Page 36 of Chips & Checks
Chad stumbles a step, regains his footing, but he’s favoring something. When he glances down and subtly adjusts his stance, I catch it.
That little shift. The wince. That’s a groin pull.
“Oh, no,” I say, deadpan. “You tweaked your pretty little adductors?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Chad mutters under his breath.
I flash him a smile. “Better tell your massage therapist.”
His eyes narrow. “I’ll just have Violet ice it.”
“Dr.Sawyer isn’t a sports masseuse. But I guess you’re trying to look pathetic in front of her.”
The whistle blows again before he can respond.
Chad is still limping by the time we make our way to the locker room. He groans with every step, cupping his junk with both hands. “Oh, man, thathurts.”
Viktor raises one eyebrow. “You pulled a muscle, dude. Your balls arefine. Ice it tonight and you’ll forget it ever happened.”
“No, you don’t get how bad it hurts.” Chad limps toward the showers. “My groin iskillingme.” He pauses near my locker and smirks at me. “Guess I’ll have to see Violet right away,” he adds with a wink so oily I feel the urge to Purell my soul. “Looks like I won’t be able to stay away from her after all…”
Viktor frowns at me. When we met up last night, I didn’t mention the whole Chad and Violet situation. I didn’t want to air out Violet’s dirty laundry, and I figure it’s better to let people see us spending more time together before we launch into thewhole fake-dating schtick to make it look organic. These guys have known Violet forever, and they wouldn’t buy our story if we launched right into announcing our status as a couple.
Camden’s arm twitches toward me, as if he thinks he’s going to have to physically restrain me from leaping on Chad and tearing him a new one. I shake my head, just a little bit, to let him know that I’ve got this. As calmly as I can manage, I give Chad a tepid once-over.
“Look at you, playing hard and fast with your career. And you’re too stupid to know it.”
I could deck him. But if I do, I’m the one who looks unhinged. The one who gets suspended. And Violet’s left to deal with him alone.
Chad’s smile vanishes. “Nothing is gonna happen. I’m a hockey star. Dante loves me. Unlike you, I have some magic. And as long as we keep winning, I keep doing what I want.”
“We’ll see about that,” I tell him, and go back to minding my own business. I don’t let Chad see that my hands are both balled into fists.
There’s a plan. Remember the plan.Violet’s going to document anything that Chad does, and while we’re at the arena, he’s unlikely to do anythingtooout of line. If I rile him up, it’ll do more harm than good.
Chad stomps off to the shower. I can feel that the other guys are looking at me, but I try to play it cool and act like everything’s fine.
Viktor speaks first. “Should I be worried about whatever’s going on between you two?”
“Nah.” I don’t look up from arranging my gym bag. “I’m cool.”
Viktor huffs. “What about you, Beck? You look like you know what’s up with these two.”
“They know each other,” is all Camden says. “They like each other.”
Viktor waits for him to continue, but we both clam up. I turn my head to one side to catch Camden’s eye, and he gives me a tiny nod of his own.
“Cool.” Viktor steps back. “As long as you guys can handle your shit on the ice, I’m not sure I care.” He heads to the showers, too.
Camden is still watching me, though. He’s dropped even the pretense of busyness.
“You have something to say?” I ask, still a little riled up from Chad’s crap.
“Yeah. You’re not who I thought you were.”
I slam my locker door and turn to him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Cam looks around to make sure that nobody’s listening. Most of the guys are in the showers, and the only other people in potential hearing distance are at the far end of the room. Still, he lowers his voice when he says, “I thought you were a player. Like, the kind of guy who sleeps with as many chicks as possible and tosses them aside?”
