Page 82 of Hockey Halloween

Karl

Castaway

For a moment, it’s like déjà vu. I see Maya and another guy on the stairs, and I’m back in high school and jealous all over again.

Then I realize it’s not the same at all—I’m looking down instead of up, and she’s asking me for help.

Her dark eyes are shining, her mouth is set in a stubborn line, and her whole posture is defiant yet pleading.

Of course she can communicate perfectly with body language; she’s a skilled actress.

Which means I never know what’s real with her.

But even I can tell she’s in trouble right now.

I bound down the stairs and grab the fake Batman by the upper arm, which turns out to be skinny under the fake padding.

“Unhand her, you scurvy knave.” I easily peel him off Maya and shove him against the wall. When she sways on the narrow step, I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her to me, pirate-style. I turn us to face the guy.

“What the fuck, man?” He takes in my scowl and my size, then scurries up the stairs and out the door.

Maya’s head leans against my chest and her soft body curves into mine. It feels alarmingly good .

“Are you okay?” I ask.

She blinks and looks up at me. Her eyes are the colour of dark chocolate with flecks of gold. Her rounded cheeks are tan and freckled, and her full lips are flushed deep pink. I can’t look away.

For a moment, it feels like we’re the only people in the universe. The music of the party, the shouted conversation, and even the low whispers of Bergy and Eden all fade away. The only thing I can hear is the beating of Maya’s heart. But that’s impossible, so it must be my own.

“I’m fine. Thank you for coming to my rescue.” Maya’s voice is deep and hoarse. It was the first thing that attracted me to her, hearing her speak in class. That low voice in contrast to her pretty features.

“Not a problem.” Then I realize that I’m still holding her tightly and let go. We both take a step back. Maya smooths her white gown, her gaze fixed on mine.

I give my head a shake. Of course she’s attractive. But even if she acts like she’s interested, I can’t trust her. I learned that the hard way.

“Okay, well, if you’re okay, maybe I’ll just—” I begin.

Click. The metallic noise echoes in the suddenly quiet space.

We stare at each other, puzzled.

“What was that?” I ask.

She points to the door at the top of the stairs, which is closed now. And we’re the only ones here. I run up the stairs and try the door. It’s locked from the outside.

“Bergy! What the fuck?” I yell.

“Me and Eden think that you guys need to talk.” His voice is muffled.

Maya is right beside me, pounding on the solid wood. “Eden, open this door so I can kill you.”

Her friend giggles. “Threats will get you nowhere. We’ll open the door once you guys have had a chance to figure out what went wrong back in high school.”

“I have to pee,” Maya whines.

“Hope you’ve been doing your Kegels, then,” Eden replies .

“When will you let us out?” I demand.

“Once you guys have made up,” Eden says. “Bye for now.”

Bergy adds, “By the way, I’ve got the key, in case you think that calling one of our teammates might help.”

We keep pleading to the locked door, but either they’re ignoring us or they’ve left.

Maya and I look at each other and shake our heads.

“We need new best friends,” she says.

“Agreed. Do you really need to pee?” I ask.

“No, I made that up to get Eden to open the door.”

Of course. Maya lies as easily as breathing. My heart hardens again. I motion to the closed door at the bottom of the staircase. “Maybe we can get out that way.”

We go down the stairs and try that door, but it’s locked too.

“I guess they didn’t want people going in the basement during the party,” I say.

“Or there’s a horrible people-eating monster locked in there and he’s going to sense that we’re trapped and break down the door so he can feast on us,” she suggests.

I snort. “As opposed to being locked in with a woman whose face can kill a man on sight?”

“Please. You’d be dead by now. You’ve been staring enough,” she replies.

Too true. I’ve been searching for the real Maya underneath her disguise.

Her secret desire can’t be hooking up because her costume disguises how attractive she really is—her curly dark hair hidden under the rubbery snakes, her curvy body lost in the pleated gown.

I’m the only man at the party who knows exactly how sexy Maya is.

“Hey, Karl, wait up!”

I turn to see Maya from my history class in the hallway.

I’ve noticed her before. She’s intriguing—different from the girls in my crowd—with her colourful clothes and dramatic gestures.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that she’s very pretty and has a lush body with wide hips and generous breasts.

When class gets boring, I’ve imagined exactly what Maya looks like under her artsy outfits.

