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four

“A ll right, that’s it for today. I’ll see you guys later this week,” the professor says.

I wait in my seat, letting everyone clear out ahead of me. I thought high schoolers rushing out of classrooms was bad, but it’s even worse in college. Once the congestion trying to get out the door clears, I get up and make my way out of the room.

When I step outside, I sigh. The sun is shining, but there is already a chill in the air, teasing that winter is coming sooner than I’m ready to admit. I scan the area, and smile when I catch a familiar face sitting underneath a tree in the little courtyard.

Without thinking about it, I head toward him.

“Shouldn’t you be in class or at the gym, hotshot?” I tease.

Kellan looks up from the computer in his lap and smiles when he sees me. I don’t know if anyone has ever been as excited to see me as he is, and it makes my heart race.

Sure, I’ve dated in the past, but those guys were all tools. I never dated someone I like as much as I’ve grown to like Kellan.

“Hey, what are you up to?” He has this light tone to his voice that has butterflies stirring in my belly.

“I just got out of class. Can I sit?” I ask.

Kellan moves his bag. “Of course.”

I sit down next to him. “What are you doing?”

“I was just getting some schoolwork done before I head to practice.”

“Do you want me to leave you to it?” I put my hands on the ground to push myself up when his hand touches my wrist.

“No, stay. I would rather spend time with you. I can do this later.”

Turning my head, I try to hide my smile, but I feel my cheeks heat anyway.

His hand moves down until he’s holding mine, and he starts playing with my fingers, running his over my rings. “How was class?”

“Boring, honestly,” I say, making him laugh.

“Yeah, freshman year kind of sucks when you have to take all the required classes.”

“Right? I feel like I learned most of this in high school. Call me crazy, but I shouldn’t have to pay for that.”

“Nah, you aren’t crazy,” he says with a smile on his face.

“How’s hockey going?” I ask, changing the subject.

A look I can’t quite name crosses his face. “It’s going better than it was.”

“Good. I hate the idea of you playing when you aren’t feeling it.”

“Are you worried about me, beautiful?”

I roll my eyes. “You wish.”

“Maybe I do.” He winks before looking down at my ring. “So what’s the story with this ring?”

I look down at my hand and see he’s looking at the one on my thumb. “Oh, one of my old friends made it for me. It’s actually made out of a spoon.”

His eyebrows wing up. “Out of a spoon?”

I nod. “Yeah, he buys spoons with kickass handles on them, then cuts them down and makes rings out of them.”

“Did you pick this one or did he?”

“I did. For my birthday one year, he offered to make me a ring, and he let me dig through his box of spoons. I found this one toward the bottom.”

The ring looks like a bunch of tiny delicate vines wrapped around my finger. I’ve never seen anything like it, and honestly don’t know if I ever will again.

“It’s awesome. I never would have thought about making jewelry out of silverware.”

“Right? I’m so far from artistic it’s not even funny.”

“Yeah, me too. I honestly don’t think I’ve tried doing anything arts and crafts wise since elementary school.”

I bump his shoulder with mine. “Maybe we should try one of those sip and paint classes sometime.”

“Do you have a fake ID burning a hole in your pocket, beautiful?” he teases, making me laugh.

“I never said we should do it now. Just sometime.”

“Sure…” he drawls, shaking his head.

He opens his mouth to say something but stops himself.

“What were you about to say?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Come on, hotshot, don’t start keeping secrets from me now.”

He rubs his jaw. “I like that you are thinking about hanging out with me several years down the line. That’s all.”

“Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but once you’re in my circle, it takes a lot to get you out of it.”

“Oh really?”

“Yep, and if you ever try to leave, I’ll have to kill you,” I say solemnly.

Kellan tips his head back and laughs. “Damn, I had no idea that playing beer pong with you put my life on the line.”

“I mean, it is your fault.”

“Oh yeah? How so?”

I shrug. “You weren’t a douchebag.”

“Beautiful, if that’s all it took to become your friend, then we need to talk about your standards.”

“Hey, I never said that was the only reason. I just meant that’s what got you in. You’ve fully cemented yourself since you’ve been nice.”

