Page 143 of Call the Shots
“Why you’d think it’s appropriate to reprimand Bear for that, I’m not sure. I’ll assume this is a misunderstanding. Because you wouldn’tpunishBear for this. Especially not on a recorded call that I could easily pull up for the Marrs administration.”
“Yikes,” Montoya whispered, and a dozen teammates shushed him.
“I…I guess not,” Vernon muttered.
“What was that?” I snapped. “I didn’t hear you.”
“I didn’t understand the situation.”
“I’d like to make sure that you’d never say—thatMarrswould never say—a perfect attendance is worth more than someone’s life.”
“I never said?—”
“So Bear’s not in trouble.”
A long silence followed. “Beau—Bear’s not in trouble.”
I ended the call to a team of shocked faces. Whatever. After the summer, I wouldn’t be working for the hockey team. If I got in trouble, it really didn’t matter. I handed Bear his phone and turned to face him.
Bear gazed down at me, breathing slowly, his lips parted in surprise.
“I’m theonly onewho gets to talk to you like that,” I said, still aggravated.
Quickly, he nodded. “Uh-huh. The only one.”
“Fucking ridiculous is what it is,” I muttered, shimmying to the left, cozying up to?—
Bear.
I froze at the same time Bear stiffened, his body taut against mine. This wasn’t out of the ordinary for me. I cuddled with Kingthroughout college and now plenty with Fridge and Montoya. Nick even pretended to sit in my lap at a meeting!
But Bear and I weren’t like that.
Right?
We weren’t. Maybe. I didn’t know.
I couldn’t leap away from him, that’d get everyone’s attention, and Bear lived up to his name with the bear hugs. Cuddling Bear sounded three times as good as that. Plus, we were friends. Friends could cuddle.
Like Bear was counting down the seconds too, he relaxed, pulling his arm from between us. I kept my eyes focused on the TV, all too aware of Bear stretching his arm behind me until he slipped it down to my waist.
His hand rested at my thigh, fingers brushing against me.
After the last twenty-four hours, I was so cold and tired, and Bear was…Bear. Big and warm and comforting.
My belly swooped when his fingers grazed my thigh again. The hoodie was so big, it should’ve offered coverage, but I felt every touch while he gently rubbed the top of my thigh until it was only his thumb, absentmindedly tracing patterns. My heart thudded in my chest, knocking against my ribcage.
This was cuddling. Cuddling with Bear was like everyone else.
Sure. Yes.
I felt eyes on me. Montoya. He was watching us with a knowing smile. When his eyes met mine, he glanced at the TV in a hurry. “I fell down the hole again!”
CHAPTER 53
BEAR
ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER
