Page 43 of The Icing on the Cake
I barely listen to the rest of Coach’s speech. All I can think about is Neesha, and how glad I am that she wasn’t here to see this. When Coach finally leaves, I head to the trainer’s room to get the throbbing pain in my face and ribs looked at.
Mike cleans the cut on my cheek and examines my lip and ribs. “Gonna need a couple stitches for the cheek,” he says. “Lip should heal on its own, but it’ll be swollen tonight. And you’regoing to have a good bruiser around that eye and across your ribs.”
Asher stops in the doorway while Mike finishes up. “So, how are you going to explain this to Cupcake Girl?”
“I don’t know,” I mutter.
Ever since our date, I’d been planning to ask her out again, but now I’ll have to avoid her until my face heals.
“Maybe tell her you walked into a door?” Weston suggests.
“Very believable,” Asher says.
“Could say you were breaking up a bar fight,” Carson drawls on his way by the room. “Women love a hero.”
“Or you could just tell her the truth,” Weston says. “Crazy concept, I know.”
I shake my head, immediately regretting it as pain surges through my face. “She’s not ready to hear me explain why I waited to tell her,” I say. “Or to date a hockey player yet.”
“If you don’t tell her, Nate will,” Asher warns. “Unless you get to her first.”
I climb off the table, gathering my things and feeling a heavy weight on my chest that has nothing to do with my injury. “Maybe I do need to tell her tonight.”
“Tonight?” Weston asks. “Looking like you just went ten rounds with a grizzly bear?”
I look at my reflection in the mirror. My left cheek sports a bandage covering the stitches, and my bottom lip is swollen and split. There’s the beginning of a bruise along my jawline and eye. And my bruised ribs are making it hard for me to walk—not exactly how I wanted to have this conversation.
“Maybe give it a day?” Asher suggests. “Put some ice on it, let the swelling go down a bit and figure out how you’re going to tell her…hopefully before she finds out on her own.”
I let out a defeated sigh that makes my ribs hurt even more. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” But for some reason, I just want more time—a few more weeks to earn her trust and prove myself worthy of her.
Unfortunately, time is the one thing I don’t have.
When I pull into my driveway after the game, all I want is a painkiller and my bed. The adrenaline from the game has long worn off, leaving every bruise throbbing with pain.
I glance at Neesha’s window. It’s dark, which is good—that gives me more time to figure out how I’m going to break the news. It even might buy me a few days if she’s busy.
I’m fumbling with my keys, getting soaked in the drizzling rain, when a dog barks nearby.
Turning, I see Neesha on the small porch swing in front of Mrs. Nelson’s house, wrapped in a cardigan and blanket, holding a mug in her hands. Henry thumps his tail as he sits at her feet. Any other time, seeing Neesha would be the highlight of my day, but not tonight, when I’m so battered and bruised, I can’t even think straight. My mouth goes dry as my head spins, trying to pretend nothing’s wrong.
“How was your night?” she asks.
“It’s been better,” I reply, keeping to the shadows, hoping she can’t see me in the dark. “What are you doing out here? I thought you’d be asleep by now.”
“Henry needed to go out,” she says. “And I love listening to the sound of the rain.” She climbs off the swing and steps off the porch, squinting in the dim light. “Are you okay? You don’t sound like yourself.”
I should tell her everything right now. But I’m bone-tired, every part of my face is screaming in pain, and the words I need to say feel jumbled in my head. She deserves better than me stumbling through the truth while I can barely think straight.
“Just tired,” I mumble. “Long day.”
She takes a few more steps toward me, closing the space between us while I search for an escape. “I was working on my business plan tonight and was wondering if you could take a look at it…”
“Sorry, not tonight. I’m not feeling well,” I say, turning awayfrom her, but I drop my keys and we both reach for them at the same time.
She gets to them first, and when she looks up, her eyes widen as she takes in the bandage, the split lip, and the darkening bruise.
“Lucian!” she gasps. “What happened to you?”