He scoffs. “Nice. Ouch, talk about the kiss of death.”

“Oh please, we both know that’s not how I meant it,” I tease.

“Good to know.”

An alarm on my phone goes off, making me groan.

“You gotta go?”

“Yeah, that’s my alarm telling me I need to start walking over to where I’m volunteering.”

“You’re volunteering? Where at?”

“Over at the Department of Children and Families. There is a crisis with the number of workers compared to families needing intervention, so they started a new program that allows volunteers to help out in different areas of the system. I’m volunteering with their mediation program that supervises the visits between children and the family members who are attempting to regain custody. When I don’t have a visit, I’ve been spending time with the kids who are waiting on visits with other mediators. Mostly I keep them entertained or help them with homework.”

“Wait, really?” He looks shocked.

“Yeah.” I duck my head as I stand up.

“That’s amazing.” Kellan gets up. “Well shit, let me drive you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“No, but I want to. Come on, let me give you a ride,” he says as he picks up his bag.

“Are you sure you have time?” I ask as I fall into step with him.

Kellan looks down at me and smiles. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t. Now tell me, what made you start working there?”

“I’m not sure, really. Something about it called to me. Then I started and fell in love. I like helping people and feeling like I’m doing something to make their lives just a little bit easier.” I shrug. “That probably sounds stupid.”

Kellan reaches down and grabs my hand. “That doesn’t sound stupid at all. It sounds like you’ve found your calling. It’s admirable work.”

When we get to his truck, he opens the door for me. “Let’s get you to those kids.”

With that, my heart skips another beat.

I’m worried if it keeps doing this, I might not live to tell the tale of Kellan and my heart.

* * *

I skate across the ice, catching the puck with my stick as Clay passes it to me. I pass the puck back to Clay as he comes up on my left side. I swerve right as Jacobs defends the puck from Clay.

We move down the ice until we are at the net. Clay looks like he is about to take a shot on Wyatt, but last minute, he sends the puck flying my way. I catch it, slapping it toward the net.

Wyatt barely catches it, giving me an impressed look.

Coach blows the whistle, signaling the end of practice.

Fuck, that felt good. It felt right. Today it was like the ice and I were on the same page. I could read the other guys’ moves before they made them.

“Looked good today, Cooper.”

I look over my shoulder and see Clay dip his chin toward me. “Thanks, Captain.”

We circle around Coach, who’s looking a little happier than he was the other day.

“That was better. Not great but better. Cooper, good job not tripping today. Scott, good job protecting the net. Hayes and James, that’s exactly how I want you to handle your sticks.” He calls out a few other players and gives them credit for playing well. “Who knows, we might start looking like a team before the end of the month,” Coach quips, making a few guys laugh.

“James, have you boys put together a team-building exercise like I told you to?”

Clay nods. “Yes sir, the guys and I have been working on it.”

Brett clears his throat, making the coach look his way. “I’m waiting to hear back from one more person before we announce what we’re going to do.”

Coach nods. “Good, and Woods, I’m glad you aren’t hiding away from the team and still doing what you can despite the injury.”

Brett’s jaw clenches. “Nowhere else I would rather be.”

Music starts blasting through the speakers, and we all look behind us. We watch as a female takes the ice and starts warming up.

“Goddamn figure skaters can’t wait until we’re done to start,” Coach mumbles under his breath. “Okay, get on out of here. If you haven’t hit the gym yet today, do that now. Oh, and fair warning, I’m checking grades in the morning. If any of you are behind in anything, I will find out about it and call you into my office, understood?”

“Yes, Coach,” we say in unison before leaving the ice.

“Do you think Emery interrupts practice to get Brett’s attention?” I hear Beckett ask someone behind me.

“Nah, the girl hates his guts. Trust me, she doesn’t want his attention,” Clay answers him.

“If she hates him so much, then why did he tell me he would wait for us where he was?” Beckett asks.

Huh, I have no idea who Emery is, but it’s interesting to hear that maybe, just maybe, Brett has a thing for her. A figure skater and a hockey player couple isn’t completely unheard of.

