Page 30 of Revolve
She must read that realization on my face. “No one is available in time for what you need. Unless you’re okay sitting this season out.”
I blink away the sting behind my eyes.
“Have the tryout, then take the night to think about it,” Kilner suggests.
I nod, and when we’re dismissed from his office, Dylan’s already headed out the double doors of the arena. I’m chasing him down by the time he’s halfway to his car.
“Donovan,” I call, and he stops just as he reaches for the door handle. He turns, cocks his head, and smiles.
“Don’t even think about showing up tomorrow,” I snap. I don’t have it in me to be subtle. He’s suspended for drug use. And I knowhis reputation on campus. How could I rely on someone like that when I have so much on the line? I’ll have to try harder to find someone on my own. “This isn’t a joke, and I won’t let anyone screw this up for me.”
He steps into my space. “You need a partner, Sierra. And I’m on suspension. It’s not like I have anything better to do.”
“Gee, thanks. You really know how to make a girl feel special,” I bite out. “But even if I do need a partner, it is never going to be you.”
The words hang between us, sharp and pointed, but he doesn’t back down. Instead, his expression hardens, something competitive flickering in his eyes. That’s when I see the hockey player in him, the one everyone says is dangerous and has a reputation for brawling on the ice.
“Look, we both know I can skate pretty damn well—”
“You’re okay,” I cut in.
“And you need a partner with a schedule that can allow for an intense training plan.”
I hate that he makes sense. “You expect me to believe you actually want to do this?”
He sighs like I’m being difficult. “You were in there with me, Sierra. Does it look like I had a choice?”
My chest feels heavier. The last thing I want is to be in a forced partnership. After Justin, it feels impossible to jump back in and trust someone new. Especially someone whose lifestyle is so different from mine. Dylan plays hockey, but it’s not his entire life. Skating is mine, and he won’t ever understand that.
“Don’t show up tomorrow,” I say.
Dylan raises his brows. “Is that a threat?”
“Yes.”
“Shouldn’t have said that, Sierra. I’m dying to see what one of your threats entails.”
“You don’t want to find out,” I say.
For a moment, he just stares at me, his brown eyes gleaming withsomething I can’t quite place. I brace myself for a smug comeback, something sharp and infuriating that will make my blood boil. Instead, he steps back, maddeningly confident as he unlocks his black Range Rover.
Before he sits inside, with one hand on the door, he leans just close enough to catch my eye. “See you tomorrow, princess.”
And then he’s gone, the roar of his engine fading into the distance, leaving me standing there, fists clenched, heat prickling at the back of my neck.
THIRTEEN
DYLAN
BREAKFAST AT THEhockey house was tense. I suppose it’s the kind of awkward that lingers long after your friends host your intervention at the dining table. After that the silence in the house felt loud and was only broken by the creepy old radio Kian thrifted last week. It exclusively plays country, but I’m convinced that’s his way of getting on Aiden’s good side. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who got a lecture. Sucker.
But after my meeting with Coach Kilner and Lidia Orlov, I know this is the only way to prove myself. Still, they’ve got to be out of their mind if they think Sierra and I could make a good partnership. But watching her squirm? Fuck, it made me wonder what she’d do with my hands on her and her focus on me, inches apart on that ice.
“There he is!” Kian shouts when he enters the house. “Our figure skater.”
I had finally sat down to study when my friends burst through the front door. They’re wearing plastic glasses with tiny spinning wheels on the sides, one frame emblazoned with aDand the other with anS.
Great, it’s started.
