“We need a plan,” I say, breaking the silence.
He doesn’t immediately turn his attention toward me.
When he finally does, he looks anxious. “Have you thought this through, Logan? Pete’s a dirty, cheap asshole who’ll do anything to destroy you.” He unconsciously squeezes the paper napkin in his hand. “You’ve got a great future waiting for you. I’m sure you’ll get drafted this year and go on to play in the NHL.”
“It’s the same for you,” I tell him. “You’re good enough to get drafted too.”
He smiles, reminding me of the boy I was always in love with.
“I don’t care about that,” he says. “I want to become a coach when I grow up.”
Happiness bubbles in my chest. “Coaching a hockey team is harder than playing in the leagues,” I say, taking a sip of my drink.
He grins. “I’m always up for a challenge,” he says, winking.
I take a deep breath. “We’ll both get to live our dreams,” I tell him. “But for that to happen, you’ve got to realize you can’tkeep living this way. You can’t continuously watch your back and hide from everyone. You can’t run away when things go wrong. You’ve got to stand your ground and tackle the situation.”
He nods hesitantly. “What if he hurts you?”
“I’ll survive,” I say, looking deep into his emerald eyes. “What I won’t survive is watching you disappear again.”
“Coffee?” Our waitress is back at our table.
I glance toward Dylan.
He nods, so I tell her to bring us two cups of black coffee.
“Pete knows where you live,” I say after a while. “That envelope he sent you...it was a warning.”
“Wait...you know about that?”
“Coach knows about it too.”
“Fuck!” He runs his fingers through his wild auburn strands, looking disturbed.
Our waitress comes back with our coffee, so I stay quiet until she leaves. Picking up my mug, I take a sip of the strong, bitter beverage.
“What if he tries to hurt Coach Becker too?” Dylan gets agitated immediately. “He’s too weak from his chemo sessions. There’s no way he can deal with the trouble I’ll be bringing to his doorstep. Maybe I should live on campus, after all. But then, there’s going to be no one to take care of him.”
“Dylan, calm down,” I say, laying my hand over his.
He jerks, startled by the simple gesture.
“You’re not going anywhere,” I say in a grim tone. “If you’re worried about Coach, you shouldn’t leave him. I’ll figure out a way to deal with Pete to keep him away from you.”
“But how?”
