Page 75 of Puck You
Knowing that Sebastian had liked me from the beginning only made things more complicated.How long could we keep things casual?Don’t overthink it, Grace.Let things happen.It was Sam’s voice, urging me to let go of my worries.
“Thank you for telling me that.I forgive you.”
Sebastian placed a tender kiss on my forehead.I melted into his touch, allowing the stress to leave my body, but his next words sent a jolt of panic rushing through me.
“Do you want to stay the night?”
Don’t you dare freak out, I told myself.“It’s big step, right?Ithought we were keeping things casual.”
“I’m not asking you to marry me, Grace.You’re always going back and forth between our places.Wouldn’t it be easier to stay here every now and then?Don’t you want to?”
Of course I did—that was the problem.If I started treating this thing with Sebastian like a real relationship, I was bound to develop real feelings.The lovesick, heartbreak-inducing type.
“Maybe next time.Is that okay?”
“Let me walk you home at least.”
“Absolutely not.”
We both knew that if he walked me home, he’d end up in my bed.
“At least text me when you get there.”Sebastian pulled me back into his arms for another goodbye kiss.This one was much longer and much deeper than our last.I had no doubt he was attempting to distract me from leaving.When Sebastian’s tongue met mine, I pulled away breathlessly, scared that I’d fall victim to his antics.
“You’ll survive without me, I promise.”
“Let yourself out,” he told me, nodding toward the bedroom door.“If I follow you downstairs, I’ll likely follow you home.”
Sebastian held up my coat, and I slipped into the heavy material.My backpack quickly followed as he secured the straps over my shoulders.I resisted the urge to glance over my shoulder as I was leaving.Sometimes, all it took was one smoldering look from that boy and I was in deep trouble.
Chapter 18
Sebastian
“Watch those edges, Sebastian.You’re not deep enough.I need to see more power as you push off!”
I was sick and tired of hearing my name being shouted across the ice.Coach Dawson had been hounding me all practice, scrutinizing my every move.It did nothing to ease the dull twinge in my knee that had set in on Sunday morning in the wake of our back-to-back matches against Omaha.A full day of rest was not enough to ease the inflammation, and after two days of practice, the pain had gotten worse.But I was determined to push through.The last thing I needed was time off the ice to rest, especially given the uncertainty surrounding my future with Detroit.I felt a little more hopeless each day that passed without word from Duncan.
Despite my best efforts to fly under the radar all practice, I could feel eyes on me.Grace had been watching me closely from the moment we hit the ice, as if she could sense something was wrong.For the third time today, she cut in front of me and spoke in a quiet tone so the coaches didn’t hear us talking.
“What’s wrong?And don’t tell me it’s nothing.You’re favoring your right side.”
Damn her for being so perceptive.
“Can’t take you eyes off me, can you?”I quipped, flashing a broad smile in an attempt to dissuade her concern.Unfortunately, my words seemed to have the opposite effect.Grace crossed her arms over her chest like she was gearing up to give me a scolding.
“It’s just a little dull pain,” I admitted, looking around to make sure no one else was close enough to hear.“Nothing to worry about.I don’t want to make things worse.”
“Then you should rest.”
I scoffed at the suggestion.“That’s not going to happen.We play Denver this weekend.They’re easily our biggest competition this year.”
“If you want to be in your best shape for that game, practicing on a sore knee won’t help,” she insisted, and a few our teammates shot glances our way.
“Don’t mom me,” I warned in a low tone.“I’m capable of knowing my limits.”
I didn’t wait around for Grace to tell me off, not when other people had begun to notice our whispered conversation.Instead, I fell back into line behind Kent and prepared for another round of drills.For the remainder of practice, Grace kept her distance, though I could feel her worried glances from across the ice.Knowing both she and Coach Dawson were scrutinizing my every move, I pushed through the pain and finally managed a perfect run through our transitioning and attacking drill.By the time we exited the rink at the end of the hour, the dull throb in my knee had progressed to a steady thrum.I held back a wince as I collapsed onto the bench.I barely had a moment to breathewhen Grace was upon me, her helmet nestled between her side and her arm, one gloved hand clasped over the edge of the barrier of the rink.
“Taylor’s coming to take a look at that knee,” she said matter-of-factly.
