Page 51 of Puck You
“If you want, I’m happy to talk to your dad.It might be helpful to hear things from a nurse’s perspective.”
“No, thanks,” I said, knowing how fragile the situation was.“I’ll talk to him when I’m home for Christmas break in a few weeks.If he won’t listen to me, then I’ll call you in for backup.”
This is going to work, I told myself.It has to.
>> <<
Wednesday was so eager to see the fallout from the weekend that it pressed fast-forward on Monday and Tuesday.Dread filled mystomach at the thought of our shared practice with the men’s team, and for good reason.The last time I’d seen Sebastian, he had been plunging into the icy lake.In other words, today’s training session had a great likelihood of ending disastrously.Facing him meant facing the fact that we’d kissed, and worse, that I’d liked it.No amount of self-reflection could help me make sense of that night.It wasn’t every day you found yourself lusting after someone you loathed.
“Grace, are you listening to me?”
Caroline was waving her hand in front of my face.
“Sorry.I’m a little out of it.”
“Lydia and I are worried about you.”When I shot her a look of confusion, she added, “You’ve been MIA since Sunday.I literally haven’t seen you in two days.You’re almost never home, and if you are, you’re sleeping.”
I wasn’t sure what or exactly how much to say.Since this weekend, I’d felt entirely off-kilter.Sam was the only one who knew about my kiss with Sebastian, and I wanted it to stay that way.What would Caroline think of me if she knew I was locking lips with the devil himself?Would she judge me?I didn’t want to find out.
“School’s been a lot,” I said, glancing down at my feet so I didn’t have to look her in the eyes.I didn’t feel great about withholding the full truth of why I’d been so distant, especially given everything she’d done to support my crusade against Sebastian.“It’s been impossible to keep up with everything.”
“I totally understand,” she said, tightening the laces on her skates.“I feel like my professors are trying to punish me for being a well-rounded student.”She continued to chat as we walked through the tunnel and entered the arena.It took all my strengthnot to look across the rink in search of Sebastian.“How are you doing after the party this weekend?The whole Sebastian and Landon thing was so intense.”
“I’m fine.”I recalled a sudden flash of green—Sebastian’s eyes blazing in fury as he clutched the front of Landon’s shirt.
“You disappeared for a while after.I’m sorry I didn’t check on you.I was so drunk, and I could have sworn I saw you and Sebastian down by the lake.”She laughed a little awkwardly at the admission, almost as if she wanted me to confirm the information.
“Yeah, no biggie,” I said, forcing a smile onto my face.“We’ve all been there.”
Caroline seemed to be dissecting my every movement.It felt like I was getting a glimpse into her future as a criminal defense attorney, and I was terrified.
“So,” I said, dragging out the vowel longer than necessary as Lydia sided up beside us.“Are you and Kent a thing?”
Lydia’s lips twitched into a smile as Caroline shot me a baffled look.“I don’t know what gave you that impression,” she said.
For someone so smart, Caroline was clueless when it came to guys.Kent had been flirting with her all night at Sebastian’s party.“Oh, come on, Caroline.You guys bicker like an old married couple.But it’s in an endearing way.Gives off couple vibes, you know?”
“Totally,” Lydia confirmed.
“It’s not like that,” said Caroline.“He just thinks I’m a know-it-all and likes to remind me.”
That was denial if I’d ever heard it.
“He likes to remind you because he likes to talk to you.”
“Seriously, Grace, it’s not like that,” she insisted.
It totally was, but Caroline was being willfully blind because she thought her personality was too much for most men.I, however, loved that she was unapologetically herself.Yes, at times she could be a know-it-all, but there were guys out there who liked dominant women.Kent had this glimmer in his eyes when he spoke to Caroline.There was definitely interest on his end.
“I’m not taking boy advice from the girl who still talks to her ex,” she snarked, and I instantly regretted our talk about Matt on the drive to the lake house.Caroline had seen us texting and went straight Nancy Drew on my ass.“That’s like the biggest dating no-no.”
She was annoyingly good at changing the subject or turning things around on other people.It made her difficult to argue with in addition to the fact that she was usually right.
“Okay,” I said, holding my hands up.“I’m dropping it.”
Without the immediate distraction of a conversation, I found myself instinctively searching the rink for Sebastian.I caught sight of his practice jersey just as the whistle blew for warm-ups.At first, I kept as far away from him as possible, moving to the back of the group as we looped the perimeter.But once practice was in full swing, I realized there was no point in trying to avoid him because he was already avoiding me.He barely paid me any notice, even as we were forced to team up for a six-passer shooting drill.It was a stark contrast to our first shared practice.
This was the best possible outcome I could have expected after the events of his birthday party.There was no scene in front of the coaches or attempts to expose our moonlit kiss.But even as I told myself this, I couldn’t ignore the tightening in my chest or the rush of disappointment that followed.For whatever twisted reason, I much preferred his relentless teasing to this coldindifference.It didn’t make sense; nothing ever did when it came to Sebastian.I’d lost the plot and was descending straight into madness.There was no other explanation, no way to make sense of my feelings.How could I both want Sebastian’s attention and detest his very existence?
