Page 30 of Prince Material
And before I could protest, he was off, his long legs eating up the ground. I hesitated for only a moment before following, my own laughter joining his in the cool October night.
For once, I didn’t think about my father’s sacrifice or my carefully planned future. I ran, chasing the sound of Floris’s laughter and ignoring the truth that took root in my heart.
Because I was definitely in trouble. Big, big trouble.
9
FLORIS
Orson always had a study group on Wednesday afternoons, so I had set up a FaceTime call with Greg, Nils, and Tore so we could talk in private. I settled on my bed, propping my phone against my laptop as Greg’s face filled the screen, soon joined by Nils and Tore in their separate windows.
“Finally escaped your roommate, then?” Greg’s posh accent came through clearly.
As if I would ever want to deliberately escape Orson’s presence. I wasn’t looking too deep into the why of that feeling, though.
“He’s at his study group,” I said, adjusting my position. “How’s everyone doing?”
“Bloody brilliant,” Tore said. “I’m loving college life. Though that asshole Farron is still being a dick.”
Nils frowned. “Farron?”
“The star defender on his football team,” I helpfully supplied. “You know, the one Tore can’t stop talking about for more than five minutes?”
“Shut up, Floris,” Tore growled, but his cheeks reddened.
“What? I’m providing context for our forgetful hockey prince here.” I grinned innocently at the camera.
Nils’s eyes lit up. “Ah, right. That one.”
I focused on Tore again. “What did the walking attitude problem do this time?”
“He keeps challenging my plays during practice. Like yesterday? I had this perfect set-up for a goal, but Mr. Know-It-All starts yelling that I’m not following proper formation.” Tore’s face flushed with frustration, his jaw clenching. “Then he has the nerve to demonstrate the ‘correct’ way, which was exactly what I was doing in the first place!”
“Sounds like someone’s trying to get your attention,” Greg teased.
“Yeah, my attention to punch him. He deliberately shoulders past me in the locker room too. Who does that?”
“Someone who desperately wants to feel your muscles?” I suggested, waggling my eyebrows. “I mean, there are easier ways to cop a feel, but maybe he’s shy.”
“I swear to god, Floris, when I see you next?—”
“You’ll thank me for my incredible insight into the human heart? Why, you’re welcome!”
“Shut your face,” Tore snapped, and I held up my hands in a mock surrender. The way Tore’s eyes lit up when he talked about Farron, even if it was to complain, told me everything I needed to know about his true feelings for him. But I valued my life too much to point out just how many times he’d mentioned Farron in our last three calls.
“Speaking of attention,” Nils said, his face brightening, “I got some news. Remember that assistant hockey coach position I mentioned? At the college near Buffalo in upstate New York?”
“Yeah?” I leaned closer to my screen. “The one where you’d have to brave the American winter? Are you sure you don’t wantto apply somewhere tropical instead? I hear Hawaii has ice rinks.”
Nils rolled his eyes. “They’ve invited me for an interview next week. Through Zoom, obviously, but that didn’t seem to be an issue for them.”
Since Nils was older than us by a few years, attending college as a student wasn’t an option for him. The good news was that he had a degree in sports and experience as a hockey coach, not to mention he’d played hockey for years at a competitive level. He’d be perfect for this job.
“That’s amazing, Nils!” Greg said and Nils’s smile widened even more. “You’ll do brilliantly. I know you will.”
“God, I hope so. It’s the first college that has shown serious interest so far. Well, I’m not counting the two that offered me a salary that was below what we would pay interns.”
“I have every confidence you’ll get the job,” I said. “Though I still can’t believe you’re choosing to live somewhere that gets more snow than Sweden.”
