Page 118 of Revolve
She must see my brow quirk, because she points ahead to where Dylan whizzes past us.
“Dylan,” she clarifies. “It’s his last game, right?”
My mind is a tangled mess. I’ve been bracing myself for our last skate, so I wouldn’t do or say something stupid. Like ask him to stay.
“Sampson said Coach Kilner told him he would finally be reinstated and still get to play for New York next year, but Dylan said no,” Amara explains.
My heart bottoms out. “He said no?”
“Flat out. Just up and quit,” she says. “That’s what Sampson told me. But I thought you knew.”
I want to press her with more questions to settle the confusion in my chest, but the words won’t come. Summer holds out a churro, and in my foggy confusion, I don’t even recall eating the whole thing and crushing the white sugar-covered wrapper in my fist.
Though they definitely notice. “You okay?” Summer asks.
I only nod. Then the last seconds of the final period trickle on and Dalton wins. I feel a ball in my throat that I can’t swallow. I need to get out of here.
“I’m going to just—” I hike my thumb to the exit, and before they can ask anything else, I’m out of the arena. The buzzer signaling the end of the game wraps around the building, and I can hear it in my ears even as I’m halfway across the parking lot running toward absolutely nothing.
I’VE GOT THEWeather Channel loud in my dorm room. But this time, Dale Thunderman doesn’t calm my nerves. My phone buzzes beside me. It’s Scarlett.Forgot my keys. Open the door for me?
When I open the door, Dylan’s standing there. His face does devastating damage to my heart. Scarlett and Kian are behind him, but they bolt down the hall, and she shouts something about him being too persuasive.
“I swear I saw you at the game earlier, but I must’ve been mistaken,” he says. I close the door behind him when he moves past me without an invitation.
“You quit.” The words sound almost accusatory. “You love hockey.”
“I know what I love, Sierra,” he says, his voice rough. All the air is sucked out of the room and my lungs. One look at him and his irritatingly handsome face, and I can’t take a proper breath.
“You’ve seen me. I’ve been juggling these two sports and classes and being on my best behavior. I’ve finally found something I enjoy,withsomeone I enjoy. Is that so wrong?”
“But you’ve worked so hard for hockey. You still get to play for New York.”
“Barely,” he mutters. “They’ll put me on a developmental team. I can be the best player out there, but I’ve been in too many fights. I’m too reckless, too physical, too everything.”
“So, you’re choosing figure skating?”
“I’m choosing to figure skate withyou.”
My throat dries like I’ve swallowed dirt.
“The closer I got to reinstatement, the less I wanted it. My whole life I’ve been playing this part, to be someone, to prove my dad wrong, to just get to the next day. But when I’m on that ice with you, I don’t want it to end. I wake up every morning happy because I know we get to do it all over again together.”
I shake my head. “But this partnership was supposed to be temporary.”
He runs a hand through his hair, closing the small space between us. “If you think any of what happened between us is temporary, Sierra, then this is me showing you that it’s not. Not a single fucking thing I did with you wastemporary.”
My heart beats outside of my chest. It all feels like too much. Too fast. Too familiar.
“What if you regret it? This sport isn’t fun when you lose, Dylan, and I’ve been on that side before. I can’t do that again. Not with you.”
“Do I look like I regret this?” he asks. “I’ve been doing this with you for months. I don’t care if we have to try again and again as long as it’s with you.”
“You will,” I say. “Trust me, that’s what Justin—”
“Don’t compare me to him.”
I swallow. “But I’m—”