“Do you have time for coffee?” she asks. “I have a proposition for you. ”

Fuck. Now my ever-optimistic cock is getting a semi. Down, boy. No way is she thinking what I’m thinking.

We go for coffee at a place across from our high school. I assumed she was a bit shy, but she turns out to be confident and funny. But when she offers me a role in the school play, I say no immediately.

“I’m a hockey player, not an actor,” I scoff.

“But you’d be so good. I know from class that you’re great at public speaking.

And you have this star quality, an athletic vitality—the audience will be drawn to you.

” Of course, she’s sucking up, but she sounds completely sincere.

I like her throaty voice and her enthusiasm and her confidence. She’s very persuasive.

“It’s a lot of work, though, all that memorizing.

And I’ve never acted before,” I protest, but I’m intrigued.

Now that hockey season is over, I wouldn’t mind a new challenge, especially a chance to break out my creative side.

I hate being typecast as a dumb jock. Maybe some of my teammates will laugh, but it’s senior year—my last chance to do something different.

“Willoughby is an important role, but the lines are very manageable.” She passes me a copy of the play, with my parts highlighted, and assures me that rehearsals are a lot of fun. I skim over the lines, pausing at a kissing scene with a character named Marianne.

“Who plays Marianne?” I ask.

“Me. I’m in all your scenes, so I can coach you through any difficulties. Although I’m sure you won’t have many.” She smiles up at me. Her lips are full, shiny, and so kissable.

I want to do this, both for myself and to spend more time with Maya. Still, I pretend to be reluctant. “Fine. I’ll come to one rehearsal and see how it goes.”

Maya clasps her hands together and looks genuinely delighted. “Oh, Karl, how wonderful! You’re going to love drama.”

But now, I avoid looking at the face that I once found so irresistible. I won’t get taken in by her spell again. I sit down and lean against a wall. “Might as well get comfortable. How long do you think they’ll leave us here?”

She plunks herself down two steps above me. “I could try sending a selfie of the two of us smiling together. But we’ll have to wait a few minutes. Nobody would believe we’d made up that quickly.”

“Fine. Let’s sit tight for ten minutes.” I pull out my phone, but predictably the signal sucks down here. I stuff my phone away, cross my arms, and say nothing. This is a nightmare. I’m not as angry as when I first saw Maya, but I certainly don’t feel like making small talk.

“Really?” Her tone is irritated. “You’d rather sit in silence until they come back? I can remember when there wasn’t enough time for all the things we wanted to talk about.”

“That was before I knew what you were really like,” I reply.

She huffs and mutters, “I can’t believe that I hoped to run into you.”

Red-hot anger runs through me. “Fuck! Was this all a setup? Did you use my best friend to get to me?”

“Oh my god, someone has a pretty high opinion of himself. How would I even know who your best friend is?”

“Who knows what’s in your bag of tricks?” No way I’m falling for her bullshit. Still, I can’t help asking, “What did you mean? Why were you hoping to see me?”

She lets out a long sigh, like I’m completely clueless. “At the risk of inflating your ego even more, I haven’t ever forgotten you. When Eden invited me to visit, I knew there was a chance that I might see you here. Monarch isn’t a huge college.”

“Who has the big ego now? Did you assume that I’d take one look and find you irresistible?” I scoff, but avoid looking at her face. I focus on her dress instead, but that’s worse because I can see the rise and fall of her rounded breasts as she releases angry breaths.

“Yes, nothing says I want to seduce you like a head full of snakes.” Then in a softer voice, she admits, “Whatever happened between us, I’d at least get some closure. Even if things went badly—although I could have never predicted this horror show—that would help me forget about you.”

I’m too shocked to answer. Does Maya mean that she’s liked me all this time? That’s ridiculous. She never even cared in the first place .

“Why are telling me this? Now?” I ask.

Our eyes finally meet. She appears honest and straightforward—but Maya is a chameleon. “Because maybe our friends are right. We should talk, and now is a good opportunity.”

“Why bother? Once we get out of here, we’re never going to see each other again. We can pretend to be all chummy in front of Bergy and Eden. That’s what you excel at, anyway.”

Her round face is creased with passionate anger. “What the hell is your problem, Karl? What have I ever done to you?”

“Oh, I don’t know. How about the way you led me on? Was that part of your Method acting crap, pretending to be in love with me until the moment the play was over?” I ask.

“Wait? I led you on?” she hisses. “How did I lead you on when I actually liked you? I broke up with Derek because of you.”