“Seriously though, Cooper, you did well today,” Clay says as I put my stuff in my locker.

“Thanks, you too,” I tell him before heading off to the shower.

Not bothering to let it heat up, I step under the cool spray and let it hit me in the face. Today really did feel different. Almost like when I was back at home. Now I just need to figure out what’s changed to make it keep happening.

Have I been eating better? Getting more sleep at night? Is it because my roommate started playing a new game that doesn’t include talking to other people all night through his headset?

You know what’s changed.

I don’t want to admit it, but I do.

Cora.

Cora is the only thing in my life that’s changed. She’s given me the one thing that I really haven’t had since last year before everything with Grace fell apart.

Friendship.

Not just that, though. She doesn’t care who I am or that I play hockey. All she cares about is the fact I’m not a douchebag to her. And I’m not.

The thought of being an asshole toward her makes my stomach roll. God, I can’t imagine being mean to her when she’s as sweet as…pie?

What the fuck, Cooper? As sweet as pie? Really?

Shaking my head, I shut off the shower and wrap a towel around my waist. Most of the locker room has cleared out, but a few guys linger. After getting dressed, I grab my shit and head out. When I step outside, I see Grace standing right inside the doorway. I’ll have to walk past her to go outside.

She’s looking down at her phone, and I smile. Five bucks says that she has her nose buried in a book.

“Excuse me,” I hear Clay mumble from behind me.

“Sorry,” I say, stepping to the side.

She must hear us because she looks up. As soon as her eyes connect with him, she lights up. Her eyes dart to me, and she offers me a quick smile before looking back at him.

Sticking my hands in my pockets, I lean against the wall and watch them for a moment. I should be jealous that she came here waiting for him to get out of practice, right? That familiar feeling of uneasiness will settle in anytime now, but it doesn’t. Because I’m not. In fact, the only thing I feel is a little bit of jealousy over the fact that I don’t have someone waiting for me and that I don’t have someone who looks at me the way she looks at him.

I want that.

But you already have it. Cora.

I can picture her clear as day waiting for me. She wouldn’t jump into my arms or make a big scene. Cora would just step into my arms and wrap her arms around my waist before telling me what she thought.

“Good game, hotshot.”

I would lean down and kiss her before thanking her for coming with me. She would tell me there was nowhere else she would rather be. Then we would head back to one of our places and hang out by ourselves for the rest of the night.

That. I want that.

The vision fades, and I know that I can’t pretend that she’s just a friend anymore. Cora is the girl I want to get to know. The one I want to be monogamous with for more than just a couple of months. I want everyone to know on campus that she’s mine and I’m hers.

Cora is exactly what I need to cancel out the noise from all the other bullshit in my life. She’s who I need to keep me grounded and my head in the game. I need to be better for her, though. I won’t make the same mistakes with her that I’ve made in the past. In such a short time, she’s come to mean something to me, and I don’t want to mess it up.

I should probably wait until my head is clearer, but for the first time in months, the fog has lifted because of her.

Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my phone. I scroll through the contacts until I find the name I want and hit call. The line rings three times before her sweet voice comes through.

“Miss me already, hotshot?” she teases, making me smile.

“Of course I do.”

She laughs softly. “What’s up?”

I take a deep breath as nerves run through my veins. “I was wondering, would you like to go out with me?”

“Like on a date?”

“Like a date,” I say, trying to fight back a smile.

“You know what? I think I would,” she says softly.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. When were you thinking?”

“What do you think about Friday night?”

“That works for me.”

I smile, looking down at my feet. “Well then, it’s settled.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

“Okay, I’m going to get back to the kids.” That explains her low tone.

“Right, sorry. I forgot where you were. Do you need a ride home?” I feel my cheeks heat with embarrassment.

“It’s all good. Martha will give me a ride. Thanks, though.”

“All right, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, and Kellan?”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t wait for our date.” She hangs up before I can say anything.

Laughing, I pull my phone away from my ear and shove it into my pocket. “Me neither, beautiful. Me neither.”