Page 74 of Play Your Part

“Kensie!” Matt called, setting down his beer can. “What brings you to our recovery party?”

“I’m looking for Alexei.”

A goofy smile crossed Matt’s face. “Ah, of course. Our fearless leader isn’t here. He’s blowing off steam.”

Blowing off steam.The idea of him with someone else made me want to lose my dinner.

I couldn’t blame him. I’d started something we never finished. And he won one of the biggest games of his career tonight. Of course he wanted to celebrate.

“Oh no, he’s not—” Matt rushed to say, accurately reading my expression. “You don’t need to worry about that with Volk. He’s skating, trying to burn off the adrenaline.”

“You mean anger,” Zach said around a bite of pizza. “I’ve never seen him so pissed, and I’ve almost burned his house down, like, five times.”

“But he won the game.”

Zach pushed himself against the back of the hot tub, propping both arms on the ledge. “You watched the game?” he asked, not pausing for my response. “What did you think?”

“You played well. A little sloppy in the neutral zone in the first, but your aggressive offensive zone forecheck made up for it in the end. Nice goal, by the way.”

“Wait…” Zach’s mouth fell open, and he dropped a bite of pizza into the water. “Have you been, like, studying hockey to impress Volk or something?”

Matt snorted. “I don’t think she has to resort to talking shop to impress him. She’s got that pretty well in hand.”

My heart jumped into my throat. Had Alexei said something to him?

“You don’t watch hockey. How would you know—”

“I’ve been on this team for nearly half your life, Briggsy,” Matt answered for me. He'd only been on the Wolves for five years, but he never missed a chance to razz Zach. “Kennedy and her mom came to every game and cheered, even when we got our asses kicked.”

I sent a pointed look Zach’s way. “I didn’t say Ineverwatched hockey, only that I don’t watch it much.”

Zach sported a shit-eating grin. “But you watched tonight.”

“What woman wouldn’t tune in to see two guys beat each other up over her?” Matt tipped his beer can at me before taking a long swig. Of anyone, I realized, Matt had the most insight into this situation. He was friends with both Alexei and Justin and engaged to my overly perceptive best friend.

“They weren’t fighting over me.”

“You’re right. You’re the latest in a long-running list of shit between them,” Matt said. “I heard Ward was waiting on our porch when you got home from the party the other night.”

“Alexei tell you that?”

“Yeah, right. Don’t tell me, Kensie, that you’re having a hard time telling your boyfriends apart.”

“Don’t make me come in there after you,” I warned.

Matt gestured me toward him with both hands—a taunt.

“You know I would, but I have somewhere important to be.” I turned on my heel to head inside.

“Say hi to our grump-ass winger,” Matt called after me.

31

ALEXEI

Silenceinthearenastood out more than the screams and cheers from tonight’s sellout crowd. The crowd that had long ago left the building, along with my teammates and our coaching staff. Leaving me alone on the ice with a bucket full of pucks.

Usually, the crew would have removed the goal by now, but no one bothered me or asked when I would go. Not that I had an answer for them. Adrenaline still pumped through my veins from the overtime goal. If that had been it, I would have left the ice long ago and gone home to celebrate with Matt and Briggsy, who had probably commandeered my hot tub. But the simmer of anger hadn’t receded enough for me to be in anyone else’s company yet.

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