Page 102 of Don't Let Me Go (Don't Let Me 2)

“Hmm,” I hum.

His eyes drop to my mouth as he asks, “You gonna wish me luck in today’s game?”

“Yeah, you gonna wish us luck, Baby Thorne?” Tukani interjects, bouncing his eyebrows up and down.

Apparently, my conversation with Theo is over. For now.

Feigning annoyance, I shove Tukani toward the ice and order, “Get out there, Tsunami.”

Throwing his head back, he laughs as the announcer says his name over the speaker, leaving me with Theo.

“Good luck,” I add.

Softly checking me with his shoulder, he slips on his helmet and steps onto the ice. Not gonna lie. I can’t help but fall for that cocky look as he skates toward a few of his teammates lined up in the neutral zone, his hockey stick raised in the air while the announcer calls his name over the speakers.

Burrows' name is called next, and he slips past me, his eyes holding mine for a split second too long as he joins the rest of the players on the ice.

I should feel guilty––and in a way, I do––for hurting Burrows. For pushing him away at the party, only to sleep with Theo. But even if I could go back, I wouldn’t.

I should be thanking him. Burrows. For pushing Theo to see me as someone other than his best friend’s little sister. Not that I was using Burrows or rubbing him in Theo’s nose. Still. We haven’t really talked since everything happened. Even the massages have been practically silent thanks to Russ’s proximity. They’ve felt forced. Awkward. Tense.

I watch as he skates toward the opposite side of the lineup, leaving plenty of space between him and Theo, which only adds another block of guilt to my shoulders. I’ll need to fix it soon. Talk to him, maybe. I just don’t know what to say.

Russ clears his throat beside me and folds his arms when he catches me staring. “Everything good?”

“Yup,” I answer, though he doesn’t look convinced. Apparently, I’m batting a thousand today.

* * *

There are only three more minutes in the first period of the game, and we’re down two to zero as the seconds tick by on the clock.

“Come on, guys!” I yell, cupping my hands around my mouth as Depp and Graves fight with the opposing team’s center for the puck.

Depp steals it and passes it to Theo at the center of the ice. Theo chips it off the board toward Colt. Charging the goalie, the defensemen hot on his tail, Colt slaps the puck into the left corner of the goal and the crowd goes wild.

“Go Hawks!” they chant.

The team lifts their hands into the air and skates around the rink in a victory lap, Theo leading the charge.

It’s funny. How something as simple as Theo looking at me while skating on the ice can bring back a memory. Or memories, to be exact. Like all the times I’d come to Colt’s games and cheer on the team. Like all the times Theo would find me in the crowd and give me a glimpse of his cocky smirk or a frustrated scowl when the game wasn’t going the way he wanted it to go. Like all the times he’d score a goal and search for me in the stands, tossing me a wink like the arrogant sonofabitch he really is.

And today isn’t any different. When his attention catches on me, I give him a thumbs up, a soft smile teasing at my lips.

With a mock glare, he yells back, “What? No vacuum beach?”

My teeth dig into the inside of my cheek as I fight back my grin and give him the bird instead. He throws his head back and laughs––hard––and skates to the blue line to finish off the first period.

And just like that, a swell of hope spreads in my chest, and it’s too late to reel it in, no matter how much I want to. Then again, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. It’s Theo, for Pete’s sake. The man knows what he’s doing, no matter how oblivious he might seem.

Clearly, I’m playing with fire.

And the candy on my car this morning, combined with the familiar ambiance that brought us together in the first place along with a look hot enough to melt a glacier in a snowstorm?

Swoon.

Colt manages to slip in a final goal before the buzzer rings out in the arena, tying the score at the end of the first period.

After a quick break, the rest of the game passes by in a whir, and LAU wins, four to three.

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