Page 52 of Puck You
“Hey, Grace, can I talk to you?”
I was already frowning when I turned to face Landon.At the sight of my scowl, his eyes fell to the ice.Good, I thought.At least he had the decency to look ashamed.
“I want to apologize about this weekend.”
“Are you always so handsy?”I asked.
Landon’s throat bobbed.“No, I promise.That wasn’t me.And if my sister were here, she would smack me upside the head for acting like such a loser.I’m truly sorry I made you uncomfortable.”
“Apology accepted,” I said, sensing that he was entirely sincere—or absolutely terrified of me.I liked to think it was a little of both.“But don’t think I can’t stick up for myself.Sebastian might have beaten me to the punch, but I’m just as capable of saying no.”
Landon smiled.“I’ll never make that mistake, not after watching you take down the golden boy in a matter of weeks.”
It was as if Sebastian could sense we were talking about him.Over Landon’s shoulder, our eyes connected for the first time all morning.It looked as though Sebastian had smelled something truly foul from the way his upper lip was curled in disgust.I had no idea what to make of him or of the way he’d been acting all practice.Clearly, he was mad.That much made sense.But there was something else in his expression that set me on edge.All I knew was that it couldn’t bode well for me.
>> <<
Sebastian
“I hate dressing up for Thanksgiving.”I pulled at the collar of my shirt.It felt like a trap.What was the point of wearing a button-up and nice pants when the entire goal of the controversial holiday was to eat yourself into a coma?
“But everyone looks so nice.”
Kent sounded far off, like he was on another planet.Caroline was standing in his line of vision, dressed in her usual shade of pink and sipping a glass of cider next to the refreshment table.Shocker.If he ever worked up the courage to ask her out in a way that she couldn’t interpret as joking, I’d buy him a round of shots and a lottery ticket.
Today felt weird.Spending Thanksgiving in a barn on the edge of Coach Riley’s property was not how I’d expected to celebrate.At least she’d had the foresight to station heaters throughout the drafty building.In the last few days, the temperature had dropped significantly.Winter was just around the corner.
“Why does it feel like this is a wedding?”Kent mused, looking up at the lights dangling from the ceiling.“Do you think Dawson and Riley hit it off?”
“Coach Riley is married.To a woman,” came a familiar voice from beside me.Coach Dawson had appeared out of nowhere, wearing the same exact button-down and dress pants from the gala.“And I’m also married.Thought you’d know that after four years on my team.”
I held back a snort of laughter as Kent’s ears reddened.
“I need to speak with Sebastian.Give us a moment, willyou?”Kent was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving us in an isolated spot near the back of the barn.
“Everything okay, Coach?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine.I just wanted to check in with you.Has Duncan sent in his usual progress report?”
Shock stole my breath in an instant.How could I have forgotten?Since being drafted, my scout from the Red Wings always sent a mid-season summary.The report provided an overview of my strengths and instructions on how to improve or further develop certain skills.Given my injury last season, the only time we’d communicated in the past year had been to discuss my recovery process.
“Sebastian?”
I grabbed my phone and started frantically scrolling though my email, desperate to find something from Duncan.But there was nothing in the last few weeks.I went back to the top of my inbox and searched for his email address.Nothing at all.
“Son, it’s nothing to worry about,” Coach Dawson said, setting a gentle hand on my shoulder.“I’m sure it’ll come in the next few weeks.”
I could barely hear his voice over the ringing in my ears.What if it wasn’t coming?I tried to recall when exactly the report had come in my freshman and sophomore years.It was alwaysbeforeThanksgiving.I was sure of that.
“I’m going to get some air.”
Dawson nodded and said, “Take some deep breaths.You have nothing to worry about.I’m your coach, so I can say that with one hundred percent certainty.”
I wanted him to be right, but as I tore out of the barn and into the brisk evening air, there was no mistaking the paniccrawling up my throat.I veered to the left and rounded the side of the barn, my foot catching on a discarded box of supplies.As I stumbled around the corner, I nearly fell head-first into the side of the barn.Instead, I caught myself against the wooden structure, and cold seeped through the skin of my palms.Calm down, I thought, desperate to ease the sudden nausea building in my stomach.Coach was right.There was nothing to worry about, right?
“Are you okay?”
I spun around, breathing shallow, heart seizing within the confines of my chest.Grace was bathed in orange hues from the setting sun, arms wrapped around herself protectively despite the long sleeves of her purple dress.A strange sensation movedthrough me as she took a hesitant step forward.I no longer felt in danger of asphyxiation; my panic was subsiding.Even my hands felt more steady as I wiped them across the front of my pants and straightened up.
